What is ‘Gothic’ about act 1 of ‘Macbeth’

William Shakespeare’s tragedy ‘Macbeth’ arguably contains many aspects of the gothic tradition. The audience or readers are able to witness this from the onset. Act 1 of the Scottish play introduces the underlying themes and motifs of the play, many of which could be considered overtly gothic. 

Within the gothic tradition, we see within many texts the use of a supernatural prophecy of some sort that plays on destiny and fate. This is seen throughout the gothic tradition in some way. In Bram Stokers ‘Dracula’ we see the theme of the revenant in use through the character of the count and the old world aristocracy he represents, rising again. Within Christopher Marlowe’s ‘Dr.Faustus’ the audience are able to see the protagonist Faustus build with fear due to his promised and inevitable death. Within ‘Macbeth’ act 1, prophecy plays a catalytic moment within the plot. Shakespeare introduces in act 1 the characters of the witches, who tell of a prophecy that Macbeth will become king. This perplexes and intrigues Macbeth who as a result reconsiders his opportunities. The witches exclaim ‘All hail, Macbeth that shalt be king hereafter!’ through Macbeth’s reaction to this we find out more about the character. By now the audience know Macbeth is a courageous warrior. It is then revealed that Macbeth’s physical might is accompanied by a consuming ambition and a tendency to self-doubt—the prediction that he will be king brings him joy, but it also creates inner turmoil. ‘This supernatural soliciting cannot be ill, cannot be good...’ the suggestion that Macbeth will become king brings out anxieties within him, which is another key aspect of the gothic. 

Works that contain the ingredients of the gothic tradition often bend the social norms of the times for a sensationalist or often grotesque effect. Within ‘Dr.Faustus’ a eerie and uncanny image of Jesus Christ is portrayed, when Faustus looks to Jesus for mercy, Mephistopheles (a devil) explains ‘Christ cannot help you, for he is just’ this subverts the usual image of Christ as a kind, merciful saviour. Within Act 1 we see how Shakespeare subverts the gender roles through the character of Lady Macbeth. Lady Macbeth seems to be more assertive and fanatical when she hears about the prophecy. She even taunts Macbeth and questions his masculinity when he starts to doubt his actions. ‘’be so much more than the man.’ This comment from a wife to her husband would have seemed very shocking during the time it was written. The character of Lady Macbeth is a femme fatale and reflects the fears of independent women at the time.          

Marxist Analysis of 'One Flew over The Cuckoo's Nest' by Ken Kesey

The premise of Novel is within a home for the 'mentally ill' and when looked through a Marxist 'lens' many intriguing themes and aspects can be denoted. Most of the patients are not "chronics" and committed forcibly, the patients are their out of free choice although nobody ever leaves to establish their own self-autonomy as a individual. Nurse Ratched leads this establishment posing as a supposed counselor interested in helping them to overcome their so called problems and establish independence. As readers see through out the novel, the character of Nurse Ratched is far from the guardian angel her role purports her to be, she actually uses implicit and explicit measures to oppress them and keep them captive in something which very much resembles a dictatorship. Argubaly Nurse Ratched amd her staff pose as the 'elite' bourgiose who exploit and undermine the proleteriat of the novel: Randy Mcmurphy and the other 'Acutes'.

This marxist agenda may have been within the authorial intent of Ken Kesey, who throughout his years became known as somewhat of a anti-authority figure and counter-culture icon. Kesey was a crucial figure within the Beatnick and Hippie cultural movements and was always challenging social norms. Kesey is also seen by many as a post-modernist writer and usually a postmodern style empasizes the role of power relations and often opposes the use of classification. 

Geto Boys - My Minds Playing Tricks on Me

 At night I can't sleep, I toss and turn
Candle sticks in the dark, visions of bodies bein burned
Four walls just starin at a nigga
I'm paranoid, sleepin with my finger on the trigger
My mother's always stressin I ain't livin right
But I ain't going out without a fight
See, everytime my eyes close
I start sweatin, and blood starts comin out my nose
It's somebody watchin the Ak'
But I don't know who it is, so I'm watchin my back
I can see him when I'm deep in the covers
When I awake I don't see the motherfucker
He owns a black hat like I own
A black suit and a cane like my own
Some might say, "Take a chill, B"
But fuck that shit! There's a nigga trying to kill me
I'm poppin in the clip when the wind blows
Every twenty seconds got me peepin out my window
Investigatin the joint for traps
Checkin my telephone for taps
I'm starin at the woman on the corner
It's fucked up when your mind is playin tricks on ya

The lyrics used within describe various mental states such as hallucination, delusion and paranoia. The lyrics deal with the common theme of anxiety. The narration within these lyrics is overcome by a sense of terror and purveys a feeling of impending doom. there is also a pscycological aspect about this, as it is clear that maybe the mental state of the narrator/character is not entirley stable. 

 

Black Sabbath - Black Sabbath

"Black Sabbath"

What is this that stands before me?
Figure in black which points at me
Turn around quick, and start to run
Find out I'm the chosen one
Oh no

Big black shape with eyes of fire
Telling people their desire
Satan's sitting there, he's smiling
Watches those flames get higher and higher
Oh no, no, please God help me

Is it the end, my friend?
Satan's coming 'round the bend
people running 'cause they're scared
The people better go and beware
No, no, please, no

 We can see that the lyrics do straight away have a gothic feel about them. The lyrics purvey a sense of fear, something which is overtly Gothic and is a obvious aspect of the Gothic Tradition and its literature. It could be seen as the singers account of coming across satan 'Satan's sitting there, he's smiling', a theme which is popular within the Gothic (Christopher Marlowes 'Dr.Faustus' comes to mind)

When the lyrics are looked further into, the song may show a fear of death 'Is it the end, my freind?' this theme is featured in a wide variety of Literature. It can be seen within 'Dr.Faustus' when the the character of Faustus is awaiting his own death.

The Influence of Gothic Literature on Gothic Music

  Gothic encompasses many genres of expression. Gothic artists speak out through the forms of literature, architecture, film, sculptures, paintings, and music. Many times, one genre of Gothic inspires another, creating fusing parallels between the two. In this way, each genre of Gothic rises to a more universal level, infusing into the much broader understanding of Gothic. Gothic writers, such as Mary Shelley, influence Gothic music as the same attributes of Shelleys style can be seen within certain pieces of music.

 Popular settings in Gothic music reflect the scary images of Gothic Tales such as Frankenstein. Gothic settings usually fall into the "wouldn't advise you to go at night by yourself" category. Shelley presents unpleasant settings including "darkness" in "churchyards," and "charnel houses" (Shelley 36-37). She describes corpses filled with worms, stormy skies and seas, and the gruesome physique of Frankenstein's monster and his deceased victims. Just the same, we find beds "degrading even to lice," (Bauhaus) "a forest" in the dark (The Cure), and fourteen-year old victims "pincushioned with sixteen hypodermic needles" (David Bowie). Gothic artists do not incorporate these settings to evoke cheer and lightheartedness. Varying in form from dilapidated buildings and dark weather to corpses and torture machines, Gothic settings definitely provide an appropriate stage for unsettling plots. Gothic musicians could not create such settings for music and maintain an audience without their ancestral trailblazers in Gothic literature (e.g.-Shelley) conjuring up such scenes in books.

Gothic Inspired Music

Black Sabbath

Bauhaus

The Misfits

Gravediggaz

Marilyn Manson

The Cure

Lady Gaga

Geto Boys

Salem