Metaphorical images in W. Shakespeare's tragedy "Macbeth"

The tragedy was first printed in the 1623 folio. There is information about its presentation, which took place in 1611. But it was written much earlier - in 1605-1606, which is established both by the indications of style and by the reference in the speech of the gatekeeper to a certain “crooked soul” who “threw his oath onto both sides of the judge’s scales” (II, 3). Researchers have shown that this refers to one David Garnet, who was executed in May 1606.

Macbeth is one of Shakespeare's shortest plays. The only short ones are “The Comedy of Errors” and “The Tempest”. It is believed that this is a text shortened, perhaps, for a court performance. Two witches' songs (III, 5 and IV, 1) are also found in the play "The Witch" by Shakespeare's contemporary T. Middleton. Due to the uncertainty of the dating of both plays, it is impossible to say who borrowed them - Shakespeare from Middleton or vice versa.

The source of the plot is "Chronicles of England, Scotland and Ireland" by R. Holinshed.

The very beginning of the tragedy introduces us to its atmosphere. The terrible round dance of witches foreshadows a monstrous violation of humanity. Witches embody the basest things in nature. Their ugliness is a symbol of everything ugly in life. They have their own terrible humor, their monstrous jokes are associated with death, the highest joy for them is the chaos of senseless murders and cruel suffering. They giggle at the sight of the hanged and rub their bony hands, smelling the smell of human blood.

The speeches of the witches are full of nonsense, but this is how it should be, for they embody that element of life where reason is powerless, where blind passion reigns and a person turns out to be a plaything of dark instincts, lying in wait for that fateful moment when they can completely take over his soul.

And, as always happens in Shakespeare’s great works, one detail, like lightning, illuminates everything with its flash. The witches appear simultaneously before Macbeth and Banquo. But how differently both thanes perceive them. The words of the prophetic women awaken Macbeth’s evil passions, they are his own dark thoughts, and for Banquo their sinister figures are just “bubbles that the earth gives birth to, like water” (I, 3).

What a truly Shakespearean image! No wonder Alexander Blok felt his poetic power so much.

For Banquo, a witch is something torn out by nature from its depths, as alien and bad. But that’s not how Macbeth sees them. He regrets that this vision has disappeared; he would like to listen to the prophetic wives more and more in order to find out the details of his fate predicted by them. What had been vaguely lurking in his soul suddenly appeared before him in all its dazzling temptation. The ghost of power beckoned him, and Macbeth's passions began to boil, the bubbles of his ambition rose. But Macbeth knows that his desires are contrary to nature and humanity. He needs support for his aspirations; like other ambitious people, he believes that his fate is destined by higher powers, and this should justify him in his own eyes and in the opinion of others.

The poetic symbolism of the tragedy emphasizes from the very beginning the struggle between good and bad principles *. The witches' round dance, which serves as a prologue to the tragedy, ends with the words: “The beautiful is disgusting, and the disgusting is beautiful” (Fair is foul, and foul is fair. - I, 1). And this same motive is in the first words of Macbeth, when he appears before us: “Never was such a beautiful and disgusting day for me” (I, 3). The whole tragedy is truly filled with the struggle of these two principles: life can be both disgusting and beautiful, and a person can be the same.

* (Analysis poetic images in Macbeth, see G. Wilson Kight, The Wheel of Fire, London, 1949, p. 120-139.)

The struggle between these two principles takes place in Macbeth's soul.

Macbeth does evil things, but he is not a villain like Richard III, Iago, and Edmond. They were deprived by nature or society, felt disadvantaged, and were aware of their inferiority. Macbeth is not disadvantaged in any way. He appears before us at first as the embodiment of genuine human power. His valor evokes universal admiration, success accompanies him, and his exploits are duly rewarded. Richard, Iago and Edmond received nothing from life; they had to snatch from it gifts that would compensate for the inferiority of their natural gifts or social position. It is enough for Macbeth to be himself for his life to be complete.

But the fact of the matter is that the worm of ambition nests in his soul. The more he gets, the more he wants. And although he is truly beautiful just the way he is, he begins to feel that his human qualities are not truly appreciated. He has no equal in the valor that adorns a warrior. He is a royal man. Next to him, even King Duncan himself looks petty, with all his kindness and respect for the merits of others.

The desire to crown his human royalty with the rank of king ignites in Macbeth’s soul. In this he is the direct opposite of Lear. He wanted to assert his human greatness by giving up power and the crown. Macbeth longs to establish himself as a man by becoming king.

But for Macbeth there is no direct and honest path to the throne, as he has always followed until now. His path is blocked not only by Duncan himself, but also by the heir named by the king - Prince Malcolm. A struggle begins in Macbeth's soul.

Although Macbeth has become for us the same embodiment of ambition as Othello is a type of jealous person, the fact of the matter is that ambition was not the main thing in the hero’s nature. Just as jealousy awakens in Othello under the influence of Iago’s slander, so Macbeth’s ambition, not initially being the main spring of his behavior, becomes such due to a coincidence of circumstances. His nature was dominated by the desire to freely express his human power. However, he encountered a contradiction - the dignity of a person is not combined with an equivalent social status. In this respect, Macbeth differs decisively from Richard III. The cruel hunchback did not have any formal and human rights to become taller than everyone else in the country. He usurped these rights by acting insidiously and cruelly. Macbeth also has no legal ancestors. But he believes that he has a natural right to this due to his personal merits.

The tragedy reveals one of the deepest contradictions in the position of the individual in class society. In the Renaissance, bourgeois development had as one of its results a high level of individual self-awareness. The titanic abilities of man, unchained by bourgeois progress, however, encountered obstacles that remained strong, since there was only a change in the class structure of society, but not the disappearance of classes as such. A criterion for assessing a person based on his personal merits had already emerged, but a somewhat transformed social hierarchy also remained, within which a person’s importance was determined by origin, rank, and wealth. Real social power remained as before with the holders of various privileges. Human dignity, not supported by titles and wealth, remained an ethereal illusion. And people who had matured to realize their human value wanted this to be realized by their social position. Since the conditions were already bourgeois in their essence, even cultural figures - artists, scientists, philosophers - combined creative exploits and discoveries with what we cannot characterize otherwise as careerism and acquisitiveness. Christopher Columbus, who plundered the West Indies when he became its viceroy, and Francis Bacon, who took bribes when he was Lord Chancellor, may be the most striking, but far from the only examples of the ugly and contradictory development of personality in the conditions of bourgeois progress in the era Renaissance.

The tragedy of Macbeth belongs to phenomena of precisely this order. No bigger error, than to consider him simply a villain. In this case there would be no tragedy. It consists precisely in the fact that a wonderful, truly great man dies.

Macbeth's ambition is not generated by empty, unfounded vanity. It is as ugly a perversion of the concept of human dignity as that of King Lear. But we see Lear from the very beginning already in the grip of false concepts, from which he later, having gone through suffering, frees himself. His way of the cross- this is the tragedy of purification. Macbeth's tragedy is that he takes the path of crimes that defile his soul. He gets deeper and deeper into the mud of inhumanity, reaching the point of complete dullness of feelings.

