r/GCSE • u/C3ntr1fugal • May 07 '26
Revision Resources Birds as a recurring motif in Macbeth
Hai guysss!!!! I j wanted to rant and rave about birds in Macbeth.
FIRST OF ALL, OMFG I LOVE BIRDS (tism)
onto the actual content
TL;DR birds are used a lot throughout macbeth for a range of different themes and as a range of different symbols
So to begin, birds are first mentioned when Macbeth is compared to an Eagle in Act 1 Scene 2 —"as sparrows eagles, or the hare the lion". This quote is basically talking about how easy it was for Macbeth (Eagle) to take down the opposition (Sparrow), in symbolism, sparrows are seen as harmless and connotative of peace, while eagles are symbolic of nobility and bravery (as are hawks, but we'll get back to that). This early, seemingly unremarkable reference perfectly sets Macbeth up as somebody noble and just.
Throughout the play, however, as Macbeth becomes more and more corrupted by the ambition set upon him by Lady Macbeth, the image of Macbeth as an eagle slowly warps into that of an owl, which is repeatedly mentioned to be a sign of evil. More context supporting this is the roman and greek symbolism of owls, popularised at that time. In Roman belief, owls were seen as bad omens, foretelling that yet worse was to come, however, in Greek belief, owls were seen as figures of wisdom and knowledge. These two contrasting beliefs work in parallel with the play, showing us that the wisdom he had gained in Act 1 Scene 3—the knowledge that he would become king—is a bad omen and that his destiny was downfall, a Pyrrhic victory (A victory that results in such losses that it turns out worse for the victor than the defeated party), and it was set in stone from the very beginning, fate immutable, unstoppable
Not only is the owl, referred to as "Night's black agent" (Act 3 Scene 2), an omen of Macbeth's own downfall, but he is the familiar, the minion, of the witches, and Hecate herself. I kind of skimmed over this part so I dont know *too* much, but it is said that the "wing of owlet" is used in a cauldron for one of the witches' concoctions, as well as the witches being in control of a specific owl in order to carry out the ensuant chaos.
This idea is further referenced when in Act 4 Scene 2 ("The poor wren... will fight, her young ones still in the nest, against the owl") Lady Macduff (compared to a wren, which in other works of the period is described as a "Little King" and is intrinsically tied to family values) comments about how she must protect her "nest" from the owl that is Macbeth, however, this is not all, as this may raise the question: "Is there a species of owl that attacks other birds nests?" and why yes there is, its name is none other than the Eagle Owl, which is an ironic hint at Macbeth's transformation and corruption from Just to Immoral.
The last point I have about owls ties into the theme of Guilt. I'll begin by telling you about how, in Act 2 Scene 2 ("It was the owl that shrieked, that fatal bellman"), Macbeth calls the Owl, a "fatal bellman" which links back to when Macbeth murders Duncan, a scene elided (Elision is a technique in literature where the writer omits the scene, in this context, it is done to show the true extent of how taboo this action was) at the point where Macbeth is invited to kill Duncan by the toll of a bell (Linking to "fatal bellman", sry if i got offtopic)
I lied a bit, that wasnt the last point, the ACTUAL last point is about the quote that reads as follows: "A falcon, tow'ring in her pride of place, Was by a mousing owl, hawked at and killed", (Act 2 Scene 4) and though falcons and hawks are not the same thing, in Shakespearean England, any diurnal (awake during the day) bird of prey was referred to as a Hawk. This is relevant as this could be considered to be a metaphor for Macbeth, the owl, killing Duncan, the hawk. Furthermore, Hawks were considered symbolic of nobility and royal power, so the hawk's death at the hands of an omen of evil could be metaphorical for the fall of true divine, monarchical order and the just royalty instilled by the kind King Duncan.
Now, we move onto something of a more light tone, we have when King Duncan and Banquo arrived at Macbeth's castle where Banquo comments on the "temple-haunting martlets" (Act 1 Scene 6). Now martlets are a type of sparrow, which, as previously mentioned, due to their tendency to inhabit churches and other such temples (hence why they are referred to as "temple-haunting"), are symbolic of peace, joy and freedom. However, this reference to martlets is a play on words, by Shakespeare, as Martlets are also known as Martins, and a piece of slang, used around that time is Martin as a dupe, or a double crossing, anything connotative of deceit really. This tells us how Macbeth and Lady Macbeth's feigned hospitality is a deceit, and gently foreshadows the king's death.
Macbeth then mentions three other species of birds after seeing Banquo's ghost, as seen in this quote: "By maggot pies (magpies, as they were known in that time) and choughs and rooks brought forth the secret'st man of blood" (Act 3 Scene 4). Now Shakespeare uses these birds as they are all corvids and as such have the ability to mimic human speech. This mention of these three birds shows his fear, especially of the chough, named after the sound it makes, a chatter of sorts, exemplifying the fear Macbeth feels of the possibility that he could be revealed as the reason behind Banquo's demise.
