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Through the Literary Glass
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THROUGH THE
LITERARY GLASS
A Collection of Articles on
Select Prose and Plays
compiled and edited by
Dr. Nilanko Mallik MA, PhD (AM), TESOL (ASU)
EDUCREATION PUBLISHING (Since 2011)
www.educreation.in
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Contents
S. No. Content Page
About the Book vii
Acknowledgements ix
Drama 1
1. Double, double, toil and trouble? The
surprising truth about the real Macbeth
- Alex Woolf
3
2. Treatment of the Supernatural in William
Shakespeare‟s Macbeth
- Subrata Ray
7
3. Reading Theatre from the Image: An
Attempt to Deconstruct the Stereotypical
Image of Lady Macbeth
- Shweta Verma
13
4. Macbeth as a Tragic Hero
- Tansusree Roy
19
5. Imagery in Macbeth
- Tanusree Roy
23
6. Gender Ambiguity and Desire in Twelfth
Night
– Rosario Arias
28
7. Interplay of Religion and Revenge in The
Jew of Malta
- Shruti Roy Chakraborti
36
8. The Use of Anger and Aggression as
Paradigm to explore Political, Historical and
Social Issues of Mid-Twentieth-Century
Britain in Look Back in Anger
- Irum Alvi
40
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vi
9. Class and Gender in Look Back in Anger
- Nabanita Paul
48
Novels 54
1. Theme of Love in Great Expectations
– Koushik Dey
56
2. Great Expectations – A Study in
Bildungsroman Narration
– Koushik Dey
60
3. Money and Matrimony in Pride and
Prejudice
– Subrata Ray
65
4. Reading Against the Grain of the Narrative
of Gentility in Pride and Prejudice
– Anuradha Dosad
71
Short Stories 76
1. Metaphors in H.E. Bates‟ The Ox
– Kaustav Chanda
78
2. Elements of Classical Tragedy in The Fly
– Surojit Kayal
82
3. Significance of the „Fly Episode‟
– Nilanko Mallik
87
4. Araby and the Theme of Man‟s Quest for
the Ideal
– Nilanko Mallik
90
5. Lonely Quest from Fantasy to Reality in
Araby
– Chaitali Das
94
6. Shooting an Elephant as an Anti-Colonial
Narrative
– Pritesh Chakraborty
98
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vii
About the Book
The book provides a collection of useful articles on various texts
which are studied in the various undergraduate courses of English
studies. The topics are student-friendly, but the standard of the
articles is scholarly, as they are all written by people who are or
have been associated with higher education.
The book is a must-have for all undergraduate students.
This book covers articles on plays, novels and short stories/essays.
The plays which have been discussed are Macbeth, Twelfth Night,
The Jew of Malta and Look Back in Anger; novels include Pride
and Prejudice, Great Expectations. The short stories include The
Fly, The Ox, Shooting an Elephant and Araby.
Although the book is meant for students of undergraduate levels,
researchers would also be benefitted from some of the topics of the
articles.
All the citations are in MLA style, which is the prescribed style for
the discipline, and so, advanced readers and scholars will be able
to look up the citations for more help.
It is expected that this book would be the first of a few more
compilations.
As is the drawback of every first edition, the book is subject to
errors which might have crept in despite the best scrutinizing
efforts of the author and the editor. It is our earnest request to the
readers to pardon such instances, as they will be rectified in the
next editions.
Suggestions for improvements are welcome.
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It is hoped that the book will be well received.
Nilanko Mallik
Editor
Kolkata, 2017
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ix
Acknowledgements
I am grateful to Prof. Rosario Arias for granting permission to use
her article.
I am grateful to The Conversation for making the article by Dr.
Alex Woolf on Macbeth available for re-use. Full link to the
original sources have been given for both the articles on the first
page of the articles.
I am grateful to all the authors who responded to the call for
submissions in a short time and worked with me in time to prepare
the material and rework and revise to make this book available
globally.
I am grateful to the entire unit of Educreation for the timely service
of making the books available globally.
The authors have taken all care to see that all sources are cited. If
any unacknowledged matter has been used, or where the authors
have not been able to trace the source of information, we would be
happy to receive information on the same so that they can be
acknowledged in future editions. Please email
[email protected] for such instances.
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x
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1
DRAMA
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2
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Double, Double, Toil and Trouble?
The Surprising Truth about
the Real Macbeth1
Alex Woolf2
______________________________________________________
It is among the bloodiest and cruellest of plays. For some, even
uttering its name can conjure up bad fortune and the foulest of
happenings. But now, Michael Fassbender‟s acclaimed new film
has put the tragic tale of Macbeth back in the spotlight.
