Macbeth- Critical Analysis(UGC NET/ Unit I - Drama)

 

Macbeth- Critical Analysis

Introduction

William Shakespeare’s Macbeth (c. 1606) is often regarded as his darkest and most violent tragedy. Written during the reign of King James I, the play explores ambition, power, guilt, and the supernatural. It dramatizes the psychological torment of Macbeth, a Scottish nobleman whose unchecked ambition leads to regicide, tyranny, and self-destruction.

Plot in Brief

• Macbeth, a valiant warrior, encounters three witches who prophesy that he will become Thane of Cawdor and eventually King of Scotland.
• Spurred on by ambition and Lady Macbeth’s persuasion, he murders King Duncan.
• He ascends the throne but is haunted by insecurity, leading him to further violence, including the murder of Banquo and Macduff’s family.
• Lady Macbeth, once strong-willed, descends into madness and dies (implied suicide).
• Macbeth is finally overthrown and killed by Macduff, fulfilling the witches’ ambiguous prophecies.

Themes

1. Ambition and Corruption of Power
• Central to the play is the destructive force of unchecked ambition. Macbeth’s vaulting ambition leads to moral disintegration, paranoia, and tyranny.
2. Fate vs. Free Will
• The witches spark Macbeth’s desire but do not dictate his choices. His downfall suggests a tragic interplay between predestined fate and individual agency.
3. The Supernatural
• Witches, visions, and apparitions represent both the mystery of fate and the psychological projection of guilt and desire.
4. Guilt and Conscience
• Macbeth is tortured by guilt ("Macbeth shall sleep no more"), while Lady Macbeth suppresses hers until it consumes her ("Out, damned spot!").
5. Appearance vs. Reality
• Deception runs throughout: “Fair is foul, and foul is fair.” Macbeth and Lady Macbeth hide their intentions behind false appearances, but truth ultimately emerges.
6. Gender and Power
• Lady Macbeth challenges traditional gender roles, calling on spirits to “unsex” her, while Macbeth grapples with masculinity as tied to violence.

Character Analysis

• Macbeth
  Initially a loyal soldier, he becomes a tyrant driven by ambition and insecurity. His tragic flaw (hamartia) is his insatiable desire for power, worsened by susceptibility to suggestion. His soliloquies reveal a deeply introspective yet fatally indecisive man.
• Lady Macbeth

One of Shakespeare’s most powerful female figures, she manipulates Macbeth into regicide but later succumbs to guilt, showing Shakespeare’s nuanced treatment of ambition, gender, and morality.

• The Witches

They embody chaos, temptation, and equivocation. They do not command Macbeth but exploit his latent desires, raising questions about responsibility and supernatural influence.

• Banquo and Macduff

Banquo represents loyalty and honour, a foil to Macbeth, while Macduff embodies justice and retribution.

Critical Perspectives

1. Aristotelian Tragedy
• Macbeth is a tragic hero with a fatal flaw (ambition), whose downfall evokes pity and fear.
2. Psychoanalytic Reading
• The play dramatizes inner conflict: Macbeth’s repressed desires, Lady Macbeth’s denial of femininity, and the eruption of guilt through hallucinations.
3. Feminist Criticism
• Lady Macbeth subverts patriarchal gender roles, but her eventual collapse reinforces stereotypes of female fragility.
4. Political Reading
• Written shortly after the Gunpowder Plot (1605), the play reflects anxieties about regicide, legitimacy, and the dangers of treason. James I’s interest in witchcraft also influenced the portrayal of the witches.

Conclusion

Macbeth is a timeless exploration of ambition, morality, and human weakness. It warns against the corrupting influence of power and the danger of sacrificing moral integrity for worldly gain. The tragedy lies not just in Macbeth’s death but in his gradual moral decay—a noble warrior turned into a paranoid tyrant.

MCQs

1. Which of the following best describes Macbeth’s tragic flaw?

a) Jealousy
b) Ambition
c) Laziness
d) Indecision

Answer: b) Ambition

2. Lady Macbeth’s famous line “Out, damned spot!” refers to:

a) Her fear of being discovered
b) Her hallucination of bloodstains due to guilt
c) Her attempt to remove poison
d) Her anger at Macbeth’s hesitation

Answer: b) Her hallucination of bloodstains due to guilt

3. Which line best expresses the theme of appearance vs. reality?

a) “Fair is foul, and foul is fair”
b) “Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow”
c) “Out, out, brief candle!”
d) “Is this a dagger which I see before me”

Answer: a) “Fair is foul, and foul is fair”

4. Who kills Macbeth in the final act?

a) Banquo
b) Macduff
c) Malcolm
d) Lady Macbeth

Answer: b) Macduff

5. The witches’ prophecies are fulfilled in paradoxical ways. Which of the following is NOT one of their predictions?

a) Macbeth shall be Thane of Cawdor
b) Macbeth shall be King
c) Macbeth cannot be defeated until Birnam Wood comes to Dunsinane
d) Lady Macbeth shall be Queen of England

Answer: d) Lady Macbeth shall be Queen of England

UGC NET PYQs on Macbeth

PYQ 1. (UGC NET 2012)

Match the following lines with the plays they belong to:

·         (i) “Out, out brief candle!”

