The Significance of Clothing Imagery in Shakespeare’s Macbeth

The Significance of Clothing Imagery in Shakespeare’s Macbeth

An author’s aim is that of conveying a certain idea, and the more this is done through vivid and descriptive language, the more it is effective. This aim can be fulfilled through the use of imagery, which is a “picture made out of words” (Lewis 17) that makes readers feel and understand better the author’s message. This use of imagery is present in all types of literature, and it makes readers have a deeper understanding of the text. One of the authors that make great use of imagery is Shakespeare (1564 - 1616)¹. The English playwright uses different types of imagery, such as disease imagery, death imagery, clothing imagery or even animal imagery, in order to give a deeper and more philosophical tone to his work of literature. In order to understand the real function of imagery in Shakespeare’s works, one has to analyze them in detail, pointing out their significance and proving how vital they are to the representation of ideas and to the description of characters. This paper will consequently focus on the use of clothing imagery in Shakespeare’s play Macbeth (1623)², as one of the most vivid imageries used by the English dramatist. Do Macbeth’s royal garments symbolize power? Do they make Macbeth oblivious to reality? Do they psychologically influence his actions and perception of life? Do they hide Macbeth’s real self? This paper will attempt at answering these questions through the analysis of certain parts of Macbeth’s play, as well as by presenting certain theories related to the psychology of clothing.

1. Clothing Imagery in Shakespeare’s drama

Shakespeare has always been famous for how he portrays his heroes, for how he shows every single detail of the human psyche through words or imagery, and also for creating universal characters with whom anyone can easily identify. Shakespeare’s characters are not a mere representation of the time in which Shakespeare lived, but they also embody features that are part of the human nature in general. In other words, they are universal characters, they go beyond time and place, and they are human beings in the absolute.

Shakespeare’s audience in the Renaissance felt these characters’ words and inner conflicts as people nowadays do, despite all the changes that happened in the world since then.  This is related to the fact that Shakespeare’s heroes are nothing but embodiments of psychological problems, and since the human psyche is always the same, these heroes’ struggles are applicable to all eras.

One of the techniques used by Shakespeare in illustrating these inner struggles, between what should be done and what should be avoided, is the use of imagery. Through imagery, Shakespeare makes his audience see the clash between the tragic flaw of the hero and the norms of his culture and society. With the use of imagery, he is able to make his audience realize that what the hero is planning to do is going to lead to his suffering and downfall. Therefore, imagery enables Shakespeare to say indirectly what he has in mind, without influencing the audience by certain words, but instead by making people grasp a certain meaning through the unique representation of certain imagery.

“The term imagery is used to signify all the objects and qualities of sense perception referred to in a poem or other work of literature, whether by literal description, by allusion, or in the vehicles of its similes and metaphors” (Abrams & Harpham 134). In recent usage, imagery signifies figurative language and especially metaphors and similes. As related to the use of imagery in Shakespeare’s plays, Caroline Spurgeon, in Shakespeare’s Imagery and What It Tells Us (2005), proves that through the use of imagery, Shakespeare gives clues to his personal experiences, interests and personality. She explains this point saying that

[i]n Shakespeare's case…like the man who under stress of emotion will show no sign of it in eye or face, but will reveal it in some muscular tension, the poet unwittingly lays bare his own innermost likes and dislikes, observations and interests, associations of thought, attitudes of mind and beliefs, in and through the images, the verbal pictures he draws to illuminate something quite different in the speech and thought of his characters. The imagery he instinctively uses is thus a revelation, largely unconscious, given at a moment of heightened feeling, of the furniture of his mind, the channels of his thought, the qualities of things, the objects and incidents he observes and remembers, and perhaps most significant of all, those which he does not observe or remember. (Spurgeon 4)

In her book, Spurgeon also analyzes the different types of imagery used in Shakespeare’s drama, and proves that a number of plays have recurrent image motifs, such as the animal imagery in King Lear or that of disease and death in Hamlet. Spurgeon’s view was that these elements established the overall tonality or atmosphere of the play (Abrams & Harpham 135), and that

[r]oughly speaking, it is…the little word-picture used by a poet or prose writer to illustrate, illuminate and embellish his thought. It is a description or an idea, which by comparison or analogy, stated or understood, with something else, transmits to us through the emotions and associations it arouses, something of the 'wholeness', the depth and richness of the way. The writer views, conceives or has felt what he is telling us. The image thus gives quality, creates atmosphere and conveys emotion in a way no precise description, however clear and accurate, can possibly do. (Spurgeon 9)

Accordingly, this highly significant role of imagery is one of the techniques that make Shakespeare’s plays at the center of attention up till today, and through its analysis in any of the plays, one reaches a deeper understanding.