Shakespeare‟s Scottish play tells of a warlord pushed into a
blood-soaked coup by the Delphic prophesies of a trio of witches –
and the relentless ambitions of his wife. Like so many modern
military dictators, Macbeth seizes power with the best intentions
but is haunted by his lack of legitimacy and quickly descends into
vicious tyranny. Needless to say, there are no happy endings for
this usurper.
Macbeth is not just a fiction, however, but a real man, too.
Born around 1000, he reigned in the kingdom of Scotland from
1040 to 1057. Subsequent Scottish kings claimed their descent
1 This article was originally published on The Conversation
(http://theconversation.com). The original article, with pictures,
can be read by visiting http://theconversation.com/double-double-
toil-and-trouble-the-surprising-truth-about-the-real-macbeth-49071 2 Dr. Alex Woolf is Senior Lecturer in Mediaeval History,
University of St Andrews, Scotland, UK. This article discusses the
identity of Macbeth as a real Scottish Historic King, along with the
other characters so that one gets to understand Shakespeare‟s
influence from and craftsmanship in innovation. The article also
examines how a recent film adaptation is able to connect history
and fiction.
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4
from his rivals – Duncan and his son Malcolm – however, and so
as the narrative of Scottish history was gradually constructed and
reconstructed over the course of the 500 years that separated
Macbeth and Shakespeare, Macbeth became a bogeyman, even the
son of the Devil himself.
The king is dead
Hard facts from this period are few and far between. We can,
however, correct some of the elements in Shakespeare‟s gory
version of events. In the play, Duncan, the king Macbeth murders
for the crown, is an old man. But his real life namesake, Duncan I,
was rather younger. He also had only a spurious claim to the
throne.
While Duncan, who ruled from 1034 to 1040, was the
grandson of Malcolm II (1005-1034), the lineage ran down the
maternal side – Malcolm II had, in fact, killed off many of his
other male relatives. In those patriarchal times, this rarely would
have been good enough to qualify for the crown and doubtless
caused the Scottish nobility to grumble about Duncan‟s legitimacy.
Enter Macbeth. Macbeth‟s family dominated the northern part
of the kingdom and had some pretensions to royalty themselves.
They were descended from someone named Ruaidrí – whose
origins are unknown but probably lived in the late 10th century –
and appear to have won their renown battling the viking colonies
in Caithness and Orkney. In effect, they were the guardians of
Scotland‟s back door, something reflected perhaps in
Shakespeare‟s decision to begin his play with Macbeth‟s victory
over the Norwegians.
Michael Fassbender brings Macbeth to life.
Macbeth‟s father, Findláech (Finlay), had been murdered by his
own nephews in 1020, and his death is noted in two Irish
chronicles, the Annals of Ulster and the Annals of Tigernach, the
main sources for this period.
Nevetheless, one describes him as King of Alba (Scotland)
and the other as Mormaer – a title roughly equivalent to the
English “earl” – of Moray. This ambiguity of title appears to stem
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Double, Double, Toil and Trouble? The Surprising Truth about the Real Macbeth
5
from the fact that the north of Scotland, roughly between the river
Spey and the river Oykell, was a semi-independent region whose
rulers largely accepted the overlordship of Malcolm II, who was
based in the Tay basin.
The die is cast
Macbeth himself first appears in history in the company of
Malcolm II and Eachmarcach – a member of the Dublin viking
dynasty who ruled in the Isle of Man and western Galloway – at a
meeting with Cnut the Great when he came north to cement his
overlordship in Scotland in 1031.
The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle describes all three of the
northerners as “kings”, suggesting that Macbeth was already de
facto ruler of Moray by this time. Additionally, Macbeth recently
had married his cousin‟s widow, Gruoch, a member of Duncan‟s
royal line.
By the time Malcom II died in 1034, then, Macbeth was a
mature and capable ruler with strong royal ties. Malcolm‟s heir
Duncan, on the other hand, was likely still an inexperienced
teenager.
Indeed, Duncan‟s first major military expedition as king, a
1038 attack on Durham, ended in complete disaster. And his
second, apparently a 1040 invasion of Moray, Macbeth‟s
homeland, resulted in his death – although he was almost certainly
killed in battle rather than murdered in bed.
