Macbeth: Act V
Episode 43
Professor Pipes is back with the long awaited ACT 5 of Macbeth! Are you ready for wandering forests, a seriously evil king’s comeuppance, and…….. trumpets!?! If so, jump on in and enjoy the conclusion of King James I’s personal propaganda piece!
TRIGGER WARNINGS: Death, Suicide, Murder
Transcript
Introduction:
Hello and welcome to the fifth and final act of Shakespeare’s Macbeth here at Piper’s Paraphrases. After all his murdering, I bet you’re ready for the evil king to go down, so let’s get started right away!
Previously:
Previously in Macbeth, the titular Macbeth heard from some witches that he would be king and his friend’s kids would be kings, so Macbeth murdered King Duncan and his friend, Banquo. However, both the king’s kids and his friend’s kid got away. Unfortunately for Macbeth and his wife, these evil deeds did not go down smoothly, with Lady Macbeth beginning to feel guilty and unsettled and Macbeth getting haunted by Banquo. Then, Macbeth was told by those mischievous witches that “none of woman born” could kill him and he wouldn’t be defeated until Birnam Wood marched to Dunsinane castle. Despite these promising prophecies, upon learning that another lord, Macduff, had left to see Duncan’s son Malcolm, Macbeth had his whole family killed, spurring on Macduff and Malcolm's plans for revenge.
Plot Summary:
In Act 5 scene 1 we get some new characters, in case the million lords were not enough, a doctor and a gentlewoman. The woman is telling the doctor that Lady Macbeth has been sleepwalking (and sleep writing and sleep talking - a sleeping triple threat). He doesn’t believe her until Lady Macbeth herself arrives, sleepwalking with a candle! Do you want to burn down your castle? Because that’s how you burn down your castle! She talks to herself about her bloody hands, imagining she is cleaning them, and alluding to all the murders she and her husband had a hand in. She wonders what happened to the wife of Fife (aww, she’s a poet and she don’t know it), meaning Lady Macduff, whom we know is dead. Eventually she heads back to bed, leaving the doctor and gentlewoman super concerned about her mental health (and possibly murderous past).
In scene 2 we meet back up with Lennox, Angus, and various other lords who are no longer on Team Macbeth. In fact, they discuss the murderous “tyrant” and how he is madly fortifying Dunsinane and all around being a sucky leader. Pretty soon, the group heads off to meet up with Malcolm and Macduff, the clearly superior team, near Birnam Wood.
In scene 3 we finally see Macbeth again and he’s in a surprisingly good mood. He’s talking to the doctor from before as well as other attendants, repeating that he has nothing to fear, since no one of woman born can kill him and he won’t be defeated unless Birnam Wood, a literal forest, grows legs and marches to his castle. A servant comes in and warns them that Malcolm and Macduff have arrived with an army of 10,000. Uh oh. However, it’s 10,000 people, not trees, so maybe he’s still ok! Macbeth laments that he might die and that he doesn’t have love, honor, or friends and instead is cursed. Aww, poor murderer. He tells an attendant, aptly named Seyton, to get his armor. He then asks the doctor about his wife, who tells him that she’s plagued by “fancies.” Riiiiight, “fancies.” Macbeth tells him to hurry up and cure her. ‘Cause that’s how mental illness works. I bet Macbeth’s the type to tell her to just “be happy” and that will fix everything. Macbeth then reassures himself that he can’t be defeated until Birnam Wood comes to Dunsinane.
In scene 4 we switch sides back over to Malcolm and basically all of the lords we’ve ever met, plus more. Malcolm comes up with a genius plan: have each of the members of the army cut branches off the trees at Birnam Wood so they can disguise themselves. Oh! So that’s how Birnam Wood will march to Dunsinane! Side note: this plan is soooooo 6th century. Honestly! Real life Queen Fredegunde had her army do exactly this back in the day. But, everyone just remembers it happening in Macbeth. As usual, a dude gets all the credit. Anyways, after mentioning that it seems like no one in Macbeth’s army really wants to be there, the guys head out to get ready for battle.
