Macbeth Skit
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''Macbeth Skit'' (1916) is a short comic skit by
George Bernard Shaw George Bernard Shaw (26 July 1856 – 2 November 1950), known at his insistence simply as Bernard Shaw, was an Irish playwright, critic, polemicist and political activist. His influence on Western theatre, culture and politics extended from ...
on
William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
's portrayal of
Macbeth ''Macbeth'' (, full title ''The Tragedie of Macbeth'') is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. It is thought to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatises the damaging physical and psychological effects of political ambition on those w ...
's relationship with
Lady Macbeth Lady Macbeth is a leading character in William Shakespeare's tragedy '' Macbeth'' (). As the wife of the play's tragic hero, Macbeth (a Scottish nobleman), Lady Macbeth goads her husband into committing regicide, after which she becomes quee ...
.


Origin

According to the manuscript, it was written in 1916 for performance by Lillah McCarthy and Gerald du Maurier, actors who had recently appeared in productions of ''Macbeth''. There were many Shakespeare tributes in that year, as 1916 was the 300th anniversary of Shakespeare's death. McCarthy and du Maurier were both appearing in a production called ''A Tribute to the Genius of William Shakespeare''. However, Shaw's work remained unpublished and unperformed during his lifetime. In a note written by Shaw in the manuscript, he says du Maurier refused to put on the skit. Shaw wrote, "Gerald would not burlesque himself. Probably he considered himself an ideal Macbeth."Roby, Kinley, "Arnold Bennett, Shaw's 10 O'clock scholar", ''Shaw and Other Matters'', Susquehanna University Press, 1998, p.54. It was published in 1960, edited by Shaw scholar Bernard Dukore. The manuscript is untitled. The name "Macbeth Skit" was used for the 1960 publication. The skit takes lines from Act 1 scenes 5 and 7 of Shakespeare's ''
Macbeth ''Macbeth'' (, full title ''The Tragedie of Macbeth'') is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. It is thought to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatises the damaging physical and psychological effects of political ambition on those w ...
''. Lady Macbeth typically retains Shakespeare's lines, while Macbeth speaks in modern colloquial English, often expressing confusion about what she is saying.Braunmuller, A.W. (ed), William Shakespeare, ''Macbeth'', Cambridge University Press, p.46. In Shaw's version, Macbeth is transformed into a "maundering nincompoop".


Plot

Lady Macbeth soliloquises about her husband's letter describing his encounter with the witches. Macbeth arrives and says he's very impressed by his wife's poetic way of speaking. Lady Macbeth says that he should kill Duncan, emphasising that he should appear to be wholly innocent in public. But Macbeth takes literally her Shakespearean imagery — such as trying to resemble a flower after his wife tells him he should "look like the innocent flower" when Duncan arrives. He's also perplexed by the reference to "the poor cat in the adage", having no clue what cat appears in what adage, and is totally defeated by the suggestion that the "receipt of reason shall be a limbec only". Eventually he works out what her plan is and agrees, but as soon as he misunderstands her line about his "terrible feat" as a derogatory comment on his feet, Lillah McCarthy as Lady Macbeth steps out of character in despair and says "Gerald: come off it. I shall never make a Shakespearan actor of you."


References


External links


Original 1960 publication of ''Macbeth Skit'' via JSTOR
{{George Bernard Shaw 1916 plays Plays by George Bernard Shaw Plays and musicals based on Macbeth