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Macbeth
Motifs
Prepared by: Banwan Ali Karim

Introduction
A motif is a dominant or recurring idea in a literary
work. In Macbeth, motifs are aplenty and running
throughout the play. Some are dominant, while
other appear momentarily and disappear and
reappear again in another scene, or act.

Predictions
One of the powerful motifs in the play is the prediction of the
witches. The witches appear in the first act and then in the third
and last. They make a prediction that Macbeth shall be the king,
and that his wife will be the queen. All the actions of Macbeth and
Lady Macbeth are based on these predictions. Whatever action
they take, its basis is the same prediction, and its attendant features
that they will have to do nothing. In fact, these predictions
occurring at different times make the play move forward with a
fast pace.

Violence
Although violence is not the dominant motif, it is still an ensuring
motif. It occurs due to the predictions of the witches. In fact, the
play starts with the violent atmosphere where three witch sisters
appear to weave a spell. However, the actual violence starts when
the King Duncan is killed and Macbeth immediately kills the
guards. Banquo, along with his children, is also murdered. This
leads to a spiral of violence that ends with Macbeth’s musings.

Gender
Although very difficult to trace, the third recurrent and dominant
motif in Macbeth. Gender has played an important role by
instigating Macbeth. It is a result of a spell woven by three
witches which are female in gender. Then when Macbeth does not
take courage to move forward, it is Lady Macbeth who urges him.
It is also that Lady Macbeth plays her role until the end of the
play even chiding Macbeth “Why have you left the chamber?”
to ensure his protection. In other words, it shows that even
patriarchy is under the spell of feminism.

Weather
It is stated that weather is a way of predicting future course of action or
circumstances. It is quite surprising that weather does not become significant though
the witch sisters announce that they would be meeting again in a story weather. The
symbols of thunder, lightning, rain, and bad storms are indicators of turbulent
circumstances in Scotland. Moreover, the situation is always bad when the witches
meet.

Blood
Although blood is not such a significant theme, it is, however, a
significant motif in the play. This word first appears when King
Duncan is murdered. However, this word has appeared in Lady
Macbeth’s utterance, who says “Who would have thought the old
man to have had so much blood in him.” It seems a very cruel
utterance. However, as an essential ingredient of our physical living,
blood can be “thick” or “thin” as Lady Macbeth often makes
reference to it, according to the thinking of the person.

Light and Darkness
Although the motif of light and darkness is pervasive and dominant in Macbeth, it
runs with the characters of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. When the witches first
appear, Banquo warns his friend Macbeth saying they could be the “instruments of
darkness.” This motif again emerges when Lady Macbeth is about to kill King
Duncan. The darkness of the night and the darkness of the heart of Lady Macbeth
has been given as representatives of evil. On the other hand, she refers to light in the
sense of weakness or fragility of the women. Therefore, this motif becomes highly
significant.

Imagery of Birds
The use of the imagery of birds to convey meanings is another minor motif in
Macbeth. When King Duncan is assassinated, Lady Macbeth hears the sound of a
shrieking owl saying that the owl is a “fatal bellman.” It means the bird
announces death of somebody. Then at another place, Shakespeare has given the
example of raven, a sign of bad omen. This raven announcing the bad luck of
Kind Duncan in the play is hoarse. Then when the assassination is complete,
there are cries of rooks, choughs and magpies. This shows that the bird imagery
motif has been used to show bloodshed in Macbeth.

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Macbeth motifs

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Macbeth motifs