Review of Macbeth by William Shakespeare
Macbeth is one of most famous plays and a great tragedy of Shakespeare. It is also named as ‘The Scottish play'. The title itself suggests the name of the protagonists. The whole play revolves around the protagonists Macbeth and his wife Lady Macbeth. "Macbeth" means "son of life", and is a Christian name rather than a patronymic. The themes that are depicted in the play are that of fate, ambition, treachery and deception. The drama is rich in imagery. Moreover, the idea prevalent is that the state of nature affects the state of the world, where there is thunder, lightning, doom and gloom. Shakespeare's main source for Macbeth, written in c.1603-1610, was Raphael Holinshed's "Chronicles of England, Scotland and Ireland". Holinshed got inspiration from Hector Boece's Scotorum Historiae, written in 1527. Moreover, Shakespeare's portrayals of Holinshed's "weird sisters" were derived from the portrait of other fictional witches. He was also inspired by King James VI/I's book "Demonologies'".
Comprised of five acts, "Macbeth" starts by depicting a tragedy. The book starts with the brief appearance of the three witches and then moves to a military camp, where the Scottish King Duncan hears the news that his generals, Macbeth and Banquo, who defeated two separate invading armies—one from Ireland, led by the rebel Macdonald and another was from Norway. While returning from battle, Macbeth and Banquo encountered the witches as they cross a moor. The witches predict that he will become king one day by killing Duncan. This prediction leads Macbeth to murder the king. Macbeth's wife, Lady Macbeth accompanies him in his plan. Lady Macbeth is an integral part of this thematic web and is the most memorable character. Like her husband, Lady Macbeth's thirst for power leads her to practice an unnatural, phantasmagoric realm of witchcraft, insomnia and madness. But while Macbeth reacts to the prophecies of the witches, Lady Macbeth moves even further by figuratively transforming herself into a desexualized, unnatural evil spirit. After Macbeth kills Duncan, Lady Macbeth smells the blood of Duncan on the daggers of the sleeping guards. A pious soul Macduff discovers the body. Macbeth kills the guards insisting that their daggers smeared with Duncan's blood are proof that they committed the murder. The crown passes to Macbeth. It was followed by a series of murders. These murders ensue that the bloodied ghost of Banquo appears to Macbeth. Lady Macbeth's conscience tortures her and she visualizes blood everywhere, which leads her to commit suicide. Finally, in