Form

Form

The Play’s Structure

  • Macbeth is a tragedy which adheres to the conventional five-act structure: exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution.
  • The fatal flaw of Macbeth, his ambition, is revealed early in the play, and develops the tragedy as it progresses.
  • The play revolves around the fall of a hero; in this case, Macbeth slowly descends into madness and meets a tragic end.

Use of Soliloquies and Asides

  • Soliloquies are employed throughout the play, giving readers insight into characters’ thoughts, particularly Macbeth and Lady Macbeth.
  • Macbeth’s soliloquies often reveal his inner conflicts and guilt, exposing his moral struggles.
  • Asides are also used to reveal characters’ thoughts and intentions without other characters hearing.

Verse and Prose

  • Generally, nobility and supernatural elements speak in blank verse, lending their words an air of formality and gravity.
  • The common characters usually speak in prose, creating a contrast and highlighting the social hierarchy of the time.
  • The witches, however, speak in a rhymed verse which sets them apart, adding to their eerie, foreign nature.

Dramatic Irony

  • The use of dramatic irony is common in Macbeth, particularly when characters make assumptions that the audience knows to be false.
  • This heightens the tension and engages the audience more fully in the plot.

Use of Imagery

  • Shakespeare uses powerful imagery to bring the themes and emotions of the play to life.
  • Images of blood and water are recurrent, symbolising guilt, death and cleansing.
  • Animal and night-time imagery are frequently deployed to create a sense of foreboding and reflect the evil unfolding in the play.

Use of Rhyme and Meter

  • The iambic pentameter lends a rhythm to the dialogue, which creates a certain dramatic intensity.
  • Rhyme is particularly used in the witches’ chants and spells, enhancing the otherworldly, sinister aura surrounding them.
  • The rhymed couplets usually mark the end of a scene, providing closure and emphasising the message or element of foreshadowing within them.

Symbolism

  • Frequent use of symbolism gives depth to the text, providing layers of meaning for analysis.
  • Symbols such as the dagger, ghostly apparitions, and Lady Macbeth’s sleepwalking episodes all contribute to an atmosphere of guilt, fear, and the downfall of the Macbeths.
  • The paradoxical phrases and prophecies given by the witches are also symbolic of the blurred lines between truth and reality, good and evil in the play.