The Giant's Robe, Blood, and the Unnatural
Do not just describe a nice dress or a cool suit of armor. Examiners want to see how a costume tracks the character's psychological decay. Macbeth's armor should degrade as his mind breaks. Lady Macbeth’s commanding Act 1 gowns must give way to a vulnerable nightgown by Act 5. Costume is a physical manifestation of their guilt.
In Act 5, Angus explicitly says that Macbeth's title hangs loose about him "like a giant's robe upon a dwarfish thief." This is a massive gift from Shakespeare to the costume designer. We must visually show the audience that Macbeth is an imposter.
In Act 3 and beyond, Macbeth's crown should be physically too large, slipping down his forehead. Made of heavy, unpolished brass rather than shining gold, it should look like a terrible burden rather than a glorious prize, highlighting his crippling paranoia.
His royal garments (a deep purple velvet mantle lined with ermine fur) must be completely oversized. The hem should drag heavily on the stage floor, visually "swallowing" the actor to prove that he is a small man entirely unsuited to the immense weight of the kingship.
Blood is not just a prop in this play; it is an active costume element that tracks the moral decay of the protagonists. It accumulates as the play progresses, becoming impossible to wash away.
In Act 1, Macbeth’s armor is shining silver and clean—the uniform of a noble hero. By Act 5, his armor should be tarnished, rusted, and permanently stained with dried, dark red blood. This textural deterioration visually maps his descent from a hero into a butcher.
In Act 5 (the sleepwalking scene), dress her in a stark, thin, white cotton nightdress. The color white traditionally symbolizes innocence, creating a deeply ironic, tragic contrast with her horrific, blood-soaked guilt. The thin fabric leaves her looking fragile and totally exposed.
Banquo describes the Witches: "You should be women, And yet your beards forbid me to interpret That you are so." They must look deeply unnatural and androgynous, acting as a corrupted extension of the barren Scottish heath.
Break down (weather) their costumes by integrating elements of the natural environment. Their garments should be made of coarse, heavily distressed hessian (burlap), caked in dried mud, and tangled with dead twigs. This shows they are literally born from the corrupted Scottish landscape.
Reject the traditional "pointy hat" stereotype. Bind the actors' chests to remove traditional female silhouettes, and use ragged, multi-layered drab grey fabrics to obscure their human form. This androgyny plays directly into Jacobean fears of women who operated outside patriarchal control.
Use these pre-structured sentences in your exam to instantly hit the top marking bands for symbolic costume justification.
| Design Element (What) | Impact Justification (Why) | Key Terminology |
|---|---|---|
| In Act 5, I would dress Macbeth in a heavy, oversized velvet royal robe that drags extensively on the floor. | This plays directly into the metaphor of the "giant's robe upon a dwarfish thief." It physically swallows the actor, visually proving to the audience that he is an imposter who cannot bear the weight of the crown. | Fit / Tailoring Visual Metaphor Fabric (Velvet) Status |