Savannah Hartman’s Macbeth Blog

     As Malcolm is named King of Scotland, he brings with him the culture of England.  In the final passage of Macbeth in Act V Scene VIII, Malcolm gives his first speech as King of Scotland.  In it, he declares that the thanes to the throne of Scotland will now be known as earls.  As this title is of English origin, it reveals how Malcolm will take the time that he spent in England and apply it to the country he will now serve.  Through Malcolm, the country of Scotland will be influenced by the culture of England for years to come.      This can be reflected outside of the play in the discovery and settling of the New World.  Before we became the United States of America, individuals from countries across the globe explored and made a home in America.  It is through this fact that we have always been a diverse nation where countless cultures are united under one country.

     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

     After Macbeth has received warnings from the three apparitions, he only gains confidence.  In Act IV Scene I, Macbeth is on a mission to speak to the three witches, but they provide him answers through the three apparitions.  The first apparition, an armed head, informs Macbeth that he must beware of Macduff.  Macbeth is already aware of this fact, so he pushes it aside.  The second apparition, a bleeding baby, states that no man that is born of woman will be able to hurt Macbeth.  This sends Macbeth's confidence soaring because, as far as he knows, every man must be born of women.  The third apparition, a crowned child that is holding a tree, tells Macbeth that he has nothing to worry about until Birnam wood comes to Dunsinane hill.  Due to the fact that Birnam Wood is a forest, Macbeth's confidence continues to rise as he cannot imagine countless trees uprooting themselves in order to move to the location of his castle.  As Macbeth concludes that no man, including Macdu

     Lennox's occupation in Scotland was not only to be a thane to the throne, but also a double agent.  In Act III Scene VI of Macbeth , the audience witnesses a Lord tell Lennox that Macduff has gone to England in search of Malcolm.  Then after Macbeth has spoken to the witches in Act IV Scene I, Lennox tells him that a few men rode by on horses, bringing the information that Macduff went to England.  These contradictory events may at first lead the audience to be puzzled; however, the only explanation for these unaligned circumstances is that Lennox is an agent for both sides.  He was spying for Macbeth when he gathered information of Macduff from the Lord, but he was also spying on Macbeth when he communicated his information to the individuals on horseback.  Through the events that take place at the end of Act III and the beginning of Act IV, the role of Lennox as a double agent becomes evident.      This can be reflected outside of the play in other fictional spies.  Amo

     The writer of Act III Scene V was not Shakespeare, and this scene was perhaps not even in the original version of Macbeth .  This scene contains the witches, who are commonly known throughout the play as the Weïrd Sisters, and Hecate, who is only briefly in the play.  Throughout the scene, Hecate, who does a majority of the speaking, rhymes in couplets at the end of each of her lines of speech. As Shakespeare has not been employing this rhyme scheme throughout Macbeth, a red flag is raised as to whether he was the true playwright of this scene.  The proof for the latter part of the claim lies in that fact that Hecate does not actually contribute anything to the plot of the play.  If this scene and Hecate had been left out of the play entirely, similar to how it began, the play would remain unchanged.  Due to the uncharacteristic rhyme scheme and the insignificance of the scene and Hecate, the inconsistency and its possible addition overtime becomes evident.      This can be refl