In his actions, Macbeth is no different from such a power-hungry villain as Richard III. But their characters are completely different *. Richard III is a man without conscience. He is a villain, so to speak, by calling. Macbeth is also power-hungry, but he has a sensitive nature. He is not naturally evil and Cruel person. We see in the tragedy how Macbeth’s healthy nature is gradually distorted. His soul is clouded by bad passions, but at the same time, paradoxically, the basis spiritual world Macbeth is knowledge of authentic moral values, and he cannot help but feel a bitter feeling that he has trampled on them.

The essence of Macbeth's character is revealed to us by his wife when she says that he has too much “the milk of human kindness” (I, 5). In her eyes, this is a flaw, but we understand that it is this “weakness” that not only makes Macbeth human, but also constitutes the cause of his tragic mental anguish. Shakespeare's Machiavellian villains did not recognize human values. They did not believe in love, nor in friendship, nor in duty, nor in honor. And Macbeth knows the price of all this. While doing evil, Richard III and Iago experience no feeling other than satisfaction that their deceit is bearing fruit. They fearlessly trample upon humanity, while Macbeth shudders at the mere thought that he will violate moral laws.

But the fact of the matter is that in Macbeth’s mind there was a confusion of true and false values. How does Lady Macbeth affect him? Temptations of power? No. She appeals to his proud belief in his human dignity: “When you conceived this,” I translate literally, “you were a man, and if you became more than you are, you would become just as big man" (I, 7).

To rise as a man is what Macbeth wants. But, as we know, the path he chose turned out to be false. A premonition of this lived in Macbeth's soul from the very beginning. He realizes that he must violate the duty of a subject, the duties of hospitality, the law of honor, but, most importantly, the very principle of humanity. There is no lack of masculinity in him. The beginning of the tragedy shows us Macbeth the warrior. Without hesitation, risking his life, he went into battle. It cost him nothing to rip open the enemy’s entrails, cut off his head and place it on a spear above the tower. He did this by achieving victory in a fair fight, fighting against a rebel. But now he himself is a rebel, and he fights not openly, but with the treachery of a traitor, and kills the defenseless. This course of action is contrary to Macbeth's nature. Therefore, he hesitates before killing Duncan, and after spilling his blood, he experiences shock.

From now on, his soul will not know peace. He realizes that he has deprived himself of it forever, “killed his sleep.” By dishonorably killing another, Macbeth committed moral suicide. But this is not the only tragedy. Already in the first big monologue, Macbeth speaks of a poison that destroys not the body, but the soul:

Retribution With an impassive hand, a cup of our poison is brought to us...

(I, 7. Translation by Yu. Korneev)

One murder leads to others. Macbeth's first villainy turns out to be not solitary: he kills not only Duncan, but also the servants who guarded the king. And then an orgy of murders begins, more and more vile and cruel - Macbeth’s victims are his friend Banquo, Macduff’s wife and son. True, Macbeth does not finish them off with his own hands, but this makes him no less guilty. The blood of the victims stains him, and if those who carry out Macbeth's will do so with cruel indifference, then he himself feels the moral burden of atrocities.

What does Macbeth come to? To the worst tragedy for him. Its originality is determined by the fact that Macbeth remains heroic personality. The strength of his character is unbroken. But his soul turns out to be devastated. He retains all the signs of an outstanding personality - unbending will, intelligence, understanding of things. There is only one thing left - the purpose and meaning of existence. The main thing that Macbeth was striving for, he destroyed with his own hands: instead of the fullness of consciousness of his humanity, he feels a gaping emptiness. Macbeth realizes that he has doomed himself to the most terrible loneliness - the loneliness of a person forever cut off from other people -

The companions we so need in our old age - Friends, love, honor and attention - I do not see; but there are curses all around, quiet but terrible, and flattery...

When he asks the doctor if he can save Lady Macbeth from madness, he thinks not so much about her as about the incurability of the illness that has struck his own soul:

Figure out how to heal an ailing consciousness, how to weed out sadness from your memory, how to erase the writings of melancholy in your brain...

He cherished the hope that the day would come when the torment caused by his own deeds would end. But countless “tomorrows”, “tomorrows”, “tomorrows” turned out to be only the way of the cross of suffering leading to the fatal moment when death occurs and nothing can be corrected. He committed crimes, confident that, having won the throne, he would make his life wonderful, but it turned out that he burned himself, and now only a pitiful, decaying cinder remained. Therefore, his whole life has lost its meaning, has become a ghostly existence, and he compares himself to an actor who makes faces on stage for a short time, and then disappears, and nothing remains of the human appearance that he embodied. Shortly before the end, Macbeth evaluates his life as follows:

This is a story that was retold by a fool: There are a lot of words and passion in it, but there is no meaning.

His last refuge is courage. This is the only thing he has left. And although everything is against him - earth and sky, nature and people, and although he no longer has anything to fight for, he does not give up. He does not rush into battle in order to find death. To survive, to win, no matter what, is what he wants even when he realizes that, in fact, he has nothing to defend except his devastated self. But the last thing Macbeth has left - his courage - turns out to be broken when he meets Macduff in battle and he says that he is not born of a woman(he was removed from her womb by Caesarean section). Now only the rage of despair possesses Macbeth when he fights Macduff and dies.

Macbeth's death is a death without the moral purification that illuminated Lear's suffering path, and without the enlightening reconciliation that overshadowed Othello's last breath. This is complete and hopeless destruction. In this sense, Macbeth is the darkest of all Shakespeare's tragedies, for it represents the complete moral destruction of man.

Lady Macbeth is much like her husband. She's not your average "villain" either. Among women, she stands out for her beauty, just as Macbeth rises above all his manly virtues. They are worthy of each other by their external perfection and in this sense form perfect couple. Just as Macbeth wanted to crown his virtues with power, so she dreams of having a crown crown her beauty.

But this royal woman's heart turned to stone. Just like Macbeth, she lives only for herself, for her beauty. It is often incorrectly imagined that she alone is to blame for the fact that Macbeth embarked on a bloody path. No, in this they were united and equal. If you believe her words, then initially it was Macbeth who lit the fire of ambition in her (“What kind of beast pushed you to brag to me?” she asks him; I, 7).

All her feelings are subordinated to ambition. Even her love is ambitious. She loves Macbeth because he is superior to all other people. What is important to her is not the joy that a loving woman receives from a man’s reciprocal feelings, but his ability to elevate himself and at the same time her. She wants to be the wife of the first person in the state. Such love happens, it can be sincere and strong in its own way, but, of course, it is a perversion of true love.

What distinguishes her from Macbeth is her determination. Her ambition is truly a passion, blind, impatient and indomitable. She is an iron woman, a devil in a beautiful female form. If Macbeth's ambition is a passion fighting his moral consciousness, then in her there is a mania that has destroyed all other feelings. She is completely devoid of moral concepts. Macbeth is aware of the criminality of her actions, but for her there are no moral obstacles: water will wash away the stains of criminally spilled blood from her hands (II, 2). You just need to make sure that there are no visible traces of the crime, and then it will never have happened.

But if Lady Macbeth, neither in her heart nor in her mind, is able to understand that she has crossed the line of humanity, then nature itself is indignant in her. She broke her laws and is paying for it with madness.