We’re back at the castle for scene 5 and Macbeth is calling for his banners to be hung outside the castle to scare the army. They hear a scream and an attendant comes in to tell him that Lady Macbeth is dead. Macbeth is upset because, “She should have died hereafter.” Meaning later. So sweet. He then delivers a very quotable speech about death and the mercurial nature of life. Life is a “poor player, / That struts and frets his hour upon the stage,” “a tale / Told by an idiot…” Hey! “...full of sound and fury, / Signifying nothing.” Just then a messenger arrives with weird news: it looks as if the forest of Birnam Wood is moving closer and closer to the castle! Hmmm… how ‘bout that… Macbeth realizes that the prophecy has come true and says he’s going to go down fighting.
Scene 6 is short and not so sweet as Malcolm, Macduff, and the rest of their army throw down their branches and prepare to fight fight fight fight! …Anyway. Different versions of Macbeth break the final scenes up differently, with some having 7 scenes, some 8, and some as many as 11. They’re all basically one long battle, so the scenes just begin and end when we see different people involved in the fighting itself. I’ll split it up into 9 so we can watch each mini-battle individually, but the version you read might be separated differently.
In Scene 7 we’re on the battlefield and Macbeth is being super cocky as he kills people, since “none of woman born” can kill him. After killing Young Siward, he triumphantly leaves as Macduff arrives. Macduff refuses to fight anyone other than Macbeth himself, putting his sword away. Soon Malcolm and Siward (the non-dead one) breach the castle.
Scene 8 is the Final Showdown du nu nu nu du nu nu nu nu! Between Macduff and Macbeth, that is. Macbeth ain’t worried, though, telling Macduff his fighting is pointless since Macbeth can’t be killed by anyone born of a woman. But then we have the biggest revelation in literary history! Macduff was born….. by C-Section! Whaaaaat!?! Loophole of the century! Even though Macbeth is temporarily freaked out, he refuses to yield and they fight fight fight fight until Macbeth is chased offstage.
As the final scene begins, trumpets play, signaling an end to the war and several lords discuss the death of their friends and family until they are interrupted by the entrance of the victorious Macduff! How do I know he won? Well he’s carrying - No, not a trophy. He’s carrying Macbeth’s head. Oh yeah, I see why you wanted to swap that out, Cooper. Gross. He announces that Malcolm is now the king of Scotland! Hail Malcolm, King of Scotland! The tale ends as Malcolm promises to reward Macduff and the other lords who fought beside him and to invite all those who fled the land to return home and see him crowned king.
Characterization:
In the fifth and final act of Macbeth everyone seems to finally get what they deserve. We see the tragic flaws of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth lead to their downfalls as their ambition finally brings about their deaths. Lady Macbeth is so overcome with guilt that she, “by self and violent hands / Took off her life.” Meanwhile, Macbeth’s selfish desire for power led him to blindly believe that he was invulnerable and could never be defeated. This belief clouded his judgment and led to his death at the hands of Macduff.
Speaking of Macduff, he and Malcolm are shown to be Macbeth’s total opposites, making them deserving of the victory they achieve. Immediately after Macbeth happily murders Young Siward, Macduff arrives and states, “I cannot strike at wretched kerns whose arms / Are hired to bear their staves,” meaning that he won’t fight men who are just hired as Macbeth’s army and who are, themselves, innocent. In fact, he vows to sheath his sword unless it is used to fight Macbeth himself. This demonstrates his compassion and honor, which are set in sharp contrast with Macbeth’s arrogance and evil. Therefore, Macduff is victorious. Malcolm is similarly kind and worthy. His first line in his final scene shows his compassion for his fellow countrymen, as he hopes, “the friends we miss were safe arrived.” When Siward mourns his son's death, Malcolm mourns along with him. Finally, in the closing speech of the play, he assures everyone that, “what needful else / That calls upon us, by the grace of Grace, / We will perform in measure, time, and place” reminding the audience of his honor and morality. So those who proved themselves evil are dead and those left in charge are worthy of the task.
