MACBETH
But in these cases We still have judgment here; that we but teach Bloody instructions, which, being taught, return To plague the inventor: this even-handed justice Commends the ingredients of our poison'd chalice To our own lips.
Macbeth circles back fastidiously to the consequences of his actions, namely the risk that others will revenge Duncan's murder. Macbeth seems thoughtful here – from the metaphors of the last lines, he settles now on abstractions of "judgement" and "justice". The judgement he fears is not a heavenly one, but "judgement here": his concerns are resoundingly practical. Caesuras divide the line, providing some structure to the layered clauses, but perhaps also indicating his divide from the other characters. This division is accentuated by the soliloquy; his guilt and contemplation are problems he must deal with alone. Macbeth's pensive manner contrasts with both the reports of battle in 1.2 and the second half of the play, in which he acts without consideration; there is still order at this stage, despite the deceit and murderous schemes hidden behind castle walls. His worry is that others will repeat his "bloody instructions", where "bloody" serves as a reminder of the reality of the murder and bloodshed in an otherwise evasive speech. His thoughts take on pace in his hypotheticals – the present tense "teach" quickly leads to "being taught", suggesting the authority Macbeth and Lady Macbeth will attain through their treason but also that their teachings (violent acts) will be passed to others who, learning from their example, shall inflict harm upon the new king: Macbeth. The cyclical structure of these lines encapsulates the broader cyclicality of the whole play - the Thane of Cawdor is executed for treason twice; two kings die - and even now Macbeth realises that "blood will have blood". Revenge is, for him, a fair justice, whose "even-handed[ness] is emphasised by the compound adjective, and almost willingly accepted when "commended". That the violence comes back to "plague", though, seems prescient, perhaps foreshadowing the malady of Lady Macbeth's sleepwalking and Macbeth's own decline – a drawn-out fall from grace far more troubling than Duncan's quiet demise. Macbeth seems to acknowledge that he controls his fate – he is the "inventor" and it is "our" chalice (a word and image which recalls Hamlet – a play which shares many themes with Macbeth, including the usurping of the throne). The image of the "poison'd chalice" is an ambiguous one. The chalice is a communion vessel and yet the "ingredience" perhaps recalls the brewing potion of the witches, the pull of the metaphysical on Macbeth's fate, creating an almost inverted mass so that, instead of its contents purifying, they are defiling Jesus's blood with murder, usurping God's power and making his image perverse. The image of wine also represents transformation and it is clear to the audience that the conclusion Macbeth is moving towards will be a pivotal one. Yet unlike the bloody images of death in 1.2, the images of death in his soliloquy - taken "to our lips" - are sensitive, even sensuous and he begins to talk himself out of his decision.
- Leah
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