Nicholas Dobson
Macbeth de-mystified!Descent into Darkness charts a war hero’s troubled journey into evil after encountering three demonic witches who activate darkly ’Vaulting ambition’, leading him to an inglorious end as a ’dead butcher’ and ’abhorred tyrant’. Faring no better was his murderous mentor and ’fiend-like queen’, Lady Macbeth. For overwhelmed by the enormity of their actions, she ’Took off her life’ ’by self and violent hands’.Shakespeare’s genius is to give Macbeth a conscience (which he initially struggles to suppress) as we join Macbeth on his sombre sojourn into Hell. For while Macbeth wades ever deeper into murky darkness, and remains troubled by his deeds, he nevertheless steels himself to continue ’in blood’ and resigns himself to being the monster he has created in a world where nothing is what it seems and where ’Fair is foul, and foul is fair’.With abundant quotations and extracts from Shakespeare’s plays throughout (including nearly 1500 Notes), Descent into Darkness unlocks character, action and the meaning of words in every scene of the play. It will therefore be a useful guide for all who wish to encounter Shakespeare’s masterpiece, including students, teachers, actors, directors, producers and entire novices!
