Year 12 IB Extended Essays 2017

critics have focused particularly on correcting the previous misreading of key Shakespearean

texts by further pronouncing the distinctions between the 20 th -century nature of insanity from

those of the Elizabethan period (eNotes , 2017). As mentioned in another of Shakespeare’s

great works, Hamlet , “conscience doth make cowards of us all” (Shakespeare, 2012) . Macbeth

and King Lear are both trapped within their own minds – consuming their own sanity through

the endless onslaught of fear-fuelled questioning. In Hamlet , the concept of conscientiousness

creating cowardice refers to the paralysis of action by thought, and is symbolic of Prince

Hamlet’s indecisiveness resulting in sorrow and death. In Macbeth , the concept is translated;

to represent Macbeth’s being plagued by guilt, suffering the agony of his conscience – “full of

scorpions is [his] mind” (Appendix 9).

The form madness takes in the character Macbeth is ambition and paranoia, and in King Lear

it is senility (Cummins, 2009). These original manifestations of madness in the two tragic

heroes are supported by the mental facilitation of hallucinations, delusions, suspicion and

secrecy; and the physical confinement and isolation from society. The characterisation of

madness itself refers to the tangibility of madness, as it exists in the two plays. The madness

surrounding both Macbeth and King Lear is so prevalent that it is near personified – an

omnipresent force that fuels the inevitable tragic disintegration of the characters’ minds.

Absence of Paternal Power In Macbeth and King Lear, the absence of paternal power gives way to the destructive nature

of female malevolence. With the lack of maternal figures in both plays, Lear’s daughter’s

become mothering over him – in Cordelia’s case, her love for Lear is unrivalled, and in the

case of Regan and Goneril’s forced guardianship of their father. With reference to Macbeth, it

is Lady Macbeth who is thwarted by what she desires most – children. Shakespeare’s deliberate

withholding of children for Macbeth and his wife is imperative in creating their hardened image.

Their lack of children implies that neither have the deep love or caring that is instigated by

Extended Essay

ENGLISH A1

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