Theme of Violence in Macbeth

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.

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.