Reading Journal, Act V, 'Macbeth'

Scene 1:

• ‘Out, damned spot! Out I say!...Hell is murky!’ – Lady Macbeth is ridden with guilt and has shown to have driven her to insanity. ‘Hell is murky’ could portray that she knows where she is going after being responsible for so much blood-shed.
• This is unexpected, as before Lady Macbeth was shown to be masculine and showed little compassion for anyone. Possibly showing she was not as strong as she first was presented.
• Her words are ironic after previously telling Macbeth that ‘a little water clears us of this deed.’ This links to the first murder, could she be replaying Duncan’s death again?

Scene 2: 

• ‘Some say he’s mad. Others, that lesser hate him, Do cal it valiant fury; but for certain He cannot buckle his distempered cause Within the belt of rule.’ Cathness depicts Macbeth as the opposite of how he was described when we first met him.

Scene 3:

• ‘Cream-faced loon!’ – Anger, or is Macbeth trying to hide his fear for what he knows is about to happen?
• This adds to the role reversal between him and Lady Macbeth. Lady Macbeth was firstly the strong one, but she is no longer fearless; Macbeth showed trepidation at first, now he is showing courage. This fluctuation possibly could show that they are two sides of one character, almost similar to Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde.
• Macbeth talks of purging – ‘find her disease and purge it to a sound and pristine health.’ He knows he is going to die, so is he trying to cleanse his soul to stop himself going to hell?

Scene 4:

• ‘The time approaches that will with due decision make us know What we shall say we have, and what we owe.’ Seyward shows bravery and courage – imitating what all the other soldiers are feeling. Show determination to kill Macbeth – they know what he has done and they will stop at nothing to see him punished; dead.

Scene 5:

• ‘I have almost forgot the taste of fears.’ Macbeth also shows determination. He is not doing down without a fight.
• ‘Life’s but a walking shadow’ – after hearing Lady Macbeth is dead, Macbeth almost shows that she is still in his presence – part of the 2 people in 1 body argument that has continued throughout the play. Implies how heavily he relies on her. Or, an alternative view is that nothing matters to him anymore, life is not important without his wife. Could be argued this is his epiphany – the murders leading up to something, but realised he is the same situation.
• ‘Brief candle’ – as quickly as life begins, it ends, just like when you light and blow out a candle. To Macbeth, life is momentary and he wants to ‘go out with a bang.’
• ‘Signifying nothing.’ Macbeth is very nihilistic, as he realises he means nothing to anyone, and no one means anything to him. This relates to the riddles of the play – Shakespeare now tells us that they meant nothing either.
• ‘Ring the alarum bell!’ Macbeth knows he will die, relates to the porter scene – his words have come true.
• ‘Not flying hence, not tarrying here. I ‘gin to be aweary of the sun’. Possible reference to Greek mythology – Icarus. Showing Macbeth’s downfall from playing with fire. This is a true Gothic element of conservatism – do not want people breaking rules. Macbeth did and he has finally realised that the witches did not influence him as much as he first believed. He cannot blame them anymore as he now knows he is the one with blood on his hands.
• Shows obvious Christian elements – temptation and the fall of man.
• We see a different side to Macbeth, and is this because Lady Macbeth, and her power of persuasion, are not present? He shows courage when he says ‘we’ll die with harness on our back’, however, would he have done the same if she was alive with him. Would she have persuaded him to take a cowards way out and not let him face the consequences of their actions?

Scene 6:

• ‘Abhorred tyrant’, ‘dead butcher and his fiend-like queen’. Descriptions of Macbeth and his wife not just by the speaker, but agreed by everyone, including the audience. Young Seyward and Malcolm are voicing many view points; it is not just them who think it. Shows how alone Macbeth and his wife were. Does this create sympathy, or were their crimes to treacherous to ever forgive?