In Shakespeare's Macbeth, I believe
the author uses violent imagery and figurative language to show the transformation that
takes place in our tragic hero.
At the beginning of the
play, Macbeth is a valiant soldier in defense of Duncan. His King and other soldiers
praise Macbeth's efforts on the battlefield for Scotland. He is immediately presented to
the audience as a man of strength, courage and
conviction.
Aristotle defines a tragic hero has a great man
with a tragic flaw: and Macbeth admits to his flaw—"vaulting"
ambition...ambition that drives him to want and have
more.
At the beginning, part of Macbeth wants to be king,
but part of him wants to enjoy the praise and rewards from Duncan, his friend and King—a
man who Macbeth genuinely cares for. However, the witches and Lady Macbeth find the
crack in Macbeth's honorable nature and feed poison through it until Macbeth changes,
driven by his ambition.
The violent imagery is seen when
Macbeth returns from Duncan's murder with the bloody daggers clenched in his
hands.
Lady Macbeth chastises Macbeth's fearfulness over
the blood he has shed:
Why did you bring these daggers from the place?
They must lie there. Go carry them, and smear
The sleepy grooms
with blood. (II.ii.48-50)
The
violence is witnessed again when Macbeth kills the King's grooms so they cannot deny
their part in the King's murder: Macbeth says he killed them because he was so overcome
by grief for Duncan's death. Then Macbeth sends murders to assassinate his best friend
Banquo, and Banquo's ghost haunts Macbeth at the
banquet.
When the banquet hall clears, Lady Macbeth asks
after Macduff who did not appear though he was invited. Macbeth explains that he will
summon him again; and he then plans to seek out the witches again. He admits that he is
so covered in the guilt of bloodshed, that it is just as easy to move forward than it
would be to try to fix what he has done. Macbeth
says:
I am in
blood / Stepped in so far that, should I wade no more, / Returning were as tedious as go
o'er. (III.iv.138-140)
When
Macbeth admits that killing is difficult only because he is still too new at it, it
seems that the transformation is nearly complete.
My strange and self-abuse / Is the initiate fear
that wants hard use: / We are yet but young in the deed.
(III.iv.144-146)
The final
act of violence and cruelty is when Macbeth orders the murder of Macduff's wife and
children. The witches' second set of predictions don't give Macbeth any reason to fear
Macduff, but he slaughters the man's family anyway.
With
violent imagery and figurative language, Shakespeare allows the audience to witness the
transformation of a hero into a monster.
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