Macbeth essay

can someone mark this essay on the effects of committing regicide:

Shakespeare depicts the action of committing regicide as being blasphemous, Macbeth is used as a construct in this play used to warn any nobles or conspirators not to usurp the king, as they will cause their own tragedy and disrupt the great chain of being just like Macbeth.
In act 2 scene1, Macbeth could perhaps be conjuring up a dagger, when he says “is this a dagger which I see before me, the handle toward my hand, come let me clutch thee.” The fact that Macbeth is hallucinating the dagger, could perhaps convey the damage the blasphemous act of regicide will have on his psyche. Shakespeare employs the alliteration of “come” and “clutch” to show how its Macbeth who is exercising his free will to kill Duncun, which makes him appear ultimately responsible for his hamartia. This hallucination acts as a warning even before he commits regicide to show that killing the king will lead to Macbeth’s tragedy. Additionally, the witches down even force Macbeth to commit this sacreligious act of regicide all they give is the gift of prophecy. Therefore, Shakespeare reinforces the idea that Macbeth is ultimately responsible.

Shakespeare also makes a literary allusion to tarquin a tyrannical king whose wife forces him to kill his father so that tarquin can acquire kingship, this creates a parallel with lady Macbeth who manipulated her husband into committing regicide. This is shown when Macbeth says “with tarquin’s ravishing strides, towards his design”. Shakespeare could perhaps be suggesting how lady Macbeth should prominently be blamed for this murder and should be punished, just like tarquin’s wife as she just wants increased power and status. Furthermore, Shakespeare evolves Macbeths character by introducing the motif of guilt, when he kills the king. Macbeth says “Methought I heard a voice cry sleep no more, Macbeth does murder sleep!” This soliloquy creates a malevolent tone where he has caused his own damage to his conscience for transgressing against God through killing God’s appointed king therefore, he loses the humane ability to sleep and begins to hallucinate again. Subsequently, the play acts as a cautionary tale and Shakespeare flatters King James I to show how killing the king would lead to your personal damnation. James I would have applaud Shakespeare’s sentiments and messages, as this play acts as a response to the failure of the gunpowder plot in 1605 where catholic conspirators tried to assassinate James I but ultimately failed as the king’s life was believed to b e sacrosanct and protected by God. So everyone should accept the appointed king. This play is also presented as political propaganda, where going against the divine rights of kings will ally you to satan since you opposing society’s Christian conventions and traditions, not only will you endure suffering on earth but you will also suffer through going to hell. Shakespeare purposely does this in order to gain patronage from James I. Shakespeare further emphasizes the catastrophic impact that regicide will have on you, when Macbeth starts to lose his Christian faith and embraces in paganism. This is suggested when he asks “will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood clean from my hands?” This metaphor perhaps creates a biblical allusion to cleanse his sins which we would associate with baptism however, this is contradicted as Macbeth asks a pagan god to eradicate his “blood from his hands” this marks him out as a deviant in society who no longer follows the Christian God and deserves to be punished. The Jacobean society will be appalled by Macbeth’s actions and would want to him to be punished.

After committing regicide, Macbeth can’t even evoke “amen” which reinforces the motif of guilt overpowering him as he can’t even embrace in God or Christianity instead he acts as a symbol for evil. This juxtaposes with his character in act 1 where he adheres the King and defends Scotland in the path of God. Macbeth also begins to deviate from iambic pentameter which is 10 syllables long for each sentence. In Shakespearian plays, characters would normally speak in perfect iambic pentameter but for Macbeth who has broken his relationship with God, finds it difficult to speak in 10 syllable lines and he begins to used spondees and trochaic tetrameter. Trochaic tetrameter is the meter that the witches speak in moreover, it would seem ironic for Macbeth to speak in this meter, but towards the end, Macbeth becomes nihilistic and begins to embrace in satanic evil and views life as pointless and he totally loses the fear of hell and guilt which is why he need to be killed at the end of the play.

Shakespeare uses this didactic play in order to perhaps educate the king not to be like the tyrannical ruler Macbeth, but to be like Malcolm is a perfect epitomy of a exceptional king. There is also scholarly speculation on whether Shakespeare was catholic so perhaps Shakespeare presents Macbeth as a king who fails to rule properly because he continuously kills everyone and Shakespeare didn’t want James to start persecuting suspected catholic families because of the gun power plot incident, as he will be a victim of it therefore, he perhaps writes Macbeth to make James more lenient and forgiving towards Catholics and other members of society

Which exam board are u writing for ?