2. Clothing Imagery in Macbeth

One of the most important types of imagery used by Shakespeare is the clothing imagery in Macbeth. The English playwright has used it to show two main ideas related to Macbeth’s psyche. First, the idea that clothes can symbolize power, and second, that they can be used as a mask to cover up evil deeds. 

Concerning the idea of clothes related to power, “Macbeth is constantly represented symbolically as the wearer of robes not belonging to him” (Spurgeon 189), and this is strictly related to the fact that it is not his right to wear the king’s garments, since he has killed him and unrightfully took his place. Spurgeon calls them “ill-fitting garments”, since they represent the new honors unsuitably brought to Macbeth (325). Macbeth is uncomfortable in the king’s clothes because he is conscious to the fact that he has committed a crime by killing the king, and that these clothes do not belong to him. Throughout the play, Macbeth’s outfits are either too big or too small for him, and this implies the idea that his ambition is too big while his character is too small for his new role of king.

However, even before killing the king, immediately after the first appearance of the three witches, Ross greets Macbeth as thane of Cowdor, and Macbeth quickly replies saying, “The Thane of Cowdor lives: why do you dress me in borrowed robes?” (1.3.145-146). In this part, Shakespeare adopts the clothing imagery to emphasize that, from this particular moment, Macbeth’s personality and psyche are going to witness a drastic change, by being transformed gradually in a man blinded by ambition, whose only aim is that to reach his goals, even if this will make him become a murdering monster. When Macbeth says these words, this hints at the killing of Duncan, and at the fact that Macbeth is going to steal the king’s role.

In Act IV, Angus says, “Now does he feel his title hang loose about him like giant’s robe upon a dwarfish thief” (5.2.20-21), highlighting that the king’s clothes are too big for him, and that this power does not suit him. He is too insignificant to be a king, and the crime he has committed has made him even more insignificant. Shakespeare’s audience knows that his right place is not there, and that he should be in prison, wearing the clothes of a criminal, instead of those of a king. Moreover, according to the Renaissance imagery of clothing, this particular imagery stresses the idea that Macbeth’s small body symbolizes his inadequacy to the role of king, while the large garments represent his ambition, which is too great to be realized. His thirst for power will never stop, and this will lead to his downfall at the end of the play. He does not see his limits nor does he understand that his ambition is beyond his power. This is due to the fact that his vision is obscured by his endless desire for power, and for him what matters is just the throne.

Even if no one has witnessed Macbeth’s crime, people feel he does not deserve to be a king, and that Duncan was a better one. In Act II, Macduff tells Ross, “Lest our old robes sit easier than our new” (2.4.38), and this clothing imagery illustrates one more time the idea of power. Macbeth is not a excellent king, and the very moment he becomes king, he loses control and starts disrespecting the people of his kingdom. In Act IV, Cathness describes him by saying that he “[c]annot buckle his distempered cause/ Within the belt of rule” (5.2.15-16), in which again the clothing imagery is evident. Honors are like clothes, they fall on one’s body and they should fit, and when they are “ill-fitting”, chaos prevails.

The second aspect conveyed by the use of the clothing imagery in Macbeth is that garments can be used as a mask to cover up evil deeds. “The point of the image is that the garments were stolen or that they symbolize the hypocrisy to which Macbeth is reluctantly committed when he embarks on his career of crime” (Muir 254). When Macbeth says, “Scarf up the tender eye of pitiful day…” (3.2.49), this implies that he is hiding something, that he is going to commit a crime, and that he wants nobody to witness it because it is against any morals or values. He knows that his ambition is pushing him towards a wrong action, but he will realize it only after everything is done. One more time, by using the clothing imagery – “scarf up…”- Shakespeare gives a certain message to his audience, that like one uses a scarf to be protected from the cold, Macbeth want to cover his intentions and deeds, creating a barrier between himself and the outside world, in order not to be discovered.

As proven by these examples, the clothing imagery is a means by which Shakespeare conveys the ideas of power and crime in Macbeth. If one pays attention to Shakespeare’s words, one realizes that when Macbeth wears the garments of the king, he is totally oblivious to the reality of things, and even to his people’s needs. Garments of power blind his sight, make him isolated from the rest of the people, and they also increase his ambition. When one wears clothes which give him power, one is no more a common human being; one’s interests and perspectives change, one’s aims and goals differ, and even one’s perception of life is no more the same.

