Discuss the portrayal of Macbeth’s state of mind in the extract Act 5.3.19-54 and in the rest of the Macbeth play.
Throughout the play, Macbeth’s state of mind swings in a pendulum motion, with the two highest point showing a direct opposite between his emotions and personality; decisive and fickle minded, loyal and treacherous, confidently and cowardly. The fluctuation of his state of mind occurs after his meeting with the trio of witches but was further aggravated due to his own guilty conscious. Macbeth’s train of thoughts can be gathered mainly through his asides and soliloquy, although, in the given act, it relies mostly on his soliloquy and his conversation with the servant and the Doctor.
Macbeth was first introduced to us when he was still loyal, strong and …show more content…
Although he recovers himself right after Seyton appears, his conversation seems to fill with irony and inconsistency. Let us first discuss about the soliloquy in the given extract. As compared to his past soliloquy, this particular soliloquy is unique because he never calls for anyone in the middle of his soliloquy, furthermore, he has even called “Seyton” thrice. It is not known if the name of his servant “Seyton”, which sounds a lot like “Satan”, was meant to be a word play and was created on purpose by Shakespeare. But it seems as though by calling “Seyton”, Macbeth has perhaps subconsciously resigned to his fate and decided that he will be going to hell. This is also the first time Macbeth confesses that he is sick, yet, on the contrary of his confession, he does not seem to think that it is due to the bad deeds he has executed, but instead he is purely being bitter about his life. He even appears to be more affected by how no one would honour him after his death rather than to reflect and think on the reasons
Throughout the play, Macbeth’s state of mind swings in a pendulum motion, with the two highest point showing a direct opposite between his emotions and personality; decisive and fickle minded, loyal and treacherous, confidently and cowardly. The fluctuation of his state of mind occurs after his meeting with the trio of witches but was further aggravated due to his own guilty conscious. Macbeth’s train of thoughts can be gathered mainly through his asides and soliloquy, although, in the given act, it relies mostly on his soliloquy and his conversation with the servant and the Doctor.
Macbeth was first introduced to us when he was still loyal, strong and …show more content…
Although he recovers himself right after Seyton appears, his conversation seems to fill with irony and inconsistency. Let us first discuss about the soliloquy in the given extract. As compared to his past soliloquy, this particular soliloquy is unique because he never calls for anyone in the middle of his soliloquy, furthermore, he has even called “Seyton” thrice. It is not known if the name of his servant “Seyton”, which sounds a lot like “Satan”, was meant to be a word play and was created on purpose by Shakespeare. But it seems as though by calling “Seyton”, Macbeth has perhaps subconsciously resigned to his fate and decided that he will be going to hell. This is also the first time Macbeth confesses that he is sick, yet, on the contrary of his confession, he does not seem to think that it is due to the bad deeds he has executed, but instead he is purely being bitter about his life. He even appears to be more affected by how no one would honour him after his death rather than to reflect and think on the reasons