GCSE Macbeth Final Revision Notes: Women, Banquo’s Complicity, Macduff and Husbandry in Heaven.

Macduff.

A trusted member of Duncan’s inner circle, Macduff’s vigorous knocking at the gates of Macbeth’s Castle signals the return of some emphatic, residual morality,’ here’s a knocking indeed.’ The fact that Macduff has been trusted to awaken the King underlines his commitment to the monarchy and separates him from Macbeth. Macduff’s appalled reaction to his king’s murder encapsulates the difference between Macbeth and himself: ‘horror, horror , horror’. Words cannot articulate the unspeakable nature of this act of regicide. It feels as if Macduff is looking into an existential void. This reaction makes Duncan into a martyr and assuages any doubts we might have entertained about his skills as a monarch, presiding as he has over division and turmoil throughout his kingdom.

Macduff displays a forceful and commanding personality dominating this scene as his profound anguish contrasts strikingly with the theatrical performances of both Macbeth and his calculating wife. The falsity of Macbeth’s attempt at displaying emotional nullity: ‘ All is but toys’ is compounded by Macbeth’s admission that he has killed the ‘ distracted’ sentries who were guarding Duncan: ‘O, yet I do repent me of my fury, that I did kill them.’ This admission jars with Macduff who confronts Macbeth immediately: ‘wherefore did you so?’ anticipating his non-attendance of the coronation or the celebration feast.

Furthermore, the declaration of Banquo to ‘stand’ against the ‘treasonous malice’ that has slaughtered Duncan is immediately and most concisely reinforced by Macduff ironically underlining the latter’s more significant commitment to truth and nobility. ‘And so do I.’ And unlike Banquo, he is not guilty of moral equivocation when he suspects Macbeth of regicide.

However, Macduff prioritises his loyalty to Malcolm and his country over Lady Macduff and his son. In Jacobean times this would not have been to his detriment, yet such idealism fails to recognise the danger posed by Macbeth to his family. This abandonment is remarked upon by Lady Macduff: ‘he loves us not/ he wants the natural touch’ reminding us that this is a male-dominated world.

When he learns of their slaughter his reactions redeem him as his sincerity and grief are palpable and restore humanity to the play. ‘I must also feel it as a man.’ This assertion of grief and humanity represents a turning point in the tide of toxic masculinity that has dominated the play. Macduff takes responsibility for his irresponsible care for his family: ‘Sinful Macduff, they were all struck for thee’ contrasting to Macbeth’s numbness when he learns of Lady Macbeth’s suicide. ‘Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow.’

The execution of Macbeth by Macduff is inspired by revenge rather than ambition and prevents any taint of regicide from falling on Malcolm. When we see Macbeth’s head displayed as that of a traitor we recognise that the play has travelled full circle as the decapitation mirrors that of the traitor Macdonwald by Macbeth in the first act of the drama.

As Macbeth presciently states in Act 3, ‘blood will have blood.’

‘Hold take my sword. There’s husbandry in heaven. Their candles are all out….And yet I would not sleep. ‘ ( Act Two Scene One)

Here Banquo shares his uneasiness about the portents around Macbeth’s castle with his son Fleance. This conversation reminds the audience of Banquo’s success as a father- he has a male heir, as well as subtly alerting us to the childless situation of Macbeth. This contrast recalls the witches’ provocative and fatal prediction for Banquo: ‘thou shalt get kings’ .

Banquo’s unease contrasts with the ‘martlet’ speech which seemed excessively reassuring of the ‘delicate’ air of Macbeth’s environment. Why do we wonder does Banquo arm his son immediately with his sword if all is as ‘pleasant’ as the naive King Duncan had asserted? Furthermore, Banquo’s awareness that the skies are devoid of stars and therefore light suggests he fears something malign is about to happen. It is as if the heavens are being frugal with light as they cannot bear to witness the horrors of regicide. Alternatively the supernatural may be deliberately tampering with natural ‘light’ to facilitate the malign and secretive machinations of Macbeth.

Banquo’s anxiety is also echoed in his inability to sleep suggesting he is intuitively aware that something is terribly wrong in the world of Macbeth and yet he seems unable to protect the vulnerable king beyond this exchange with his son and his expressive drawing of his sword when he hears the entrance of Macbeth with artificial light: ‘who’s there?’ This question appears an existential one and is also found in Hamlet in the opening line where the night watchman fears the reappearance of a ghost.

It does seem surprising that Banquo should challenge Macbeth in this aggressive way and once again foreshadows the impending actions of Macbeth both on Duncan and then later on Banquo himself.

The profound hypocrisy and duplicity of Macbeth is encapsulated in his reply to Banquo’s question. ‘ A friend’ is drenched in dramatic irony and heightens the audience’s sense of terror.

Female Influence.

If Macbeth is over-reliant on the advice of women then his destruction is brought about by Malcolm ( ‘ unknown to woman’) and Macduff( ‘no man born of woman’) which possibly links chaos to ungoverned femininity as exemplified by the witches ( ‘beards’) and Lady Macbeth ( ‘ unsex me here’). This would suggest that the play’s ending supports traditional patriarchal values. Or is even misogynistic in its location of the source of moral degradation within the female characters who aspire to break through traditional and oppressive power structures?

That said, the restoration of order at the end of the play may also be said to repeat the unstable power structure of the beginning and that Malcolm‘s reign will be no more stable than his father’s kingship.

Banquo.

Banquo’s soliloquy at the beginning of Act 3 creates an intimacy with the audience, deepening our interest in his character before his assassination. Yet his moral equivocation is demonstrated by his acknowledgement that Macbeth has murdered his way to power: ‘playd’st most foully’ for the crown. Thus we are reminded of his shared experience with the witches as well as witnessing Banquo’s blemished morality as he hesitates to denounce Macbeth publicly and thus seals his doom. Is he seeking a deal with Macbeth or is he prepared to overlook Duncan’s death because his heirs will benefit in the future? He certainly appears complicit with the tyranny of Macbeth as he remains passive and silent.

That said, Is Banquo an imperfect foil to Macbeth? A less sullied nobleman? His speeches lack the imaginative poem of Macbeth and his wife, but his character has a strong symbolic presence in the play. And his fighting is described as emulating that of a ‘lion’ or ‘eagles’ though no mention of him eviscerating any enemy or committing ‘bloody execution’ suggests greater self-control and he is also free from traitorous links to Cawdor, unlike Macbeth.

Banquo’s clarity over the witches, ‘instruments of darkness’ and his suspicions as to their motives separates him from his friend.

When Duncan misjudges Macbeth’s castle the ‘martlet’ speech seems excessive in its attempt to sweeten the darkness of Macbeth’s castle and his own misgivings about Duncan’s safety under the roof of Macbeth after the tempting predictions of the witches that have made the latter ‘rapt’ with the wonder of such a future.

In history, it was Banquo’s bloodline that lead to King James 1 who was the patron of the play. So need for flattery?