Macbeth: Genre craft
15 lenses on genre craft for Macbeth by William Shakespeare. Count lenses are exact for our text. AI lenses are our reading and cite only quotes that passed a word for word check.
Jump to: G1 G2 G3 G4 G5 G6 G7 G8 G9 G10 G11 G12 G13 G14 G15
G1. Genre and subgenre, and how well the book fits. AI
This is a tragedy, specifically a Shakespearean tragedy of ambition. It fits the genre perfectly: a noble protagonist falls through his own flaws and supernatural manipulation.
Scenes (numbered through the play): Scene 3, Scene 7, Scene 12, Scene 15, Scene 23, Scene 27
All hail, Macbeth! that shalt be king hereafter! (Ch 3, para 21)
I am in blood Stepp’d in so far that, should I wade no more, Returning were as tedious as go o’er. (Ch 15, para 62)
Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow, Creeps in this petty pace from day to day, To the last syllable of recorded time; And all our yesterdays have lighted fools The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle! (Ch 25, para 11)
G2. The genre's must have scenes: present or missing? AI
Key tragedy scenes are present: the temptation to murder, the deed itself, the descent into paranoia, the ghost, the downfall, and the final duel. All major tragic beats appear.
Scenes (numbered through the play): Scene 7, Scene 9, Scene 15, Scene 23, Scene 26, Scene 27
I am settled, and bend up Each corporal agent to this terrible feat. Away, and mock the time with fairest show: False face must hide what the false heart doth know. (Ch 7, para 16)
Thou canst not say I did it. Never shake Thy gory locks at me. (Ch 15, para 30)
I am in blood Stepp’d in so far that, should I wade no more, Returning were as tedious as go o’er. (Ch 15, para 62)
G3. The genre's conventions: which are used? AI
Conventions used: a noble protagonist, supernatural forces, tragic flaw of ambition, soliloquies revealing inner conflict, a ghost, and a final battle. The play follows classical tragedy structure.
Scenes (numbered through the play): Scene 3, Scene 8, Scene 9, Scene 13, Scene 15, Scene 21
Is this a dagger which I see before me, The handle toward my hand? Come, let me clutch thee:— I have thee not, and yet I see thee still. (Ch 8, para 22)
Methought I heard a voice cry, “Sleep no more! Macbeth does murder sleep,”—the innocent sleep; Sleep that knits up the ravell’d sleave of care (Ch 9, para 23)
Thou canst not say I did it. Never shake Thy gory locks at me. (Ch 15, para 30)
G4. Mystery: clue list, red herrings, fair play test. AI
7 clues. See the full lens on the book page.
G5. Thriller: clocks, chases and set pieces. AI
Not a feature of this book. Macbeth is a tragedy, not a thriller. There are no ticking clocks, chases, or set piece action sequences.
G6. Romance: the meeting, the barriers, the grand gesture. AI
Not a feature of this book. Macbeth is a tragedy of ambition, not a romance. There is no romantic meeting, barriers, or grand gesture.
G7. Horror and gothic: how dread builds, when the monster is seen. AI
Dread builds through supernatural omens, the witches' prophecies, and Banquo's ghost. The monster is the witches themselves, seen in scenes 3, 16, and 18, manipulating Macbeth toward destruction.
Scenes (numbered through the play): Scene 3, Scene 16, Scene 18
All hail, Macbeth! that shalt be king hereafter! (Ch 3, para 21)
And you all know, security Is mortals’ chiefest enemy. (Ch 16, para 3)
Be bloody, bold, and resolute. Laugh to scorn The power of man, for none of woman born Shall harm Macbeth. (Ch 18, para 38)
G8. Science fiction: the new idea and its rules. AI
Not enough in the text to answer this one yet.
G9. Fantasy: moments of wonder, and the cost of magic. AI
Magic is present through the witches' prophecies and supernatural apparitions. The cost is Macbeth's soul and his downfall; he gains the crown but loses his humanity and life.
