Year 12 IB Extended Essays 2017

In Macbeth , the negative power of love reverses the role of Lady Macbeth and Macbeth in their

relationship. In the beginning of the play, Lady Macbeth is indubitably the more superior and

dominating of the two; and Macbeth obeys her directive commands. She is representative of a

powerful woman, persuasive and manipulative in her surety. Conversely, Macbeth is fickle and

unsure; the fierce general praised so highly by the King and the people, is in truth a weak and

submissive man. Throughout the play, the characters transform the play, Lady Macbeth

succumbing to her guilt and paying the price for her remorseless actions. She admits that

nothing may rid her of her guilt, by admitting that even the “sweet-smelling perfumes of

Arabia” (Appendix 10) would not be able to remove the stench of blood, and so absolve the

guilt, from her “little hand”. Retreating into her own mentality, Lady Macbeth takes up the role

of the weaker, submissive partner in the relationship, who is hesitant of herself and afraid for

the future. Macbeth is now the voice of power, and reaches the extent whereto he no longer

deigns to inform his wife, his once-commander, of his plans. Macbeth builds a dangerous sense

of false confidence over his strengthening ego, becoming a tyrant despised and hated by his

public. The already toxic love between Macbeth and Lady Macbeth only worsens over the

course of play. Paranoia, fear and negative emotion corrodes what relationship remains

between them, and ultimately they each face demise and death alone.

Characterisations of Madness

Shakespeare’s characterisations of madness are distinguished by his enduring interest in the

themes of self-destruction, psychological instability, and insanity; and are highly regarded by

scholars as one of the most accurate portrayals of imbalance in the human psyche in literature.

The accuracy of Shakespeare's insights into these phenomena has been credited by many as an

anticipation of numerous findings of twentieth-century psychiatry (Bali, 2014). Shakespearean

scholarship in recent decades has resulted in increasing historical interest in the Elizabethan

perception of mental illness, casting new light on such plays as Macbeth and King Lear. Several

Extended Essay

ENGLISH A1

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