Act 1 Flashcards
(I, I, 10)
Witches
“Fair is foul and foul is fair. “
- Iambic tetrameter,
- paradox appearance vs reality
- foreshadowing moral confusion and chaos
- ambiguity, moral boundaries are blurred in a world where good + evil are not clearly defined
(I, iii, 48-50)
Witches
“All hail, Macbeth! Hail To Thee, Thane Of Glamis!
All hail, Macbeth! Hail To Thee, Thane Of Cawdor!
All hail, Macbeth, that shalt be king hereafter.”
- parallelism,
- repetition,
- foreshadowing
(I, iii, 65-67)
Witches
“Lesser than Macbeth, and greater.
Not so happy, yet much happier.
Thou shalt get kings, though thou be none.”
- foreshadowing reign of king james, Banquo’s descendant
- less social status, yet greater moral fortitude
(I, iii, 10)
Macbeth
“So foul and fair a day I have not seen.”
- iambic pentameter/five beat rythm, echoes witches before encounter, suggests he is already corrupted by them, this ‘fair’ character will become ‘foul’
(I, iii, 121-125)
Banquo
“The instruments of darkness tell us truths, Win us with honest trifles, to betray ’s In deepest consequence.”
- personification, dark forces have agency and can manipulate perceptions
- paradoxical nature of darkness revealing truths, complex relationship between good and evil
- symbolises theme of manipulation utilised by witches
- foreshadowing, treachery and betrayal that will occur as ch urged by false promises and superficial truths
(I, iv, 7-11)
Duncan
“Nothing in his life Became him like the leaving it.”
(I, iv, 11-14)
Duncan
“There’s no art To find the mind’s construction in the face.”
- metaphor, construction - thoughts + intentions, inner motives are complex and not easily discerned
- tone reveals scepticism and caution, unreliability of appearance
- irony, after hanging previous thane for treason, Duncan states it is hard to discern who is loyal, such as Macbeth will murder him
(I, v, 11-15)
Lady Macbeth
“Yet I do fear thy nature; It is too full o’ the milk of human kindness.”
- metaphor, milk of human kindness represent compassion + gentleness, suggest nurturing nature but also weakness
- foreshadowing, fear for Macbeths nature hints internal conflict he will face when considering violent acts
(I, v, 35-38)
Lady Macbeth
“Come, you spirits That tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here, And fill me, from the crown to the toe, top-full Of direst cruelty! make thick my blood.”
- blood image continue, imperetive commandments to evil representing power she believes she commands, her hubris
- wants to subvert her nurturing, dutifu, powerless characteristic of being a woman - unnatural witchlike behaviour for era
(I, 56-63)
Lady Macbeth
“To beguile then time, Look like the time; bear welcome in your eye, Your hand, your tongue: look like the innocent flower, But be the serpent under’t.”
- LM duplicitous nature, religious connotations snake= devil,woman tempted by evil who tempts man (adam+eve)
- reference to King James’s medal featuring snake hidden in flowers, betrayal of king leads to demise
(I, vii, 1-5)
Macbeth
“If it were done when ‘tis done, then ‘twere well It were done quickly:”
- repetition of done focus on urgency
- if is conditional to hypothetical consequences
(I, vii, 12-15)
Macbeth
“He’s here in double trust: First, as I am his kinsman and his subject; then, as his host, Who should against his murderer shut the door.”
- parallelism, rythmic balance reinforcing complexity of with relationships w duncan
- irony in acknowledgment of macbeths loyalties to duncan whilst contemplating his murder
- imager, against treachery shut the door, hospitality turned treachery
Lady Macbeth
“I have given suck, and know How tender ‘tis to love the babe that milks me: I would, while it was smiling in my face, Have
pluck’d my nipple from his boneless gums, And dash’d the brains out, had I so sworn as you Have done to this.”
- fulfilling one’s promises
- antithesis, contrast between gentle tender smiling and pluck’d, boneless, dash’d
- pride and honor to be upheld
Macbeth
“False face must hide what the false heart doth know.”
- antithesis, false face + false heart highlights dichotomy between appearance andreality
- false face symbolises mask people must wear to hide true intentions
Lady Macbeth
“Are not without ambition, but without The illness should attend it.”
- paradox, suggests that ambition can be a positive quality and a source for moral corruption
