Analyzing Macbeth's Tragic Elements

This assignment delves into various aspects of Shakespeare's Macbeth. It examines the play's sociocultural context, highlighting themes of political instability, witchcraft, and societal naivety prevalent in 11th-century Scotland. The analysis further explores the conventions of a tragic hero, focusing on Macbeth's transformation from an honorable warrior to a power-hungry tyrant driven by ambition. Finally, the essay discusses Shakespeare's masterful use of figurative language, including similes, metaphors, personification, and biblical allusions, to enhance the play's impact.

Running head: MACBETH 1
Macbeth
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1. Sociocultural context
The sociocultural in a play entails the behavioral setting of the characters and the
community as an as a whole. In the Macbeth Play by Shakespeare, the sociocultural context
is clearly illustrated in the 11th century whereby Scotland was faced with political mistrust
and wars. Furthermore, death was common in the kingdom with revenge originating from
clans and families. It is also the time that witchcraft is highly practiced; senior members of
the community seek witches to know their future political ambition as in the case of Macbeth
who is greedy to unseat the king. During this setting witchcraft in the kingdom not strict to
anyone caught engaging in witchcraft. In Shakespeare’s time, witchcraft was so common and
was greatly believed in. The witches are considered to be powerful and are able to control the
weather as they are witnessed by Macbeth when they vanish. Additionally, Banquo
description of the witches is that of fear; he regards them as powerful and ugly. The cultural
context of the witches is accompanied by supernatural powers (Calef, 1969). The social
dimension of the kingdom is of naivety; when the king dies mysteriously no one bothers to
investigate what happened. The community is easily fooled with the turn of events as
Macbeth ambition is to kill in order to acquire power. Macbeth is also naive by letting the
witches manipulate his mind to kill his predecessor. Greed for power is a social context that
is clearly portrayed by Shakespeare. Macbeth’s wife will stop at nothing in the quest to
acquire power. On the other hand another cultural dimension
2. Conventions of a tragic hero
The role of a tragic hero has clearly been portrayed by Shakespeare in this play. It should
be noted that a tragic hero is a character who is considered to be of good character but in the
long run flops into deviant behavior. His tremendous downfall comes at a time when the kind
treated him with high regard. For instance, in the kingdom, he was of honorable nature. After

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consulting the witches, Macbeth is happy that he has a bright future politically. His once
noble character turns out to be an irrational person who thinks of nothing else but power. The
ambition that he has blinded him from seeing the destructive path he has created (Gaines,
1976) . By listening to the advice of the witches and Lady Macbeth, it leads to his character’s
demise. Macbeth’s tragic flaws make him be a disgrace to the Scottish people who remove
him from power. In the long run, Macbeth is beheaded by Macduff.
3. Figurative language
In Macbeth, William Shakespeare uses figurative language to appeal to the viewers’
senses and convey a message in an imaginative way. These include similes, metaphors
personification, alliteration, and assonance. In Act 1 Shakespeare uses a simile when the
Sergeant reports to the King. `Doubtful it stood as two swimmers.' Another simile occurs in
the play when Macbeth is in power by what Angus says. “.... Now does he feel his title hang
loose about him like a giant’s robe upon a dwarfish thief ?” This was to illustrate that his
power was to be for a short while. Metaphor usage is in Act five by Macbeth. “Life is but a
walking shadow a poor player that struts his power upon the stage” to mean that Life
compared to an actor doing his lines on stage (Tarantelli, 2010). Biblical Allusion is used by
the Sergeant “or memorizes another Golgotha” which was a place which Jesus was crucified
to explain the army he had witnessed. Personification is used by Shakespeare in Act Four
‘new sorrows that strike heaven on the face. ‘
4. Invited readings
Invited reading is the ability of a reader to read a text due to them having a background to
do so. In the play, Macbeth by Shakespeare the viewer has a clue Macbeth’s character trait
right from the beginning in Act one. It is no doubt that in the humanity context anyone who
commits evil pays for it. Shakespeare begins by illustrating Macbeth as a loyal servant to the

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king who clearly predicts his downfall by again seeking the witches for power. Moreover, he
sheds blood of innocent people which clearly reflects the human conscience. The audience
watching the play will be able to tell the ending based on their conscience. After engaging in
a good or bad act, the inner voice will an always guide the human mind (Burzyńska, 2015).
The viewer can easily conceptualize the wages of death by the ending of Macbeth. It is also
clearly put across by the visitation of ghosts to Macbeth; which clearly showed he was guilty
of the acts he committed.

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References
Burzyńska, K. (2015). Re-gendering of the Nietzschean Übermensch in Shakespeare’s
Macbeth and Marlowe’s Tamburlaine—the Case of Lady Macbeth and
Zenocrate. Multicultural Shakespeare, 12(27). http://dx.doi.org/10.1515/mstap-2015-
0002
Calef, V. (1969). Lady Macbeth and Infanticide: Or “How Many Children Had Lady
Macbeth” Murdered?. Journal Of The American Psychoanalytic Association, 17(2), 528-
548. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/000306516901700213
Gaines, B. (1976). Shakespeare in Tennessee: Anthony Quayle's Macbeth, 1975. Shakespeare
Quarterly, 27(1), 58. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/2869066
Tarantelli, C. (2010). “Till destruction sicken”: The catastrophe of mind in Macbeth. The
International Journal Of Psychoanalysis, 91(6), 1483-1501.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1745-8315.2010.00339.x

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