Leaving Cert Notes

Notes and Anki Decks for the Leaving Cert

Dramatic Techniques

Imagery

Light and Darkness

Light and Darkness is used as a metaphor throughout the play to represent good and evil. When the witches appear to Macbeth, it is amidst a thunderstorm with flashes of lightening foreshadowing Duncan’s death and the witches promising that they will meet again “ere the set sun”.

Light symbolises good, innocence, truth and honour. Darkness is often linked to immortality evil, corruption and guilt. The witches only appear when it is dark, alluding to their dark nature. The influence that they have on the actions of the characters in the play only have negative implications on the characters, those around them and Scotland at large. Banquo refers to them as “instruments of Darkness”.

Lady Macbeth also references darkness just before the murder of Duncan she asks that she be surrounded with “thick night” and a “blanket of the Dark”.

Most of the corrupt and abnormal events happen in Darkness. The murder of Duncan, the killing of Banquo, the sleepwalking scene and the appearance of the witches happen at night. Lady Macbeth who once craved the Darkness becomes terrified of it and carries a candle with her to keep it away. This symbolises her guilt and insecurity. The once powerful, confident and ambitious queen has been reduced to being afraid of the Dark like a small child.

Blood

Blood symbolises murder and guilt throughout this tragedy.

There are 2 colours repeated through out the play, black and red. The frequent references to there colours create an atmosphere of darkness, violence and horror.

Images of blood are used to establish Macbeth as a terrifying killer before we ever meet him. We are told by the Sargent in Act 1 Scene 2 that he cut the traitor in two from his groin to his jaw “he unseamed him from the have to the chops”. Despite the fact that these actions are barbaric, Macbeth is viewed as a hero being so bruted.

Lady Macbeth is also associated with blood and violence. Before Duncan’s murder, she calls for her blood to be made, so thick that she will feel neither pity nor remorse. By this, she means that she wants to harden her heart to an act she knows is purely evil of course, she fails and later proves to be incapable of coping with her guilt.

The killing of Duncan is made even more horrifying by the images of blood. As he prepares to murder the king, Macbeth hallucinates and sees a dagger with “gouts of blood” on the blade and handle.

Immediately after the deed, Macbeth is appalled by the amount of blood on his hands, called it “a sorry sight”. He believes that if he were to dip his hands in the seas, they would turn red: “no this my hand will rather the multitudinous seas incarnadine making the green one red”.

Macbeth’s first order as king is to order the death of his former friend and comrade in arms, Banquo. This is a shocking betrayal of their bond, and it reinforced Macbeth’s moral decline and his commitment to a rule of violent tyranny Banquo’s murder is described in gory detail. He is left with “twenty trenched gashes on his head” and Macbeth is pleased to note that the murder who reports back to him is covered in Banquo’s blood “Tis better thee without than he within”. Banquo’s bloody ghost appears at the banquet later that evening, shaking it’s “gory locks” unnerving Macbeth and causing him to tell his wife that “blood will have blood”. By this he means that he who sheds blood will have his own blood spilled (foreshadowing).

The most famous reference to blood in the play is Lady Macbeth’s sleepwalking scene. She is tormented by the memory of Duncan’s murder, despite saying at the time “A little water clears us of this deed”. Now no amount of water can make the blood vanish from her imagination or rid her of her guilt. Lady Macbeth wanders the castle at night, vainly trying to scrub the stain away “out damed spot, out, I say”.

Images of blood are used in a more positive way to symbolise the sacrifice those loyal to Scotland are wiling to make in order that Malcolm claim the throne of Scotland.

The play ends as it began, with the defeat of a traitor and the restoration of order.

Clothing

Shakespeare uses clothes as a metaphor throughout Macbeth. There are thirty and forty clothing images in Macbeth. When Ross hails Macbeth as Thane of Cawdor. Macbeth asks “Why do you dress me in borrowed robes?” Shakespeare uses clothing as a way of talking about appearance versus reality. Dressing someone as a king doesn’t make them a king. The repetition of this images drives the idea home. Banquo notices Macbeth is distracted when he is named Thane of Cawdor, and he observes to Ross “New honours came upon him, Like our strange garments, cleave not to their mould But with me aid of use.” Just before Macbeth is going to kill Duncan he hesitates and tells his wife he wants to enjoy his new title like clothes “Which would be worn now in their newest gloss/Not cast aside so soon.” Lady Macbeth also uses the metaphor of clothing to respond “Was hope drunk/Wherein you dressed yourself?” Following the murder of Duncan. Macduff bids farewell to Ross, “Lest our old robes sit easier than our new.” The old robes refer to Duncan’s royal garments; the new robes will be Macbeth’s. The reference to ‘our’ alludes to the fact that everyone in Scotland will be affected by the new king’s reign. As the armies gather in front of the play, various noblemen comment on Macbeth’s tyrannical rule Angus says: “Those he commands move only in command, Nothing in love. Now does he feel his title. Hung loose about him, like a giant’s robe upon a dwarfish thief.” Macbeth is ill suited to the kingship because he has stolen a title that was not his. Compared to the rightful king, Macbeth is a tiny, insignificant figure. He asks that his armour be brought when he hears that none of his Thanes will fight for him. Maybe, he feels more comfortable in the role of soldier and wants to revert to the man he was at the start of the story. Most of the images refer to one of the plays central themes - the protagonist’s failure to fit into his role as a king - and illustrate the highly complex character.