The obsession characteristic of her in her healthy state turns into a mania - to wipe away invisible bloody stains from her hands, but not only is water unable to wash them off, all the aromas of Arabia cannot wash them away. She was convinced that all traces of the crime could be destroyed. It turned out that they are indestructible. The trace remains in the person himself, and he cannot escape from this. Spiritual emptiness set in for her long before it happened for Macbeth. Everything about Lady Macbeth is soulless - her beauty, her femininity, her love, her ambition and her madness. That's why she's not for a moment likable.

Lady Macbeth is Shakespeare's most concentrated expression of the evil that has taken possession of a human being. From Richard III, Tamora and the Moor Aron ("Titus Andronicus") a thread stretches to the Scottish queen. Shakespeare never had a single villain or villainess who so completely embodied evil in human nature. And Shakespeare has no image that evokes equal indignation for its inhumanity. Even Richard III is humanly interesting at some moments; there is still something left in Iago that makes it possible to at least understand him. But Lady Macbeth evokes cold aloofness. She is perceived as a being of a different breed than man. And this is especially true because she is a woman. The most beautiful thing that we habitually associate with femininity is that love and motherhood are betrayed by it in the name of the ghost of power and illusory greatness. Her love is aimed only at inducing Macbeth to crime, and she herself admits that she would tear her baby from her breast and break his head, if only not to break the criminal oath to kill the king (I, 7).

A woman capable of killing her own child - nothing can be more terrible and inhuman than that. In tragedy these are only words, an image put into the mouth of Lady Macbeth. But she is really capable of killing what is most dear to her: she poisons Macbeth’s soul, and at the moment when she could save him, she pushes him towards the abyss, into which she falls along with him.

Macbeth and his wife show how terrible the evil that takes possession of human souls is. But evil is not omnipotent. If in one respect Macbeth is the darkest of Shakespeare's great tragedies, in another it is more hopeful than Hamlet, Othello or King Lear. In none of them are so many people opposed to evil as in Macbeth, and nowhere are they more active than here.

The whole society rebels against Macbeth and his wife, who trampled humanity. It is not just individuals who are fighting against them, but the whole country. Macbeth's enemies realize that they are fighting not so much for someone's dynastic interests against the usurper king, but for a person in general.

We see this most clearly in the episode of the meeting between Malcolm and Macduff (IV, 3). The significance of this scene cannot be underestimated simply because the dialogue between Malcolm and Macduff is borrowed almost verbatim from Holinshed's chronicle. The chronicler's moralizing is rather flat in Shakespeare. deep meaning, because here the social meaning of the moral problem facing Macbeth is revealed.

As the reader knows, Malcolm tests Macduff by making false accusations against himself and accusing him of all sorts of vices.

All that makes a king beautiful - Moderation, courage, justice, Tolerance, piety, kindness, Courtesy, mercy, nobility - are not characteristic of me at all. But then I am a collection of all kinds of vices. If I had been in power, I would have poured out the sweet milk of concord into hell, disrupted the peace on earth and doomed it to discord.

When, after this “confession,” Malcolm asks: “Admit, then, that one like me is not worthy to rule,” Macduff replies:

Not just to rule, but to live.

We are talking not only about the qualities of the monarch, but about a person in general. The vices listed by Malcolm are many times more dangerous when they possess a person in whose hands all power is concentrated, but they are intolerable in people who do not occupy such a high position.

We feel here the belligerence of Shakespeare's humanism. The struggle waged against Macbeth by his enemies is a holy war for humanity. Both Malcolm and Macduff have personal reasons to hate Macbeth: he killed the first one’s father and took the throne, the second one killed his wife, son and took away his possessions. But they fight not out of revenge, but driven by a desire for justice.

What does Macbeth's suffering compare to the suffering of his victims? Shakespeare does not want us to forget about the tragedy of society and the people behind the tragedy of Macbeth. Macbeth is doubly guilty - both in that he destroyed himself and in that he brings death to everyone else.

In none of the great tragedies is the victory of justice over evil as complete and real as in Macbeth. There is no need to prove how unjustified the optimistic ending of the tragedy was for Shakespeare's time. Perhaps this was even the author’s concession to transitory circumstances. For us, this has a different meaning - and it did not remain hidden from Shakespeare’s contemporaries - namely, that there is and cannot be any justification for a person’s desire to rise above others through bloody atrocities; no imaginary greatness can cover up the fact that, by acting this way, a person opposes himself to all of humanity and comes to complete moral destruction.

1. Images of the three witches and their meaning.
2. The motive of the prediction.
2. The gaming nature of the latest predictions.

Forgetting about wisdom, honor and shame,
He will despise fear, fate and death,
And death awaits him, like everyone else,
Who believes too much in their success.
W. Shakespeare

There is no doubt that predictions in William Shakespeare’s tragedy “Macbeth” not only play a significant role - in fact, at first glance, they determine the development of the plot. However, the meaning of prophecies in tragedy is much more serious than it seems upon a superficial acquaintance with the writer’s work. But before we begin to analyze the predictions and their influence on the course of events, we should pay attention to the images of those who predict Macbeth to become king.

Macbeth and Banquo, military leaders of the Scottish king Duncan, meet three witches on their way. Their images are fantastic. These are either women or men: “I would consider you old women if you didn’t have beards.” The author of the tragedy endows them with attributes that, according to medieval beliefs, are mandatory for evil witches. For them, important signs are the meowing of a cat, the croaking of a toad, they gather at sunset, brewing a magic potion from ominous ingredients. In a word, Shakespeare portrayed typical participants in the night sabbath. However, the grotesque outfit of the “midnight black witches” hides powerful and formidable ancient goddesses of fate, who were called differently: moiras, parks, norns. And the word “witch” itself did not always have a pronounced negative meaning - it once meant “knowing,” from the ancient “to know,” that is, “to know.” The ugly appearance with which Shakespeare gave the three fortunetellers is a consequence Christian views on ancient pagan deities and rituals, but the meaning of the meeting between Macbeth and Banquo with the three witches does not change - before both of them, by the will of the ruthless sisters, the curtain was lifted, hiding future destinies.

The theme of fate, of course, is not new: ancient authors repeatedly played up plots in which the hero is doomed in advance. But how he will behave in the face of fate is the choice of the person himself. However, fate is not so formidable even in the understanding of the ancients: the hero usually has a choice, but he does not always notice it. However, in Shakespeare's tragedy the situation is different than in ancient tragedies. The predictions of the three witches do not seem to contain anything bad - on the contrary, they promise fame and power. But the promise of future greatness can also be a test for a person. It is probably no coincidence that Shakespeare introduces the motif of a double prediction - the fate of Macbeth and the fate of Banquo. The promises that the witches make to these two people have certain similarities. But how different the reactions of Macbeth and Banquo are!

Macbeth, did you tremble?
Are you really swarming?
Their sweet words?

Banquo does not suspect what monstrous thoughts have stirred up in the mind of his comrade; he himself is ready to accept any fate with wise calm and dignity:

Open fate to me too - to me, to whom
Your anger is not terrible, your benefits are not needed.

