ANALYSIS OF THE FITH SCENE OF MACBETH

The letter is a part of the fifth scene of Shakespeare’s play Macbeth. The letter was written by Macbeth to his wife to tell her of an important event that had happened to him while he was coming back from a battle. But the real function of the letter is to make the reader understand Macbeth’s and his wife’s nature. The letter could be divided in two parts to better understand its function: the first one which is made up of Macbeth’s report of the event and then the second part containing lady Macbeth’s thoughts and thus introducing her in the play.

While he was riding, Macbeth met three witches that made him two prophecies about his future. Once the first premonition had come true he wrote to his wife immediately. While reading, you can easily understand that Macbeth is a kind man ( from how he refers to his wife [it’s strange because people in those days did not consider women peers of men]) and to the witches too, because he calls them “ those weird sisters”. From how he describes what happened  to him it really seems that he wants to believe in what the witches have told him. The idea is confirmed by the phrases “ when I burned in desire to question them further” and “ the wonder” ( which means something beautiful). There’s an inversion at line 10 of THIS ans I which puts an affirmative phrase in an interrogative form that wants to highlight the whole phrase “this have I thought good to deliver thee” meaning that he is a very insecure man who wants to be appreciated by his wife. She is the strongest part in the couple. There’s also the repetition of the pronoun “me” in the previous lines that suggests something unbelievable for the main character, it is as if he still couldn’t believe he will be king. Macbeth has a burning desire to reach powerful positions but he is honest, kind and loyal (Shakespeare uses medieval values taken from traditions) This idea is confirmed by lady Macbeth in the second part of the scene.

In the second part lady Macbeth begins to wonder how her husband could reach such great objectives, and his wonders automatically implies the analysis of Macbeth’s nature (it is a trick used by Shakespeare to legitimate a description of lord Macbeth). She immediately uses a figure of speech “he is too full of the milk of human kindness”; milk is something that babies drink to grow up and the imagine conveyed is the one of a man that has to grow up like a child. In addition the lady also says that he prefers to follow the right way and obtain power in a legal way. But the lady ( that after this part looks like a concrete woman without illusions) knows that you have to behave badly if you want to gain power. After the words lady Macbeth does no more behave has a wife rather she starts to look like a mother which knows what’s the best for her child (someone who says him what to do) [line 9]. An additional/a further strong image comes to the attention of the reader: the spirits of the lady that come into Macbeth’s ear. This image is reinforced by the sounds “TH” and “S” that give the idea of something like a snake (and in the catholic tradition snakes represent the devil). Another shadow of lady Macbeth comes out in these lines: she’s a frustrated woman that couldn’t reach power earlier ( she was a woman living during the renaissance period) and finally she has the opportunity to become someone, using a man as a “puppet” (in this case lord Macbeth). In the end, she does not refer to the crown calling it with his proper name but rather with a metaphoric way. It underlines her material desire which is not rooted with values like honor and loyalty.

From reading the letter the reader can find a strong opposition between the two parts of the letter: the first sweet and kind part is substituted by a furious and angry one. Every part represents one character: the first Macbeth and the last his wife.