Question

What are the themes or main ideas in Act 1 Scene 7 Macbeth

Answer 1

There’s the theme of ambition. Macbeth is wrestling with his ambition. He wants to kill Duncan so he can become king(because he’s ambitious), however he knows that it’s bad and that he should protect Duncan rather than harm him - “Who should against his murderer shut the door,
Not bear the knife myself. Besides, this Duncan”. There’s also the theme of violence. Lady Macbeth paints a violent image of hurting a baby - “I would, while it was smiling in my face,
Have plucked my nipple from his boneless gums
And dashed the brains out, had I so sworn as you”. This also links to gender as it shows that Lady Macbeth is not a ‘normal’ Shakespearean woman because women during this time are expected to care for babies and they’re meant to be ‘motherly’, kind and ‘soft’, whereas Lady Macbeth is the complete opposite. There’s also themes of gender because lady Macbeth tries to manipulate Macbeth into killing Duncan through emasculation - “When you durst do it, then you were a man”.

Sorry I haven’t gone into much detail but they’re a few ideas.