ACT 5: Macbeth quotes and analysis

Question 1

Analyse this quote: “my soul is too much charg’d with blood of thine already”

Answer 1

• Shakespeare interrogates Macbeth’s internal divisions between guilt, unjustified confidence and a propensity towards violence.
• Initially, his guilt begins to surface, claiming “my soul is too much charg’d with blood of thine already” which maintains his sense of humanity as he has a capacity for remorse.
• This reiterates the notion that Macbeth must remain somewhat redeemable o be characterised as a tragic hero, he is not merely a villain.

Question 2

Analyse this quote: “I’ll not fight with thee”.

Answer 2

• Macbeth begins with elevated confidence, gloating that he cannot be killed by a man “of woman born” yet Macduff soon disparages him revealing “Macduff was from his mothers womb/Untimely ripp’d” meaning he was born by Caesarean section.
• This moment of anagnorisis (he recognises his downfall) for Macbeth strips him of his hubris, courage and tenacity, his intrinsic cowardice which Lady Macbeth formerly ridiculed rises to the surface again. he concedes in saying “I’ll not fight with thee”.
• Shakespeare reminds us that Macbeth is merely a puppet for evil; it is his intrinsic qualities of a soldier (an inclination to violence and bloodthirst) which are extrapolated by external forces in the play i.e. the Witches or Lady Macbeth.
• This is integral in characterising him as a tragic hero, a figure with noble traits that descends from a position of grace due to their hamartia.

Question 3

Analyse this quote: “life is but a walking shadow…it is a tale…signifying nothing”. (detailed)

Answer 3

• His wife’s death is a pitiful moment of realisation for Macbeth; he realises the hollowness of the Witches prophecies and the futility of the mental turmoil he has been through. “life is but a walking shadow…it is a tale…signifying nothing”.
• The noun “tale” extends the idea that the Witches’ influence was like an ominous nursery rhyme - they speak in trochaic tetrameter and rhyming couplets which almost parody their dialogue.
• It appears they have been engaging in devious, childlike meddling just to cause turmoil for Macbeth - he is slowly coming to realise this. He realises he has been placed upon a “stage” for the witches’ entertainment.
• Macbeth’s lexis almost creates a semantic field of transience, the nouns “candle” and “shadow” are impermanent and fragile in the sense that they can be easily extinguished.
• It could be argued that Macbeth undergoes two moments of anagnorisis within act 5. The first being this realisation of the futility of his actions consequently he submits himself to nihilism (rejecting moral and religious principles due to the belief that life is meaningless).
• He also retreats to his ingrained role as a soldier; he enters a battle knowing that fate will likely not work in his favour but it could be argued that this is an act of martyrdom (dying or exaggerated suffering to obtain sympathy), he believes he has been exploited by the witches and almost submits himself to death out of self-pity.

Question 4

How does the reader experience almost a sense of déjà vu in Act 5 with Macbeth?

Answer 4

We experience almost a sense of déjà vu as Macduff belittles him with the epithets “coward” and “tyrant”; he riled and persuaded to engage in battle, much in the same way he was manipulated by Lady Macbeth initially.

Question 5

In act 5, what scene is cathartic and why?

Answer 5

Macduff and Macbeth’s battle is a moment of anagnorisis for both Macbeth and the audience, Macduff revealing that he was born by Caesarean section is cathartic from the audience as it releases the tension that accumulated whilst Macbeth’s fate was still equivocal.