The Science Codex



Abbreviations and idiosyncrasies to be notedKing James: KJMacbeth: MBanquo: BLady Macbeth: LMKing Duncan: DF: FleanceMD: MacDuffRed writing: Something to be double-checkedS: Shakespeare 1: Introduction material 1.1: Background knowledge needed for this scene – Very ImportantThis play was written in 1606 by the bard himself, William Shakespeare, for King James 1King James wrote a book called Daemonologie – hence witches used to maintain KJ’s attention on the playHe also believed strongly in the Divine Right of Kings (That only Kings beget Kings)Additionally, KJ frequently spoke of the Chain of Being, in which the King was the highest human being in terms of status, women were underneath mineralsThe play shows the tragic consequences of regicide, mirroring the gunpowder plot of 1605, when Guy Fawkes attempted an assassination of KJTherefore, the play focuses on the consequences of breaking the chain of being, something that stated that there was the divine right of kings. M was also a real person, he was a King but of a small amount of landSTATE WHOM THE HELL M and LM ARE!!!It was just discovered that LM is dead, M is currently making preperations for the battle against the former Thanes and MalcolmThis is after Malcolm and the English army start their march to Dunsinane Castle 1.2: ToneM: Before discovering LM’s death, melancholic, but after her death has been discovered, his tone is one of despair 1.3: Literary devices used1.4: Thesis StatementsHow does Shakespeare explore the stages of grief M experiences after discovering LM’s death/ How does M contemplate existentialism How is M presented as having undergone a transformation1.5: ThemesExistentialismGriefLINE BY LINE ANALYSISSCENE V. Dunsinane. Within the castle.Enter MACBETH, SEYTON, and Soldiers, with drum and colours……(SOME BITS REMOVED)…..A cry of women withinMACBETHI have almost forgot the taste of fears;“almost forgot the taste of fears,” –phrase: shows that M has not felt fear in such a long time, as shown by the word, “forgot,” which indicates that M cannot remember the last time fear had struck himThe time has been, my senses would have cool'dTo hear a night-shriek; and my fell of hairWould at a dismal treatise rouse and stir“my senses would have cool’d to hear a night shriek,” – metaphor for fear, as it alludes to the cold feeling one gets when experiencing fear, hence M used to feel fear even when someone screamed at night“my fell of hair/Would at a dismal treatise rouse and stir/As life were in’t,”- my fell of hair represents all the hair on M’s body, as “fell,” denotes skin with hair on it. This form of vivid imagery is continued with the phrase, “dismal treatise,” which when translated from archaic English, is synonymous with what we would call a ghost story. A ghost story would induce enough fear in M such that his hair “stirs as life were in’t,” a simile for how his hairs would stand on end with such speed that they could be considered to be living. The overall imagery produced is that M would be very scared if someone told him a ghost story, as one’s hair would stand on end if one was sufficiently frightened. As life were in't: I have supp'd full with horrors;“I have supp’d full with horrors,” – diction (“supp’d”) denotes being filled with, hence M is figuratively full of horror, highlighting the extent to which he has become familiar with fear and evil. It should be noted that this fearless M only comes about after B’s ghost leaves.Direness, familiar to my slaughterous thoughts“direness,” – diction: synonymous with horrors“familiar to my slaughterous thoughts,” - Cannot once start me.“start,” – diction to express provoking a reaction, hence M is completely immune to any horror he encounters, he experiences no fear, bookends the start of this speechRe-enter SEYTONWherefore was that cry?SEYTONThe queen, my lord, is dead.Elision: LM’s death is offstage in order to heighten tensions and provoke a stronger emotional response in the audience as the way in which she dies is left ambiguousMACBETH (soliloquy) She should have died hereafter;“hereafter,”- addition of this word makes this line metrically irregular, before it the ten syllables of the iambic pentameter are acquired combined with Seyton’s line, but this makes it 11, causing emphasis to be placed on, “hereafter.” The line is stop-ended with hereafter, this is a metaphor for how life too ends suddenly, like LM’s deathThe line could mean that LM had to die at some point – needs proper analysisAn additional interpretation of the line would be that she should have died in the future, not at this moment, because hereafter can also mean after this, hence he is saying that LM should have died later, denial over her death.There would have been a time for such a word.To-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow,Repetition of “to-morrow,” is used to depict how M views each day in the same way, expressing his own boredom with life, they are spoken in a wistful, resigned way. Creeps in this petty pace from day to day“creeps,” – diction: connotes slow movement“petty pace,”- diction and alliteration: petty is used to describe pace because it implies triviality and expresses how M thinks of life??? The petty also implies that that all our import ants things are insignificant in respect to the continuum of time and history“day to day,” – phrase expressive of how each day is repetitive for M, To the last syllable of recorded time,“last syllable of recorded time,” – metric stress placed on syllable and time, the use of syllable rather than instant links the fallibility of language (foreshadows his impending discovery that the witches tricked him with their prophecy) with the petty tedium of time, creating a perception of life that is infinite, depicting M’s angst in relation to lifeAnd all our yesterdays have lighted fools“our yesterdays,” – represents the pasts of every person“fools,”- metaphor for all humansM is outright saying that our pasts are just paths (as shown by lighted, which in this context denotes leading) to our “dusty deaths.” The alliteration accentuates how unstoppable this is“dusty death,” – allusion to Bible – Psalms 22:15 (for dust thou art, and unto death thou shalt return) This imagery shows M’s pessimistic and bitter view on life now that his wife is gone as he rejects the notion that our pasts are paths to our future and claims that they lead us to our deaths.The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle!“Out, out, brief candle,” – alluding to LM carrying around candles in Act 5, and how she yelled, “out damned spot!” in Act 5 Scene 1, M is speaking to her directly and in this way is bidding her farewell“brief candle,” – metaphor for life, diction in brief expresses how short life is, supported by how a candle has a finite amount of time over which it can burn.Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player“Life’s but a walking shadow,” “shadow,” refers to an actor in Shakespearean times, hence this “shadow,” is a metaphor for any person in the extended metaphor that follows“Life’s but a walking shadow,”: “shadow,” is used as a metaphor for death and a walking shadow therefore expresses how death follows us all the time, as a shadow does, asserting the earlier line, “our yesterdays have lighted fools to their dusty deaths,” and thereby stressing that no matter what, death trumps life. “Poor player,” describes an actor in a play (player), and is a metaphor for every person. The “poor,” bit describes us as imperfect creaturesThat struts and frets his hour upon the stageExtended metaphor – a play is shown to be a metaphor for one’s life, and in our lives, we have a time or times in which we are at our best. And then is heard no more: it is a tale“is heard no more,” – despite the performance, the actor is not remembered for his actions, during his time on stage (like his 15 minutes of fame)Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,“told by an idiot,” – ironic because Shakespeare himself wrote this and is effectively calling himself an idiot“sound and fury,”- the combinations of word connote chaos and a lack of meaning (as the sound is not described and fury often has no meaning behind it) and this represents the mental chaos that M suffers and reflects the chaos he himself has caused in his question to be King. Signifying nothing.“Signifying nothing,” – M’s own reflection on his life, realising that he has accomplished nothing in his actions following the witches’ prophecy. If the stage metaphor is considered, this line is M’s recognition that humanity’s quest to find the meaning of life is doomed, as it means (“signifying”) nothingEnter a MessengerThou comest to use thy tongue; thy story quickly.Messenger ................
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