Two Sizes Too Big Macbeth Character Analysis

Two Sizes Too Big: Clothing in Macbeth Represents Inadequacy to Rule The way people wear clothing reveals a lot about their character. If clothing is too big, it most likely means that they are not ready to wear those clothes. One’s clothing can be used to represent ranks in power and how they are judged in society. This idea is exemplified in the tragic play Macbeth by William Shakespeare. The tragic hero and main character in the play, Macbeth, whose clothing never fits ultimately shows that he is not ready for the ranks he is given. The repeated mention of Macbeth’s ill-fitting clothing displays that he is never truly fit to rise in power in society and that he is not meant to rule. Macbeth’s inability to hold power and his ill fitting clothing is shown when he is promoted to Thane of Cawdor, when he becomes king of Scotland, and when the English army is plotting to attack him.

Macbeth asks Angus why he is being dressed in “... borrowed robes”(1.3.115), because he believes that the current Thane of Cawdor still lives. This hints at the audience that Macbeth is not legitimately questioning if the old Thane of Cawdor’s clothes will fit him, but rather if the title will suit him. When a person gets a new object or job, they may not know how to correctly use it at first. In Macbeth’s case, he realizes the fact that he is not the best person for his position, and he may not be fit for taking the responsibilities of a Thane. Banquo states that Macbeth’s new stature is “like our strange garments, cleave not to their mold but with the age of use”(1.3.161), which describes how the new “clothes” on Macbeth may not fit him at first but they will eventually. The mention of Macbeth’s clothing continues throughout the play, and further shows that Macbeth is ultimately not fit for