Goal of literary essay: "Looking at the text as a work of art, demonstrating clear critical judgment and explaining to the reader of your essay how the enjoyment of the text is assisted by literary devices, linguistic effects and psychological insights; showing how the text relates to the time when it was written and how it relates to our world today."
Power
Physical power or psychological power
-at beginning not power thirsty: "if chance will have me chance, why chance can crown me king without my stir" (I iii)
- Loses his humanity: "I have forgot the taste of fear" (V v 9)
- Loses his love - he forgets the Lady - she has to look for him - he doesn't tell her about her plan to kill Banquo
- V v 28 "Life's but a walking shadow…"
- Realizes he is his own villain
- The more power he got - the more corrupt he became ("power corrupts…absolute power corrupts absolutely" -
John Emerich Edward Dalberg Acton
- The Thane is introduced as physically strong - "he unseamed him from nave to chaps" I ii (Sergeant says this)
- Power itself can influence what we want - the Thane trusted Banquo ("if you shall cleave to my consent" II i 25)
- Lady's power - she has power to manipulate the Thane - she thinks she'll have more power as queen - she ends up feeling guilty, having no companionship and killing herself
- Power of persuasion - look at I vii - she asks if the Thane is a man: "when you durst do it, then you were a man" (I vii 49)
- He feels he would be cowardly to not act - she emphasizes this
- Believing witches? -
- Who has the real power in this play?
- What is the nature of power?
- Even if witches were truthful, good things did not come from it.
Betrayal
-remember you're giving insights (not just examples)
-play starts off with betrayal: Macdonwald (old Thane of Cawdor) betrayed Scotland by telling Norway its secrets
-betraying Scotland, heart, religion - killing Duncan
-is Macduff a traitor?
-Thane does not want to betray Duncan "our duties are to your throne" (I iv 22)
-Is Lady loyal to the Thane throughout?
-why does Thane betray his belief system?
-do we have priorities when it comes to loyalty
- Thane was trying to stay as loyal to Duncan as possible I vii "he hath honoured my of late, we will proceed no further in this business"
- Thane betrays himself - he is the General in the king's army
- Witches betray Hecate - not supposed to "trade and traffic with Macbeth" (III v 4,5)
- Thane killing Banquo (army buddy) - jealousy, also doesn't want to be found out
- Becomes paranoid after killing Duncan
- Thane is loyal to witches throughout "Thou wast born of woman" - says when kills young Siward- until end- V viii "these fiends that lie like the truth"
- Macduff takes responsibility for his betrayal of his family "sinful Macduff, they were all struck for thee" (IV iii 223, 224)
- Army walks away from the Thane: "now does he feel his title hang loose about him like a giant's robe upon a dwarfish thief" (V ii 20-22)
- Lady calls on spirits (I v) to "unsex her" - betrayal to original person - we see in II ii when she says "had he not resembled my father as he slept, I'd have done it" - does this mean she couldn't go through with betraying her true self?
- I v - Lady: "Great thane Glamis and Cawdor and both, thou shalt be what thou are promised"
- She convinces her husband to murder - he is loyal to her at this point - she makes him be disloyal to himself, later when he kills Banquo and Macduff's family he does not tell her = disloyal
- Killing herself - disloyal to the Thane
- Title of Cawdor - betrayer
- Is Macduff loyal or traitorous? (the king is called "Scotland" - he betrays a king, but why? He betrays his family and realizes it in IV iii) - his wife thinks he's a traitor - she knows he's gone to England, but he's trying to save Scotland from a tyrant.
TYRANTS OF HISTORY:
Greed
- Corrupts the Thane - blinds him to have any rational thoughts
- Makes him extreme - murdering his friends and innocent people
- Starts by murdering king
- He already had money, property, titles power - wanted more
- Tries to kill Banquo's son to prevent him from becoming king in the future
- Puts his subjects and country at risk
- I iii - witch 76 "stay you imperfect speaker's tell me more…" - he says he does not yearn to be king - he does not have greed at this point - but when he becomes Thane of Cawdor and the first prophecy comes true, suddenly he changes his mind
- "the instruments of darkness tell us truths" - Banquo says this - but he doesn't put much faith into what the witches say
- I iii "I am Thane of Cawdor, if good why do I yield to that suggestion/ Whose horrid image doth unfix my hair" (I iii 134) - he already has thoughts about murdering Duncan
- He was satisfied with being Thane of Glamis - when he becomes Thane of Cawdor -
- I iv "stars hide your fires, let not light see my deep and dark desires" - he wants to hide his desires - greed and power are related
- Wants his intentions kept secret
- When Malcolm is crowned Prince of Cumberland he says "that is a step/On which I must fall down, or else o'erleap" (I iv 48)
- Later he becomes delusional about his power - when the servant tells him there's an army outside his window
What is the difference between greed and ambition? - greed could have malice and treachery
-when Thane gains title of Cawdor - he does this in an acceptable way - sanctioned by king - protecting Scotland from Norway
- Lady the reason the Thane becomes greedy? (What about before I v?)
- Lady represents greed - forces her husband to commit murder
- What does greed do for people? Is it inherently good or bad?
- Personal responsibility - is it greed, Lady, witches?
- *important that Thane has these thoughts before Lady talks to him - what about before the witches talk to him
- What do the witches represent in the modern day world?
- Greed causes his paranoia, regret (V iii 22"My way of life/Is fall'n into the sear, the yellow leaf;/And that which should accompany old age…")
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