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Marxist Ideology in Shakespeare’s Macbeth
Paper 9 - Literary Theory
Srishti Goel
B.A. (Hon) English III

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Introduction
Understanding Marxist Ideology
Ideology, as given in M.H. Abrams A Handbook of Literary Terms, is “the beliefs, values,
and ways of thinking and feeling through which human beings perceive, and by recourse to
which they explain, what they take to be reality.” It is the product of the position and interests
of a particular class. Social structures are held in place by dominant ideology, which
reinforces the interests of the ruling class. In every historical era, the ruling or dominant ideas
have been the ideas of the class which is economically and socially dominant.
But ‘ideology’ in Marxism not only means a belief system, but also a manipulative set of
ideas that encourage people to have a false understanding of social reality. Ideology distorts
our view of our true ‘conditions of existence’. For instance, the class differences that we find
under capitalism. According to Marxist philosopher Louis Althusser, “Ideology represents the
imaginary relationship of individuals to their real conditions of existence”. Giving in to
ideology is to live in an illusionary world or a state of false consciousness as it distorts reality
and gives false representation of what is artificial and contradictory as natural and
harmonious.
Keeping this in mind, Shakespeare’s politically strong play, Macbeth [1606] can be read as
an example of the functioning of Marxist Ideology because it establishes authority and
supports dominant ideas and beliefs. The play was enacted at the time when King James VI
of Scotland became the successor to the throne of Queen Elizabeth of England. King James I
of England believed himself to be descended from Banquo and the play’s Scottish theme
appeals to James cultural roots.
Ideology in Shakespeare’s Macbeth
Macbeth embodies aspects of dominant ideologies of Shakespeare’s time. The play was
written in the beginning of the seventeenth century when in Europe the development was
from Feudalism to the Absolute State. Under feudalism, the authority was distributed among
non-national institutions such as the church, estates, assemblies and towns. In the Absolute
State, power became centralised in the figure of the monarch. This was contested by not only
aristocracy, whose traditional rights were threatened, but also the bourgeoisie, who had found

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new space for power and influence within economic and government structures. Because of
this social turmoil, especially the rise of the bourgeoisie, the Absolute State was never fully
achieved in England. But the State reinforced its power by creating the ideology of the
‘divine right’ of the monarch- the system said to be ‘natural’ and ordained by God, the
disruption of which would be evil. It made people accept democracy as evil, English State as
pyramid and any disturbance of its power would produce general disaster. [Source-Alan
Sinfield’s “Macbeth-History, Ideology and Intellectuals”]
Peter Barry, in his book Beginning Theory, states that “Marxist literary criticism maintains
that a writer’s social class, and its prevailing ideology have a major bearing on what is
written by a member of that class...Marxist sees them[authors] as constantly formed by their
social contexts in ways which they themselves would usually not admit.” Shakespeare’s play
naturally reveals his preference of a strong centralized monarchy over a feudal government.
He was born to a successful middle-class glove maker and attended grammar school in
Stratford, England. He was a middle class man striving to rise up the social ladder.
Shakespeare wrote during the reign of Elizabeth I and James I and was favoured by them.
James I granted Shakespeare’s company the greatest possible compliment by bestowing upon
its members the title of King’s Men. His plays were directly funded by the king, which
appears to have influenced him when he wrote Macbeth as there is clear underlying message
of support for the king and a monarchical system in the play. Also, Shakespeare was the
‘intellectual’ of the society, among the ones who form dominant ideologies. Intellectuals have
always considered their mental labour superior to the physical labour of the masses, thus
associating themselves to the upper class. Shakespeare’s plays told the audience what to think
and believe. He knew how to support the status quo and keep his plays respectable so as not
to fall out of favour.
Macbeth is about evil and violence. The natural ‘order’ and harmony of the state is ruined
when Macbeth’s violent ambition makes him kill Duncan. It results in ruining himself and
those around him as he does not stop at the murder of Duncan, but also kills Banquo so that
the prophecy of the witches of Banqou’s progeny being monarchs of England never comes
true. He also perverts religious order by consulting the evil spirits about his future; and like
Adam, he gives into the temptations of his wife, thus subverting patriarchal order. Macbeth

