| Author | William Shakespeare |
| Type of Work | it is a play |
| Genre | it is a tragedy |
| First Publication | first folio edition, 1623 |
| Publisher | John Heminges and Henry Condell, two senior members of Shakespeare’s theatrical company |
| Tone | dark and ominous, suggestive of a world turned topsy-turvy by foul and unnatural crimes. |
| Tense | not applicable (drama) |
| Setting | ~Time: middle ages, specifically the 11th century~Place: various locations in Scotland; also England, briefly |
| Protagonist | Macbeth |
| Major Conflict(1) | the struggle within Macbeth between his ambition and his sense of right and wrong |
| Major Conflict(2) | the struggle between the murderous evil represented by Macbeth and Lady Macbeth & the best interests of the nation, represented by Malcolm and Macduff |
| Rising Action | Macbeth and Banquo’s encounter wit hthe witches initiates both conflicts ; Lady Macbeth’s speeches goad Macbeth into murdering Duncan and seizing the crown |
| Climax | Macbeth’s murder of Duncan in Act 2 represents the point of no return, after which Macbeth is forced to continue butchering his subjects to avoid the consequences of his crime |
| Falling Action | Macbeth’s increasingly brutal murders (of Duncan’s servants, Banquo, Lady Macduff and her son) ; Macbeth’s second meeting with the witches ; Macbeth’s final confrontation with Macduff and the opposing armies |
| Themes | the corrupting of nature of unchecked ambition ; the relationship between cruelty and masculinity ; the difference between kingship and tyranny |
| Motifs | the supernatural, hallucinations, violence, prophecy |
| Symbols | blood ; the dagger that Macbethsees just before his kills Duncan in Act 2 ; the weather |
| Foreshadowing | ~the bloody battle in the Act 1 foreshadows the bloody murders later on~when Macbeth thinks he hears a voice while killing Duncan, it foreshadows the insomnia that plagues Macbeth and his wife~Macduff’s suspicions of Macbeth after Duncan’s murder foreshadow his later opposition to Macbeth~All of the witches’ prophecies foreshadow later events |
Macbeth Key Facts
September 5, 2019