Tag Archives: Macbeth

Dr. Gary North has written a book called The Biblical Structure of History. This work will inform the Western Civ literature curriculum I’m building. He writes: Biblical history is structured in terms of this pattern: the transition from grace to wrath, followed by the transition from wrath to grace. My book offers this thesis: theContinue reading “Comedy and Tragedy”

A thought experiment: let’s say that the audience of Shakespeare’s Macbeth could hear none of the play’s words. All they could do to infer the plot is see what happened on stage. What kind of play would they see? The play opens with a corrupt world presided over by the witches. Any hint that natureContinue reading “Macbeth: Actions Without Words”

Reading Paul Cantor’s article “‘A Soldier and Afeard’: Macbeth and the Gospelling of Scotland” has provoked a series of questions about the play’s theme. Cantor argues that the play represents a clash between pagan and Christian values. Macbeth’s dilemma, in short, is that he is a pagan warrior who has been gospelled by Christianity justContinue reading “Macbeth: Gospelling the Play”

“Fair is foul, and foul is fair.” — we hear the witches say this in the first scene of Macbeth, and the moral confusion it describes dominates the play. Another word for “fair” is “good,” and another word for “fair” is “evil” or “ill,” so the witches are announcing their temptation strategy: get Macbeth toContinue reading “Macbeth: The Disorder of Creation”

Lady Macbeth acknowledges that her husband has ambition. The question is: does he have the willingness to act on that desire? [Y]et do I fear thy nature;It is too full o’ the milk of human kindnessTo catch the nearest way: thou wouldst be great;Art not without ambition, but withoutThe illness should attend it… Macbeth wondersContinue reading “Macbeth and Ambition”

In the play’s final act, Macbeth receives the emotional and physical recompense for his crimes. Lady Macbeth signals her deep guilt over Duncan’s murder. Her suicide prompts Macbeth’s most famous soliloquy, a distillation of nihilistic despair. His fight against Macduff ends the play where it began: a rebel’s head paraded on a spear. Lady Macbeth’sContinue reading “Macbeth: Act 5 Commentary”

The consequences for Macbeth’s crimes are put in place here. The witches’ ambiguous prophecies make him confident that he won’t be punished. The assembled warriors in England show that he will. The witches identify Macbeth as “something wicked.” How evil are you when the witches discern your wickedness? Eternal punishment weighs on Macbeth’s mind. HeContinue reading “Macbeth: Act 4 Commentary”

In this act, Macbeth begins to bear the consequences of his actions. Ironically, this occurs while his conscience is less pricked about his ethical decisions in the moment. Still his guilt–manifested through Banquo’s ghost–shows that he cannot hide from himself the sanctions he knows his actions deserve. Scene 1 opens with Banquo alone. He suspectsContinue reading “Macbeth: Act 3 Commentary”

In Act 2, Macbeth murders Duncan and begins to experience temporal blessings and punishments. Macbeth knows the afterworld awaits the dead. He tells Duncan to mark the bell that “summons thee to heaven or to hell.” This is a Christian world with eternal rewards and punishments. One question: why is this a question? I thoughtContinue reading “Macbeth: Act 2 Commentary”

The first act presents Macbeth with an ethical dilemma: how should he respond to the prophecy that he will be king? His decision hinges on his concept of sanctions. The witches begin the play by talking about “when the battle’s lost and won.” The witches are agents of confusion, and part of their confusion willContinue reading “Macbeth: Act 1 Commentary”