06 Macbeth Act 1 Scene 7 Full Commentary and Analysis

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This video is a line-by-line walkthrough guide for William Shakespeare’s Macbeth: Act 1, Scene 7.

I provide a close reading of the entire scene, including:
— Detailed explication
— Commentary
— Literary analysis

All commentary is supplemented by in-text, line-by-line study notes designed to help students:
— Prepare for GCSE, A-Level, IB, and AP evaluation
— Prepare for general high school and college quizzes, exams, and essays
— Generate ideas for analysis essays
— Participate knowledgeably in class discussions
Click here to download the annotated text of Macbeth: https://sites.google.com/view/shakespeare-walkthrough/home

This video discusses :

PLOT:
— Macbeth’s first soliloquy: talks himself out of killing Duncan; rationalisms based on fear
— Lady Macbeth is disgusted by Macbeth’s lack of courage; plays the manhood card: I’ll only consider you a real man, if you kill Duncan (devouring mother)
— Macbeth succumbs to his wife’s pressure, agrees to go through with murder

CHARACTER:
— Macbeth: morally aware of wrongdoing, but motivated by fear; incapable of standing up to his wife; craves validation of devouring mother; passive aggressive; in subordinate role
— Lady Macbeth: relentless and unforgiving in her manipulations; knows her husband well; knows herself not so well; animus possessed; in dominant role

THEME:
— Love as a weapon: devouring mother withholds love to manipulate child
— Manhood definition: strength put to good use vs raw power; masculine + feminine = complete man; yin + yang = complete man
— Hubris summons Nemesis
— Appearance vs reality