Page 96 - DENG403_BRITISH_DRAMA

British Drama

Notes 2. Macbeth is a tragedy of character as proved by
(a) his character of high abmition
(b) his ambition too big and his character too small for his new role as king
(c) his character of a coward
(d) his motivation to kill the others.
3. Which of the following motifs is not used in Macbeth?
(a) Blood, manipulation, reversal of nature, and hallucination
(b) Thinking, Blood, and manipulation
(c) Kiling, blood, and manipulation
(d) Thinking, killing, and blood.

Fill in the blanks:
4. A motif is a recurring element, event, idea, or theme in a .........
5. In the play, the Three Witches represent darkness, ........., and conflict.
6. The disastrous consequences of Macbeth’s ......... are not limited to him.
7. Macbeth’s generally accepted indebtedness to medieval tragedy is often seen as
significant in the play’s treatment of .........

State whether the following statements are true or false:
8. Blood is often used to symbolize guilt, or the lack of it.
9. Many people throughout the play attempt to manipulate others in order to fit their
own needs and desires.
10. One of the most common motifs in Macbeth is killing.

6.2 Summary

• Macbeth is an anomaly among Shakespeare’s tragedies in certain critical ways.
• It is short: more than a thousand lines shorter than Othello and King Lear, and only slightly
more than half as long as Hamlet. This brevity has suggested to many critics that the received
version is based on a heavily cut source, perhaps a prompt-book for a particular performance.
• At least since the days of Alexander Pope and Samuel Johnson, analysis of the play has centred
on the question of Macbeth’s ambition, commonly seen as so dominant a trait that it defines
the character.
• Johnson asserted that Macbeth, though esteemed for his military bravery, is wholly reviled.
This opinion recurs in critical literature, and, according to Caroline Spurgeon, is supported
by Shakespeare himself, who apparently intended to degrade his hero by vesting him with
clothes unsuited to him and to make Macbeth look ridiculous by several nimisms he applies:
His garments seem either too big or too small for him—as his ambition is too big and his
character too small for his new and unrightful role as king.
• The disastrous consequences of Macbeth’s ambition are not limited to him. Almost from the
moment of the murder, the play depicts Scotland as a land shaken by inversions of the natural
order.
• Macbeth’s generally accepted indebtedness to medieval tragedy is often seen as significant in
the play’s treatment of moral order.

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