Nature

Macbeth is typical of Shakespeare’s tragedies in that the natural world of the play reflects key aspects of the plot. The imagery of disease acts as a metaphor for evil. Nature or the natural world also represents feelings for the actions of the characters and it therefore reflects their emotional state, this is known as pathetic fallacy.

The opening scene of Macbeth gives us an indication of the Witches’ nature and intentions. They meet on a heath in a foul mist and plan their next gathering “In thunder, lightening, or in rain”. Stormy weather is a sign that evil is afoot.

When the Sergeant is describing to Duncan in Act 1 Scene 2, he also uses storm imagery, subtly linking Macbeth to the Witches and prefiguring the disorder that is to come: “As whatever the sun ‘gins his reflection. / Shipwrecking storms and direful thunders break, / So from that spring whence comfort seemed to come. / Discomfort swells.”

At the same time, the Sergeant compares Macbeth and Banquo to eagles and lions when describing their bravery and strength on the battlefield. This positive imagery highlights the pairs nobility as well as their courage: both eagles and lions are traditionally associated with courage and honour.

The negative imagery associated with the witches would have resonated with Shakespeare’s audience. For example, one of the witches tells her sisters that she was busy “killing swine”. In Shakespeare’s time it was believed that swine fever was caused by the witches, yet another reason for people to feat and hate them. After the same with compares herself to a “rat without a tail”. The animal imagery linked to the witches is consistently disgusting.

As the play progresses, however the negative animal imagery also comes to be associated with Macbeth: his loss of nobility and increasing will is reflected in these comparisons. Immediately after Lady Macbeth reads her husbands letter about the witches prophecies, a messenger arrives with the news that King Duncan is coming to spend the night at her castle. After the messenger has left Lady Macbeth says “The raven himself is hoarse. That croaks the fatal entrance of Duncan under my battlements”.

The raven is a bird of ill omen and Lady Macbeth means that the raven is hoarse from saying again and again that King Duncan must die. When King Duncan comes to Macbeth’s castle, he remarks how sweet the air is, Banquo agrees, and adds:

“This quest is summer,
The temple haunting martlet, does approve
By his loved mansionry, that the heaven’s breath
Smells wooingly here. No jutty, frieze
Buttress, nor coign of vantage, but this bird
Hath made his pendant bed and procreant cradle.”

A “market” is a house martin (kind of swallow), which is ‘temple-haunting’ because it likes to build its nest high on the walls of tall buildings. (“Haunting” doesn’t have any ghostly connotations here.) When Lady Macbeth heard that King Duncan was coming for the night, she imagined a raven under her battlements, foretelling the death of the King. Instead, as the king looks up to those battlements, he sees swallows gliding to and fro on the breath of heaven. The birds in each case can reflect the natures of the characters.

Lady Macduff’s young son on hearing that he no longer has a father to protect him, tells his mother that he shall live “as birds do”.

When he hears of the murder of his wife and children Macduff cries “What, all my pretty chickens and their dam / At one fell swoop?”. He calls Macbeth a “hell-kite”, thus likening him to a hawk who has likening him to a hawk who has killed all his “pretty chickens” in one, swoop or dive.

Soliloquies

The soliloquy is a speech delivered by a single character on stage, the character will appear to be thinking aloud. It allows the breakdown of what is often referred to as the fourth wall that separates the audience from the stage.

An aside is a similar dramatic technique the difference is that the character does not need to be alone. When a character makes an aside, the audience can hear every word but the other characters present are oblivious.

Some of the plays most powerful language is found in Macbeth’s speeches. Soliloquies contribute greatly to his characterisation as a tragic hero, because we know the true state of Macbeth’s mind, we understand his dilemma as he contemplates the murder of Duncan. He is acutely aware that this course of action is wrong, but the temptation to be king is so strong that it eventually overrides all his concerns. In Macbeth the protagonist has the greatest number of soliloquies. This adds to our experience of the drama as we share in his fears and anxieties.

Macbeth’s soliloquies are:

In his first soliloquy(a1 sc3) Macbeth is considering what the witches have promised him. Their prophecies have already made a deep impact and his desire for power is starting to take hold. He ignores Banquo’s warning and focuses instead on the possibility of becoming Scotland’s next king. The witches have been proved right on two counts: they recognised that Macbeth was Thane of Glamis; and now he has been rewarded with the new title of Thane of Cawdor. Yet he wonders if their soliciting is to be fully trusted. What disturbs him most is his own evil ambition. How can the prospect of becoming king be good if it creates such ‘horrible imaginings’?

It is clear that the of killing Duncan is now firmly lodged in his mind. Macbeth’s nervous tone reflects his inner conflict and the sibilant effect of ‘Shakes so my single state of man’ has a sinister quality that foreshadows his future actions.