Themes and Motifs:
I’m going to shake things up this week and start off this section with a motif: Blood! This act has quite a bit of literal blood, or, rather, stage blood, but you get what I mean. After all, there is a huge battle happening, Macbeth is beheaded, and his decapitated head is carried around on stage. Creepy. All this bloodshed is the direct result of Macbeth’s murder of King Duncan, making it a physical representation of the results of tyranny and guilt. This brings us to one of Shakespeare’s most quotable lines: “Out, damned spot! Out, I say!” While sleepwalking, Lady Macbeth is compulsively dreaming of washing her hands, worried that they will never be clean. No matter how much she washes them, she keeps seeing a spot! No, Cooper, not Spot the dog. A spot of blood! Much as Macbeth worried that all of Neptune’s ocean couldn’t clean his bloody, guilty hands after he killed Duncan, Lady Macbeth comments that “All the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand” or remove the stench of blood. This imagined blood is a representation of her guilty conscience, of the guilt that haunts her until she can take it no longer.
Act 5 is very plot driven, but Shakespeare still ties up the loose ends by touching on many of our important themes just briefly. Much like the battlefield itself, this discussion is going to get a little messy. Wow. Thanks. I just meant that the themes intertwine and overlap as they come to a conclusion.
First up, let’s discuss the connections between Power, Ambition, and Evil. You know what? I feel like I’m just repeating myself at this point with this theme. We’ve seen Macbeth descend further and further into evil in pursuit of power. Now it’s even affecting his wife, though, since her participation in evil sins has led Lady Macbeth to commit what, at the time and in her religion, was considered the ultimate sin: suicide. Thus, two wrongs make more wrongs. That’s the expression, right? However, I think it’s important to point out that Shakespeare doesn’t present power itself as evil, just those who ambitiously pursue and abuse it. We already saw this in the form of the ridiculously moral and perfect British king from Act IV, and now we see both Macduff and Malcolm demonstrating how power can be used for good. In battle, Macduff stops and declares he will only fight Macbeth. Then, when he kills Macbeth, he doesn’t use this action for leverage or self-promotion, just the promotion of the nation. He reaffirms his faith in the rightful king, Malcolm, and is justly rewarded. Malcolm, too, shows honor and morality in his first speech as ruler, declaring that he will invite everyone back who had to flee and stating he will do whatever else is needed of him by his people and Grace, or God. We’re left with a feeling of optimism at the possibility of those who are worthy of power.
Next, let’s discuss Gender. Lady Macbeth, previously shown as evil and manipulative, pulling the metaphorical strings of Macbeth, was shown to have some weakness in recent acts, as the weight of her evil overwhelmed her and began to make her feel guilty. By this act, it has taken its toll. While Macbeth sinks deeper and deeper into his evil, Lady Macbeth has a mental break, losing her grip on reality and ultimately completing suicide, incapable of facing what she has done. Unlike her husband, she does not have the strength and fortitude to keep fighting, which reinforces typical gender stereotypes: women are weak and are meant to be good. While she originally went against gender norms and was both powerful and wicked, she is essentially put back in her place by the final act. Traditional masculine roles are also demonstrated in his act. When Macbeth learns that Macduff was born via C-section, he’s pretty freaked out, saying “Accursed be that tongue that tells me so, / For it hath cowed my better part of man,” demonstrating that courage and manhood are connected. Ross reinforces this same idea. As he describes the death of Young Siward to his father, he states that “He only lived but till he was a man, / The which no sooner had his prowess confirmed / In the unshrinking station where he fought, / But like a man he died” meaning that he proved himself as a man by dying bravely, valiantly. So we’ve gone from a total reversal of roles and a complex understanding of gender to a much more cliched and stereotypical portrayal. Oh well! Apparently I don’t get to be an evil queen.