·         (ii) “Et tu, Brute?”

·         (iii) “The quality of mercy is not strained”

·         (iv) “What’s in a name?”

Options:

1.      The Merchant of Venice

2.      Romeo and Juliet

3.      Macbeth

4.      Julius Caesar

Answer:
(i) – 3 (Macbeth)
(ii) – 4 (Julius Caesar)
(iii) – 1 (The Merchant of Venice)
(iv) – 2 (Romeo and Juliet)

PYQ 2. (UGC NET 2014)

In Macbeth, the prophecy “None of woman born shall harm Macbeth” is fulfilled because:
a) Macduff was born through a Caesarean operation
b) Macbeth was cursed by the witches
c) Lady Macbeth plotted his downfall
d) Banquo’s ghost haunted him

Answer: a) Macduff was born through a Caesarean operation

PYQ 3. (UGC NET 2017)

Which play contains the line: “Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow, creeps in this petty pace from day to day”?
a) Hamlet
b) Macbeth
c) King Lear
d) Othello

Answer: b) Macbeth

PYQ 4. (UGC NET 2018)

In Shakespeare’s tragedies, the tragic hero is led to downfall primarily because of:
a) Fate alone
b) A combination of fate and a fatal flaw
c) Supernatural interference only
d) External political conspiracies

Answer: b) A combination of fate and a fatal flaw

Very Short Answer Type Questions (1–2 lines)

1.      What is the setting of Macbeth?

Ans. Scotland, mainly in castles and battlefields.

2.      Who is Macbeth’s wife?

Ans. Lady Macbeth.

3.      Who gives the prophecy to Macbeth?

Ans. The three witches (Weird Sisters).

4.      What title is Macbeth given after his victory in battle?

Ans. Thane of Cawdor.

5.      Who is King of Scotland at the beginning of the play?

Ans. King Duncan.

6.      Who kills King Duncan?

Ans. Macbeth.

7.      What vision does Macbeth see before killing Duncan?

Ans. A bloody dagger pointing toward Duncan’s chamber.

8.      Who escapes the murder of Banquo?

Ans. Fleance, Banquo’s son.

9.      Who ultimately kills Macbeth?

Ans. Macduff.

10.  “Fair is foul, and foul is fair” is spoken by whom?

Ans. The three witches.

 

Short Answer Type Questions (3–5 lines)

1. What role do the witches play in Macbeth?

Ans. The witches act as agents of chaos, planting the idea of kingship in Macbeth’s mind through prophecy. They symbolize fate and temptation, but it is Macbeth’s ambition that drives him to act on their words.

2. How does Lady Macbeth influence Macbeth’s actions?

Ans. Lady Macbeth manipulates and questions Macbeth’s masculinity to push him into murdering Duncan. Her ambition and willpower initially exceed Macbeth’s, though she later collapses under guilt.

3. Why is Banquo important in the play?

Ans. Banquo serves as a foil to Macbeth. Although he also hears the witches’ prophecy, he chooses not to act upon it. His descendants are prophesied to be kings, which fuels Macbeth’s fear and violence.

4. What is the significance of the dagger scene?

Ans. The dagger symbolizes Macbeth’s inner conflict and hallucination before murdering Duncan. It represents his guilty conscience as well as the pull of fate guiding him toward the crime.

5. What is Macbeth’s tragic flaw?

Ans. Macbeth’s tragic flaw is his unchecked ambition. Spurred by the witches and Lady Macbeth, he allows ambition to overpower his morality, leading to tyranny, paranoia, and eventual downfall.

6. Why does Lady Macbeth suffer from sleepwalking?

Ans. Overwhelmed by guilt for her role in the murders, Lady Macbeth begins sleepwalking and obsessively trying to wash imagined bloodstains from her hands, symbolizing her psychological torment.

7. What is the role of Macduff in the play?

Ans. Macduff emerges as Macbeth’s nemesis. His loyalty to Scotland contrasts Macbeth’s tyranny. Ultimately, he fulfils the witches’ prophecy by killing Macbeth, as he was not “born of woman.”