Role Of Motifs In Macbeth

Superior Essays
A motif is a dominant idea that brings out certain features in a literary composition and is usually repeated throughout a play or story. Motifs are common features when considering reading Shakespeare’s captivating Macbeth. They give the reader a difficult task to interpret the play and figure out Shakespeare's bewildering concepts. The tragic flaws and conceptual schemes of the play can be better understood through the distinctive uses of blood, the hallucinations, evil, and gender. Blood is determined as many different symbolic meanings in the play, but some are very significant in figuring out Shakespeare’s misconceptions. Macbeth has many different emotions that contribute to his own degeneration. Macbeth portrays some fear as the …show more content…
Macbeth’s strong imagination ultimately leads to his immediate downfall and death. “Macbeth has’ an imagination of extraordinary power, which visualizes to the verge of delirium’” (Henry). Macbeth’s mind has taken over his physical conscious and he uses the witches for help which only digs him deeper into eternal rest. He thinks that he is the most powerful in the land and uses that to his advantage which is an ironic turning point in the play because his psychotic mind causes the opposite of what he expects. Macbeth’s self-credulity is very important to the plot in the case that it tempts him to commit murder. This reference states, “Macbeth’s imagination can shake him while yet only a murderous purpose” (Henry). As he sees that murder gets him what he wants, he continues to commit it. He is deceived by his own actions and does not see what is about to come that will change his life forever. As the play progresses, Macbeth starts to become aware of his hallucinations and starts to control his life again. A quote says, “What Macbeth hears is not Macduff and Lennox trying to awaken the Porter, but all the powers of hell and heaven knocking simultaneously at his heart” (Goddard, 277). Macbeth’s emotional structure is very unorganized and he is insane about what is …show more content…
Macbeth and Lady Macbeth have a sociological problem between men and women that adds more conflict towards their relationship. This quote states, “If he is a victim, though, so too is Lady Macbeth, for they both are prisoners of arbitrary cultural definitions of gender” (Semanza). The boundary between them is created by Shakespeare to cause that recurring conflict in the story to bring about stress and confusion to add to the death and murder. He wants to have as much conflict to equal up to all the dreadful actions performed by these too. But, Lady Macbeth believes that masculinity is better equipped for murder and violence. “Lady Macbeth asks to be ‘unsexed’ so that she might take the place of her husband, conjuring a fantasy of masculinity as cold-bloodedness, remorselessness, and unbounded determination” (Semanza). Lady Macbeth thinks that her husband is to weak to murder and she is willing to do what is necessary. Therefore, feminism is what causes their humanity to lead into catastrophic results like death and murder. If Lady Macbeth is not in the play, Macbeth would still value all those good qualities that he has because Lady Macbeth is the temptation for him to kill. “Lady Macbeth is able to denigrate her husband’s masculinity by suggesting that f masculinity equals action unimpeded by conscience, she must be more the man than he” (Semanza). As we have seen previously,

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    Macbeth Blood Motif Essay

    • 470 Words
    • 2 Pages

    In Macbeth the motif blood is used to show a characterization of being fearful and a mood of shock. In Macbeth, the motif blood is used to show a characterization of being fearful. This quote took place after Macbeth killed Duncan…

    • 470 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    “Don’t be such a girl!” , “You act like a girl!” , “Why are you being such a coward?”; all of these are common derogatory sayings used to insult a male. Lady Macbeth constantly says such terms to Macbeth in order to get what she wants. This is simply because she, as well as many other women at the time, were not able to do the same things as Macbeth, or other males.…

    • 1720 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Macbeth Through The Feminist Lens Throughout Macbeth, gender roles are displayed in various ways. These roles affect who has control, and shows the fear of men when women are not submissive. The mixing of gender roles is portrayed by Lady Macbeth, and the Witches. Because Lady macbeth and the witches do not fit into traditional gender roles, they have more power than other women, and they cause discomfort for the men in the play. Viewing Macbeth through the feminist lens demonstrates men’s fear of changes in social power dynamics.…

    • 628 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Lady Macbeth connects manliness to violence. In order for her to be able to commit such an unforgiving act as murder to get what she wants, she must act like a man. She acts more dominant than her husband, brushing off Duncan’s murder like it was a common thing, even making Macbeth feel feminine for regretting it, saying, “When you durst do it, then you were a man” (Shakespeare I. vii. 49). Macbeth’s innocence and shock at the idea of murdering the king he was so loyal to was the way a woman would feel. Lady Macbeth made him feels this way, and the only way for him to be a man was to be violent and act on a whim like she did.…

    • 1152 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In the script Tragedy of Macbeth, the character of Lady Macbeth, does not fit society’s expectations of her role as a woman, feeling of guilt, and desire for the title of the queen. Lady Macbeth didn’t fit the gender…