3. The Psychology of Clothing and Macbeth

This power of clothes is not only something literary, or simply the fruit of Shakespeare’s imagination, but it is something scientifically proven. The cognitive psychologists Hajo Adam and Adam Galinksy, in their article “Enclothed Cognition” (2012), have examined the psychological effects that clothing articles have on the person wearing them, and they called this phenomenon “enclothed cognition”. According to their theory, the “enclothed cognition involves the co-occurrence of two independent factors, the symbolic meaning of the clothes and the physical experience of wearing them” (Adam & Galinksy 1).

If one applies this to the use of clothing imagery in Macbeth, it is clear that the clothes that Macbeth wears should symbolize power, but since they are too big for him – “…a giant’s robe upon a dwarfish thief” (5.2.20-21) – or they are not made for him – “…borrowed robes” (1.3.109) - this implies that Macbeth is nothing but a deflation of the figure of the ruler, for which clothes have no real power symbolism. He is like a clown, wearing clothes that do not fit him, but that even make him the object of mockery. Moreover, according to the “enclothed cognition” theory, clothes physically influence the person wearing them. This aspect, if related to Macbeth, acquires a negative connotation, because since he becomes king, Macbeth is totally blinded to what surrounds him. He “[c]annot buckle his distempered cause [w]ithin the belt of rule” (5.2.15-16), and this shows how harmful these garments’ influence is on him. Power, represented by the royal clothes, is a negative force that hypnotizes Macbeth, which makes him blind and heartless. These garments of power change his soul, augment his ambition, and transform him into a bloodthirsty animal.

This change in Macbeth’s attitude is proven by the idea that “the clothes we wear have power not only over others, but also over ourselves [and] identity scholars have long theorized that wearing clothes means assuming a particular identity that elicits corresponding behaviors from the wearer” ( Adam & Galinksy 1). The king clothes worn by Macbeth influence people, in the sense that they make them realize they have to respect and fear him, after he has become the new king. On the other hand, these garments influence Macbeth’s own perception of himself. He is torn between his ambition and his being conscious of his inferiority if compared to Duncan; he knows he is not a great monarch, and he hides this inferiority complex behind his new clothes. These garments become a mask for him, behind which he hides his true self, his fears, his confusion and his uncontrollable ambition.

[J]ust like physical experiences, the experience of wearing clothes triggers associated abstract concepts and their symbolic meanings. In particular…wearing clothes causes people to “embody” the clothing and its symbolic meaning. Consequently, when a piece of clothing is worn, it exerts an influence on the wearer’s psychological processes by activating associated abstract concepts through its symbolic meaning – similar to the way in which a physical experience, which is, by definition, already embodied, exerts its influence. (Adam & Galinksy 2)

Clothing items have a great influence on Macbeth because they not only change his appearance, but they also change his inner self. They make him a new person, put him on the top of the hierarchy, give him power, give him all what he has been deprived of before. They cause a great shock to him, and they increase his confusion. They change everything in him, making him focused only on himself, giving attention to nobody, and even not caring about Lady Macbeth, nor even listening to her words like in the past.

To support this point, in “The Psychology of Clothes” (1938), Harms claims that

[w]hen we consider the human being in his cultural world, we see that of all its multitudinous cultural forms his dress is not only the one which is physically closest to him but also that which most immediately and most intimately expresses his relation to the environment. Not even the cultural forms assumed by man’s most elementary vital activities, such as nutrition and reproduction, are so directly and so constantly interwoven with human life and the human body as dress is. (Harms 239)

Consequently, in order to understand the psychological development of Macbeth’s character, one must pay attention to the symbolism of his clothes, and to which influence these clothes have both on him and on other people. Macbeth’s garments do not belong to him, they do not fit, and they are nothing but the objective correlative of his incompetence. He is not the rightful king, he has become king through murder, and therefore he has violated the divine order. He psychologically convinces himself that, by wearing the king’s clothes, he can easily replace him, but the reality is that nobody feels he is a good king. These recurrent images of ill-fitting garments, make readers understand that more than on appearance, one should focus on the abilities of a person; even if Macbeth’s appearance is that of a king – regardless of the size of the clothes- functionally speaking he is not a good king, and consequently his clothes have no value.  If clothing items exert influence over people, the influence that they have on Macbeth is that they augment his sense of displacement and guilt; they make him face his true reality, and like mirrors they give him no way out from his murder. He is continually reminded that he has taken somebody else’s place, that he should not be there, and that sooner or later he will be discovered and punished.

Notes

¹              Although William Shakespeare is viewed as the prototypical English writer, Shakespeare’s poems and plays have also influenced European and World literature. (Shakespeare’s Biography, The European Graduate School)

²              Shakespeare wrote Macbeth in about 1606 or 1607, and it was published in the 1623 First Folio. ( Macbeth, Folger Shakespeare Library)

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