Shakespeare’s Macbeth stands as one of the most linguistically rich works in the English literary canon. Within its acts, we find both soaring poetic achievements and, occasionally, more pedestrian passages that fail to reach the same heights. This analysis examines these contrasting elements, offering insight into what makes certain lines particularly effective or ineffective.
The Heights of Poetic Achievement
1. The Tomorrow Soliloquy
Among the play’s most celebrated passages, Macbeth’s reflection on the futility of existence after Lady Macbeth’s death represents Shakespeare at his philosophical and poetic zenith:
“Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow, Creeps in this petty pace from day to day…”
The repetition of “tomorrow” creates a hypnotic effect that mirrors both the character’s psychological state and the endless march of time he describes. The metaphor of life as a “brief candle” and a “walking shadow” combines existential depth with stunning imagery. The progression from concrete imagery to abstract philosophical contemplation demonstrates Shakespeare’s mastery of psychological realism.
The soliloquy’s power lies not just in its philosophical content but in its perfect marriage of sound and sense. The soft consonants and drawn-out vowels in phrases like “petty pace” and “recorded time” create a sonic texture that reinforces the speech’s themes of weariness and futility.
2. The Dagger Monologue
“Is this a dagger which I see before me?” launches one of theater’s most famous hallucination sequences. The language progressively builds anxiety while maintaining poetic coherence. Shakespeare employs a remarkable technique of having Macbeth simultaneously describe and question his vision, creating a double perspective that mirrors the character’s fractured psychological state.
The passage demonstrates Shakespeare’s genius for using extended metaphor to explore inner turmoil. The dagger becomes increasingly supernatural as the speech progresses, transforming from a possible optical illusion to a manifestation of Macbeth’s guilty conscience. The progression of imagery from solid reality to nightmare vision tracks perfectly with Macbeth’s psychological journey.
3. Lady Macbeth’s Invocation
“Come, you spirits / That tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here” begins one of the play’s most chilling speeches. The violent imagery and forceful rhythm create a visceral impact while revealing Lady Macbeth’s psychological complexity. The language grows increasingly violent and supernatural, matching her character’s embrace of darkness.
Less Successful Elements
1. The Porter Scene
While serving important dramatic functions, the Porter’s extended metaphor of Hell-gate occasionally stumbles into forced wordplay:
“Faith, here’s an equivocator, that could swear in both the scales against either scale…”
The humor, while providing necessary relief, relies heavily on contemporary references that don’t maintain their impact across centuries. The extended metaphor of Hell’s gate becomes strained, particularly when the Porter begins cataloging types of sinners. The scene’s effectiveness depends more on performance choices than linguistic power.
2. The Malcolm Test
The extended dialogue where Malcolm tests Macduff’s loyalty, while politically necessary to the plot, suffers from repetitive phrasing and occasionally wooden exchanges. Lines such as “What I believe, I’ll wail; What know, believe; and what I can redress” lack the organic flow found elsewhere in the play. The scene’s length and deliberate nature can create dramatic inertia.
3. Minor Character Exchanges
Some of the dialogue between minor nobles, particularly in Act IV, lacks the linguistic vitality found elsewhere. These passages prioritize plot advancement over poetic achievement, resulting in more functional than memorable language.
The Role of Imagery Patterns
Blood Imagery
The play’s most successful lines often incorporate blood imagery in increasingly complex ways. The progression from literal blood (“Will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood / Clean from my hand?”) to metaphorical blood (“Will all our yesterdays have lighted fools / The way to dusty death?”) tracks the play’s movement from physical to psychological horror.
Light and Darkness
Shakespeare’s masterful handling of light/dark imagery reaches its apex in passages like Lady Macbeth’s invocation to darkness and Macbeth’s final soliloquy. Less successful passages often employ these images more conventionally or fail to develop them fully.
Psychological Complexity in Language
Stream of Consciousness
The play’s strongest passages often employ proto-stream-of-consciousness techniques, particularly in soliloquies. The fragmented syntax and shifting metaphors in speeches like “To be thus is nothing, but to be safely thus” reveal character psychology with remarkable sophistication.
Multiple Perspectives
Shakespeare’s best lines often contain multiple perspectives simultaneously. This technique reaches its height in passages where characters comment on their own actions while performing them, creating a complex layering of awareness.
Technical Elements
Meter and Rhythm
The play’s strongest passages demonstrate Shakespeare’s mastery of metrical variation. Consider how the regular iambic pentameter of peaceful scenes fractures into irregular rhythms during moments of psychological stress. This technique is less evident in the play’s weaker passages, which often maintain regular meter at the expense of emotional authenticity.
Sound Symbolism
Shakespeare’s use of sound symbolism reaches particular heights in passages like the witches’ speeches, where harsh consonants create an atmosphere of supernatural menace. Less successful passages often lack this careful attention to sound patterns.
Historical Context and Modern Relevance
Contemporary References
While some of the play’s topical allusions now require footnotes (particularly in the Porter’s scene), the strongest passages achieve their effects through universal human experiences and emotions. This explains why certain lines remain powerful while others have lost impact.
Political Commentary
The play’s political themes find their most powerful expression in passages that link personal psychology with political action. Less successful are passages that deal with politics in more straightforward, expository ways.
Performance Considerations
Theatrical Effect
The strongest lines often create powerful theatrical moments through their combination of psychological insight and dramatic action. Less successful passages sometimes prioritize one at the expense of the other.
Character Development
The play’s best lines advance character development while maintaining poetic power. Weaker passages sometimes sacrifice character complexity for plot advancement.
Modern Applications
Contemporary Writing
Modern writers can learn from both the successes and failures in Macbeth. The play demonstrates how elevated language can serve character and plot while maintaining poetic integrity, and how even great writers sometimes must prioritize function over form.
Translation and Adaptation
The varying quality of lines in Macbeth provides interesting challenges for translators and adapters. The most successful translations often focus on recreating the psychological effect of the original rather than literal meaning.
Critical Reception Through History
Historical Perspectives
Critical response to different passages has evolved over time. Lines that Victorian critics praised for their moral clarity might now be considered among the play’s weaker moments, while psychologically complex passages have gained appreciation.
Contemporary Analysis
Modern criticism tends to focus on the play’s psychological insights and political relevance, finding new power in passages that merge personal and political themes.
Conclusion
The varying quality of lines in Macbeth ultimately serves the play’s dramatic purposes. The contrast between sublime poetry and more workmanlike passages creates rhythm and texture across the larger work. Even in its less elevated moments, the play maintains a remarkable standard of literary achievement, demonstrating Shakespeare’s comprehensive mastery of dramatic poetry.
The enduring power of Macbeth’s best lines lies in their ability to combine technical mastery with psychological insight and universal human experience. While some passages may have lost their immediate impact over time, the play’s strongest moments remain as powerful today as when they were first performed. This persistence speaks to Shakespeare’s genius for creating language that transcends its historical moment to touch something fundamentally human.