    • 691 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In William Shakespeare’s, Macbeth, readers are given a twizzler of a tale that deals with masculinity and violence; written in approximately the year 1606. The questioning of gender roles, and what they are, have never hit a higher peak than that of in 2016. However, about 400 years ago, Shakespeare managed to capture the ambiguity of it all in one seamless sweep. Readers are introduced to some interesting characters in Macbeth who are known as the three weird sisters, who look neither man nor women.…

    • 798 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    He starts to see, hear and imagine all sorts of things including “Macbeth shall sleep no more!” (2.2.56). His ambition has driven him into this state of distress: “I’m afraid to think what I have done/to know my deed, ‘twere best not know myself,” (2.2.66&92). He begins to question who he is and doesn’t want to live with his decision. At this point Macbeth’s “thriftless ambition” (2.4.37) begins to spin out of control.…

    • 1516 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    In the story of “ Macbeth”, Macbeth was driven by ambition. He didn't care what he had to do or who he had to hurt to get what he wanted. Macbeth kills the king. Later on he started to have guilty conscious. He started going crazy and not doing so good.…

    • 358 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    He possesses such excessive ambition bringing out the evil in him, leading to his death. Lady Macbeth plays a considerable role as she persuades him by manipulating him. The three witches influence Macbeth by embedding ideas in his mind, in which he acts upon, playing a driving force behind Macbeth’s actions, causing his downfall. Although Macbeth was influenced by fate through prophecies and the manipulation of Lady Macbeth, it was ultimately his fatal flaw ambition that precipitated his downfall. “LM and witches only served to fuel his deep and dark…

    • 949 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    Will Gibert Honors Genre Studies November 12th, 2015 Blood Macbeth, written by William Shakespeare, is a perfect example of theatrical tragedy. The viewer is instantly hooked with action as the play starts with battle in which Macbeth nearly slices his enemy's body in half to claim victory for his king. Macbeth starts at a high point, being a hero of war. Then play then takes a turn for the worse when Macbeth is given a prophecy from three witches stating that he would become king, and that his comrade, Banquo`s line would eventually seize the throne. From this moment on, murders are committed, tyranny rules over the land, and combat is inflicted; Macbeth rapidly declines from a noble man into a ruthless killer.…

    • 1276 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Great Essays

    In the Scottish tragedy Macbeth, William Shakespeare plays with gender roles typical of the Elizabethan era, by swapping the traditional attributes of men and women. In the society in which the play takes place, men reign supreme, independently making all decisions without consultation with, or affirmation from, subservient women. This is not the case with Macbeth, Thane of Cawdor. Instead, it is his wife Lady Macbeth, who assumes the dominant role in the marriage, defying historical gender stereotypes. Despite being the patriarch, and previously exhibiting his strength of will on the battlefield, Macbeth succumbs to manipulation by women, taking on a subservient role in his marriage.…

    • 1353 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Macbeth Narcissism Analysis

    • 1314 Words
    • 6 Pages
    • 5 Works Cited

    Macbeth’s demise by the end of the play was caused by his mental deterioration from his very first killing, King Duncan. Macbeth’s mental demise can be proven through his hallucinogenic episodes, psychopathic actions and narcissistic behaviours. Macbeth began his hallucinations before he killed King Duncan, in his hallucinatory state, he saw daggers pointed towards the room of Duncan. This, along with other factors led Macbeth to commit the murder against Duncan.…

    • 1314 Words
    • 6 Pages
    • 5 Works Cited
    Superior Essays
  • Superior Essays

    In Macbeth we see the transformation the characters experience and how the mind is more vulnerable than the body in Shakespeare’s theory of man’s psychological nature. Macbeth’s character changes dramatically and his personality shows many signs of a serial killer and psychopath. At the beginning of the play, Macbeth is a perfect thane, strong and willing to suffer physically, to the death, for his King. After the first battle in Act I, Macbeth suffers a psychological when the witches, present him with the idea of becoming king. It was then that his mind then begins to race, with the killer instinct he contains.…

    • 1401 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Women compose a fundamental component of society that is equally significant in comparison to men, as both genders depend on each other in order to achieve certain aspects in life. In Shakespeare’s tragedy Macbeth, women are not equally present as men, since their presence exemplifies either extreme wickedness or moral decency. Thus, Shakespeare uses female characters such as Lady Macbeth and Lady Macduff in the play to represent the struggle between good and evil by examining elements like gender archetypes, gender identity, and marriage partners. This use of female characters identifies morally different sides within the play and allows the audience to distinguish between every side’s decisions.…

    • 1130 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Macbeth: The Role of Gender William Shakespeare’s tragedy, Macbeth is set in a patriarchal Elizabethan society during the 17th century, a time when gender roles were clearly defined. The play tells the story of Macbeth, a Scottish general driven by a prophecy of his rise to power followed by his subsequent demise. Shakespeare uses the story to examine and subvert male and female stereotypes. Characters frequently reference and distinguish issues of gender. At first, Macbeth appears as a brave, strong, and loyal man that is able to lead and fight fiercely in battle.…

    • 982 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays