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What is a Soliloquy?. Defined. Soliloquy - a long speech spoken by a single character that reveals inner thoughts . Defined, continued. is spoken by a character to himself or herself Though other characters may be on the stage, only meant to be heard by the audience/reader
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Defined Soliloquy - a long speech spoken by a single character that reveals inner thoughts.
Defined, continued • is spoken by a character to himself or herself • Though other characters may be on the stage, only meant to be heard by the audience/reader • Often, the theme is repeated and rephrased throughout.
MACBETH (aside) Two truths are told, As happy prologues to the swelling act Of the imperial theme. (to ROSS and ANGUS) I thank you, gentlemen. (aside) This supernatural soliciting Cannot be ill, cannot be good. If ill, Why hath it given me earnest of success, Commencing in a truth? I am thane of Cawdor. If good, why do I yield to that suggestion Whose horrid image doth unfix my hair And make my seated heart knock at my ribs, Against the use of nature? Present fears Are less than horrible imaginings. My thought, whose murder yet is but fantastical, Shakes so my single state of man That function is smothered in surmise, And nothing is but what is not. Act 1. Scene 3. Lines 130 -145
MACBETH (aside) Two truths are told, As happy prologues to the swelling act Of the imperial theme. (to ROSS and ANGUS) I thank you, gentlemen. (aside) This supernatural soliciting Cannot be ill, cannot be good. If ill, Why hath it given me earnest of success, Commencing in a truth? I am thane of Cawdor. If good, why do I yield to that suggestion Whose horrid image doth unfix my hair And make my seated heart knock at my ribs, Against the use of nature? Present fears Are less than horrible imaginings. My thought, whose murder yet is but fantastical, Shakes so my single state of man That function is smothered in surmise, And nothing is but what is not. Act 1. Scene 3. Lines 130 -145
MACBETH (aside) Two truths are told, As happy prologues to the swelling act Of the imperial theme. (to ROSS and ANGUS) I thank you, gentlemen. (aside) This supernatural soliciting Cannot be ill, cannot be good. If ill, Why hath it given me earnest of success, Commencing in a truth? I am thane of Cawdor. If good, why do I yield to that suggestion Whose horrid image doth unfix my hair And make my seated heart knock at my ribs, Against the use of nature? Present fears Are less than horrible imaginings. My thought, whose murder yet is but fantastical, Shakes so my single state of man That function is smothered in surmise, And nothing is but what is not. Act 1. Scene 3. Lines 130 -145
MACBETH (aside) Two truths are told, As happy prologues to the swelling act Of the imperial theme. (to ROSS and ANGUS) I thank you, gentlemen. (aside) This supernatural soliciting Cannot be ill, cannot be good. If ill, Why hath it given me earnest of success, Commencing in a truth? I am thane of Cawdor. If good, why do I yield to that suggestion Whose horrid image doth unfix my hair And make my seated heart knock at my ribs, Against the use of nature? Present fears Are less than horrible imaginings. My thought, whose murder yet is but fantastical, Shakes so my single state of man That function is smothered in surmise, And nothing is but what is not. Act 1. Scene 3. Lines 130 -145
17th Century Femininity & Macbeth etymology of feminine • Latin root: femina • Fe – faith • Minus – without • Women were believed to be more susceptible to the dark temptations of the supernatural and demonic
Demonic vs. Maternal What are some examples of archetypaldemonic or maternal female figures in art or in our culture?
Impact on Macbeth… The Witches Where do the Witches in Macbeth fit on this spectrum? Using Act 1, Sc. 3, Lines 40-47: How does Banquo describe the witches physically?
Impact on Macbeth… The Witches 1.3.40 “wild in their attire” 1.3.41 “not like th’ inhabitants of the earth” 1.3.45-47 “You should be women, / And yet your beards forbid me to interpret / That you are so.”
Impact on Macbeth… Lady MacB Where does Lady Macbeth fall on this spectrum? Using Act 1, Sc. 5, Lines 34-50, list all the changes Lady Macbeth wishes on herself.
Lady MacB’s demands • Turn maternal milk to “gall” (literally, or treated as) • Eliminate all pity. Replace with Cruelty. • “Make thick” her blood • Halt menstruation and block “access and passage” to the womb.
But wait… There’s more Are the Macbeth’s parents? Reread Act 1, Sc. 7, lines 48-60
Just how demonic is she? 1.7.48-60 There is something unnatural about her turn to violence. We are faced with the contradiction of whether the Macbeths are in fact childless, and if not what on earth is Lady MacB talking about?
As we continue to read… I want you to look out for any alternatives to Lady Macbeth and the Witches. Are there any positive maternal representations of femininity in this play? If so, who? If not, why?
A challenger approaches... Recalling our faith-filled vs. faithless dichotomy…Where does Lady Macduff fit in? Considering her dialogue in Act 4, Scene 3, lines 31 - 55?
That Lady MacD • She bears Macduff a son. • And yet, she condemns her husband in private with her son. • “I can buy me twenty [husbands] at any market.”
The Final Complication • The 2nd apparition “for none of woman born / Shall harm Macbeth” (IV.i.80-81). • Malcolm describes himself saying, “I am yet / Unknown to woman” (IV.iii.126-127). What does this ultimately tell us about Shakespeare’s concept of femininity and female influence in Macbeth?
