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Macbeth essay

Explore how far you think Shakespeare presents fear in Macbeth:
Throughout the text, fear towards various ideas and themes are presented by multiple characters in different ways
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” By calling the Thanes “them”, Malcom begins to
portray the situation as if it is “us against them” almost
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The noun “office” could even allude to how earlier in the play, Macbeth talks of
Duncan highly, saying how he “hath been so clear in his great office”, providing more evidence that he suspects
Macbeth or the other thanes of trying to usurp the throne
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A Shakespearean
audience may have been shocked at this sudden turn of his events, possibly even instilling fear for the princes into
them
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Donalbain also highlights this sense of fear by saying, “there’s daggers in men’s smiles: the near in blood, the nearer
bloody
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This further enhances
their wariness, as they realize that the murderer has an agenda, not killing out of spite
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The sense of the world being switched around could refer to the
great Chain of Being, and how Macbeth’s “deed” has and will have profound and sinister consequences for the world,
adding an element of foreshadowing
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Shakespeare could have done this to create more sympathy with the princes’ desire to keep themselves safe, and to
increase the fear of having these unknown murderers after them
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”
This statement could be seen as the polar opposite to Lady Macbeth’s soliloquy in Act 1 Scene 5 when she asks for
ungodly powers to fill her from “the crown to the toe, top full of direst cruelty”, which emphasizes the differences
but also the similarities in the devotion that both sides show to their “powers”
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The adjective “merciful” could be seen as a cry for mercy or
help from divine powers, in order to assist him in surviving the hellish things he has seen, but this could also show
how Macbeth, in contrast, chooses not to return to the “light” even when he would be helped to do so, and be better
off in the end
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However, it is intriguing when Banquo says “nature gives way to repose” as it suggests that it
is almost natural to have these desires, and that he must not lapse into repose in order to fight them
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James I claimed to be a descendant of Banquo
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Macbeth’s fear of Banquo himself is shown from how he says, “our fears in Banquo stick deep”, and therefore “on
my head they placed a fruitless crown”, the regal pronoun “our” highlights how Macbeth himself has changes
incredibly due to his newfound power and status, but despite this, he cannot remain content die to how he fears
Banquo and his prophecies, that would make all of his achievements “fruitless”
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It is worth remembering that this play was created bearing James I in mind, so

someone who has committed regicide and now is planning to murder his previous best friend would be an enthralling
story for the ordinary Jacobean, and considering how the acting would have appealed to the more violent side of
humanity, Shakespeare could have been trying to subconsciously provide his audience with the worst side of
humanity, as well as maintaining the support of his king

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