By definition, a critical review of a literary work is a summary and evaluation of the text in light of certain elements, such as the theme, structure, motifs, and historical and social context. To write a critical review does not mean you are offering a negative assessment, but rather you are analyzing the text and responding to it. Therefore, in writing a critical review about Shakespeare’s Macbeth, a good place to start would be to make a list of the various themes present in the play.
One of the most prominent themes in the book is the lust for power, as Macbeth kills Duncan in a fervent attempt to gain the crown in response to the witches’ prophecy. In Act 1, Scene 4, Macbeth delivers the following aside:
The prince of Cumberland! That is a step
On which I must fall down, or else o’erleap,
For in my way it lies. Stars, hide your fires;
Let not light see my black and deep desires.
The eye wink at the hand, yet let that be
Which the eye fears, when it is done, to see. (I. iv. 50-55)
The above quote provides good textual support for the theme of greed and the lust for power. Here, Macbeth privately admits that he has a deep, burning desire to kill Duncan to progress up the royal ladder.
Another theme that is present in the play is that of guilt. Upon killing Banquo to protect his murderous secret, Macbeth is haunted by Banquo’s ghost, which is a manifestation and symbol of the guilt that Macbeth is experiencing. In Act 3, Scene 4, Macbeth is greatly troubled by the presence of Banquo’s ghost, and his distress reveals the detrimental effects of Macbeth’s previous actions:
Avaunt! And quit my sight! Let the earth hide thee!
Thy bones are marrowless, they blood is cold;
Thou hast no speculation in those eyes
Which thou dost glare with! (III. iv. 92-95)
The above quote is delivered when Macbeth orders the ghost to vanish from his sight. It also provides complexity to Macbeth’s character, for he is not a cold-blooded murdered, but is rather deeply troubled by his actions. This makes him more sympathetic.
An additional theme is that of feminism, as exhibited by Lady Macbeth. When she learns from her husband about the intended prophesy, Lady Macbeth becomes wildly ambitious to aid Macbeth in his conquest for power. In Act 1, Scene 5, she gives the following lines:
Come, you spirits
That tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here,
And fill me from the crown to the toe top-full
Of direst cruelty. Make thick my blood.
Stop up the access and passage to remorse,
That no compunctious visitings of nature
Shake my fell purpose, nor keep peace between
The effect and it! Come to my woman’s breasts,
And take my milk for gall, you murd'ring ministers,
Wherever in your sightless substances
You wait on nature’s mischief. (I. v. 30-40).
The above soliloquy uses the diction of “unsex me” and Lady Macbeth asks the spirits to remove her womanly nature from her breasts. She instead wants to be like a callous, man with no emotional attachment or remorse to what she and her husband are about to do.
The above list includes just some of the themes in Macbeth, but others include morality, evil, the supernatural, and reality verse the imaginative. Once you select a theme or themes to respond to, meaning you show how the theme is present in the play through textual support, you must provide the significance of the theme.
For example, with the first listed theme of lust for power, the play concludes with the death of both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth, illustrating the negative cause-and-effect of corrupt greed and ambition. As with the theme of guilt, both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are haunted by their deeds either through hallucinations or vivid dreams. This suggests that Shakespeare is asserting that individuals cannot out run their wrong doing. Finally, with the theme of feminism, Shakespeare is writing against the norm of the patriarchal Elizabethan period by presenting a strong, assertive woman. Yet, the argument could also be made that by having Lady Macbeth kill herself in the end, she could not truly be the “unsexed” woman she tried to become.
In conclusion, a critical review should convey your response to a particular element or elements of the play, but it should be supported by textual evidence. Ground claims in quotes and explain how these quotes support your stance.
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