This is an essay on the theme of violence in Macbeth. It is a Section A (1 hr) response.
Explore the nature of violence in the play Macbeth.
Explore the nature of violence in the play Macbeth.
William Shakespeare’s “Macbeth” revolves around the tragic
downfall of the play’s protagonist, Macbeth. True to any Gothic text, the play
has its fair share of violence. However, as the question states, many critics
have gone ahead to say that the “violence is excessive”. There are many
instances that support this statement in the play.
Most of the violence is “Macbeth” begins when Macbeth, and
his wife Lady Macbeth, begin to plan the murder of then king, Duncan. It is
interesting to note that Shakespeare, using his authorial intent, avoids
showing much of the violence through the narrative in the play; rather, he
provokes the reader’s imagination to such an extent that it terrorises them; in
this respect, violence is not excessive. However, the imagery used after the
murder is committed portrays a different interpretation.
“Is this a dagger I see before me?” Macbeth questions
himself, before he is about to kill Duncan; it could be interpreted that whilst
the dagger signifies the immoral act of murdering a king, Macbeth is truggling
with the internal violence of psychological trauma. Lady Macbeth, who conforms
to the stereotype of being a “dangerous seductress” (Bertens, 2000), instigates
her husband into doing the “deed” with a “keen knife” when she says, “If thou
durst do it, you were a man.” The psychological violence that Macbeth juggles
throughout the play is contextually significant, considering that puritans
despised theatre, whilst a Jacobean audience considered the result of sin was
death. Macbeth’s mental conflict reflected the guilt and regret he felt in
addition to the betrayal of a king who took shelter in his castle in “double
trust”.
Nevertheless, once the murder is committed, Macbeth says,
looking at his hands, “This is a sorry sight”. By keeping the actual murder off
stage and using Macbeth as a means to demonstrate the crime, Shakespeare leaves
the imagination to the audience’ however, the imagery of excessive blood may
come across as comic to the modern audience. “The multitudinous seas
incarnadine will turn the green one red” – the fact that Macbeth has committed
a murder that would turn “great Neptune’s” green ocean red not only
overdramatises the violence, but rather induces a streak of unintentional
comedy in the play. In the words of critic Pete Bunten, “Gothic castle,
violence and villains, clichéd and recreated by popular imitation, ceased to
evoke terror or horror.”
Another instance of violence is shown when Lady Macbeth
says, “Out, damned spot!” In addition to a mark of violence not easily being
washed away, the Gothic element of the supernatural decreases the effect of
physical violence, and instead emphasises the mental violence inflicted on
Macbeth and Lady Macbeth’s soul. Macbeth calls the imaginary dagger a “false
creation” and a product of the “heat-oppressed brain”. Furthermore, his guilt
and remorse that results from repetitive violence causes him to say, “false
face must hide what false heart doth know”. The fact that psychological trauma,
as a form of violence, is shown in the play guarantees the morality of
“Macbeth” and could be interpreted by critics to be genuinely expressed mental
violence.
Lady Macbeth’s and Macbeth’s plan to kill the latter’s
friend, Banquo, again involves physical violence. Again, the actual murder is
kept offstage, but the allusions to ‘thick night” and “fateful” night convey
the unshown violence of death to the audience. Macduff is another target of
Macbeth’s, and his family is killed in cold blood. A messenger says, “your
castle’s slaughtered!” As critic Botting says, “Gothic texts lack rationality
... reason ceases to exist.” It is therefore not surprising to see Shakespeare
keep much of the action off-stage, so as to make the violence appear excessive and
instead refocus on Macbeth, the protagonist of the play. Structurally, the
violence and show of bravery in the first part of the play illustrates
Macbeth’s heroism; however, as the play progresses, Macbeth’s attempts at
violence not only become excessive but less striking in nature so as to reflect
his downfall as a tragic hero.
Furthermore, Macbeth, the protagonist, exhibits a certain
level of violence within his speech. Early in the play, whilst addressing his
wife, his speech seems to be calm and composed; for example, when he curtly
disagrees to kill Duncan, he says, “We shall proceed no further in this
business.” The iambic pentameter is unbroken and suggests Macbeth’s calm as a
character. However, towards the end of the play, his soliloquies and asides
decrease, and his speech becomes more fragmented. It could be argued that
Macbeth’s speech, that aims to inflict violence on his enemies sees an
increasing change as the play progresses – however, instead of chilling the
audience, it turns out to be excessive and melodramatic.
Overall, violence can be divided into two categories in
Shakespeare’s Macbeth; one that is horrific, whilst one is terrific. In the
words of Robert Kidd, “terror is provoked by the mind, while horror produces
disgust.” Shakespeare utilises more terror than horror in the play and it could
be argued that the horrific violence is more excessive while the other
genuinely terrorises the audience. When lady Macbeth says, “who would have
thought the old man had so much blood in him?” it chills the audience, yet
fails to make as much of an impact as compared to when she says, “Thou musn’t
be th’innocent flower, but the serpent under’t.” From this, it can be seen that
the argument of violence being excessive or genuine boils down to how the
author or playwright portrays it in the text. Shakespeare, as Kidd comments,
“subverts the establishment” of the Gothic genre when presents violence in the
play. On one hand, the murders of Duncan and Lady Macduff and her son do not
create spine-chilling fear in the audience, while the violent intentions and
conversation between Macbeth and Lady Macbeth stir up a range of emotions
(terror, horror and fear).
In addition to this, one must also take into account the
contextual factors of “Macbeth”. Written in the Jacobean era, Shakespeare
depicts the genuine fears of the then king, James I, of political instability,
and display of military might in England and Scotland. Whilst a traditional
Jacobean audience may find the violence graphic and blood-curdling, the modern
audience would find this antique and possibly even comic, considering murder is
widely discussed topic today.
In conclusion, the physical violence in Macbeth could be
said to be excessive, considering the authorial intent and portrayal of the
murders as established earlier in the essay. However, one could argue that the
psychological trauma and terrorising acts as a form of violence are not
excessive, and are genuine in their own respect for a traditional audience.
