MACBETH |
Macbeth:
Language used when he is false or hiding a fact.
Word
count: 360, . . By Peter.
One requirement put to Macbeth by his wife was that he must
| ..."look like the
innocent flower, But be the serpent under't." . (Act 1, Scene 5; Line 64) |
This
text was the instruction for Macbeth in his dealings with the
Scottish people and it epitomises Macbeth's duplicity.
Shakespeare's theme of false appearances recurs throughout the
play, escalating the sensation of disorder for which the play is
famous. When the texts are analysed, much of Macbeth's speech is
found to contain both untruth and honesty in individual phrases.
The dominant readings of Macbeth's false statements communicate
the intended deception, but alternative readings can give the
words honest, while sometimes horrible, meanings.
The following speech by Macbeth, regarding Duncan's death,
through informed or uninformed readings, is honest and/or
deceptive, respectively.
| "Had
I but died an hour before this chance, I had lived a blessed time, for, from this instant, There's nothing serious in mortality; All is but toys. Renown and grace is dead, The wine of life is drawn, and the mere lees Is left in this vault to brag of." . (Act 2, Scene 3; Lines 89-94) |
Macbeth,
in exclaiming,
. . "Had I but died an
hour before this chance,
. . .I had lived a blessed time"... (Act 2, Scene 3; Lines 89
& 90)
gives one obvious meaning, but insinuates a second, more honest
idea. The text can be read as expressing his grief in living past
the hour of Duncan's murder because
. . . (a) he feels great pain at the
loss of his king,
. . . . . . or
. . . (b) he is aware both of the
absolute wrong he has committed in killing the king and of the
serious
. . . . . . ramifications of his
actions.
The first interpretation is one made by a person without
knowledge of Macbeth's murder of Duncan, while the second is made
using the facts given by Shakespeare in the previous scenes.
Multiple readings, as the author intended, occur throughout the
play. Another example can be found in Act 5, Scene 6; Lines 50-54
(below), which through two readings draws an analogy between the
sickness of Lady Macbeth, and Scotland's poor condition.
| ..."cast The water of my land, find her disease, And purge it to a sound and pristine health"... (Act 5, Scene 6; Lines 50-52) |
To
one who is not aware of Macbeth's crime, his speech,
. . ..."from this instant,
. . There's nothing serious in
mortality"
(Act 2, Scene
3; Lines 90 & 91)
would mean that since all that was important to Macbeth is dead,
nothing in life is of value. Alternately, one, knowing Macbeth's
deeds, can infer that he is unconsciously stating that, since he
has found that he is able to murder, human life is no longer
significant.
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