MYPNA_TE_G12_U3_web.pdf

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NOTES

The passage with which we began this essay, then, is an integral

part of a larger context, and of a very rich context:

And pity, like a naked new-born babe,

Striding the blast, or heaven’s cherubim, hors’d

Upon the sightless couriers of the air,

Shall blow the horrid deed in every eye,

That tears shall drown the wind.

Pity is like the naked babe, the most sensitive and helpless thing;

yet, almost as soon as the comparison is announced, the symbol

of weakness begins to turn into a symbol of strength; for the babe,

though newborn, is pictured as “Striding the blast” like an elemental

force—like “heaven’s cherubim, hors’d / Upon the sightless couriers

of the air.” We can give an answer to the question put earlier: is Pity

like the human and helpless babe, or powerful as the angel that rides

the winds? It is both; and it is strong because of its very weakness.

The paradox is inherent in the situation itself; and it is the paradox

that will destroy the overbrittle rationalism on which Macbeth founds

his career.

For what will it avail Macbeth to cover the deed with the blanket

of the dark if the elemental forces that ride the winds will blow the

horrid deed in every eye? And what will it avail Macbeth to clothe

himself in “manliness”—to become bloody, bold, and resolute—if he

is to find himself again and again, viewing his bloody work through

the “eye of childhood / That fears a painted devil“? Certainly, the

final and climactic appearance of the babe symbol merges all the

contradictory elements of the symbol. For, with Macduff’s statement

about his birth, the naked babe rises before Macbeth as not only the

future that eludes calculation but as avenging angel as well.

The clothed daggers and the naked babe—mechanism and life—

instrument and end—death and birth—that which should be left

bare and clean and that which should be clothed and warmed—

these are facets of two of the great symbols which run throughout

the play. They are not the only symbols, to be sure; they are not the

most obvious symbols: darkness and blood appear more often. But

with a flexibility which must amaze the reader, the image of the

garment and the image of the babe are so used as to encompass an

astonishingly large area of the total situation. And between them—

the naked babe, essential humanity, humanity stripped down to

the naked thing itself, and yet as various as the future—and the

various garbs which humanity assumes, the robes of honor, the

hypocrite’s disguise, the inhuman “manliness” with which Macbeth

endeavors to cover up his essential humanity—between them, they

furnish Shakespeare with his most subtle and ironically telling

instruments. ❧

10

11

12

13

from The Naked Babe and the Cloak of Manliness 389

LIT17_SE12_U03_B2_SG.indd 389 2/21/16 11:02 AM

Interpret a Paradox

Circulate among groups as students begin

their close read. Suggest that groups close

read paragraph 11 in which Brooks explains a

central paradox of the play. Encourage them

to talk about the annotations that they mark.

If needed, provide the following support.

ANNOTATE: Have students note the two

“sides” of the paradox of the naked babe,

or work with small groups to have students

participate while you highlight them together.

QuEsTiON: Guide students to consider

what this paradox tells them about Macbeth

(the character), about Macbeth (the play)

and about Brooks (the critic). Ask: Why does

Shakespeare use this paradox and why does

Brooks center his essay on it?, and accept

student responses.

Possible response: Macbeth, both the

character and the play, is full of contradictions,

many of which contribute to the protagonist’s

demise. This paradox emphasizes the fate of that

kind of existence.

CONCludE: Help students to formulate

conclusions about the significance of a play

that has a paradox as one of its central

images. Ask students why the author might

have included these details.

Possible response: Paradoxes are surprises;

they challenge us to question our assumptions

and think about something in a new way.

They point to the complex ambiguities of life.

As Macbeth’s plans turn sour, his own actions

create, paradoxically, his downfall.

Remind students that a paradox is

a statement, idea, or statement that,

at first, appears contradictory, but on

closer inspection turns out to be true. An

oxymoron is an expression (usually two

words) that squeezes a paradox into a single

phrase. Shakespeare is famous for both.

Closer look

PERSONALIZE FOR LEARNING

Challenge

The Two Great symbols Brooks explicitly names and interprets the

“two great symbols” of Macbeth in the first sentence in paragraph 13,

and he goes on to name two other “most obvious symbols”: darkness

and blood. Challenge students to choose an additional symbol in

the play and to write a single paragraph of interpretation as they try

to emulate Brooks’s style and depth. If they have trouble choosing

another symbol, suggest visions and hallucinations, sleep, water,

animals, or weather.

Small-Group Learning 389

LIT17_TE12_U03_B2_SG.indd 389 16-03-29 1:51 PM