Why do Banquo and Macbeth have such different attitudes towards future glory and greatness? In order to understand this, we need to return again to the images of the three witches. Perhaps, it is in this guise that the somewhat dismissive, playful attitude of the ancient deities towards mortals appears more clearly. It is no coincidence that witches appear as students ancient greek goddess Hecate is the patroness of witchcraft. But Shakespeare portrays three

exculpators, subtly hinting at their connection with hellish forces in accordance with the traditions of the Middle Ages. They not only want to make fun of mortals, but also want to acquire a faithful servant, if possible. The witches probably know that deep down Macbeth dreams of power. It is they who, perhaps, inspire his first thoughts about killing the rightful king. However, a person is free to accept or reject this or that thought. Macbeth accepts it, although not without hesitation, therefore, the prediction awakened in him the worst qualities of nature, which he was unable to curb. But the hero correctly assessed the essence of the prediction:

This can be neither good nor evil
The call is otherworldly.

Indeed, it is the person himself who chooses good or evil. But Macbeth’s personality is devoid of the inner world that Banquo’s soul is full of. Macbeth, on the one hand, understands the crime of his plan, and on the other, he only yearns more and more to quickly receive what the witches promised. Macbeth’s ambition turns out to be cramped within the framework of goodness, although Macbeth understands how he should treat the prediction:

Let fate promise me a crown,
She's marrying me herself.

But very soon, succumbing to his wife’s persuasion and giving in to his own thirst for power, Macbeth renounces this honest and wise view of his own future.

The integrity of Banquo’s nature allows him to be calm, even somewhat skeptical about the prediction. Moreover, he has a presentiment that the external promise of greatness is fraught with some kind of catch, and tries to warn Macbeth:

Often to get us into trouble,
The weapons of darkness predict the truth
And with honesty they seduce in trifles.

Indeed, the witches easily managed to deprive Macbeth of peace: he is afraid of the planned crime, but the thought of the crown does not leave him. And then the crimes pile on top of each other. The prediction that the witches made to Banquo also turns out to be serious test for Macbeth - a test that he does not stand, becoming a criminal again. Macbeth the king is constantly oppressed by the fear that he will lose his crown. Wanting to gain confidence in his control over events, he sets out for a new prediction.

It is interesting to note that Macbeth higher value gives outwardly favorable predictions - those that will deceive him: Macbeth for those born of a woman is Invulnerable.

...While on a hike to Dunsinane Hill
Birnam Forest will not send trees,
Macbeth is indestructible.

At first glance, the conditions for Macbeth's fall seem impossible - this is what misleads the criminal king. However, the first prediction was much more definite:

Macbeth, fear Macduff. Thane of Fife is dangerous.

Of course, it was impossible to suspect a connection between this prediction and the subsequent one concerning Macbeth's supposed invulnerability. But the vision of the procession of kings, the descendants of the murdered Banquo... Doesn't it indicate the inevitability of Macbeth's fall? But he is too stubborn in crimes; those glimmers of repentance that at first still disturbed his soul died out in him, like most human feelings. Macbeth mercilessly exterminates the family of the fleeing Macduff. He listens with indifference to the news of death his own wife, her accomplice in crimes, who could not withstand the pangs of conscience and lost her mind.

But is this prediction of the witches really responsible for everything that happened to Macbeth, who was once an honest vassal of the king and a valiant warrior? Of course not. It must be repeated again - everything that Macbeth did was not the will of a mysterious and ominous fate, but the will of a man who denies divine and human laws. In the end, Macbeth realizes how illusory the predictions were that seemed to promise him safety. He is driven into a corner like a hunted animal: the son of the murdered Duncan, Malcolm and Macduff seize his castle. But even then, repentance is alien to Macbeth: all that remains of his former self is courage, although this is no longer the noble valor of a warrior fighting for a just cause, but the despair of a lost soul mired in pride and malice. Even before his death, he remembers not about God or his crimes, but about the deceptive predictions in which he relied too much:

Although Birnam went to Dunsinane,

Although you, my enemy, were not born of a woman,

Until I die, I will not abandon my shield of battle.

One of the best plays by the legendary playwright is undoubtedly Macbeth. Shakespeare created this tragedy in 1623, devoting it to the events that took place in his homeland back in the eleventh century. Until now, its plot is relevant and instructive, since it illuminates in detail. It is not for nothing that the play constantly attracts the attention of contemporaries: it is staged in the best theaters in the world, and films are made based on it. Moreover, more than one writer, inspired by a work of genius, created his own masterpiece.

The summary of “Macbeth” can be boiled down to the following: the all-consuming passion of a man who strives for power. This vice can affect everyone, not excluding an honest and noble warrior. On the path to gaining unlimited power, all means are good for him. Although at first the main character resisted: his wife wanted to become a queen. But at the end of the play, the reader sees a character who has completely changed: instead of the brave and ambitious commander, tempered by battles, which Macbeth was at the beginning, a tyrant, stained with blood, stands before him. His cruelty is so great that the people can no longer tolerate it. Having lost his mind, the king sees enemies in everyone, so he shamelessly kills not only his minions and like-minded people, but also their families. Women and children became victims of the bloody satrap.

If you have not read the play in its entirety, you can get acquainted with the plot through summary. "Macbeth" begins with a conversation between three witches, who talk about life and also agree on the next Sabbath. In the midst of a conversation, two friends come to them and predict their fate. One is predicted to end with a royal crown. Macbeth, who has won a number of brilliant victories, sincerely believes in the prophecy. The prophets told another that he would become the ancestor of kings, but Banquo does not take them seriously. The king generously presented the commanders with awards, titles and gifts, but was treacherously killed. Lady Macbeth, wanting to speed up a good future, persuades her husband to commit a crime. Moreover, she laughs at her husband, who is ashamed to kill the monarch in his home, and reproaches him for sensitivity and cowardice.

A summary of “Macbeth” will help you find out how the main character degrades as a person, his heart becomes callous, he stops at nothing. Having removed his main rivals from the path, he becomes king. However, fearing betrayal, he brutally deals with everyone who can lay claim to the throne. Duncan, Banquo, Macduff were overtaken by murderers. The king goes to the witches to find out his future fate. But his fate has already been sealed: the rightful heir to the throne raised the people in rebellion, enlisted the support of his neighbors and defeated the cruel tyrant.

No matter how detailed the summary is, Macbeth is best read in its entirety. A retelling will not be able to convey the true atmosphere of the work, its melodious language, mood, and the author’s empathy for the difficult fate of his homeland and his heroes. Therefore, it is better to read the play in its entirety, preferably in the original, and not in translation. Shakespeare considered the drama “Macbeth” (its summary is given above) to be one of the main works of his life. It is no coincidence that it still never ceases to excite the minds of readers and viewers.

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Metaphorical images in W. Shakespeare's tragedy "Macbeth"

metaphorical tragedy renaissance

Introduction

This course work is devoted to:

The study of English Renaissance tragedy of the 16th century;

Periodization of W. Shakespeare's work;

Features of the tragedy genre in the works of W. Shakespeare;

Metaphorical images in W. Shakespeare's tragedy "Macbeth".

The study of Shakespeare's work is relevant because his works excite literary scholars and linguists at all times. Most of the research is devoted to studying artistic images in tragedies, various components of drama and conflicts of heroes were considered. To a lesser extent, language and figurative motifs were studied. Therefore, the study of linguistic means, i.e. metaphors are necessary.