So began Macbeth‟s reign. Perhaps surprisingly, the real
Macbeth‟s 17 years in power were largely uneventful, which
probably speaks in his favour. In 1045, Duncan‟s father, Crínan, by
this time abbot of Dunkeld, led an uprising which was easily
suppressed – and in 1050 Macbeth made a pilgrimage to Rome,
suggesting he was confident of domestic security.
Siward of Northumbria‟s invasion, which provides the climax
to Shakespeare‟s play, occurred in 1054 and seems to have had the
limited objective of liberating the Strathclyde region, only recently
occupied by the Scots. Meanwhile, Macbeth remained secure in his
own kingdom, north of the Forth.
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Damned by posterity
When his end came in 1057, it came from the North, where
Duncan‟s son Malcolm seems to have been living in exile with his
cousin Thorfinn, the Scandinavian Earl of Orkney. Macbeth was
confronted by an army led by Malcolm at Lumphanan, near Huntly
in Aberdeenshire and, while the outcome of the battle is uncertain,
Macbeth appears to have been mortally wounded, dying shortly
afterwards.
Macbeth was succeeded by his stepson, Lulach, who held out
for a few months more, but the tide had turned in Malcolm‟s
favour and he was crowned Malcolm III in 1058.
Malcolm III proved to be the ancestor of all subsequent
Scottish kings and so Macbeth‟s reputation was soon damned by
posterity. His reputation wasn‟t entirely sullied, however. One
fragmentary 11th-century chronicle entry notes that Macbeth‟s
reign was blessed by unparalleled fertility in Scotland. This may
simply record some clement climatic event but it is more likely
that it reflects a popular memory, untrammelled by the concerns of
dynastic legitimacy, that those were the good old days, when
Macbeth ruled the Scots.
*****
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7
Treatment of The Supernatural
In William Shakespeare’s Macbeth
Subrata Ray3
______________________________________________________
The supernatural is a psychological phenomenon. H. P. Lovecraft
notes, “The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and
the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown”
(Lovecraft 1). During Shakespeare‟s time, the practice of
necromancy was at its peak in England. David Elloway states,
“The existence of witchcraft was recognised by English law - an
act of 1604 made the practice of it punishable by death - but it was
by no means unquestioned” (Elloway 7). In Macbeth William
Shakespeare‟s skillful treatment of the supernatural is aimed at
underlining deep moral values and subtle psychological workings
of various characters in general and Macbeth in particular.
At the very outset of the play the sinister declaration of the
Witches, “Fair is foul, foul is fair” strikes the keynote of the play.
Now interestingly Macbeth‟s first words in the play ring the
Witches‟ enigmatic articulation in the first scene: “So foul and fair
a day I have not seen” (Mac. I.3). The horrible sketch of the
Witches in the very first scene of the play - drops a hint that there
is something sinister about these „weird sisters‟. In Banquo‟s
words, they are „withered‟ and „wild in their attire‟. Banquo even
expresses his doubt about their sex; to him they seem to be neither
3 Subrata Ray is a Faculty at Jawaharlal Nehru National Youth
Centre, Council of Education and Training, Chakdaha Centre,
West Bengal, India. In this article, he examines the psychological
and dramatic impact of the use of the supernatural as a theme in
Macbeth.
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men nor women because they dress like women but like men they
grow beard. Robert H. West feels that Shakespeare, on purpose,
kept the nature of supernatural being in Macbeth uncertain because
he knew such uncertainty promotes dramatic “awe and mystery”
(West 79).
Witches foretell the future of both Macbeth and Banquo.
Much to the surprise of both of them, at first, the Witches greet
Macbeth as Thane of Glamis (his present title), then, Thane of
Cawdor (his new title but not yet known to him) and finally the
king. Then the witches turn to Banquo and tell in a paradoxical
manner that he would be lesser than Macbeth, yet greater, less
happy but happier because he himself is not destined to be a king
but the father of kings. When visibly baffled Macbeth wishes to
know more from the Witches, they just melt away.
The Witches‟ prophesies possess Macbeth further when on
their way to the palace he is greeted by Ross and Agnus as Thane
of Cawdor. Such an immediate fulfilment of one of the prophecies
simply waters Macbeth‟s seed of dark ambition towards becoming
the king of Scotland. It might not be beyond doubt that Macbeth
did have a dormant desire for the coveted crown of Scotland as he
confesses, "My thought, whose murder yet is but fantastical" (Mac.
I.3), but it is the prophecies of the Witches that set the stone of his
evil desire rolling towards his gradual catastrophic fall; according
to Robert Thomas Fallon, “they are clearly agents of a darker
power, in league with Hecate, the goddess of the underworld, and
their purpose is to ferment toil and trouble for Mankind” (Fallon
165).