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violates political, religious and moral order by regicide and tyranny. But the message to the
audience is that the consequences of such an action cannot be escaped and would result in
terrifying weather, insanity and military defeat.
Another way of looking at violence in the play is the distinction drawn by Alan Sinfield in his
essay “Macbeth: History, Ideology and Intellectuals” between the violence which the State
approves of and that which it does not. Macbeth is a dreadful murderer when he kills his
king, Duncan, but is appreciated by everyone when he kills Macdonwald, a rebel, because it
was through Duncan’s approval. In this view, violence is good, when it is in service of the
prevailing power, but evil when it disrupts that power. Sinfield, further to state his point,
gives the example of the contemporary state violence as the meaningless massacre in 1572,
when hundreds of women were arrested for being considered witches and were tortured,
while the Gunpowder plot of 1605, which is also referred to in the porter scene of the play,
was considered as illegitimate violence. This attempted violence against the State followed
upon many years of State violence against the Roman Catholics.
In either way, disorder results from challenges to the status quo, that is, the affairs of the State
which are generally considered to be natural and good. We see that there is a very short time
frame in which Macbeth and his wife are in power. His lords and soldiers were gradually
leaving him and taking the side of Malcolm and Macduff. This gives the message to the
audience that the system will always restore itself and if the harmony is attacked, the fate
would be like that of Macbeth and his wife. Also, very importantly, the play puts a certain
stigma on the idea of ambition, which is exactly what the monarchy desired. It was a time
when the Parliament was beginning to gain power and ambition meant everyday person to
rise up and rebel. By Macbeth’s ambition causing the ruin of himself and those around him,
the people of England would consider this idea to be wrong.
Religion, as an ideology, also plays an important part in the play. Macbeth is seen as
succumbing to the temptations of the three witches who mislead and betray him. At many
instances in the play, it is suggested that the witches affects those who are not followers of
Christianity. For instance, in Act I Scene 3, the witches decide to revenge the sailor’s wife by
killing the sailor, as she, having faith in Christianity could not be ruined by them. In the
apparition scene of the play, the witches mislead Macbeth by making him interpret the
apparitions in his favour, and Macbeth, falling into their trap suggests his lack of faith in

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religion. This conveys to the audience the need to follow religion and the fear of the
consequences if one gives into evil.
The play, where on one hand shows ‘evil’ in vaulting ambition, violence and disrupting of
authority, on the other hand, it shows ‘good’ in loyalty towards the State and restoration of
power. When Macbeth disturbs the God given harmonious order, it is for Malcolm and
Macduff to restore it. In the scene where Macduff meets Duncan’s son, the rightful heir to the
throne, his loyalty towards the State is put to test, in which Macduff undoubtedly succeeds,
putting forward the message that how loyalty to the throne is the righteous path, which will
be glorified and rewarded. Instead of an alternative form of leadership in the play, the people,
insecure of Macbeth’s tyranny, make the monarchy stronger and more powerful, never
wanting to disrupt it again, but further entrenching monarchy into the society.
Conclusion
The play, Macbeth, in this way was used as a political tool. It gave the ideological support for
the beliefs that the social order and established authority is fair and essential. It served to
convince the society about the political and religious views as beneficial for the harmony of
life. Thus, ideology leads us to believe that if it were not for the ‘unnatural’ afflictions in the
play, like rebellious lords, evil spirits, political scheming and violence, society would be
more or less perfectly ordered and without conflict. Ideology encourages us to count as
enemies anyone who defies established authority and disrupts social order. This kind of
ideology creates in people, especially those who suffer due to society's inequalities, an
attitude of resignation, and it encourages the opinion that change is undesirable and, even if
attempted, unlikely to succeed.

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Bibliography
- Abrams, M.H. and Harpham,Geoffrey Galt. A Handbook of Literary Terms (Cengage
Learning: 2009)
- Barry, Peter. Beginning Theory
- Dollimore, Jonathan. Radical Tragedy: Religion, Ideology and Power in the Drama of
Shakespeare and his contemporaries
- Sinfield, Alan. New Casebooks: Macbeth (Macmillan Publ: 1992)
- Wood, Stanley. Shakespeare’s Macbeth (National Publishing House: 2006)