A.C. Bradley's Answers to Frequently Asked Questions About Macbeth:
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Q: When was Macbeth written?
A: About 1606 See Note BB.
Q: What is the effect of the irony in Macbeth?
A: It creates a "vague fear of hidden forces operating on minds unconscious of their influence." See p. 338 ff.
Q: Do the witches make Macbeth murder Duncan?
A: No. See p. 340 ff.
Q: Are the witches just symbols of Macbeth's own evil desires?
A: No. See p. 346 ff.
Q: Can we see Macbeth as a "half-hearted cowardly criminal, and Lady Macbeth as a whole-hearted fiend"?
A: No, they are much more than that. For a comparison of the two, see p. 350. Bradley's analysis of Macbeth's character begins on p. 351, and of Lady Macbeth's on p. 366.
Q: What was Macbeth's tragic flaw?
A: Ambition. See pp. 351 - 352.
Q: Is Lady Macbeth responsible for Macbeth's crimes?
A: Regarding the murder of Duncan, Macbeth "feels with such intensity the enormity of his purpose that, it seems clear, neither his ambition nor yet the prophecy of the Witches would ever without the aid of Lady Macbeth have overcome this feeling." See p. 358. On the other hand, "He plans the murder of Banquo without her knowledge . . . because he does not need her now." See p. 375.
Q: Why did Lady Macbeth go mad?
A: Because, before the murder of Duncan, she "hardly imagines the act, or at most imagines its outward show," and because she does not "foresee those inward consequences which reveal themselves immediately in her husband." See pp. 373 ff.
Q: What kind of man is Banquo?
A: He is a good man who yields to Macbeth's evil nature. See p. 379 ff.
Q: Is Porter in the play for comic relief?
A: Not really; his speeches are more grotesque than humorous. See p. 395 ff.
Q: Did Lady Macbeth really faint?
A: Yes. See Note DD.
Q: Did Macbeth have any children? Did Lady Macbeth have any children?
A: We don't know and it doesn't matter. See Note EE, 3.
Q: Is the Ghost of Banquo a hallucination?
A: Yes, but Shakespeare knew that most of his audience would think of it as a real ghost. See Note FF.
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