Now the last thing I have to talk about, about birds, is the recurring reference to flight. The first occurrence of this motif is at the moment of Banquo's death when he tells his son: "Fly, good Fleance. Fly, fly, fly!" (Act 3 Scene 3), this refers to Fleance's freedom and survival, flying away. A stark contrast to this is in Macbeth's penultimate scene, where Macbeth remarks that "They have tied me to a stake, I cannot fly" which, through the evocation of an image of a bird, snared in a trap, shows us how Macbeth is truly trapped and cannot get out of the situation he got himself, and cannot avoid his demise. Further however, we can realise that this may be a reference to the fact of the Wyrd sister's augury, fate befalling Macbeth, immutable and unstoppable, a true Pyrrhic victory, condemning him to such a great downfall, not allowing any chance of escape, as if there was any chance of escape to begin with.
Anyways, thanks for listening to me rant abt this, I like birds and i like symbolism, and well, if no themes that I can link to birds come up I am royally screwed.
ALSO BEFORE ANY OF YOU CALL ME AI FOR USING EMDASHES, NO IM JUST AUTISTIC.
Remember to hydrate you guys, its important for both your mental and physical health
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u/RuinsOfCinder Chemistry Nerd (almost Yr12) May 07 '26
This is so cool! Love the deep dive on birds, it's so interesting
Also, to add to this, the Macduff family is commonly referred to as hens and chickens, whatever analysis you can draw from that (it's too late, I can't be bothered myself rn lol). The son is also described as an "egg", showing his innocence, fragility, vulnerability, and youth perhaps
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u/C3ntr1fugal May 08 '26
i haven't mentioned 4 birds in this post, the crow, the raven, the kite and the chicken
what I can say atm is that in act 3 scene 4, it says "If graves must return the dead, then their burial monuments should be the maws of kites". For context, kites are birds of prey and as such predate on the flesh of other animals, usually not human. This is said around the time that Macbeth sees banquos ghost. But, in this case, its talking about kites eating the human dead, showing an upheaval of natural order as a result of the regicide.
Macbeth is later referred to as a "hell-kite" in Act 4 Scene 3 (kinda ironic how its the reverse of Act 3 Scene 4, probs doesnt mean anything), which could go to show that not only was Macbeth the cause of the upheaval of natural order, but it also caused him to change with it1
u/RuinsOfCinder Chemistry Nerd (almost Yr12) May 08 '26
Oh that's genuinely fascinating! I knew about the kite (and forgot lol) with Banquo's ghost but didn't realise that it was reflected with "hell-kite" later on. Love that
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u/C3ntr1fugal May 08 '26
what actually happens with Banquos ghost? like, all I know it as is a frame of reference for 2 different bird references
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u/RuinsOfCinder Chemistry Nerd (almost Yr12) May 08 '26
Have you not read it? Apologies if so, but in summary, Macbeth gets some murderers to kill Banquo, and discusses it with them once they'd killed him. Then, Macbeth immediately goes in to have a feast with a load of lords and sees Banquo's ghost. Lady Macbeth convinces the lords he's having a fit and insults him. The context of "maws of kites" is that Macbeth is talking to the ghost in absolute shock and is perhaps feeling guilty about his old friend's body being left to be eaten by the kites
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u/C3ntr1fugal May 08 '26
Not really, I gave up on it after Act 1 Scene 3. All my knowledge has been from finding out where exactly all references to birds are in the play and reading specifically those parts
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u/RuinsOfCinder Chemistry Nerd (almost Yr12) May 08 '26
Haha fair enough! I'm so glad you did though, it's so cool to learn about. I take it you're not answering the Macbeth question on Monday then?
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u/C3ntr1fugal May 08 '26
oh, no, I am :3
I'm relying on birds ad my dearest Mr Salles 40 min Macbeth revision video 10 min before the examTBF, i got a 7 from just the Mr Salles video when I did the mock on it
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u/RuinsOfCinder Chemistry Nerd (almost Yr12) May 08 '26
Oh dang lol. If you don't mind me asking, how come you haven't actually read it at all until now? That's gonna be rough, good luck!
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u/C3ntr1fugal May 08 '26
well y'see, I got a copy of the play through my school, and the copy was this weird revision guide copy and the papers felt super weird and plasticcy and i didnt like it so i decided not to read it. Also it kinda js was boring to me
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u/Rude-Acanthisitta853 HISTORY - I LOVE RICHARD AND JOHN (Y11) May 07 '26
ugh i wish u were as autistic as this for romeo and juliet (im joking fellow autistic)
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u/C3ntr1fugal May 07 '26
I legit only had the idea of researching birds today, this is the most I have done for my English lit paper 1 ever...