Macbeth’s first soliloquy not only engages the audience, it also heightens the dramatic tension, develops the plot and reveals Macbeth’s complex nature. The audience have already seen two sides to his character: he was first associated with the witches but he is also a loyal and courageous soldier.

The critical soliloquy in Act 3 (‘To be thus is nothing’) highlights Macbeth’s growing obsession with securing his family’s control of the Scottish throne. If the witches’ promises come true, he will have murdered Duncan to benefit Banquo’s heirs. Macbeth feels threatened because he considers himself inferior to Banquo in courage and nobility.

Macbeth is acutely aware that he has no legitimate right to be king. Duncan had already named Malcolm as his lawful successor.

The repetitive structure of Macbeth’s speech also shows his deep-rooted uncertainty. He repeatedly returns to his anxieties about Banquo and the unresolved subject of safeguarding his kingship. Again, this illustrates his anxiety and unsettled state of mind. He is now determined to eliminate any threats – real or imagined – that could undermine his long-term control of the Scottish throne.

Dismissive references to the ‘fruitless crown’ and ‘barren sceptre’ emphasise Macbeth’s dissatisfaction and sense of self-pity. He is also conscious of the irony of sacrificing his immoral soul (‘mine eternal jewel’) – and all to advance the political interests of ‘the seeds of Banquo’. In contrast to earlier soliloquies, in which he reflected on the morality of his plans, Macbeth shows no humanity. The enormity of committing the murder no longer effects him; now it merely a means to an end.

This crucial soliloquy marks the point at which Macbeth’s complete moral downfall begins. No longer satisfied with power for himself, his discontent grows to ferocious antagonism as he vows to challenge what the weird sisters have foretold. His tone varies from despair and insecurity to resentment and defiance, but he is always conscious of his own evil choices. This is what saves him from becoming a one dimensional monster and makes him a truly tragic character.

Macbeth’s second soliloquy in Act 5 (“Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow….) address the subject of time, which has become an intolerable burden for him. His response to the news of Lady Macbeth’s death is not altogether surprising. Beyond all feeling he can only say ‘She should have died hereafter’. For him, time itself no longer makes sense and the ‘hereafter’ does not exist. The word he focuses on is ‘tomorrow’. A rhythmic, childlike pace suggests the relentless passage of time, and the compulsive repetition reflects Macbeth’s growing madness.

Macbeth considers that our short lives ‘have lighted fools/ The way to dusty death’: people are excited by the prospect of success and happiness when their desires are fulfilled only to be disappointed in the end.

In this final soliloquy, we see the play’s ultimate tragedy as Shakespeare invites us to identify with the central character. Macbeth is poignantly aware of the rapid deterioration of his humanity and concludes that existence is entirely meaningless. The short concluding phrase (‘Signifying nothing’) fades away, leaving only silence. Macbeth’s pathos makes a devastating impact and his sickness of heart is likely to awaken some sympathy in the audience.

Dramatic Irony

Dramatic irony means that the audience knows something the characters do not. Because of this awareness, the characters’ words take on a different meaning, often giving rise to increased suspense or – on some occasions – humour. Shakespeare shows that people can be blind to the truth of a situation by enabling his audience to see things as they really are.

Throughout Macbeth, various forms of dramatic irony are used to create tension and involve the audience. An early example occurs in Act 1 Scene 3 when the witches greet Macbeth as Thane of Cawdor . He is bemused, saying ,`The Thane of Cawdor lives.’ However, we have already seen Duncan condemn the traitor to death and grant the title to Macbeth. Later, when Ross arrives to announce this news, Macbeth’s reaction is one of shock.

There is more dramatic irony when Duncan arrives at Macbeth’s catle at Inverness and is struck by the peaceful atmosphere of the place: `This castle hath a pleasant seat.’ His words follow the dramatic exchange in which Macbeth and his wife begin plotting the king’s murder. Lady Macbeth’s behaviour is also ironic in this same scene, particularly in the refined and formal language with which she welcomes the unsuspecting king. Duncan’s complete unawareness of the danger he is in engages the audience and builds suspense.

Perhaps the most powerful example of dramatic irony is Macbeth’s reliance on the witches’ apparitions. He is desperate to believe their assurance that no man `of woman born shall harm Macbeth’ and that he will remain protected until the trees in Birnam Wood begin to move. The audience recognises the equivocations of the witches long before Macbeth does.

A more subtle form of irony is when a character’s words only become significant later in the story. For example, during the murder scene, Lady Macbeth confidently says, ‘A little water clears us of the deed’. By the end of the play – when she has become weak and deranged – she will be haunted by the smell of blood and obsessively trying to wash her hands. Before her powers began to sloop Lady Macbeth supported her guilt-ridden husband, dismissing his talk of hearing voices: ‘So, it will make us mad’. This is an ironic foreshadowing of her sleep walking scene, when she is finally overwhelmed by conscience and descends into insanity.

Shakespeare’s use of dramatic irony places his character’s weaknesses into sharp relief. Their errors of judgement stand out all the more when the audience is aware of their impending doom. The fact that we know what lies ahead when some of the characters do not enhance the emotional experience of the play, creating feelings of suspense, sympathy, fear, disbelief and even anger in the audience