According to Harold Bloom, "the road which Macbeth travels 'to a dusty death' involves him in hypocrisy and deception, which are confirmed by the treason he commits. He is unable to appear in public without the mask which he is forced to wear in order that he might conceal the malice of his heart" (52-53). Show some situations or events in the play where this is true. Also, consider not the physical death of Macbeth, but explain when Macbeth dies spiritually (show support for your response and reasoning).
Such a statement is very critical of Macbeth's character. One must be very aware of what they are saying when they make such an observation. This is true of all statements. Though, in particular, I find that I heavily agree with Bloom's quotation. Macbeth does many things to verify such a thing.
ReplyDeleteMacbeth demonstrates such deception every single time he lies, which becomes a recurring theme throughout the story. Once he commits his crime, everything that follows is a lie. With every step he takes, he hammers another nail into his coffin. He leads himself down a path from which he cannot return. This is such when he begins to speak of Banquo at the feast set aside for him. He demonstrates insanity and the release of lies that he wouldn't have otherwise had, had he not begun the deception.
Then, one must consider the aspect of Macbeth dying twice - spiritually and physically. If you want to consider a third, you can even take his mental death into account. The focus is that while Macbeth dies on the battlefield fighting Macduff, this is not the predominate death to recognize. His first actual death is just after killing Duncan. He immediately shows signs of remorse and despondence. He had become emotionally and spiritually detached from his life before he even spoke with his wife. He loses all concern for normal things and focuses solely on furthering his causes and ensuring his own safety. This is his spiritual death, when he abandons the normality of his past lifestyle for something that lacked any dignity.
Harold Bloom's insight is certainly an interesting interpretation of the character of Macbeth. He presents the idea that Macbeth's death was the result of the path he traveled toward the end of his life. He was consumed with his desire for power that he in fact expedited his death.
ReplyDeleteMacbeth becomes hypocritical and deceptive the moment he begins to consider murdering King Duncan. Temptation and desire to murder Duncan begin when Macbeth says to himself, "Let not light see my black and deep desires." (I, 5: 59). Macbeth and Lady Macbeth then deceive the public by framing the chamberlains of murdering Duncan when they in fact plotted and carried out the task of murdering Duncan in his sleep. Macbeth represents a hypocrite when he pretends to have no knowledge of the murder after Macduff announces the death. He attempts to show some emotion with the loss of Duncan. Events involving Macbeth after the murder are mostly full of lies and deception. Macbeth continues to feign his clueless of the murder details. He is forced to kill Banquo and Macduff's family after they become suspicious of him, also reflecting the hypocrisy Macbeth acquires after Duncan's murder.
The events that occur after Macbeth murders Duncan ultimately lead to Macbeth's demise physically. However, Macbeth dies spiritually after committing the murder of Duncan. Macbeth is constantly anxious and uncomfortable after the murder. His daily life is no longer enjoyable or worth living. Therefore, he dies in the spiritual sense long before his physical death.
Sophie says,
ReplyDeleteSorry for the usuername. I am not sure why it is showing up like that.
The way I interpret Bloom's statement is like when you rip a stitch. Once you rip one, the whole thing becomes undone. This relates to Macbeth's situation greatly because in the climax of the story where he kills King Duncan, that is the first rip in the stitch of his character. His ambition then leads him to commit other things as well leading to further downfall spiritually and physically.
The "mask" that bloom is talking about is the one Macbeth wheres to use his deception. He gains people on his side, especially Seton who is the only one that remains faithful to him until his eventual end. He uses this mask only to make sure the prophecy comes true, and to keep him safe at all times. This happens when he deceives King Duncan in the beginning of the play by making him feel welcome in his home. This also goe sback on the virtue of hospitality which was an important theme in the play. He also puts on this mask of deception when he pretends to be Banquo's friend, but plotting the whole time to kille him.
Considering Macbeth's spiritual and physical death, the physical one was only a matter of time result. His end was a consequence of the "dusty path" his was on, ending in his final destruction. From the moment he killed Duncan he was weakening his soul and spirit. The finaly break in that spirit was when he tossed aside his wife's death like she never meant anything to him.It was as if her death was just a side note to his final conquest, when in the beginning of the play she was the one that devised the murder of Duncan. His spiritual death came at the moment he stopped caring about everyone just to achieve greatness as King.
From the beginning of Shakespeare’s Macbeth, the character of Macbeth is obviously a weak character. Throughout the duration the play, the main character lacks the ability to take his own initiative and be leader. Instead, he follows. The witches’ prophesized that Macbeth would become king and that Banquo’s children would be the same. Macbeth could not get the idea out of his head, and in mentioning it to his wife, initiated a series of events that could not be undone.
ReplyDeleteBloom’s quote seems very accurate to me. Macbeth is a liar and a traitor who hides behind his lies like a coward. On the outside, he seems only slightly abnormal while on the inside he is a twisted mess of ambition and murder.
Lady Macbeth plots the death of King Duncan, the man standing the way of Macbeth becoming the king of Scotland. She plans for Duncan to be killed while he enjoyed the hospitality of the Macbeth’s castle. Lady Macbeth is incapable of murdering the man, however, because in his sleep he resembles her father. Instead, Macbeth performs the deed. Throughout the duration of Duncan’s stay in their castle Macbeth and his lady wear a mask of utmost propriety though in their hearts there is only cruelty. Duncan eats and sleeps in the home that is to be the death of him. He drinks their wine and shares their feast only to be savagely murdered for the crown he holds.
Macbeth spiritually dies when he gives into his wife’s plot. He loses what small amount of backbone he has and is guided by his greedy frenzy to be king. Though he did not have a strong moral character to begin with, there is no morality left in him by the time he takes the life of his king.
Granted, Macbeth made decisions were not the smartest. His pride got the better of him, therefore he had to mask himself to others. He had to pretend when Duncan visited his castle to not give away his plot. He was malicious towards anything that came in his way of the crown.
ReplyDeleteHis general attitude was ambitious and that was problematic. When he physically died, his soul and reputation vanished. Then, he no longer had to hide himself, according to Bloom's theory. His deception caused grief to all, including his beloved wife.
Macbeth's soul was corrupt and perverted. He was driven solely by the prophecy and it showed. It changed the lives of many people. His hate and malice contributed to his ultimate demise.
I believe you are all "on to Macbeth" and I commend your efforts to relate the Bloom's quotation to the play. You all seem to have some insight into the character of Macbeth. You can also feel free to challenge yourselves in your replies to one another. Each student should respond to at least two other postings. In doing so, expand on your peer's ideas or challenge one another for further clarifications, if necessary. Students can even disagree as long as there is support for their position. Nice job!
ReplyDeleteMacbeth is constantly trying to conceal his malicious habits. When he commits treason and/or murder he tries to cover it up and arise as a hero or a man of nobility. An example of this is when Macbeth murders King Duncan and blames it con the chamberlains and claims out of his rage he took their lives to compensate for his irate mood. Macbeth shows a bit of masked persona in that he hides his guilt, rage, and apathy behind a face of boldness and audacity. His ambition is what fuels these underlying feelings. We all hide ourselves in a mask, some large some small, some hideous, some beautiful. We are all humans and we have many faults.
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