Macbeth Act 1 Scene 7 (Part One) | ISC Class 11 | English Explanation | English with Sudhir Sir

00:14:28
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vhTWsw1MqlE

Summary

TLDRThe video provides a comprehensive analysis of Act 1, Scene 7 of Shakespeare's Macbeth, emphasizing its critical role in the play. This scene is pivotal as it delves into Macbeth's internal conflict about assassinating King Duncan. Through his soliloquy, Macbeth reveals his anxiety and the moral dilemmas he faces about committing the murder. Shakespeare uses irony to depict how Macbeth believes completing the murder will resolve his issues, though it in fact triggers his downfall. This analysis highlights Macbeth's ambitious but morally conflicted nature, as well as his erroneous belief in escaping consequences. Moreover, the discussion touches upon the philosophical themes of justice, the consequences of one's actions, and the concept of karma. The language used by Shakespeare, rich in metaphor and philosophical depth, illustrates Macbeth's vacillation and role as King Duncan's kinsman, subject, and host as a deterrent to murder.

Takeaways

  • 🎭 Scene 7 is pivotal in understanding Macbeth's character.
  • 🗡️ Macbeth struggles with the decision to assassinate Duncan.
  • 🔁 The irony lies in thinking the murder ends his problems.
  • 🚫 Macbeth acknowledges the moral complications of murder.
  • 🎺 Angels and pity are personified in Macbeth's reflections.
  • 👑 Duncan's virtuous nature makes the murder more heinous.
  • 🔓 Macbeth foresees retribution for his planned actions.
  • 🐴 Ambition drives Macbeth but also leads to his downfall.
  • ⚖️ The concept of justice and karma plays a critical role.
  • 🔄 Macbeth's internal conflict reflects broader ethical dilemmas.

Timeline

  • 00:00:00 - 00:05:00

    In this segment, the focus is on Macbeth's soliloquy which reveals his internal conflict about killing King Duncan. Macbeth, inside his castle alone while the king is dining, muses over the potential consequences of the murder. He expresses a desire for the act to be done quickly to avoid consequences, yet ironically, the troubles for him actually begin after the deed. The soliloquy highlights Macbeth's contemplation and his awareness of the repercussions, such as his belief in justice and the inevitable consequences of one's actions. Macbeth considers the moral implications and fears the return of violence onto himself, indicating his awareness of karma and poetic justice.

  • 00:05:00 - 00:14:28

    Here, Macbeth continues to contemplate the murder and its implications, emphasizing a moral and spiritual struggle. He fears the repercussions of killing a just and humble king, listing reasons against the murder: Duncan is his relative, his guest, and a good king with virtues that would cry out against the injustice of his murder. Macbeth philosophically reflects on ambition, likening it to a rider that overreaches and ultimately fails. His musings depict him as ambitious but morally hesitant. Lady Macbeth's entrance signifies a turn towards the practical handling of their twisted ambition. The scene sets the stage for the pivotal dialogue between Macbeth and Lady Macbeth, revealing Macbeth’s psychological conflict and setting up the dynamics that drive the narrative forward.

Mind Map

Video Q&A

  • What is Scene 7 of Act 1 about?

    It focuses on Macbeth's soliloquy and his thoughts on assassinating King Duncan.

  • Why is Scene 7 considered important?

    It reveals Macbeth's internal conflict and sets up key dynamics between him and Lady Macbeth.

  • What irony is present in Macbeth's soliloquy?

    Macbeth believes completing the assassination will solve his problems, but it actually begins new troubles for him.

  • What does the term 'assassination' signify in this context?

    It refers to Macbeth's planned murder of King Duncan, a pivotal moment in the play.

  • How does Shakespeare use language to convey Macbeth's thoughts?

    Shakespeare uses metaphor and philosophical language to explore Macbeth's moral dilemmas.

  • What philosophical theme is discussed in this scene?

    The theme of justice and retribution is discussed, emphasizing karma and consequences.

  • How does Macbeth justify not committing the murder?

    He considers his roles as kinsman, subject, and host, and Duncan's virtuous nature as reasons against it.

