Tyrant
English Lit: AQA GCSE Macbeth, topic 3.1.5
Macbeth - Protecting the Crown
After Macbeth is crowned, he continues murdering people to protect his position. He seems to think the crown has cost him greatly, so he really doesn’t want to lose it.
Soliloquy (Act 3)
- When he delivers his soliloquy (speech to himself) in Act 3, Scene 1, he talks about why he must murder Banquo to keep his crown safe: 'To be thus is nothing, / But to be safely thus.'
- He does not want Banquo's sons to inherit the crown because Macbeth has damned himself to get it from King Duncan and his heirs – he has worked hard to murder King Duncan and gain the crown, and does not want to give it up: 'For Banquo's issue have I filed my mind; / For them, the gracious Duncan have I murdered, / Put rancours in the vessel of my peace / Only for them, and mine eternal jewel / Given to the common enemy of man' (3,1).
Analysis
- This speech shows that Macbeth is struggling mentally after the murder and cannot find peace.
- Shakespeare hints at his lack of sleep many times throughout the play. This might be to explain why he acts in violent ways.
- The metaphor, 'eternal jewel' refers to his immortal soul. He has given his soul to the 'common enemy of man'.
- This means that he believes Satan will now possess his soul after death and he is damned (condemned) to being tortured in Hell.
Macbeth the Tyrant
‘black' and 'devilish' (4,3)
- Words used by the Thanes to describe Macbeth are ‘black' and 'devilish'.
- The audience learns that Macbeth is a tyrannical (oppressive and controlling) king and Scotland is suffering under his rule.
'something wicked'
- 'Something wicked': this is how the witches refer to Macbeth during his visit in Act 4, Scene 1. This highlights his shift to being an evil character.
- Contextually, Macbeth’s allegiance with the witches and his desire to see their prophecies come true, suggest he is as an evil character – he seems to accept supernatural forces, whereas a Jacobean audience would consider this incredibly evil.
- He uses witchcraft to reinforce his tyrannical reign – Scotland suffers because he listened to the witches and became the ruler, killing anyone who disagreed with him or potentially threatened his claim to the throne.
Test yourself on Tyrant
'Mine eternal jewel / Given to the common enemy of man'
What is the 'eternal jewel' a metaphor for in this quote?What does Macbeth talk about in his soliloquy in Act 3?
Who calls Macbeth 'something wicked' in Act 4, Scene 1?
Which of these words was used by the thanes to describe Macbeth?