The supernatural climate of mystery and horrors again returns
when Lady Macbeth - already informed of the witches‟ prophecies
by her husband Macbeth‟s letter – begins calling upon the evil
spirits to help her plot her evil design for Duncan who is about to
put in a courtesy visit to their castle that night.
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. (Mac. I.5)
The way how she manipulates her husband with unfailing
power of her tongue overriding all his disturbing hesitations, just
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Shooting an Elephant as an Anti-Colonial Narrative
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pushes Macbeth further towards the sinister trap already set by the
Witches. Lady Macbeth, by no means, is to be taken as a
supernatural being but later on when she is diagnosed by the doctor
with her strange illness of sleep walking, it seems to be some
supernatural acts being put upon her.
While waiting for Lady Macbeth to ring a signal for him to
move into Duncan‟s chamber and murder him, Macbeth has a
vision of a dagger floating in the air. Immediately we feel that the
supernatural is again fully at work. Macbeth strives to grasp it but
fails. In a moment the dagger appears to be stained with “gouts of
blood” creating a supernatural atmosphere with an eerie feeling
followed by the toll of a bell indicating Lady Macbeth‟s signal that
the chamberlains are in deep slumber and Macbeth stealthily
proceeds towards Duncan‟s chamber to commit the heinous crime.
Fresh supernatural suspense looms large when the ghost of
Banquo appears in a banquet arranged by the new king and queen.
Now, even after ascending to Scottish thrown by foul means
Macbeth finds himself restless, desperate. The source of his
restlessness is his very fear that Banquo might have felt some foul
smell in his becoming the king of Scotland. And this sense of guilt
and insecurity leads him to decide to have Banquo and his son
murdered. But the escape of Banquo‟s son Fleance from the
assassinators who eliminate his father, reminds Macbeth of the
Witches‟ prophecy to Banquo, “Thou shalt get kings, though thou
be none” (Mac. I.3). So the prophecy still has a chance to come
true. Then the terrible sight of Banquo‟s ghost occupying
Macbeth‟s seat, terrifies him to his very essence. The ghost with
his “gory locks” provokes Macbeth to betray himself to the
assembled guests.
When for the second and the last time Macbeth finds his way
to the witches‟ cave, the horrifying environment is well designed
to put audience in deep suspense. The supernatural appeal is at its
best in this scene. In fact, before Macbeth‟s arrival to them, the
Witches are found preparing a charm in a cauldron by which they
raise three apparitions to answer Macbeth‟s unspoken queries. The
ingredients being used are shocking and disgusting: „fur from a
bat‟, „an owl„s wing‟, „a lizard„s leg‟, „blood of a baboon‟, „finger
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10
of birth-strangled babe ditch-delivered by a drab‟, „toe of frog‟,
„liver of blaspheming Jew‟.
The apparitions mislead Macbeth with their false words. But
interestingly the forms, they appear with, indirectly indicate the
true meaning of their articulations. The first apparition, an armed
head, pronounces,
Macbeth! Macbeth! Macbeth! Beware Macduff;
Beware the Thane of Fife. Dismiss me. Enough (Mac. IV.1).
The second apparition, a bloody child, states,
Be bloody, bold, and resolute; laugh to scorn
The power of man, for none of woman born Shall harm Macbeth (Mac. IV.1).
And the third apparition, a child crowned with a tree in his
hand, announces,
Macbeth shall never vanquish'd be until
Great Birnam wood to high Dunsinane hill
Shall come against him (Mac. IV.1).
Then, on Macbeth‟s insistence on knowing whether Banquo‟s
descendants would be the kings of Scotland, he is presented a
pageant of eight future kings of Scotland followed by the ghost of
Banquo.
Now, Macbeth may have taken the armed head of the first
apparition to be Macduff‟s but ironically, at the end, it would be
Macduff who would sever Macbeth‟s head. The second apparition
- the bloody child - misguides Macbeth by stating that he would
not be killed by anyone of woman born but towards the end when
Macduff would be fighting with Macbeth, Macbeth would come to
know that Macduff was not born but delivered surgically. And the
third apparition – the child crowned with a tree in his hand - pours
false hope into Macbeth‟s heart by making him believe that
Macbeth would not lose in a battle until forest of Birnam would
move physically toward Dunsinane. But this apparition actually
represents Malcolm, the rightful heir to the Scottish throne, who
would be carrying branches of Birnam wood along with his entire
troops in the same fashion to mislead Macbeth‟s army.
Harold Bloom states,
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