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  • 00:00:01
    welcome back tows the mbth course now as
  • 00:00:04
    far as mbth act one is concerned this is
  • 00:00:07
    the concluding scene and this to my mind
  • 00:00:10
    is the most important scene as far as
  • 00:00:13
    meth is concerned in act one in act one
  • 00:00:16
    scene 7 is the most important because it
  • 00:00:18
    involves the two most important
  • 00:00:21
    characters of the play magb and his five
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    lady magb we'll do this in two parts so
  • 00:00:26
    in this first explanation video we are
  • 00:00:28
    seeing that this is once again inside
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    meb's cast Castle okay
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    um there are various servants who enter
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    and then meth enters and he's inside the
  • 00:00:39
    castle alone while King dunan and others
  • 00:00:41
    are having their dinner okay so hot boys
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    and obeys I mean these words which are
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    used this is a musical instrument which
  • 00:00:48
    is made of wood which you play by
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    blowing through it so the scene starts
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    with the soli by magb which gives an
  • 00:00:55
    insight into his thought process what is
  • 00:00:57
    going on in his mind is what we come to
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    know through this particular scene if it
  • 00:01:03
    were done when it is done then it were
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    well it were done quickly so what he's
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    saying is that if this work that is the
  • 00:01:13
    work of killing Duncan were to be
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    finished when it is done then it would
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    be best to get over with it
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    quickly so if it gets done as soon as
  • 00:01:22
    possible it's always better that way
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    okay so uh the irony is that the irony
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    in these lines if if you get these lines
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    and if you are asked to point out the
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    irony of these lines the irony is that
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    even when the deed is done that is when
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    they killed dunan act 2 scene 2 when the
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    king is done and they think that the
  • 00:01:42
    deed is done everything is done we are
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    all very happy the irony is that no the
  • 00:01:49
    troubles only begin at that point in
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    time they think everything is fine but
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    no that is the mistake they are making
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    that is the wrong impression the magets
  • 00:02:00
    are under that everything is fine no so
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    this line is pretty ironic because the
  • 00:02:05
    magets face the consequences for what
  • 00:02:08
    they have done now what they will be
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    doing inside the castle in act to scene
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    two now he says if the assassination and
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    please note this word
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    assassination could tramel up the
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    consequence and catch with his
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    sir K success okay that but this blow
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    might be the be all and the end all here
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    okay so what he's saying is that if the
  • 00:02:35
    assassination of the king of Duncan
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    could tramel up the consequence could
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    catch like in a net you know like in a
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    net you catch tramel means to catch like
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    in a net catching all the consequence of
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    the ACT okay all the consequence of the
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    act and catch success by Duncan's death
  • 00:02:55
    as a result of Duncan's death catch all
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    the success which would come means to
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    Seas means to to end to
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    seize seize word you would know right
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    there is one famous fire extinguisher no
  • 00:03:10
    called Seas fire or Seas fire that is
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    end I mean stopping of hosp is pressing
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    the pause button right so the word sees