Among the main tasks are:

Study of master's and scientific works;

Features of the historical and literary era;

The genre of tragedy in Renaissance English literature;

Study of the typology of English Renaissance tragedy;

Analysis of metaphors.

This course work consists of an introduction, historical, literary and analytical sections and conclusions.

The work is accompanied by an abstract, annotation and a list of references.

1. PeculiaritiestragedyintimeShakespeare

1.1 EnglishRenaissancetragedy

Over the last two decades of the 16th century. English drama has reached exceptional heights. At this time four came together necessary conditions for the successful development of dramaturgy: the professionalism of actors has increased; construction of the first permanent operating theater(1576); a fairly wide circle of public has developed from different walks of life, with a variety of preferences, ready to pay for entertainment; and finally, talented young people found the profession of a playwright attractive.

English theater of the late XVI - first half XVII century, absorbed two main traditions, significantly transforming them: the scientific-humanistic one, based on antiquity, and the folk one, which continued the line of folk medieval drama (mysteries, morality plays, interludes and farces) and folk poetry (in particular ballads, songs, various legends and beliefs). On the basis of these two traditions, English drama created a special synthesis - a poetic drama that had a folk character.

During the Renaissance unified concept tragedy and the tragic did not exist. But there were several concepts that were reflected to a greater or lesser extent in the work of playwrights.

The first concept of tragedy was formulated in England by the poet of the second half of the 14th century, Geoffrey Chaucer:

I would define tragedy

How is the life of people who are in glory, in power

We spent all our days happily

And suddenly, thrown into pitch darkness

Needs and disasters ended like this

Your glorious age with an inglorious death.

In the 16th century, Bishop Bayle, a zealous Protestant, wrote a play against Catholicism. He illustrated his thoughts with an example from the history of England - the struggle of King John the Landless (reigned from 1199 to 1216) against the Pope. In reality, this king was an insignificant person. A Protestant wrote a morality play in which personified virtues and vices acted. Central figure The play was called Virtue. But at the same time it was called King John. Among the gloomy figures personifying vices, the name of one was - Illegally Seized Power, aka the Pope; the name of the other is Incitement to Riot, she is also the legate of the Pope. Bayle's "King John" is a unique play in which the allegories of the old medieval morality play were combined with the new historical genre, which later found its heyday in historical plays Shakespeare.

The first happy results of mutual rapprochement were reflected in the works of those playwrights who are usually united under the rubric of “University wits”. Their group usually includes John Lyly (1547-1606), George Peele (1587-1597), Thomas Lodge (1587-1625), Thomas Nashe (1587-1625). 1567-1601), Robert Greene (1558-1592), Thomas Kyd (1558-1594) and Christopher Marlowe (1564-1593).

George Peel wrote comedies - "masks" based on mythological subjects. In “The Accusation of Paris,” along with rhymed verse, Peel already used exquisite blank verse, ahead of Marlowe, who is considered to be the founder of this poetic form. Peel is the author of the most charming fairy-tale comedy "Grandmother's Tale", full of incredible events and fantastic images- something in the spirit of Maeterlinck’s “The Blue Bird”, but without sophisticated symbolism. Peel is characterized by a combination of the everyday and the fantastic, an alternation of serious and farcical scenes.

Of the many plays by Thomas Lodge, the tragedy "Disasters" is of interest. civil war"(1587, publ. 1594), as well as the satirical review "Mirror of London and England", written jointly with R. Green in 1594. Frederick Hard Flea in his "A chronicle history of the London stage" , 1559-1642, 1890) names Lodge as the co-author of a very large number of contemporary plays, in particular Shakespeare's Henry VI.

Satire predominates in the works of Thomas Nash. His best play- “Pierce Penilesse, His Supplication to the Divell”, 1592 - begins with an attack on the greed of the rich, then moves on to a more general depiction of modern vices. “Anatomy of Absurditie” (“The Anatomie of Absurditie” 1589) is dedicated to the vain stupidity of women. In a deeper play, Christes Tears over Jerusalem (1593), an analogy is drawn between London, mired in abomination, and Jerusalem, which suffered punishment for its sins. “Nash's Lenten Stuffe” (“Nashe's Lenten Stuffe”, 1599) is a playfully florid eulogy in honor of the Yarmouth smoked herring. A comedy was written for the theater. Last will and Summers Last Will and Testament, 1600).

Of the many plays attributed to Robert Greene (1558-1592), he certainly owns “Alphonsus, King of Aragon” (“Alphonsus, King of Aragon”, 1587), “Furious Roland” (“Orlando Furioso”, ca. 1589), “ Friar Bacon and Friar Bungay, c. 1590) and James IV, c. 1590; together with T. Lodge, he wrote the play “A Looking Glass for London and England”, ca. 1590. In all likelihood, Greene also wrote “George-a-Greene”, after 1587. Unsuccessfully imitating Marlowe's unrhymed iambic in Alphonse and Roland, he falls into pomposity; the fairy-tale scenes in Greene's most famous play, Friar Bacon and Friar Bongay, are also a clear attempt to compete with Marlowe's Doctor Faustus. In Monk Bacon and Friar Bonguay and James IV, Greene laid the foundations of the romantic comedy, with its idealized heroines, sometimes dressed as men, and a touching love story. These plays have many similarities to Shakespeare's romantic comedies.

At this time, a “school” drama was developing in England. It was so called because it was created within the walls of universities and schools: plays were written by professors and teachers, and performed by students and schoolchildren. But it can be called a “school” drama in the sense that the playwrights who created it themselves still learned to write plays by studying ancient authors, imitating them and copying them. It was in the thirties of the 16th century that the first comedy in English, Ralph Royster-Doyster, was written; Its author was the then famous teacher Nicholas Yudl, headmaster of Eton School. In the fifties, the first tragedy in English, “Gorboduc,” was written by learned lawyers Sackville and Norton.

But all this was just the beginning - “school”. Real dramatic works full of life appeared only then; when people from universities - “university minds” - began to give away their plays professional actors. This happened in the eighties of the 16th century.

In 1586, two plays appeared that deserve special attention. The author of the first is Thomas Kyd (who also wrote the first play about Hamlet, which, unfortunately, has not reached us).

Kid's play is a typical “tragedy of thunder and blood,” as they said then. The title itself is eloquent - “The Spanish Tragedy”. This is an attempt to portray the power of human feelings. A terrible figure of Revenge appears on the stage, reminiscent of images from an ancient morality play. On the English stage of that time they loved to depict murders and other “horrors”: a bottle of red vinegar was placed under the actor’s white cloak; the dagger pierced the bubble and red spots appeared on the white cloak. The young man Horatio loves the beautiful girl Belimperea, and she loves him. But Belimperea is also loved by Balthasar, the son of the Portuguese king. The girl's brother, the criminal Lorenzo, undertakes to help Balthazar. IN moonlit night When the young people, sitting in the garden, declare their love to each other, masked killers come onto the stage and kill Horatio with daggers. Having stabbed him with daggers, the killers hang his corpse on a tree, apparently in order to more clearly show the audience the blood-stained corpse. Belimperia is then forcibly taken away by the killers. At her screams, Horatio's father, old Hieronimo, runs out, wearing only his shirt, with a sword in his hands. Seeing his son's corpse hanging on a tree, he pronounces a thunderous monologue, calling for revenge... But old Hieronimo hesitates: it is not easy to take revenge on the king's son. The unfortunate old man sadly thinks about life. “Oh world! - he exclaims. “No, not peace, but a bunch of crimes!” He compares himself to a lonely traveler who lost his way on a snowy night... The spirit of the murdered Andrea calls out to Revenge: “Wake up, Revenge!” Revenge awakens. And then a thought dawns on old Jeronimo.

