Macbeth

Use this discussion page for Macbeth Discussions and Extra Credit **THE APPEAL OF** //MACBETH// To an Elizabethan audience:
 * the witches create a mood of mystery, superstition, evil
 * identification with a great general and hero - first **Macbeth**, then Macduff and Malcolm
 * suspense - created by the prophecies
 * conflict - murders and battles
 * the porter - coarse humour
 * the "perturbations" in nature - marvellous phenomena
 * the ghost of Banquo - the supernatural, the unexplained
 * satisfaction of the desire for revenge when **Macbeth** is killed
 * state affairs - the banquet, the coronation

To the nobility:
 * flatters the Stuarts - Banquo
 * noble warrior as hero - **Macbeth** and Banquo
 * dignity of high-born characters - Duncan, Malcolm
 * problems of government and the wielding of power
 * problems of ambition and advancement
 * glamorization of history, tradition, lineage
 * patriotism - Macduff and Malcolm
 * defeat of the usurper

To the psychologist:
 * problems of repression
 * disguise of the real person - borrowed robes
 * factors which influence decisions
 * procrastination as revelation of fear
 * power of suggestion
 * guilt and hallucinations
 * sensitive imagination
 * conflict of ambition and intelligence

To the philosopher
 * Man and universal forces - cooperation with them leads to happiness; interference leads to catastrophe; rewards taken without deserving them leads to punishment
 * Tragic Hero - A man can be almost perfect, but one flaw can destroy him
 * Retribution - we receive what we give
 * Morality - taking the right action