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    is there so he's saying out here that if
  • 00:03:24
    the assassination of the king could
  • 00:03:26
    catch like in a net it catching all the
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    consequen of the act and catch the
  • 00:03:31
    success by Duncan's demise then the act
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    of the murder then the act of the murder
  • 00:03:37
    would be the Beall and the end all of
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    the whole Affair then all this time I
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    would do it and risk the afterlife right
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    so uh basically what he's talking about
  • 00:03:46
    his thoughts about the assassination you
  • 00:03:49
    know what he what is his position Visa
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    the VIS a the possibility of him killing
  • 00:03:54
    king Duncan inside his castle okay so
  • 00:03:58
    that's what he's talking about out here
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    now the interesting part why I as said
  • 00:04:04
    that Mark this word assassination now
  • 00:04:06
    the word assassination was actually
  • 00:04:08
    first used in the year 1600 in a
  • 00:04:10
    pamphlet but in terms of popular usage
  • 00:04:13
    it was then used by Shakespeare in this
  • 00:04:14
    play in 1606 in mbth until today it is
  • 00:04:18
    used okay so
  • 00:04:21
    uh this bank and Sh of time this bank
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    and Sh of time what does it mean it
  • 00:04:27
    means that Shakespeare is referring to
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    life time as some kind of a sandbank
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    which would be covered by a sea of
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    Eternity So it's talking in a very in a
  • 00:04:36
    very philosophical kind of a sense so
  • 00:04:38
    it's it will sound very vague because
  • 00:04:40
    it's not like you know every word has a
  • 00:04:42
    specific meaning or particular meaning
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    convey but this particular lines these
  • 00:04:47
    lines are definitely very important
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    because as I said they contain a lot of
  • 00:04:53
    irony okay uh
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    jump means to
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    risk jump means to risk that we would
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    risk the life to come that is the
  • 00:05:06
    afterlife okay but in these cases
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    there's another point that I written
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    that what magb is saying essentially is
  • 00:05:12
    that if the murder okay the meaning of
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    the passage if the murder could be
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    committed without any after effects that
  • 00:05:20
    you know nothing will happen to us then
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    I would be glad to get done with it
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    immediately you know as soon as possible
  • 00:05:27
    let's get done with it
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    if I could be sure of success at the end
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    of committing the murder then it would
  • 00:05:36
    be good because if the if the murder was
  • 00:05:38
    done okay so basically it shows his
  • 00:05:41
    contemplation whether it will lead me to
  • 00:05:43
    success or whether it will lead me to
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    failure so he's kind of vacillating
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    should I or should I not so that kind of
  • 00:05:50
    shows a
  • 00:05:51
    certain trait of his personality that at
  • 00:05:54
    one stage he's ambitious what lady mbth
  • 00:05:58
    told about him that you know is full of
  • 00:06:00
    you know the milk of humankindness that
  • 00:06:02
    you know he's not he he's ambitious he
  • 00:06:05
    wants to achieve something but he's not
  • 00:06:07
    willing to make that effort to achieve
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    that particular uh stage so that is
  • 00:06:12
    always the trait as far as magb
  • 00:06:14
    personality is concerned and this
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    particular passage shows that and then
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    he says but in these kind of crimes we
  • 00:06:20
    still have judgment here so he says that
  • 00:06:22
    but for crimes like this there are
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    consequences like punishments out here
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    that we but teach bloody instructions
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    which being taught return to plague the
  • 00:06:31
    inventor what he's saying out here is
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    that we teach other people to commit
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    Violence by committing violent acts
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    ourselves and the violence of our
  • 00:06:42
