Gothic Elements in Act 1 of 'Macbeth'

Act 1 of Macbeth features standard Gothic themes of setting, the supernatural and exaggerated language. However, there are other less immediate, but equally important Gothic elements in the opening Act, which I will address here.

We are first introduced to Lady Macbeth alone on stage, reading a letter. It is an unusual way to meet a character for the first time, as we cannot see Lady Macbeth as herself – she is reading Macbeth’s words, not speaking her own. Immediately this symbolises secrecy and hidden agendas, causing the audience to become wary of Lady Macbeth - they are unable to make any first impressions of her.

The use of letters in Gothic texts, such as Dracula, has a huge impact on the way the audience can understand a character. It was a widely used technique in the 18^th century – a major time for Gothic novels. In Dracula, the multiple narrative perspectives are given through letters, as well as diary entries and journals, which are used throughout the novel. However, in Macbeth, this technique is used rarely, but, could be argued, at one of the most important times in the play; when Lady Macbeth hears of the witches’ prophecy. This is a pivotal moment in the plot, as Lady

Macbeth’s influence and powers of persuasion are, debatably, the root cause of the dramatic events in the play, which unfold following the murder of Duncan. Lady Macbeth is not shown to be a typical, fragile woman of Shakespeare’s times; ‘plucked my nipple from his boneless gums and dashed the brains out…’ she shows masculinity and aspects of a reversal of gender, and it is this, that is particularly Gothic. 

The letter could also symbolise two different sides of the same character: is Lady Macbeth, Macbeth’s ego? (Freud’s idea that the ego encourages us to take the daring, yet dangerous choices). This is shown through Lady Macbeth’s immediate reaction to what she reads. She calls out to evil – a second reference to the supernatural, after the witches – ‘unsex me here’. This could be Lady Macbeth realising her last bit of morality and she is calling out to rid herself of it so she can go through with her plans. ‘Make thick my blood.’ Again, she does her best to ignore her morality, which shows great determination, yet for all the wrong reasons. Overall, Shakespeare does not give Lady Macbeth any ambiguity – the first time we see her, we see evil traits. This contrasts to the way Shakespeare introduces Macbeth.

Another technique Shakespeare uses to create gothic elements is through the use of questions. The play begins with a question – ‘When shall we three meet again?’ An enigmatic opening could be Shakespeare’s way of causing the witches to address the audience, as well as each other, putting the audience at greater knowledge of the play than the characters, creating more suspense. The first question raised by the audience is during the witches’ plotting - ‘There to meet with Macbeth’. The audience are forced to question – who is Macbeth and what is their interest with him? Subject raising makes reference to the unknown, a gothic feature used to create anticipation and anxiety.

Conversely, the question that raises the most interest is Macbeth’s alteration. We hear of him as ‘brave Macbeth’ – an honourable man who has earned respect. The bleeding captain glorifies him when he explains that Macbeth has ‘valour’. Nevertheless, after hearing the witches’ prophecy comes true, we see Macbeth as a villain – ‘Let not light see my black and deep desires’. Both aspects of Macbeth’s character appear polarised in this first Act, another psychological factor, typical of the Gothic tradition. As well as making his scheming obvious, Shakespeare switches from prose to rhyming couplets. This is similar to the chanting of the witches, a connotation that Macbeth is an evil being, just as they are. It can be argued that this shows Macbeth has exactly the same ideas as Lady Macbeth; he is just not as open about it. This adds to the secrecy and hidden aspects of the play.

It can therefore been seen through closer study that the typical Gothic weather and setting and supernatural beings are not the only characteristics that make Act 1 typically Gothic. Psychological influences strongly manipulate not only the characters, but the audience as well.