ACT 2: Macbeth quotes and analysis Flashcards
Analyse these quotes: “I dream’d last night of the three weird sisters’. “I think not of them”
An antithesis is a character which juxtaposes another in order to reveal things about their personalities, in this case, Banquo is a tool to explore man’s reaction to temptation. Macbeth’s dishonest dual nature juxtaposes Banquo’s. Macbeth is still plagued by thoughts of the witches prophecies. It seems superstition is taking a hold of him and trespassing on his unconscious. Contrasting Macbeth, Banquo claims “I think not of them”; he is honest, characterising him as moral in order to amplify Macbeth’s dishonesty and deception.
Analyse these quotes: “candles are all out” “stars hide your fires”
Arguably, Banquo is emblematic of Jesus as he confesses his temptation; Banquo claims the heaven’s “candles are all out”, in reference to the lack of stars in the sky. Banquo seeks solace from heaven rather than trying to hide like Macbeth “stars hide your fires”, this motif of stars exposes Macbeth and Banquo as diametrically opposed in their aspirations: Macbeth wants to hide his malicious intetions from God yet Banquo wants to confess his temptations to be free of them. Banquo is an important tool in characterising Macbeth as a tragedy, as it exposes that it is Macbeth’s hamartia of ambition that drives his heinous acts, Banquo too was subject to the same temptation but actively chose to resist it. Hamartia is a key component of a tragedy.
Analyse this quote: “is this a dagger which I see before me, the handle towards me hand? Come let me clutch thee”
Soliloquies are a device used by Shakespeare to give the audience insight into the inner workings of a character’s mind. In Act 2, Scene 1 just before killing Duncan we are given insight into the mental turmoil of Macbeth. There is a volta (turning point) for his character as it is when he begins to experience the effects of guilt. The rhetorical question shows his internal conflict and confusion. It foreshadows his later madness. The phallic imagery shown in “dagger” portrays Macbeth as falling from grace, where he once had a notoriously manly nature about him, he is now reduced to a submissive and weak character. The phrase “the handle towards my hand” suggests he is ridding himself of responsibility over the murder as if it was being offered to him or forced upon him. From this we learn that he can acknowledge the immorality of his actions, yet ambition takes over.
- The staging can be interesting as if the dagger is shown on stage, it draws the audience into Macbeth’s madness. A contemporary audience would be confounded by the enigma of the supernatural and the power they hold - is the dagger a supernatural manifestation or is it a hallucination? Conversely, if the dagger is invisible, Macbeth’s madness becomes apparent earlier in the play.
- Essentially, Macbeth uses the dagger as a scapegoat to expel himself of the blame for regicide as a coping mechanism for his premature guilt.
Analyse this quote: “fatal vision”
The adjective “fatal” simultaneously alludes to the fatalities that will come as a result of the tragedy (including Macbeth himself) and the idea that his actions are decreed by fate. The latter suggests another example of Macbeth abstaining responsibility as he dismisses it as conducted by higher powers or destiny.
Analyse: Macbeth calling the dagger an “instrument”
He calls the dagger an “instrument”, perhaps alluding to how the “instruments of darkness” (the witches) with their dark musicality, have brought him to this point of sheer inner turmoil.
Analyse these quotes: “God bless us” “Amen”
His abandonment of religion, the foundations of Jacobean society, is salient as in his hallucinations he hears “God bless us”. The repetition of the statement, paired with biblical cries “Amen” highlights how Macbeth has deviated so far from God and religion, this will begin to torture his mind on earth before he will be eternally tortured in hell.
Analyse this quote: “I heard a voice cry, ‘Sleep no more:/Macbeth does murder sleep’, the innocent sleep”.
Macbeth after the murder is born into a climax of insanity; it portrays he is perturbed by guilt that he is imprisoned within a state of restlessness. The repetition of “sleep” portrays him stumbling over his words; he has even lost control over his lexis and articulation. The motif of sleep: sleep plays an important role in exploring the notion of innocence throughout the play, an inability to sleep is synonymous with a loss of innocence.
Analyse this quote: “sour labour’s bath”
Sleep represents tranquility and healing, the noun “bath” reinforces this as it connotes cleanliness which is also synonymised with innocence through the allusions to the washing of blood.
Analyse this quote: “With Tarquin’s ravishing strides, towards his design”
Macbeth ambitiously wants to emulate Tarquin, a Roman tyrant whom raped his wife, so he will be a barbaric tyrant who feels no pity- his ambition and hubris obstructs his moral compass. He sees power synonymous with brutality and being a tyrant.