    students will come to torment us as
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    teachers right inventor means teachers
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    that we teach
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    others you know go and cheat in the
  • 00:06:51
    examination and then you do the cheating
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    you do the bad practice and then it
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    comes to haunt us as the teachers you
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    know who are the ones who taught them to
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    cheat so that's why very important to
  • 00:07:02
    always teach everyone to do the right
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    thing in life very important always and
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    this is something of a life philosophy
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    always do the right thing in life always
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    better so
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    that there are two things which I always
  • 00:07:19
    believe when you look into the mirror
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    you should be able to look at yourself
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    in the mirror if you have a guilt
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    conscience you will not be able to look
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    at yourself in the mirror always have a
  • 00:07:28
    clean conscience so that you can have a
  • 00:07:31
    peaceful night's sleep right that's very
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    important this is apart from whatever we
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    are learning in me my own life
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    philosophy okay now then he says justice
  • 00:07:43
    being equal for everyone
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    right this even-handed Justice
  • 00:07:48
    even-handed Means equal for everyone
  • 00:07:50
    Justice for poor person is the same as a
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    Justice for the rich man right this
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    even-handed Justice commments the
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    ingredients of our poison chalice to our
  • 00:07:59
    own lips so he says justice being equal
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    to everyone forces commments means
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    forces us to drink from the same cup the
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    ingredient mean being The Poisoned uh
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    chalice you know that be drink that is
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    poisoned and gave to others chalice
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    means cup uh The Poisoned cup so he says
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    the Justice being equal for everyone
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    forces us to drink from the same cup
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    that we poisoned and gave to others that
  • 00:08:27
    we poisoned Justice Ensure that you know
  • 00:08:30
    what others drink is the same as we also
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    get to drink so we also get poisoned in
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    the bargain so he has made the talking
  • 00:08:37
    about the student and the teacher and
  • 00:08:39
    now he's talking about the poison and
  • 00:08:41
    the Justice part that we would also get
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    punished if we do something wrong um if
  • 00:08:46
    we have tried to poison others we would
  • 00:08:48
    also get poisoned in the bargain
  • 00:08:52
    okay so what does it essentially show it
  • 00:08:56
    shows that meth believes that he will
  • 00:08:58
    always get punishment in our own life in
  • 00:09:01
    this particular life
  • 00:09:04
    itself you will have to pay for your
  • 00:09:07
    sins in this particular life itself and
  • 00:09:10
    if I were to murder Duncan someone would
  • 00:09:13
    plan to murder me so if I kill him
  • 00:09:16
    someone will try to kill me so I will
  • 00:09:18
    bear the consequences I will be punished
  • 00:09:20
    for what I have done so if I gave poison
  • 00:09:23
    to Duncan someone would try to poison me
  • 00:09:26
    the theory what I say of karma okay okay
  • 00:09:29
    so that's what he's saying and then he
  • 00:09:31
    says he's here in double trust he's here
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    trusting me in two ways one because I am
  • 00:09:39
    his Kinsman and his
  • 00:09:41
    subject okay so he's saying that one uh
  • 00:09:45
    I am is Kinsman Kinsman means that
  • 00:09:47
    someone who is a blood relation and
  • 00:09:48
    we've already spoken about them being
  • 00:09:50
    cousins and both uh and the fact that
  • 00:09:53
    he's a subject means you know he's the
  • 00:09:55
    king I'm the praja Raja and praja right
  • 00:09:58
    uh and both are good reasons for uh not
  • 00:10:02
    committing the deed right both are
  • 00:10:04
    strong against committing the deed then
  • 00:10:07
    the second is also as his host who
  • 00:10:09
    should be against his murderer shut the
