12 Macbeth Act 3 Scene 2 Full Commentary and Analysis

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This video is a line-by-line walkthrough guide for William Shakespeare’s Macbeth: Act 3, Scene 2.

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 and Lady Macbeth finally have a few moments to talk after they’ve killed Duncan
— Lady Macbeth admits to herself that she is as regretful and anxious as Macbeth; she scapegoats these “weak” thoughts by telling Macbeth to stop worrying
— Macbeth reminds Lady Macbeth that they are not out of danger yet because Fleance is still alive; he envies the dead Duncan
— Lady Macbeth reminds Macbeth to look happy at the upcoming banquet
— Macbeth takes control; tells Lady Macbeth that he has more evil deeds to commit but doesn’t tell her what they are

CHARACTER:
— Macbeth: very unhappy as king; hates the lies and false appearances; alienated from self; continues down the slippery slope of tyranny; willing to burn the world to support own ego
— Lady Macbeth: No longer in dominant position; lonely; unhappy; alienated from self; looks to Macbeth for guidance; continues to attempt to scapegoat her own weaknesses onto Macbeth

THEME:
— Necessary paranoia of the tyrant; slippery slope; “blood will have blood”
— Alienation: both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth alone; cut off from God/good/love; life is now a chore
— Scapegoating: Lady Macbeth deflects her own “weak” thoughts onto her husband
— Appearance vs reality: tyrant’s need to constantly lie
— Peripeteia: reversal of circumstances; Lady Macbeth is now in the subordinate position in marriage
— Great Chain of Being; wasteland; both society and the Macbeths’ psyches are corrupt; hell/horror imagery