Scenes (numbered through the play): Scene 3, Scene 16, Scene 18, Scene 23, Scene 27
All hail, Macbeth! that shalt be king hereafter! (Ch 3, para 21)
Be bloody, bold, and resolute. Laugh to scorn The power of man, for none of woman born Shall harm Macbeth. (Ch 18, para 38)
Macbeth shall never vanquish’d be, until Great Birnam wood to high Dunsinane hill Shall come against him. (Ch 18, para 44)
G10. Adventure: stages of the journey and physical trials. AI
Not a feature of this book. Macbeth is a tragedy, not an adventure. There is no journey with physical trials or stages of discovery.
G11. Literary: inner life and the moment of insight. AI
Inner life is central. Macbeth's soliloquies reveal his moral struggle, guilt, and despair. Lady Macbeth's sleepwalking shows her psychological breakdown. The moment of insight is Macbeth's realisation of the witches' deception.
Scenes (numbered through the play): Scene 8, Scene 9, Scene 13, Scene 21, Scene 25
Is this a dagger which I see before me, The handle toward my hand? Come, let me clutch thee:— I have thee not, and yet I see thee still. (Ch 8, para 22)
Methought I heard a voice cry, “Sleep no more! Macbeth does murder sleep,”—the innocent sleep; Sleep that knits up the ravell’d sleave of care (Ch 9, para 23)
Will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood Clean from my hand? No, this my hand will rather The multitudinous seas incarnadine, Making the green one red. (Ch 9, para 30)
G12. Children's: age of the lead, level of peril, humour. AI
Not a feature of this book. Macbeth is a tragedy for adult audiences, not a children's book. The lead is an adult warrior, and the peril is deadly.
G13. Plays: entrances, exits and stage time per character. Count
Macbeth has the most stage talk, 30% of all spoken words.
| Character | Speeches | Words | Share | Scenes | First scene |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Macbeth | 145 | 4604 | 30% | 15 | 3 |
| Lady Macbeth | 59 | 1573 | 10% | 9 | 5 |
| Malcolm | 39 | 1466 | 10% | 7 | 2 |
| Macduff | 58 | 1078 | 7% | 6 | 10 |
| Ross | 39 | 900 | 6% | 7 | 2 |
| Banquo | 33 | 716 | 5% | 7 | 3 |
| Lennox | 21 | 501 | 3% | 6 | 2 |
| Duncan | 18 | 407 | 3% | 3 | 2 |
| First Witch | 20 | 336 | 2% | 3 | 3 |
| Doctor | 20 | 326 | 2% | 3 | 20 |
| Porter | 4 | 313 | 2% | 1 | 10 |
| Lady Macduff | 19 | 292 | 2% | 1 | 19 |
| Hecate | 2 | 246 | 2% | 2 | 16 |
| Soldier | 3 | 236 | 2% | 1 | 2 |
G14. Where the book bends or breaks its genre's rules. AI
The play bends tragedy by including supernatural forces that actively manipulate the protagonist. The witches are not merely omens but agents of Macbeth's fate, blurring free will and destiny.
Scenes (numbered through the play): Scene 3, Scene 16, Scene 18
This supernatural soliciting Cannot be ill; cannot be good. If ill, Why hath it given me earnest of success, Commencing in a truth? (Ch 3, para 48)
And you all know, security Is mortals’ chiefest enemy. (Ch 16, para 3)
Be bloody, bold, and resolute. Laugh to scorn The power of man, for none of woman born Shall harm Macbeth. (Ch 18, para 38)
G15. Tropes present, with where they appear. AI
Tropes present: the ambitious protagonist, the temptress wife, the supernatural prophecy, the ghost of the murdered, the loyal friend, the rightful heir in exile, and the final duel. All appear across scenes 3 to 27.
Scenes (numbered through the play): Scene 3, Scene 5, Scene 7, Scene 12, Scene 15, Scene 20
All hail, Macbeth! that shalt be king hereafter! (Ch 3, para 21)
Yet do I fear thy nature; It is too full o’ th’ milk of human kindness To catch the nearest way. (Ch 5, para 3)
Come, you spirits That tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here, And fill me, from the crown to the toe, top-full Of direst cruelty! (Ch 5, para 11)
Ask Macbeth a question about its craft (free beta)
Answers cite chapter and paragraph, and every quote is checked against the text. (3 free questions a day).
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