24 Macbeth Act 5 Scene 5 Full Commentary and Analysis
- 3 years ago
If you have enjoyed this video, please consider making a small donation: https://www.patreon.com/literature_walkthrough
See also my tips on reading Shakespeare’s LANGUAGE: https://dai.ly/x80qtdh
You might also find my Romeo and Juliet series interesting: https://dai.ly/x80qt0r
This video is a line-by-line walkthrough guide for William Shakespeare’s Macbeth: Act 5, Scene 5.
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 is defiantly defending his castle, clinging to witches’ prophecies for protection
— Macbeth hears the sound of moaning, grieving; servant informs him the sound is the of women crying
— Macbeth says that he is now so corrupt, he cannot feel any emotion
— Servant informs him that his wife is dead.
— Macbeth responds numbly with poem of existential nihilism: “Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow”
— Messenger reports that Birnam Wood is approaching the castle; lashes out at messenger (desperation of the bully)
— Macbeth says he (finally!) begins to doubt the witches’ prophecies/equivocations; vows to fight till the bitter end
CHARACTER:
— Macbeth: desperate; nihilistic; self-deluded; bully; scapegoating; isolated; depressed; return to physical bravery, minus the love and honour he enjoyed for his service and sacrifice
THEME:
— Scapegoating; frightened people turn bully
— Projection: we see what we want to see; Macbeth clings to the lies he knows are lies but wants to believe; hubris summons Nemesis; the inevitable end of self-delusion is tragedy
— Nihilism; let the world burn; suicidal abandon; the Joker
— Alienation from self and from society leads to depression; spiritual death
— Redemption question: alienation, pity, genuine pain = redemption?
— Existential crisis; alienation from value structure (founded on love and connectedness) that makes life worth the effort and inevitable sorrow
— Metaphors for life:
1) Light — equivocator, betrayer
2) Candle — weak and brief, insufficient
3) Shadow — phantom, false, insufficient
4) Actor — foolish arrogance, pointless struggle, spouting of nonsense
5) Tale told by an idiot — foolish, meaningless effort
See also my tips on reading Shakespeare’s LANGUAGE: https://dai.ly/x80qtdh
You might also find my Romeo and Juliet series interesting: https://dai.ly/x80qt0r
This video is a line-by-line walkthrough guide for William Shakespeare’s Macbeth: Act 5, Scene 5.
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 is defiantly defending his castle, clinging to witches’ prophecies for protection
— Macbeth hears the sound of moaning, grieving; servant informs him the sound is the of women crying
— Macbeth says that he is now so corrupt, he cannot feel any emotion
— Servant informs him that his wife is dead.
— Macbeth responds numbly with poem of existential nihilism: “Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow”
— Messenger reports that Birnam Wood is approaching the castle; lashes out at messenger (desperation of the bully)
— Macbeth says he (finally!) begins to doubt the witches’ prophecies/equivocations; vows to fight till the bitter end
CHARACTER:
— Macbeth: desperate; nihilistic; self-deluded; bully; scapegoating; isolated; depressed; return to physical bravery, minus the love and honour he enjoyed for his service and sacrifice
THEME:
— Scapegoating; frightened people turn bully
— Projection: we see what we want to see; Macbeth clings to the lies he knows are lies but wants to believe; hubris summons Nemesis; the inevitable end of self-delusion is tragedy
— Nihilism; let the world burn; suicidal abandon; the Joker
— Alienation from self and from society leads to depression; spiritual death
— Redemption question: alienation, pity, genuine pain = redemption?
— Existential crisis; alienation from value structure (founded on love and connectedness) that makes life worth the effort and inevitable sorrow
— Metaphors for life:
1) Light — equivocator, betrayer
2) Candle — weak and brief, insufficient
3) Shadow — phantom, false, insufficient
4) Actor — foolish arrogance, pointless struggle, spouting of nonsense
5) Tale told by an idiot — foolish, meaningless effort