Savannah Hartman’s Macbeth Blog

     The play Macbeth  begins and ends in a parallel with the defeated rebel's head on display.  In Act I Scene I, a wounded soldier tells Duncan about Macbeth's victory against the rebel, Macdonwald.  He recounts that Macbeth cut off Macdonwald's head and displayed it on a post.  Then in Act V Scene VIII, Macduff kills Macbeth and enters the stage, flaunting Macbeth's head.  Macbeth's identity as a rebel does not lie in the fact that he went against the current king of Scotland because he was the king.  Instead, it lies in the fact that he went against his country, Scotland.  The individual who displayed the head at the beginning of the play arrives at the end of the play being the head displayed; this parallel is what developed the plot that comes full circle.      This can be reflected outside of the play in the parallel of the events that occur on the popular television show,  Teen Wolf.   During this series, fans had been rooting for Lydia and Stiles to be to

     The predictions that once made Macbeth possess a false sense of confidence ultimately lead to his downfall.  Throughout the duration of Act V, each scene reveals additional details about how Shakespeare maneuvered around the seemingly impossible circumstances that the apparitions communicated to Macbeth.  The first apparition stated that Macbeth must beware of Macduff.  In the end, it was Macduff who killed this man who had plagued Scotland for so long.  The second apparition stated that Macbeth would not be harmed by any man who was born of woman.  In the end, Macduff was the one who harmed Macbeth, and he was born of a corpse not a woman as his mother died while giving birth.  The third apparition stated that Macbeth must not worry until Birnam wood came to Dunsinane hill.  In the end, the army led by Malcolm and Siward marched toward Macbeth's castle, located in Dunsinane, camouflaged by the branches of the trees in Birnam wood.  As each of these predictions

     Although the Doctor hears Lady Macbeth make a confession, he does not intend to tell another soul because he is aware that the consequences would be far greater than what he, or Scotland, would gain from sharing this information.  In Act V Scene I, the Doctor and the Gentlewoman discuss Lady Macbeth's actions of insanity brought on by her guilt.  While they communicate, they witness Lady Macbeth fundamentally admitting to the murders that have been committed.  The Doctor continues in expressing that he has heard a confession, but after this moment, we no longer hear anything of it.  The reason he does not speak of what he heard lies in the fact that it is about the king and the queen.  There would not be anyone to tell that has power over the people who had committed these crimes, and even if he wished to get justice, he would be sure to suffer great consequences when the most powerful people in the country discovered that it was the Doctor who revealed their actions.    

     The amount of time it took Ross to tell Macduff that his entire family had been murdered was far too long.  In Act IV Scene III, Ross enters the scene just after Malcolm has declared he will come back to Scotland.  Macduff asks Ross how his family is, and while the audience knows that they are not doing well, Ross states just the opposite.  It is not until after Ross hears that Malcolm, Siward, and 10,000 troops will be coming to Scotland that he reveals the news to Macduff.  After delaying it even further by pleading for Macduff not to hate him after he has stated what he must, Ross finally spits out what has occurred.  Following his dancing around the topic for far too long, Ross only took the chance to tell Macduff about his family after good news was spread.  Nevertheless, Ross knew the entire time that Macduff's family was not well, but he waited an eternity to reveal it.      This can be reflected outside of the play when an individual needs to ask their parents for pe

     In order to determine if Macduff is being genuine in his requests for Malcolm to return to Scotland, Malcolm must secretly employ an extensive test.  In Act IV Scene III, Macduff has arrived in England in order to convince Malcolm to come back and help rid Scotland of Macbeth and the disease he brings.  Malcolm is suspicious as to whether it is a trap merely employed by Macbeth, though, so he sets forth on the test for Macduff.  Through telling Macduff of his endless lust and his black comparison to the snow white Macbeth, Malcolm is able to convince Macduff that he would be an atrocious king.  Once Macduff states that if what he has been told is true, he cannot take Malcolm back to Scotland, Malcolm recognizes that Macduff's true interest is the well being of Scotland and reveals the truth to Macduff.  Through this test, Malcolm is able to be confident in knowing that he, along with Siward and 10,000 troops, will make their journey to Scotland in order to assist, not be tr

     A major theme in the play Macbeth is that everyone is without a father.  This becomes evident in Act IV Scene II as Lady Macduff asks her son what he will do without his father that has left them for England.  Macduff's son replies that he will do the same as the birds as he no longer needs his father, but it is she who needs a husband.  During the time period in which Macbeth takes place, if you had a father, then you fell into whatever line of work they occupied.  If for whatever reason you did not have a father, though, you could determine your own destiny.  This reveals why Macduff's son is not bothered by the fact that his father has left their family.  Macduff helped to bring his son into the world, but that is all his son needs him for as he knows he can find his own path.  Today, even those who have a loving and present father are, by the terms of Macbeth, technically without a father.  As the kids growing up in today's society are able to determine their ow