  • 00:10:11
    door not bear the knife myself as his
  • 00:10:13
    host I should not be holding the knife I
  • 00:10:16
    should be against the person who is
  • 00:10:17
    holding the knife but here I am going to
  • 00:10:20
    be the person who is thinking of holding
  • 00:10:22
    the
  • 00:10:23
    knife bearing the knife
  • 00:10:26
    myself besides and he's giving so if you
  • 00:10:29
    get a a question about what are the
  • 00:10:30
    reasons what mbth sites in order to not
  • 00:10:34
    kill Duncan these are the reasons
  • 00:10:37
    specific reasons kin Kinsman subject
  • 00:10:40
    host and he has been doubly good and
  • 00:10:43
    then besides this Duncan had Bor his
  • 00:10:45
    faculty so Meek had been so clear in his
  • 00:10:47
    great office besides he says he has been
  • 00:10:49
    such a humble person right leader Bears
  • 00:10:52
    his faculty so me means he has been such
  • 00:10:54
    a humble person he performed his duties
  • 00:10:56
    very humbly he has been free from blame
  • 00:10:58
    Yan there has been no allegations of
  • 00:11:01
    corruption Etc against him he has been
  • 00:11:02
    great in his great office um referring
  • 00:11:05
    to his honesty and not uncorrupt nature
  • 00:11:08
    that his virtues make him like angels
  • 00:11:11
    will plead for him that you know don't
  • 00:11:12
    kill him right and cry out like Trum
  • 00:11:15
    trumpets against the Injustice deep Dam
  • 00:11:17
    deep damnation of his murder taking off
  • 00:11:20
    right so he says against his taking off
  • 00:11:23
    that even angels will say that don't
  • 00:11:25
    kill him because he's such a nice person
  • 00:11:27
    he has been honest he has been not been
  • 00:11:29
    corrupt and uh he has I mean this person
  • 00:11:32
    is also now a host and he has been a
  • 00:11:34
    very humble kind of a leader born his
  • 00:11:37
    faculties so Meek so if you keep reading
  • 00:11:40
    the text you will remember a lot of
  • 00:11:42
    these key wordss which Shakespeare is
  • 00:11:45
    using okay uh the Deep damnation of his
  • 00:11:49
    murder taking off and pretty like a
  • 00:11:52
    naked newborn babe striding the blast or
  • 00:11:55
    Heaven's cherubin host upon the cycles
  • 00:11:57
    criers of the air so he saying but pity
  • 00:12:00
    like an innocent newborn baby will ride
  • 00:12:03
    the wind like a uh winged angel so he's
  • 00:12:06
    personifying pity you know that people
  • 00:12:09
    will be pity for King dunan right or
  • 00:12:12
    Heaven's cherubin one of the highest
  • 00:12:14
    orders of angels angels be different
  • 00:12:16
    orders cherubin are considered to be the
  • 00:12:18
    highest order of angels and cherubin
  • 00:12:21
    what they will do um Heaven's cherubin
  • 00:12:24
    they will ride on invisible horses
  • 00:12:26
    sightless criers of the air the inv ible
  • 00:12:29
    horses through the air uh and will
  • 00:12:32
    spread the news of the horrible deed
  • 00:12:34
    everywhere they will go and tell
  • 00:12:35
    everyone that meth has killed King
  • 00:12:38
    Duncan right to every person's eye so
  • 00:12:40
    that every person people will shed a
  • 00:12:42
    flood of tears and this these tears will
  • 00:12:45
    drown the wind like a heavy downpour of
  • 00:12:48
    rain right they will drown the wind I
  • 00:12:51
    have no spur to pick the sides of my
  • 00:12:53
    intent but only walting ambition that
  • 00:12:55
    ambition is something which I have which
  • 00:12:57
    over leaps itself and falls on the other
  • 00:12:59
    so he says that I cannot bring myself to
  • 00:13:03
    act that I have to do this foul deed I
  • 00:13:06
    have no spur spur is basically a piece
  • 00:13:08
    of metal used by Riders on the boot to
  • 00:13:11
    make the horse go faster you know they
  • 00:13:13
    kick the sides of the horse to make it
  • 00:13:16
    Gallop faster right so that's a piece of
  • 00:13:18
    metal so basically to say that to make
  • 00:13:20
    it happen quickly that I have no spur to
  • 00:13:22
    make it happen quickly as my only desire
  • 00:13:25
    is huge ambition that even lady magba
  • 00:13:27
    said that you are an ambitious person
  • 00:13:30
    that he is ambitious meth is ambitious
  • 00:13:32
    but whether he has the the you know the
  • 00:13:36
    fire in his belly to do what it takes in
  • 00:13:39
    order to achieve that ambition which
  • 00:13:41
    over leaps itself and falls on the other
  • 00:13:43
    side so what this ambition is doing it's
  • 00:13:45
    it's overleaping and it's falling on the
  • 00:13:48
    other side so walting ambition is
  • 00:13:50
    comparing himself to a rider who leaps a
  • 00:13:53
    bit too quickly right and goes and falls
  • 00:13:56
    on the other side so at that point in
  • 00:13:59
    time is when lady mbth enters so we will
  • 00:14:02
    pause explanation video number one out
  • 00:14:04
    here in explanation video number two we
  • 00:14:06
    will finish off the rest of the act one
  • 00:14:09
    scene two scene 7 which as I said is
  • 00:14:12
    important because of the dialogue which
  • 00:14:13
    will now take place between magb and
  • 00:14:15
    lady magb so see you now in explanation
  • 00:14:18
    video number two of act one scene 7 I
  • 00:14:21
    hope this particular passage which gives
  • 00:14:23
    you an insight into mab's mind is clear
  • 00:14:26
    thank you very much
Tags
  • Macbeth
  • Shakespeare
  • Act 1
  • Scene 7
  • Analysis
  • Irony
  • Ambition
  • Consequence
  • Justice
  • Soliloquy