Detailed analysis of Act 1 Scene 7

 

Shakespeare’s intention + context
Macbeth’s soliloquy He knows it will torment him ⇒ paranoia made clear The host should close the doors to murderers rather than hold the knife Duncan’s values are so great, everyone would miss him Lady Macbeth emasculates him => coward! Prove yourself! ⇒ Femme Fatale of the play Would dash a baby’s head off for this Uses her femininity to manipulate him Shakespeare explores the idea of Divine Right of Kings and the Chain of Being
Spicy Points
Paranoia and inner conflict	Euphemism for the assassination “it” Distancing himself from the murder   Shows his guilt Surcease success ⇒ end of success ⇒ overall tragedy Difficult to say Shows the difficulty that macbeth faces Makes the audience quite uncomfortable, unpleasing to the ear “Bloody instruction…return to plague the inventor” ⇒ M is scared that others will follow suit and kill him ⇒ foreshadow eventual demise
	Repetition of “if” Makes soliloquy fluid + representative of train of thought Capitalizes on Macbeth’s lyrical nature, which contrasts to his lost of sanity at the end of the play Indecisiveness and confusion ⇒ complicit nature of the character
	“Bloody instructions which return to plague the inventor” An excessive use of metaphors to show Macbeth’s worry Blood – blood on his hands, Lady Macbeth, motif in the play ⇒ fears the guilt he will incur Plague ⇒ disease, filthy, inescapable, incurable Plague his mind and plague his empire “I dare do all that may become a man, who dares do more is none” He doesn’t want to kill the King = it is not proper for a man to do so Yet, the fact that he killed Duncan, Banquo, Macduff’s family ⇒ he is no longer a man, he is a treacherous kinsman undeserving of the throne
Chain of Being/DRK	“Poison’d chalice” ⇒ image of treachery, committing sin Same as hamlet
	“Plead like angels, trumpet tongued” ⇒ Duncan is pure, virtuous and ideals of an angel, pure of heart ⇒ Divine right of Kings Trumpet = START OF WAR ⇒ he would start a war if he killed Duncan because he broke the chain of being Having such likeable and noble virtues makes the murder more evil and unforgivable
	Deep Damnation” = connotes hell Alliteration used + religious imagery which refers to the Divine right of Kings Severe consequences Harsh sounds Contrast with the soft sounds of “naked newborn babe” Innocent and pure, babe (connotations) Purity is associated with being King = Kings PURE of heart Also foreshadows the purity of Macduff in Act 5//emphasizes his moral, virtuous character “Vaulting ambition” ⇒ he means to say “falls onto the other side” but is interrupted by lady macbeth Gives a depiction of an extremely clumsy character, who is inexperienced, whose ambition is so great that it causes him to miss the mark completely and face an embarrassing fate
Everyone has a fixed Chain of Being and should not try to alter their fate Once the chain is broken, it will have a strong impact = nightmare, chaos
Lady Macbeth’s manipulation and presentation as the femme fatale	Rhetorical questions Plant seed in his mind Determination to overthrow the King Domination in the relationship Independent, manipulative, Femme Fatale ⇒ antithesis of ideal wife
	Colour = coward Green and pale Not suited for the valour of the crown Lacking in strength ⇒ contrasted by the initial exposition of Macbeth as a valiµant warrior She also interrupts macbeth, shows the nature of their relationship, doesn’t let him finish
	“Bring forth men children” Spirits have unsexed her She is so powerful and admired by Macbeth She is a man, man = murder Macbeth falters to her pressure, and suppresses his thought and his guilt He is concerned about keeping the throne and having heirs ⇒ obsessed with the possibility of power