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READ THIS
King Duncan arrives at Macbeth's castle. It is a scene of great tranquillity, where nature is at peace. Even
Lady Macbeth's speech of welcome drips with human kindness.
NATURE vs EVIL
In Shakespearian times, nature was considered to be God's playground, a place of peace and holiness.
Within this holiness lies human nature itself. A holy king -- like Duncan or Edward of England -- was
seen to have had the gift of healing in his hands.
Evil, however, can destroy all of this -- and evil comes into human nature through the devil. Once
corrupted, human nature will then wreak havoc in nature itself.
Shakespeare uses a clever counterbalance of good and evil in these scenes. While Act 1, Scene 6
presents the holiness of nature, Act 1, Scene 7 reveals the exact opposite: the triumph of evil in the
person of Lady Macbeth.
Macbeth has thought out the logic of his loyalty to Duncan and how he should be defending the king and
not murdering him. He is then confronted with a bullying wife who humiliates him into submission.
Lady Macbeth takes the perfect example of woman's nature -- a mother's natural instinct while suckling
her baby -- and overturns it: "I would, while it was smiling in my face, have plucked my nipple from
his boneless gums, and dashed the brains out, had I so sworn as you have done to this."
The audience is left aghast at this barefaced barbarity -- and then one witnesses Macbeth crumble to
become Lady Macbeth's lapdog once again.
Have you looked at the questions
in the right column?
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TEST YOURSELF!
Read the left column and then answer
the following questions:
Duncan and Banquo comment on the harmony of nature outside Macbeth's castle. Explain the signs of
this harmony in terms of:
- the castle's position. (2)
[Need help?]
The castle was positioned in a place with a good view and possibly close to those things necessary for
comfortable living: close perhaps to a stream for water and a forest for firewood.
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- the atmosphere surrounding the castle. (2)
[Need help?]
The atmosphere was invigorating and wholesome: possibly not too cold but at the same time not too
warm.
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- the fact that the "temple-haunting martlet" has made its nest there. (4)
[Need help?]
The "temple-haunting martlet" -- a swift -- was a bird associated with churches and therefore
with peace.
It was clear that many of these birds had built their nests at Macbeth's castle, thereby indicating to visitors
that the castle was a peaceful, wholesome place in which to be.
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"The love that follows us sometime is our trouble
Which still we thank as love."
- What does Duncan mean by this? (4)
[Need help?]
Duncan is arguing that the fawning honour shown by his grovelling followers was often irritating.
This was undoubtedly true because the followers of a king were forever attempting to say just the right
thing to please the monarch's ear. As a result, he seldom heard the truth.
And yet, he says, at least these speeches did indeed show love in that they showed the devotion of his
people.
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If you were a member of the audience, what advice would you want to shout to Duncan with regards to
Lady Macbeth's honey-dripping speech of welcome? Explain why. (4)
[Need help?]
I personally would shout to him to watch out for Lady Macbeth because she was not only fawning but she
was also lying.
We met her in the previous scene where she was reading Macbeth's letter -- and speaking of filling her
husband's ear with her evilness so that he would not be able to resist murdering the king.
"Run! Run, Duncan! The woman is evil! Don't trust her! Don't even think of going into that castle!"
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Does Duncan have any suspicion of Lady Macbeth's plans to murder him? Explain how you reach your
conclusion. (4)
[Need help?]
No, he has no suspicion whatever!
Duncan keeps speaking of the holiness of the castle, referring to Lady Macbeth as "fair and noble
hostess", and speaking about how much he loves her husband and will continue to honour him.
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What is the purpose behind the description of such absolute tranquillity at Macbeth's castle? (4)
[Need help?]
In the Shakespearian world, nature and evil were in contrast. Nature was peaceful and tranquil. Evil was
turmoil.
Macbeth's castle is a tranquil place, indicating a degree of holiness. This picture surely tells us something
about Macbeth himself, doesn't it?
If his castle exudes such peace and harmony with nature, does not this indicate that Macbeth himself was
formerly a good man -- until Lady Macbeth poured her evil into his ear?
In any case, we know this already by the way everyone honours Macbeth. On the other hand, if Macbeth
himself was a holy man, where did Lady Macbeth contract all her evil?
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The notes in Rumboll's version of Macbeth explain that Banquo's description of
the "temple-haunting martlet" is "superb irony".
- Do you agree with Rumboll? Explain carefully. (10)
[Need help?]
Note that you do not have to agree with Rumboll -- nor with us, for that matter!
In the Shakespearian world, nature and evil were in contrast. Nature was peaceful and tranquil. Evil was
turmoil.
Macbeth's castle is a tranquil place. It therefore indicated a degree of holiness. This picture surely tells
us something about Macbeth himself.
Rumboll claims that this was irony -- that a bird associated with churches and holiness should build its
nest in a place of evil.
But surely that is the point. Macbeth was not an evil man but rather an honourable man who became
possessed by evil through his contact with the witches and thereafter through his own wife.
The play then is a chronicle of how a fundamentally good man went downhill after being possessed by evil.
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Comment on the character of Lady Macbeth as she appears in this short scene. (4)
[Need help?]
When you think of how evil Lady Macbeth was in the previous scene, her syrupy sentimentality here is
rather sickening, isn't it?
She drips charm from every pore. Insincerity fairly oozes from her. Can you show this by the words she
uses?
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