To achieve his goal, he plans to stage a play at court (some similarities between this tragedy and Shakespeare's Hamlet). The play, staged by Hieronimo, involves Belimperia, who is initiated into his plan, as well as Balthasar and Lorenzo. As the play progresses, the characters must kill each other. Old Hieronimo arranges it so that instead of “theatrical” murders, real murders take place. The performance ends, but the actors do not get up from the ground. The Spanish king demands an explanation from Hieronimo. Hieronimo refuses to answer and, to confirm his refusal, bites off his tongue and spits it out. Then the king orders him to give him a pen so that he can write an explanation. Hieronimo asks with signs to give him a knife to sharpen the pen, and stabs himself with this knife. A jubilant Revenge appears over a pile of bloodied corpses, saying that true retribution is yet to come: it begins in hell.

Everything about this play is theatrical and melodramatic. “The Spanish Tragedy” by Thomas Kyd is the ancestor of that “romantic” movement in the drama of the Shakespearean era, which gave rise to such tragedies as, for example, “The White Devil” or “The Duchess of Malfi” by Shakespeare’s contemporary Webster.

Also in 1586, a play of a completely different type was written. Its title is “Ardennes from the city of Feversham” (its author is unknown to us). This is a drama from family life. It tells how a young woman Alice and her lover Moseby killed Alice's husband. The murder itself is depicted with great force, as Alice tries in vain to wash away the blood stains (this motif was developed with great force by Shakespeare in that famous scene in which Lady Macbeth wanders, half-asleep, overcome by memories). Everything in this play is vital and realistic. And the plot itself was borrowed by the author from real life. In the epilogue, the author asks the audience to forgive him for the fact that there are no “decorations” in the play. According to the author, “simple truth” is enough for art. This play can be called the ancestor of that movement in the drama of the Shakespearean era, which sought to depict everyday life, such as Thomas Heywood’s wonderful drama “A Woman Killed by Kindness.”

Then the plays of Christopher Marlowe appeared on the London stage. His grandiose epic in two parts and ten acts - “Tamerlane the Great” appeared in 1587-1588. In this epic, Marlowe talks about the life, soldiers and death of the famous 14th century commander.

Marlowe's next play was " Tragic story Doctor Faustus." This was the first dramatic treatment famous legend. Marlowe's play reflected man's desire to conquer the forces of nature, so characteristic of the Renaissance. Goethe used some features of Marlowe's tragedy for his Faust. Marlowe wrote several more plays (his best play in terms of liveliness was created by him human portraits is the historical chronicle "King Edward II").

Then, the star of William Shakespeare began to rise in the theatrical sky of London, who used in his work forms and techniques that had been repeatedly tested and verified in the theater, and made extensive use of the rich plot arsenal of European medieval and Renaissance literature. He borrowed a lot from Chaucer (for example, Shakespeare's poem "Lucretia" with its plot roots takes us to Chaucer's work "Legends of Good Women"; the images of Theseus and Hippolyta in the comedy "A Midsummer Night's Dream" were probably inspired by "The Knight's Tale" from Chaucer's famous "Canterbury Tales"; Chaucer's poem "Troilus and Cressida" influenced Shakespeare's comedy of the same name, etc.). Not only in his sonnets, but in all the exquisite lines of his plays, Shakespeare owed much to Edmund Spenser, the author of the poem “The Faerie Queene,” and other poets of his school. Shakespeare borrowed the plot from Philip Sidney's Arcadia, which he embodied in the image of Gloucester, betrayed by his son Edmund (King Lear). Among the predecessors of the genius, we should mention the nameless storytellers of English folk ballads. It is in the English folk ballad that that tragic drama of action, which is so typical of the work of the writer and his contemporaries, originates. Many thoughts and feelings that have long existed among the people and are reflected in folk ballads and songs have found a brilliant artistic embodiment in creativity. The roots of this creativity go wide and deep into the folk soil.

From foreign literary works The playwright was primarily influenced by the Italian short stories of Boccaccio and Bandello, from whom Shakespeare borrowed a number of plots for his plays. Collection translated into English language Italian and French short stories entitled “The Chamber of Pleasures” were the author’s reference book. For his “Roman tragedies” (“Julius Caesar,” “Coriolanus,” “Antony and Cleopatra”) he took plots from Plutarch’s “Lives of Famous People,” which he read in translation. His favorite books also included Ovid's Metamorphoses. English translation Golding.

Thus, Shakespeare's work was prepared by many poets, writers and translators.

2 . MetaphoricalimagesVtragedyIN.Shakespeare « Macbeth»

2.1 Conceptmetaphors

IN famous work J. Lakoff and M. Johnson “Metaphors We Live By” the key idea is that our entire surrounding reality (visible and invisible) is imbued with metaphors, and their main thesis boils down to the fact that “most of the usual conceptual system of a person is structured using metaphors; those. Most concepts are understood with the help of certain parts of other concepts." The authors interpret metaphor both as a figure of speech and as a figure of thought. Metaphors, in their understanding, unite two conceptual spheres - the source sphere and the target sphere, creating the possibility of understanding the target sphere in terms of the source sphere. In other words, “what we know about the source sphere also applies to the target sphere, since the metaphor establishes a formal identity between them by declaring that “A is B.” This definition of metaphor also includes analogue thinking."

Metaphor has penetrated so deeply into human consciousness that not a single mental activity, be it of an everyday nature, business, or even scientific, can do without its mechanisms. In addition, we need it for a more or less accurate description of that intuitively comprehended that lies beyond the boundaries of known reality and, one might say, intuitive perception, not to mention the fact that metaphorical processes in language are basic and dominant in the creation of an expressive text, intentional or spontaneous. Consideration of metaphor, another appeal to this phenomenon of not only the linguistic, but also the epistemological system, is more than justified, since the changing world constantly suggests to us more and more new images. Human consciousness changes along with the changing world, which means the prism through which we look at the things around us also changes. About the appearance of metaphor O.M. Freidenberg wrote: “ Figurative meanings! Who could have thought of such a semantic obstacle if it had not appeared in human consciousness by virtue of objective epistemological laws."

The world of images is rich and varied. To express these images linguistically, we also resort to metaphorical devices. And speech constructed according to the “as if...” scheme has its own “pros” and “cons.”

The disadvantages include the fact that when expressing thoughts figuratively and descriptively, we are not always able to accurately, in accordance with the realities of reality, convey our perception, state, feelings, emotions, and, finally, the objectivity of the content. The subjectivity of the very nature of metaphor has not always, or rather, almost never, contributed to this. On the other hand, the undoubted advantage of the metaphorical method of presentation is that it is this way of expressing thoughts that gives our speech individuality and uniqueness, enriches it and decorates it. Finally, thanks to metaphor in the broad sense of the word, we have the opportunity to observe important and interesting changes in linguistic processes, namely: the emergence of new lexical meanings and speech patterns, the emergence of new words and occasionalisms, new schemes for constructing sentences - and all this undoubtedly enriches the language and develops it.

