Macbeth Act 5 Scene 1 and Scene 5 Notes - Sir Thomas Boughey ...

Notes on MacbethAct 5 Scene 1Lady Macbeth, haunted by Duncan’s murder, is seen sleepwalking by aGentlewoman and Doctor.Lady Macbeth’s thoughts and feelings(1) Unlike earlier moments in the play, where Lady Macbeth speaks in blankverse (reflecting her command of situations and revealing her steel-edgeddetermination to realise her ambitions), here she speaks in prose. Such astark contrast in style supports her breaking down psychologically, wherethe lack of iambic pentameter helps create a sense of disjointedness inwhat she is overheard saying. She is a pale reflection of her former self.(2) The fact that ‘’tis her command’ that she ‘has light by her continually’ (20f)suggests her fear of God and damnation. According to the Bible, God islight. Because of her involvement in Duncan’s murder, God’s anointedruler, she has caused the Natural Order to become broken, resulting inher falling out of God’s light and favour. The Doctor acknowledges thiswhen he states ‘more need she the divine than the physician’ (66).However, the light she now sees by is one of her own creation. Instead ofconfessing what she has done, seeking forgiveness and accepting theconsequences of her actions, she has internalised her guilt and allowed itto fester and sicken her mind.(3) Her description of Hell as being ‘murky’ (32) could be referring to thecastle where Duncan was murdered. What once was her home, apeaceful refuge, has become a hellish reminder of her treachery. In turn,her ‘unnatural deeds’ (63) have ‘infected’ (64) her mind and caused her tostart breaking down mentally. She is living a hellish existence where shecannot escape her thoughts; ever re-living the moment of Duncan’smurder, and feeling a deep sense of guilt for her part in it.(4) Earlier (2.2.40-43), Macbeth describes sleep as being ‘sore labour’s bath’and a ‘balm of hurt minds’. Yet here, for Lady Macbeth, there is no suchpeace as she is reliving the moment when the Natural Order was brokenby Duncan’s murder. According to the Doctor, her sleepwalking is ‘a greatperturbation in nature’ (8), which to him is evidence that she is guilty of agreat crime.(5) Although she seems disrespectful of Duncan (‘the old man’ (35)), her useof a question shows her shock at the fact that he ‘had so much blood inhim’ (35), where his blood could symbolise his nobility and God-given right1

to rule. In turn, the reference to ‘much blood’ could emphasise the gravityof her and Macbeth’s crime. Whilst she believes that she is too powerful tobe judged and condemned by man as ‘none can call [hers andMacbeth’s] power to account’ (34), God can and will for killing His chosenking.(6) Despite claiming earlier that, ‘a little water clears us of this deed’ (2.2.70),Lady Macbeth is haunted by visions of Duncan’s blood. Not only can shesee it (‘What, will these hands ne’er be clean?’ (39)), she can smell it too(44). Her realisation that ‘all the perfumes of/Arabia will not sweeten thislittle hand’ causes her deep anguish and clearly demonstrates the fragilityof her mental state.(7) Also, Lady Macbeth seems terrified of being found it. Repetition of ‘to bed’and the imperative verb ‘come’ (58-60) suggests that her mind is overrunwith fear. The ‘damned spot’ is ever present. However, is she reliving themurders of Banquo and Duncan and her words to Macbeth or is she tryingto convince herself that all will be well?The way other characters react to her(1) The Doctor realises that Lady Macbeth’s ‘disease is beyond [his] help’(51) and admits that she is more in need of ‘the divine’ than his skills as a‘physician’ (66). Perhaps he has never before contemplated that such vilecrimes as Lady Macbeth alludes to having committed or been a party tocould occur.(2) The Doctor sees Lady Macbeth’s behaviour as unnatural (8) andconvinced that it is indicative of some heinous, unspeakable crime (71).(3) He is ‘mated’ and ‘amaz’d’ (70) and greatly disturbed by the conclusionshe has drawn: that Lady Macbeth’s ‘unnatural troubles’ (64), which havecaused her heart to be ‘sorely charged’ (46), are born of ‘unnatural deeds’(63).What makes the relationship between Lady Macbeth and Macbeth soimportantLady Macbeth could not bring herself to murder Duncan as he ‘resembled/[her]father as he slept’ (2.2.12f) – she relied upon Macbeth to do so. Up until thismoment in the play, Lady Macbeth appears to be strong-willed and determined,whereas Macbeth is weak and double-minded. If only Macbeth had stood firm inhis honourable resolve to not murder Duncan (1.7.31), neither of them would be2

in the position they are now. However, as Macbeth appears to grow in selfconfidenceand self-sufficiency, bolstered by the Weird Sisters’ prophecies, LadyMacbeth becomes more fragile and isolated as she descends into mental illness.It is ironic that in this scene she falls foul of her own words spoken in 2.2, whereshe warns Macbeth that ‘these deeds must not be thought/After these ways; so,it will make us mad’ (36f). Ambition has driven them apart and is now destroyingthem.Act 5 Scene 5Macbeth learns of Lady Macbeth’s suicide and that Birnam Wood is comingtowards Dunsinane.Macbeth’s thoughts and feelings(1) Macbeth’s self-confidence is revealed when he boldly claims that his‘castle’s strength/Will laugh a siege to scorn’ (2f). Shakespeare’s use ofpersonification demonstrates how firmly Macbeth holds to his misguidedbelief that, since no one ‘can impress the forest, bid the tree/Unfix hisearthbound root’ (4.1.94f), he will never be defeated. However, theMessenger’s words cause Macbeth to begin ‘to doubt th’ equivocation ofthe fiend/That lies like truth’ (42f).(2) Although he notes the ‘cry within’, it does not alarm or startle him, since,by his own admission, he has ‘supp’d full with horrors’ (13) and ‘almost[forgotten] the taste of fears’ (9). Ambition and the consequences ofseeking to satisfy his thirst for power have left Macbeth seemingly fearlessand unfeeling. However, the adverb ‘almost’ suggests that there are stillsome things Macbeth is afraid of – the Weird Sisters’ powers andprophecies, perhaps?(3) The opening lines of his soliloquy suggest that he is affected by LadyMacbeth’s suicide. If only it had happened ‘hereafter’, then he would havebeen able to mourn her death (16f). As it is, he cannot afford spendingtime doing so – current events simply will not allow him to. Furthermore,the fact that he shares Seyton’s line suggests that he is quick to respondto the news and is actually angered by the timing of her death and lamentsthe fact that he does not have ‘time for such a word’ (17) since he is toopreoccupied with thoughts of battle.(4) For Macbeth, life has become empty, meaningless and void of all hope.The metaphor, ‘brief candle’ reveals just how fragile Macbeth sees life asbeing in the light of Lady Macbeth’s death. He goes on to personify it3