English 433G
Dr. Desmet
Summer 1996
a. Let's start out with the broad, theological context. Of all the plays that we have read this quarter, Macbeth makes heaven and hell most visible. Wordcrunch on some words that have a theological significance, such as:
heaven*Which words are more frequent? For instance, are there many more references to hell than to heaven? To devils than to angels? What does that tell you about the play? Are heaven and hell considered to be places, and angels and devils real beings, or do human beings often becomes identified with these morally opposed places and beings? Specifically what is the "king's evil"?
hell*
angel*
devil*
fiend*
good*
evil*
b. Wordcrunch Golgotha. What does it mean that Scotland is turning into Golgotha?
c. Wordcrunch on the word witch*. Most of the references are speaker prefixes. Why isn't witchcraft mentioned more in the play?
d. Do a combined word list using F2 to see where and when the words heaven and hell occur together. It only happens once: what is the significance of this occurrence?
e. Wordcrunch the word God* or god*. It seems to me that the references to God are much more Christian in this play than they are in many others, such as King Lear. Why?
a. In Basilicon Doron, King James distinguishes between a "good king" and a "usurping tyrant" (McDonald, Bedford Companion 328). Wordcrunch on the words:
tyran* (for tyrant and tyranny)Check the frequency distribution especially for "tyranny" and "tyrant." Why do so many of these references come towards the end of the play?
usurp*
ambition*
b. The opposite of a tyrant is a saint in this play. Who is referred to as a saint?
c. It is a critical commonplace that Macbeth is motivated by ition*ho talks about Macbeth in terms of ambition and how frequently is the word used?
d. The "Homily Against Disobedience and Willful Rebellion" is also relevant to Macbeth. One of the key words used in the homily to explain the king's legitimacy is "power." According to St. Paul, "let every soul be subject unto the higher powers, for there is no power but of God, and the powers that be are ordained of God" Bedford Companion 335). Wordcrunch on:
rebel*How are these two words characterized in the play?
power*
e. Clothing As we started to discuss in class, clothing imagery signals Macbeth's illegitimacy as a ruler, his adoption of "borrowed robes." For your own information, wordcrunch on dress, garments, and robe*.
In the plot outline I gave you in class, I suggested that Macbeth is trying to "outrun the pauser, reason." In this case, time can be both orderly and disorderly in this play, depending on the ascendancy or loss or reason. There are at least 50 references to the word "time" in Macbeth. Wordcrunch time* to see especially if time is perceived differently at the beginning and end of the play.
a. As always, it is instructive to check the use of the word natur*. My own sense was that "nature" was an overwhelmingly good and orderly thing in this play, and that in order to be evil, you had to overcome human "nature."
b. Wordcrunch the word kind*, which can mean both gentle and natural. How often does it appear? Who is characterized as "kind"?
In some ways, physical substances are very important to the play's symbolism. Some of these are associated with the body, but all are part of the natural world. Wordcrunch on:
milk*I was particularly interested in the relationship between actual substances that are referred to or seen on stage (the obvious example being "blood") and would be interested to see what you think the relationship between the physical and symbolic worlds.
gold*
blood*
d. The relationship between various senses as mediums of truth, love, and communication is particularly interesting in Macbeth. Wordcrunch on:
eye*
hand*
tongue*
e. Children Since children or their absence is so central to understanding Macbeth's misunderstanding of the witches' prophecy, wordcrunch on:
child*Wordcrunch on "chickens" to see why Macduff should refer to his own children as chickens and his wife as their "dam."
babe*
f. Sleep There are at least 32 references to "sleep," both as a literal physical state and as a spiritual metaphor in this play. I myself was struck by how literal the references were. When Macbeth murders sleep, nobody gets a good night's sleep again! But consider also what the sleep Macbeth metaphor means in spiritual and emotional terms. What human qualities has Macbeth murdered? Why are there twelve references to sleep in 2.2?
g. Drinking The state of drunkenness is important to understanding Macbeth, yet drinking is not referred to all that often. Wordcrunch on:
drink*What is the symbolic connection between the physical drunkenness of the porter and chamberlains and the "drunkenness" experienced by Macbeth and Lady Macbeth? Second, why should sleep make you "swinish"?
drunk*
a. Dagger Macbeth thinks he sees a dagger as he is going to kill the king and other daggers figure heavily in the experience of seeing the play. Wordcrunch on dagger* to see how the dagger is important both literally and symbolically in the play? What does it represent? Second, is the dagger that Macbeth sees at 2.1.33 real or imaginary?
b. Head Macbeth ends with Macduff carrying in Macbeth's head. In his "Speech to the Lords and Commons," King James also says that the king is the head of the body politic (Bedford Companion 323). Wordcrunch on head* to see how the head functions symbolically as a sign of the condition (good or bad) of the kingdom of Scotland.