Speaking about the nature of the metaphorical process itself, it is impossible not to say that it directly depends on a certain type of thinking.

But here, too, there is a dual explanation of the reasons and prerequisites for the appearance of metaphor. On the one hand, there is an opinion that a metaphor arises when the language does not have that necessary linguistic sign (lexeme, word) that would correspond to the thought being expressed, that would coincide with the object, subject, state, feeling, etc. being described. Thus, according to M. Muller, metaphor appeared as a result of lexical poverty ancient language: the vocabulary was small, and a person was forced to use the same word to mean various items and phenomena.

G. Guillaume also associated the emergence of expression (and we consider metaphor as one of the components of expressivity) with the insufficient linguistic knowledge of the speaker himself... The point, obviously, was that the speaker, having not found the right word in his linguistic and lexical arsenal, describing the thought that has arisen, resorts to the limited lexical composition that is at his disposal.

We cannot completely agree with this, but we cannot categorically deny that, indeed, some words and figures of speech may appear, roughly speaking, due to a lack of words, sometimes a lack of words precisely at the moment of speech, which can be caused either by excitement, or violent emotions, or an excess of experienced feelings. It turns out to be a paradox: ignorance of the language can give rise to expressiveness of speech. Of course, this conclusion can be considered conditional and even more doubtful.

Emerging metaphorical images are reflected in the language in a compressed or expanded form, which leads to the emergence of new connotative meanings in the word, or to the emergence of new stable expressions. Figuratively motivated words (metaphors), as well as turns of phrase, are exponents of cultural signs, since the cultural connotations assigned to them themselves become knowledge, and, therefore, a source of cognitive development. The main condition for the consolidation in the language and the transition of metaphors to the status of stable circulation is precisely the content of the cultural ethnocomponent in new connotative meanings. It is no coincidence that in research, along with the established term “metaphor”, new scientific terms appear that are semantically similar or intersecting with “metaphor” - “internal form”, cultural connotation”, “chronotope” and others, which are one way or another connected with ethnocultural meanings in a word or expression. The consolidation of metaphors in language does not happen overnight; therefore, there is a certain intermediate stage when the expression has not yet become stable, and therefore widespread, but has ceased to be just a comparative phrase or figurative expression.

The essence and purpose of metaphor is mainly to free oneself and the recipient from long and grueling descriptions of a sensory-emotional nature and compare it with the already existing concept or a phenomenon that gives rise to similar emotional and sensory experiences when it is perceived. That’s why we resort to conveying our sensations according to the scheme “just like...”, “as if...”. From the point of view of rationality and saving intellectual costs, this is the shortest path to the consciousness of the recipient, and from the point of view of pragmatics and functional semantics, this is the birth of a new semantic meaning.

The metaphor itself is figurative means, a rhetorical figure, but being framed as part of a comparative construction, its impact is enhanced, and the comparative part in this construction creates poetry, while enhancing one of the features on the basis of which the metaphor is built. Thus, the passage of time in our example is compared to a drawn cart, and the swiftness of thoughts is compared to gusts of a mountain wind. In both cases, thanks to comparisons, the metaphorical image becomes more tangible, and the merging or dissolving of the images into each other does not occur.

The phenomenon of metaphor is one of the central objects of modern humanities research; it is developed in the works of domestic and foreign linguists and literary scholars.

It was in the era of Shakespeare that informational speech was replaced by poetic, figurative, and metaphorical speech. For Shakespeare, the word is the most important aesthetic component of his art: a poetic means, a way of self-expression, the music of language.

Shakespeare's language is extremely rich in imagery. “Every word is a picture,” wrote about Shakespeare English poet 18th century Thomas Gray. This begs the question: weren’t the characters of the characters reflected to some extent in these paintings? After all, in life, in our everyday speech, we probably more often compare the phenomena we have touched upon with what is especially close and understandable to each of us. In literature, the situation, apparently, is often different, since the poet or writer, when creating metaphors, may proceed not from personal inclinations, but from the aesthetic canon of a given “school” or “tradition.” IN dramatic works characters often speak in the language, and therefore in the images, of the author. Assumptions alone, like “instinctive” feelings, are far from sufficient.

The boundaries of metaphor in language are very wide: the lexical, word-formation, phraseological and syntactic levels of the language system are subject to its mechanisms. A metaphor connects two different phenomena, highlighting their similarities and differences, and is traditionally explained as “a technique of thinking about something in terms of something else.” Most images have great importance when studying the writer's work. In particular, Shakespeare hardly describes the appearance of his characters. His characters are created using comparisons, hyperbole, and other means of imagery. Special role among them is given to metaphor.

2.2 KeymetaphorsVtragedyW. Shakespeare « Macbeth»

In the tragedy "Macbeth" (1605-1606), which was written last of the four great tragedies, Shakespeare gives the most complete characterization of a person who consciously and consistently puts what expresses his own interests above the interests of those around him. The tragedy is based on the material from “The Chronicles of England, Scotland and Ireland” by R. Holinshed.

A significant part of the images found in Macbeth's speeches are solemn. “Two truths are spoken,” says Macbeth, “like happy prologues to the rising royal theme.” “Why,” asks Macbeth, “are you dressing me in clothes borrowed from someone else?” Here the very word “robes” sounds “royal”; Banquo will also say in figurative speech simply clothes (garments). Macbeth says that retribution brings "our own poisoned chalice (chalice) to our lips."

Macbeth's struggle is conveyed through metaphors in his soliloquy. First, he talks about the consequences of his crime: an image of a net arises in which the consequences of the murder can be caught, then images of earthly time and time after death. Murder, a blow with a dagger will not be the end of things in this world. The main character admits that “he would jump over the future life.” Fear of punishment cannot deter people from committing crimes.

But Macbeth is stopped by pity for Duncan. Duncan is a kind and gentle ruler, loved by everyone. The news of the murder will “hit every eye” and tears will flood the wind.

The monologue ends:

I don't have spurs

To prick the sides of my intention,

Only one rapidly galloping ambition,

Which jumps over itself and falls on another.

"Spurs" is ambition, "horse" is a murderous plot. The rider is galloping, but it is not clear who he jumps over and who he falls on. Maybe the verb “overleaps” means that the rider is tired and falls from fatigue. Or perhaps the sentence is not finished. Consequently, Macbeth decides not to commit the crime. And only the intervention of Lady Macbeth returns him to his previous intention.

In the second monologue, the ruler's mind is heated (“heat-oppressed brain”). The dagger is similar to the one with which Macbeth is going to stab Duncan. The night seems to him to be an accomplice to murder: “dreams torment, a veiled dream.” And like a thief, Tarquin sneaks, looking like a ghost.

Don't listen to my steps so that the stones

Having spoken, they did not give me away

And the oppression of silence did not ease.

