Although Macbeth attempts to appear confident and collected, he in fact is incredibly nervous about possibly facing his demise in the final act of the play. Remembering the message from the witches, he reassures himself of his favorable destiny, but is daunted by the fear that something will not go according to plan. This nervous state of mind is seen primarily in act five through Macbeth’s use of coupling, alliteration and repetition, and finally, his skewed iambic pentameter.
In act five scene three, Macbeth’s speeches are often made up of two line groupings joined by the alliteration of the first word of the line. This can be found in his speech beginning in line twenty-four:
When I behold – Seyton, I say! – This push
Will cheer me ever or disseat me now
I have lived long enough. My way of life
Is fall’n into the sere, the yellow leaf,
And that which should accompany old age,
As honor, love, obedience, troops of friends,
I must not look to have but in their stead
Curses, not loud but deep, mouth-honor, breath
Which the poor heart would fain deny and dare not. (V.iii.24-32).
In this speech, Macbeth joins the lines in pairs of twos by using alliteration in the first word of the line. He couples the lines using “When” and “Will”; “I” and “Is”; “And” and “As”(V.iii.24.30). Macbeth does this to attempt to create a unifying image. Despite thinking as an individual and selfishly seeking power, Macbeth relies on and seeks the reassurance of others around him, especially Lady Macbeth. He demonstrates this desire for company and unity through this coupling of lines. Just like his speech does not maintain coupled phrases, however, Macbeth knows that he cannot maintain support will face the coming circumstances on his own. This begins to reveal his underlying nervous state of mind. Coming to this realization, Macbeth makes one final attempt in the scene to create some sense of unity and avoid isolation. This comes in the form of his final lines. “I will not be afraid of death and bane / Till Birnam Forest come to Dunsinane” (V.iii.73-74). The syntactical choice is different in these final lines as Macbeth speaks in a formal couplet, a speech pattern he has not otherwise used. The fact that he uses this couplet is significant because it is his final attempt to overcome his nervous mindset. Just as the lines are paired, so too does Macbeth wish to be paired with someone to gain support, and not be alone in his nervousness. By speaking in a couplet, Macbeth tries to end in perfect unity and projecting a calm demeanour when in fact he is simply hiding his nervousness.
In act five scene five, Macbeth’s nervous state of mind becomes more apparent as his syntax shifts to include ample amounts of repetition and alliteration. The repetition of words such as “tomorrow”, “out”, and “arm” demonstrate a desire to reinforce, reassure, and ultimately convince himself and others of what he is saying (V.v.22, 26, 52). This syntax shows his nervousness, for if he were confident, he would only have to state his idea once. The alliteration particularly of the letters T, P, and D, also demonstrate his nervousness as it creates a sound similar to a stutter. In phrases such as “petty pace”, “dusty death”, “speech by sooth”, and “world were”, Macbeth uses alliteration and has progressively revealed more of his nervous mind set (V.v.23, 46, 56).
Finally, in one of the last scenes, act five scene seven, Macbeth’s fear is further revealed and is validated as he is killed by Macduff. In this scene, faced with death and the growing realization of his mistake, Macbeth is still nervous, but carefully hides it. Less obvious than in prior scenes, Macbeth’s nervousness is hidden in his iambic pentameter speech pattern. His lines in this scene have correct pentameters, but does not use the proper iambic rhythm. For example, in phrases like “such a one” and “brandished by man that’s of a woman born”, Macbeth strays from his proper iambic rhythm of unstressed, stressed syllable pattern but overall still has a line with five meters (V.vii.3, 17). This signifies that superficially, Macbeth is living up to the expectation of bravery, but internally, like the rhythm of his lines, he is offbeat and nervous.
With this upset rhythm as well as the use of coupling, repetition, and alliteration, Macbeth’s nervous state of mind in the final act of the play is revealed.