Macbeth and the destruction of time/order as literary motif

Authors

  • Raluca Ciortea Investigadora independiente
  • Martín Fleitas González Universidad de la República

Abstract

The article intends to describe and analyse the different moments that time goes through in Macbeth, to argue that its destruction and enigmatic restoration respond to the endeavour that Macbeth pursues with the acceleration of the events predicted by ‘the weird sisters’, and thus structures one of the most important literary motifs of the play. To do this, the paper reconstructs, first of all, the general features that make time an authentic literary motif within the Shakespearian play. Furthermore, it identifies the temporal evocations that are evident in Duncan, Lady Macbeth and Macbeth. Finally, it details the process by which Macbeth manages to destroy or suspend time. This allows the authors to analyse some of the literary and intellectual concerns that Shakespeare could have pursued.

Keywords:

Shakespeare, Macbeth, time/order, destruction, literary motif