Macbeth Analysis Act 5 Scene 1: Full Commentary

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See also my Macbeth Soliloquies Playlist:
   • Macbeth Soliloquies: Complete Analysis  

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You might also find my Romeo and Juliet series interesting: https://dai.ly/x80qt0r

This video is a line-by-line walkthrough guide for William Shakespeare’s Macbeth: Act 5, Scene 1.

I provide a close reading of the entire scene, including:
— Detailed explication
— Commentary
— Literary analysis

All commentary is supplemented by in-text, line-by-line study notes designed to help students:
— Prepare for GCSE, A-Level, IB, and AP evaluation
— Prepare for general high school and college quizzes, exams, and essays
— Generate ideas for analysis essays
— Participate knowledgeably in class discussions

This video discusses :

PLOT:
— A gentlewoman meets a doctor late a night to observe Lady Macbeth’s sleepwalking
— Lady Macbeth arrives, asleep, and attempts to wash her hands of the stain of blood, a metaphor for her extreme guilt; subconsciously tries to scapegoat these “weak” feeling (guilt, fear, regret) on Macbeth
— The gentlewoman and doctor are shocked and speechless

CHARACTER:
— Lady Macbeth: fears punishment in afterlife = cowardice like Macbeth; Lady Mac’s conception of herself as brave will not let her consciously admit to her own fears, but her fears make themselves felt in dreams (Freud); scapegoats her husband to absolve herself of the taint of cowardice
— Lady Macbeth: mirror of Macbeth; not a sociopath; morally aware; tragedy is the result of lack of self-awareness, wrong Hagrid

THEME:
— Sleep as innocence/healer; “Macbeth doth murder sleep”
— Nature vs the unnatural
— Manhood = masculine+feminine; Lady Macbeth can’t live as the purely masculine self she attempted to create
— Wasteland: in corrupt society, you may be denounced by anyone; loss of trust; gentlewoman doesn’t trust the doctor
— Redemption question: are the Macbeth’s redeemed by their agonies? If not, why does Shakespeare want us to pity them, as we (and gentlewoman/doctor) pity Lady Macbeth here?
— Scapegoating: Lady Macbeth’s desperate attempt to deflect weakness from herself onto Macbeth
— Alienation from the self: self-deceit leads to mental breakdown
— Great Chain of Being disrupted

Writing a LITERATURE ANALYSIS ESSAY? See my practical guide, with model papers:
   • Literature Analysis Made Easy  

If you're interested in Shakespeare analysis, see my other playlists:

MACBETH:
   • Macbeth Scene by Scene Analysis  

For Macbeth THESIS STATEMENT prompts see:
   • Плейлист  

ROMEO and JULIET:
   • Romeo and Juliet  

For Romeo and Juliet THESIS STATEMENT prompts see:
   • Плейлист  

HAMLET:
   • Hamlet Scene by Scene  

For Hamlet THESIS STATEMENT prompts see:
   • Плейлист  

OTHELLO:
   • Othello  

TWELFTH NIGHT:
   • Twelfth Night