Macbeth: the tragedy of equivocity
Desire; Macbeth; Shakespeare; Equivocity; Lacan; Psychoanalysis
Shakespeare and desire were the two initial threads of this dissertation. Jacques Lacan, in his Seminar 6 – desire and its interpretation, dedicates seven lessons that have Hamlet, by William Shakespeare, as the main theme, with the objective of demonstrating that the protagonist of this tragedy can be seen as paradigm for thinking about desire. According to authors such as A.C. Bradley and Harold Bloom, Macbeth is another Shakespearean work that has similarities with Hamlet. Due to these similarities between these works, the research initially questioned whether it would be possible to find elements in Macbeth that would also make it possible to think about desire in this tragedy. However, since the research focused on the Lacanian reading of Hamlet, it could be concluded that this would not be possible, since, in the reading of Lacan, Hamlet’s procrastination in executing revenge is a central element to situate the mechanism of desire in this character. Inview of this, the research began to question what it would be possible to find in Macbeth, from the perspective of Lacan’s psychoanalysis. To answer this question, it was necessary to scan the text of the tragedy Macbeth, after which it became possible to notice that the wordplay and the ambiguous speeches, endowed with double meanings and misunderstandings, are striking aspects of this drama. Thus, considering that equivocality is a relevant characteristic of Lacan’s psychoanalytic theory, it was verified how, in Macbeth, from the equivocation in the field of language, it is possible to emerge something that concerns the subject’s subjective position. This is reflected in the speeches of the main character, and in particular, through the signifier deed. It was found that the homophony of this word with the term did, makes it ambiguous, making its use, in Macbeth’s speeches, indicate something about the position of a subject facing the act. It was concluded that, although it is not possible to locate the desire in this character, it is possible, with the help of this Shakespearean tragedy, to show how from equivocality it is possible that a truth about the subject’s position emerges.