Response to "Sexuality, Witchcraft and Violence in Macbeth" by Dennis Biggins
EH 304 Late Shakespeare
10/10/2011
“Sexuality, Witchcraft, and Violence in Macbeth," by Dennis Biggins
Summary:
In this article, Biggins focuses on several themes, both obvious and discreet, within the plot of Macbeth. Biggins disputes other critics ' opinions that sexuality has little thematic importance in Macbeth, stating that the play is immersed in sexuality through both violent and mystical indications. Other critics refer to the play as "the purest of Shakespeare 's tragedies," in which the Porter 's remarks about drink and sex might easily seem incongruous (Biggins 255). Biggins, however, identifies not only the more obvious sexual elements, such as can be seen in the exchanges between Macbeth and his wife, but states that the play has several passages in which "the full purport has not been grasped." Biggins expounds on the mystical connotatations, and ties this theme directly to underlying themes and symbols of violence and sexuality that are prominent throughout the play.
Biggins compares Macbeth to other Shakesperian works, highlighting Shakespeare 's use of demonic and sexual symbolism. In Biggins ' opinion, witchcraft is the most potent theme in Macbeth, for it links violence and sexuality perfectly within the fatal plot. This, in turn, creates a bigger and more sinister role for the weird sisters, who are seldom on stage. Biggins and other critics agree that: "the Weird Sisters are something other, or at any rate something more than garden-variety witches of the kind described by contemporary witch lore. There is a demonic aspect of the Weird Sisters, but their powers are too limited for them to be seen in terms as full-fledged demons or devils. They occupy a kind of twilight territory between human and supernatural evildoing" ... (Biggins 255)."
Biggins propses that all the violent manifestations that take place on stage are demonstrations of sexual impulse. Furthermore, the sexual impulsivity and violence in the various
10/10/2011
“Sexuality, Witchcraft, and Violence in Macbeth," by Dennis Biggins
Summary:
In this article, Biggins focuses on several themes, both obvious and discreet, within the plot of Macbeth. Biggins disputes other critics ' opinions that sexuality has little thematic importance in Macbeth, stating that the play is immersed in sexuality through both violent and mystical indications. Other critics refer to the play as "the purest of Shakespeare 's tragedies," in which the Porter 's remarks about drink and sex might easily seem incongruous (Biggins 255). Biggins, however, identifies not only the more obvious sexual elements, such as can be seen in the exchanges between Macbeth and his wife, but states that the play has several passages in which "the full purport has not been grasped." Biggins expounds on the mystical connotatations, and ties this theme directly to underlying themes and symbols of violence and sexuality that are prominent throughout the play.
Biggins compares Macbeth to other Shakesperian works, highlighting Shakespeare 's use of demonic and sexual symbolism. In Biggins ' opinion, witchcraft is the most potent theme in Macbeth, for it links violence and sexuality perfectly within the fatal plot. This, in turn, creates a bigger and more sinister role for the weird sisters, who are seldom on stage. Biggins and other critics agree that: "the Weird Sisters are something other, or at any rate something more than garden-variety witches of the kind described by contemporary witch lore. There is a demonic aspect of the Weird Sisters, but their powers are too limited for them to be seen in terms as full-fledged demons or devils. They occupy a kind of twilight territory between human and supernatural evildoing" ... (Biggins 255)."
Biggins propses that all the violent manifestations that take place on stage are demonstrations of sexual impulse. Furthermore, the sexual impulsivity and violence in the various