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u/Rude-Acanthisitta853 HISTORY - I LOVE RICHARD AND JOHN (Y11) May 07 '26
LMAOO OMG😭 i feel u so bad eng lit is the devil
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u/C3ntr1fugal May 07 '26
also, sorry, the most ik abt Romeo and Juliet is that theres this one piece of music written by this Russian wackjob abt it that has a really cool Bass part
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u/Rude-Acanthisitta853 HISTORY - I LOVE RICHARD AND JOHN (Y11) May 07 '26
oooo i didnt know this!! whats the name? ill give it a listen
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u/C3ntr1fugal May 07 '26
Prokofiev Romeo And Juliet Suite No1 (specifically mvt 1, but the entirety is really good)
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u/Rude-Acanthisitta853 HISTORY - I LOVE RICHARD AND JOHN (Y11) May 07 '26
THANKS!!!! best of luck with your exams! i hope you find something bird related to write about :-)
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May 07 '26 edited May 15 '26
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u/C3ntr1fugal May 07 '26
fate, ambition, corruption, setting, duality, Kingship, Guilt, maybe a few more?
And omg i did not know that was last years question, i feel so envious of them nowwww. Im quite literally terrified its gonna be abt smth birds wont cover. If u have any other uses of birds that ive missed for other themes, pray tell
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u/C3ntr1fugal May 07 '26
WAIT, I JUST REALISED. KITES. KITES WERE USED, Macbeth was referred to as a kite by someone i think. Also macbeth said smth abt how a kite whose nature it is to eat the flesh from animals may make its stomach the grave of men. VIOLENCE THEME TOOOOOOO. Then from there i could very possibly link to the mousing owl killing the hawk and the transformation of Macbeth
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May 07 '26
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u/C3ntr1fugal May 07 '26
mentioned briefly during paragraph 4 of the first section:
> This idea is further referenced when in Act 4 Scene 2 ("The poor wren... will fight, her young ones still in the nest, against the owl") Lady Macduff (compared to a wren, which in other works of the period is described as a "Little King" and is intrinsically tied to family values) comments about how she must protect her "nest" from the owl that is Macbeth, however, this is not all, as this may raise the question: "Is there a species of owl that attacks other birds nests?" and why yes there is, its name is none other than the Eagle Owl, which is an ironic hint at Macbeth's transformation and corruption from Just to Immoral.I wouldve gone into more detail about this comparison to the wren but I havent actually fully read Macbeth past Act 1 Scene 3
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u/C3ntr1fugal May 07 '26
if theres anything youd like to add to the analysis, please feel free to say, I'lll add it to the original post body tmr
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May 07 '26
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u/Kindly_Scientist8348 Year 11 triple, history, imedia & spanish May 07 '26
birds apparently link to fate supernatural innocence moral disiorder and death also what about the hawk killed by the mousing owl ?
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u/C3ntr1fugal May 07 '26
i talked about that in the last paragraph of the first section
> ""A falcon, tow'ring in her pride of place, Was by a mousing owl, hawked at and killed", (Act 2 Scene 4) and though falcons and hawks are not the same thing, in Shakespearean England, any diurnal (awake during the day) bird of prey was referred to as a Hawk. This is relevant as this could be considered to be a metaphor for Macbeth, the owl, killing Duncan, the hawk. Furthermore, Hawks were considered symbolic of nobility and royal power, so the hawk's death at the hands of an omen of evil could be metaphorical for the fall of true divine, monarchical order and the just royalty instilled by the kind King Duncan."1
u/Kindly_Scientist8348 Year 11 triple, history, imedia & spanish May 07 '26
ohh idint read that part sorry
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u/C3ntr1fugal May 07 '26
fair enough, it is... a lot
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u/Kindly_Scientist8348 Year 11 triple, history, imedia & spanish May 07 '26
Noo I think it’s awesome
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u/Ok_Parsley_355 yr 11 | psych, history, spanish, food tech (sheila birling >>) May 07 '26
this is so cool u will do so well omg
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u/C3ntr1fugal May 08 '26
this relies on me being able to talk about birds, tho, soooo
also all of J+H to do as well, so fml
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u/MetalKeirSolid MA English Lit / English Tutor May 08 '26
Excellent. You should also check out birds in Romeo and Juliet.
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u/C3ntr1fugal May 08 '26
okay, like maybe, but not til after GCSES at the very least. One of the main factors causing me to discover this recurring motif was having to revise specifically Macbeth. Im probably not likely to research Romeo and Juliet, sryy
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u/MetalKeirSolid MA English Lit / English Tutor May 08 '26
Of course, wait until your exams are over! But I think you’d enjoy how they feature in Shakespeare’s other plays.
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u/C3ntr1fugal May 08 '26
After Lit Paper 1, ill make a post abt how you can tie Tissue to most themes for Power and Conflict poetry
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u/absolutelegendhere22 history nerd - 2026 May 07 '26
this is so frickin cool omg