After committing the murder, Macbeth is haunted by torment of conscience. He thinks he heard a cry:

"Sleep no more! By the hand of Macbeth

The dream has been stabbed to death!" - An innocent dream, that dream,

Which quietly winds the threads

A terrible murder as opposed to a peaceful, calm sleep: “an innocent dream”, “unraveling an innocent tangle of worries”, “the death of everyday life”, “a font for toil”, “a balm for wounded minds”, “the main breadwinner at the feast of life”. “Can the ocean of great Neptune wash the blood from my hands? - Macbeth asks himself.

The ruler is deeply upset and worries about his crime.

If only I had died an hour before,

I could say that I lived a happy century.

What's left of value? Nothing.

He took everything away. He was the beauty of life.

He talks about his life, in which only sediment remains.

Next on the ruler's path is Banquo. He was predicted to be the ancestor of kings. Macbeth is jealous of him and sees him as an enemy. Macbeth associates Banquo with the image of a snake - “the snake is not yet killed and although its sting has been pulled out, it will crawl up and bite. Macbeth thinks about Duncan, who is no longer there. He says that it is better to be dead than “to lie in restless ecstasy on the rack of the mind” (“... on the torture of the mind to lie in restless ecstasy”). For the sake of getting rid of torment, he agrees to “separate all parts of things in both worlds” - earthly and heavenly.

In the text of the play, Macbeth exclaims: "Never rise the rebel dead, until Birnam Wood rises." Shakespeare talks about the idea of Christianity, the commandment “thou shalt not kill.” Before Christianity, murder was common, then there was no idea of the resurrection of the dead, there was no pangs of conscience. "Rebel dead" are those resurrected after death.

On the eve of the battle, the main character compares his life to a withered, withered, yellow leaf. He is deprived of everything: honor, obedience, love, friends are not for him, he will only receive curses. He says, turning to his life: “Burn out, little cinder!” After the battle, Macbeth says: “So bad and have a nice day I haven't seen it yet"

“The fears of the present are less than the horrors generated by the imagination,” i.e. The witches’ predictions strengthened the hero’s ambitious dreams and plans and at the same time frightened him so much that their fulfillment was completed even in the plan and “nothing exists except what does not exist” (“nothing is \ But what is not”).

The witch-lord Hecate has a “great task” to do - to grab “a drop from the depths of the universe, “hanging on the horn of the moon,” before it falls to the ground, in order to use magic to turn these pairs into “artificial visions” that can make Macbeth despise death and fate, mercy and fear.

Macbeth conjures the witches to predict his fate. This spell ends with a metaphor: “... let the treasure of nature's germins tumble all together\ Even till destruction sicken.” This image is associated with ancient philosophers and their idea of the basis of the universe - these are the “seeds” or “embryos” of everything that exists on earth. In this metaphor, the idea arises of the emergence of all things from some beginnings and the possibility of the death of all things from the crimes of people.

In Macbeth, everything human perishes. So after meeting the witches, fear and remorse perish in him. He's not afraid of anything. He says about himself: “I have eaten too much horror. They are familiar to the killer’s soul and no longer frighten him.”

I will fight

Until they take the meat off my bones.

Give me my shell.

Lady Macbeth reflects on her husband: “I fear your nature. She is too full of the milk of human kindness to catch the shortest path.”

Lady Macbeth receives a letter telling her what happened:

Glamis thou art, and Cawdor; and shalt be

What do you art promise. Yet do I fear thy nature;

It is too full o`th` milk of human kindness

To catch the nearest way.

The image “the milk of human kindness” means “the milk of human kindness.” The words human (human) and kindness (kindness) in early XVII centuries had more broad meaning. Therefore, turnover should be understood as kindness that arises from a sense of community with other people or a feeling of compassion.

The heroine calls memory “the guardian of the brain.” The very word “warder” is associated with a feudal castle. “You are expanding your noble strength,” she tells her husband. The word unbend contains the image of a bent bow with a taut string - the usual weapon of castle warriors. “The terrible trumpet calls the sleepers in this castle to parley,” says Lady Macbeth. The images are full of courageous belligerence, which is much less in Macbeth himself.

What Macbeth calls the “royal theme” she calls the “golden circle,” meaning the crown, that is, the thing. She prays to the spirits to “replace her milk with bile.” She persuades her husband to “turn up the pegs” of courage. She calls the sleep of a drunk person “swine.”

I'll get his squires drunk

Both so that I will divorce the couples

Their brains are like alembics.

When they, having fallen asleep in a dead sleep,

They will stretch out like two pork carcasses...

And only at the end, when she wanders unconscious, an image appears in her speeches.

And the hand still smells like blood. No aromas of Arabia can take away this smell from this little hand! Ooo!.

This sounds unexpected coming from a woman who seemed so courageous.

Completely different metaphors sound in Banquo’s speech. “If you are able to see the sowing of time,” he tells the witches, “and tell which grain will sprout and which will not…” “If I grow in your heart, the harvest will belong to you,” Banquo says to Duncan. Banquo calls the bird that has made a nest in the castle wall a “summer guest”; he compares her to a housekeeper, and her nest to a bed and cradle. When he dark night goes out into the castle courtyard, he says: “There is economic frugality in the sky: the candles have been put out there.”

In the world of his images there is also a heroic motif. After killing Duncan, he speaks of high knightly style, that he stands “in the great hand of God” and is ready to fight treachery.

Thanks to metaphorical images in tragedies, an anxious and mournful mood is created. The world of Shakespearean metaphors is full of different images. They contain the author’s own assessment, his ethical and aesthetic position.

conclusions

So, during the study of the tragedy “Macbeth”, it became clear that Shakespeare used such a phenomenon as metaphor, that in his tragedy lies a deep interpretation of literary images.

In this work, attention was paid to the analysis of the English Renaissance tragedy of the 16th century, the main stages in the development of Shakespeare’s work, as well as the analysis of metaphors used in writing the tragedy “Macbeth”. When solving the main problems, metaphors were identified and the contextual significance of metaphors was analyzed. An illustration of the use of metaphors based on the work of Shakespeare proved how rich the poetic metaphorical language of a writer can be, and that the description of images is unthinkable without such a phenomenon as metaphoricality. That is why interest in a thorough study of metaphors, especially in the works of playwright Shakespeare, still does not fade away.

During the analysis of the poem, we found confirmation of the position regarding the uniqueness and universality of the language of tragedy. Thus, metaphors for the most part helped to describe civilization, the characters of the main characters, their wandering in search of the meaning of life.

Metaphorical images and symbols were repeated and changed throughout the work, creating a Shakespearean picture of the world.

Shakespeare's metaphor is a tool with which he constructs a work and conveys the meaning of the work. His images are a universal basis for reflecting the main idea of the tragedy, as well as its individual moments.

In the study of the use of metaphorical images in the tragedy "Macbeth" the following conclusions can be drawn:

The metaphors that Shakespeare used in the tragedy “Macbeth” help to reveal the psychological state of the characters, their character traits, their life experience and worldview, and allows us to determine the connection between metaphors and the psychology of the heroes;

To reveal the images, Shakespeare uses different metaphors for each of the heroes: for Macbeth - political, for Lady Macbeth and for Banquo - personal with a hint of a heroic motive.

A writer’s metaphor, by its nature, is recognized only by a social person, because it has a social and public character, it brings people together and is an indispensable tool not only in writing tragedy, but also in the education and aesthetic education of individuality.

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