What is the subplot in Macbeth?

Answer 1

Subtext can take many forms, especially in a play. Subtext can be the "between the lines" examination of a theme or motif in written text - and this is true for Macbeth. Denotation is the literal, or 'dictionary' meaning of a word. This doesn't create subtext. However, the connotation, or emotional connection, of a word may.

An example of denotation/connotation in Macbeth is evident in Lady Macbeth's line from Act 1, scene 5:

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.

A common denotation of 'mortal' is "of or pertaining to human beings as subject to death" as defined by dictionary.com . However, the connotation of the word can be a reference to worldliness, bitter rivalry (as in mortal enemies), or the transition from one spiritual state to another, or the thoughts of humans, among many inferences. Shakespeare could have been more specific, he could have made the line a specific reference to any of the above ideas, but he did not. The meaning of mortal is open for interpretation, and thus, analysis of subtext.

And this word, 'mortal' is not even the strongest word of the speech. What can you identify as subtext to the phrase 'unsex me here'?

As in many of Shakespeare's works, the subtext in Macbeth also includes performance. This can take the form of stress, or emphasis, by an actor on a certain word or phrase; it can be inflection, or voice intonation; it can be actions that accompany the lines; or it can be a combination of any of these. Check out this scene on YouTube and compare different ways the actresses perform the lines (I prefer Dame Judy Dench's performance, where she's actually summoning evil spirits to change her nature from 'meek' womanhood to 'strong' manhood). Watch actress put stress on the word 'come' or 'direst' or 'cruelty'.

Answer 2

There is no subplot in Macbeth. The whole thing is about the rise and fall of King Macbeth.