In terms of Appearance versus Reality, the characters are finally seeing the truth. Interestingly, Lady Macbeth is her most authentic self, discussing the horrific sins committed by her and her husband, while she is sleepwalking. She is not aware of the world around her and is dreaming or hallucinating, imagining things that are not there, but revealing to observers who she really is and what she has done and, as might be expected, really freaking them the heck out, though her statements are so horrific that they want to imagine that they are just “thick-coming fancies.” Macbeth also finally sees the truth of the witches’ prophecy in this act, as well, when the woods start “marching” toward him. When faced with reality, he states, “I pull in resolution and begin / To doubt the equivocation of the fiend / That lies like truth,” meaning he sees that, while their prophecies appeared impossible, the witches were telling the truth, making their words deceptive.
However, even as he is faced with the harsh reality of his upcoming demise, he refuses to accept it, which brings us to our next theme: Fate. Just before his death at the hands of Macduff, Macbeth reflects on his prophecy, saying, “I will not yield… / Though Birnam Wood be come to Dunsinane, / And thou opposed, being of no woman born, / Yet I will try the last.” Much like many classic tragic figures, he refuses to accept his destiny, despite wholeheartedly believing in previous prophecies. So, basically, if it’s good, he’ll believe it. If it’s bad, he won’t. This act also has quite a bit of religious talk, reinforcing the idea that people will get what they deserve at the hands of God, be that punishment or reward. Young Siward, much like actors for centuries to come, states that “The devil himself could not pronounce a title / More hateful to mine ear” than that of Macbeth. Sure enough, Macbeth is killed. Meanwhile, Malcolm, who promises to do whatever “the grace of Grace” requires is rewarded with his kingdom and the absolute loyalty of his followers, who all chant “Hail, King of Scotland!”
All these themes reinforce an overarching theme: the Natural Order. Macbeth is thought to have been written for King James, who was newly crowned King of England as well as Scotland, making the play almost read like a propaganda piece, particularly as King James’ family traced its ancestry back to the real-life Banquo. Whenever a new person ascended the throne, there tended to be a bit of chaos, especially if an heir was not abundantly obvious. I mean, just take a look at all the drama and murder that happened after King Henry VIII died… Queen Elizabeth had no children, so there was naturally some controversy surrounding her successor. This play makes it clear that questioning or going against the decisions of those in rule, against the natural social order, means that one is also going against God and nature itself. After observing Lady Macbeth, the doctor states that, “unnatural deeds / Do breed unnatural troubles… / God forgive us all.” Throughout the play we have seen unnatural events occur, like the day looking light night and horses eating each other, all beginning when Macbeth murders Duncan. Now that the story is coming to an end, everything seems to be going back to normal as the natural order is restored. Gender norms are reaffirmed. People see Macbeth and Lady Macbeth for who they are. Those who should be in power, as chosen by God, are restored to the throne. Everything is as it should be. Just as everything is as it should be in England!! Ok!?!
Food for Thought:
Before I leave you for the last time (for this play at least), I’d like to leave you with some food for thought. Look back over the play and consider these questions.
First, what do you think was Macbeth’s main motivator: his own ambition, his wife, or the original prophecy? Would his decisions have been the same without all three of these motivating factors?
Second, in what ways do the characters defy and reinforce gender? Ultimately, what does the play suggest about gender?
Third, is Macbeth’s rise and downfall fated or is it the result of his own free will?
Fourth, review Macbeth’s statements about life after the death of Lady Macbeth. What is his opinion of life and death? What does this show about his character?
Finally, in what ways are the characters in this story realistic portrayals of complex individuals? Which characters seem most realistic and which seem the most unrealistic?
Thanks for watching this episode of Piper’s Paraphrases. Go forth, read a bunch, and be good people. Now, much like the soldiers at Birnam Wood, it’s time for me to make like a tree and leaf!
