Analysis

Question 1

“If chance will have me king, why, chance may crown me”

Answer 1

Paradox
Belief in fate driven solemnity contradicts with Macbeth’s ambition
Depicts the political instability of the Jacobean era, where leaders would ascend to the throne through questionable means
Nurtures an environment where Machiavellianism is vital to uphold fortuna while allowing the prosperity of ambiton and virtu

Question 2

“Macbeth, hail to thee, thou shalt be king hereafter”

Answer 2

Foreshadowing
MAcbeth’s navigation of a volatile political enviornment without hindsight of the qualities of a leader
Not only challenges the Jacobean belief of predetermined reign through the Divine Right of Kings, but also marks the catalyst for Macbeth’s Machiavellian pursity to defy fortuna through excessive virtu, leading to his downfall

Question 3

“hurly burly’s done/…battle’s lost and won”

Answer 3

Couplet
Establishes the tone of upheaval and uncertainity for the political outcomes of conflicts
Relfects the ongoing struggles for power and influence during the Jacobean era, exposing the fragility of leadership and its reinforcement through ambition, a central tenet of Machiavellianism

Question 4

“security is mortal’s chiefest enemy”

Answer 4

Metaphor in a proverbial tone
Amplifies the pursuit for one’s security of ambition leads to complacency and a dangerous obession with power and control
Reflects the Jacobean context, where leaders who were too focused on securing their free-will and virtu on the throne were caught off guard by prevalence of fortuna and its instillment in individuals, such as Gunpowder plot of 1605

Question 5

“Fair is foul, foul is fair” and “cannot be ill, cannot be good”

Answer 5

Antithesis reinforces dichotomies
suggesting the inversion of moral values, where right and wrong are no longer distinguishable
Reflects Jacobean belief of Moral Relativism, where Humanist perspective and ambition questions traditional sources of authority and leadership

Question 6

“Stars…Let light not see my black and deep desires”

Answer 6

Allusion
Through the disparity between his regicidal ambitions and his allusion to the stars as a symbol of fate
Shakespeare reveals the moral guise of the tensions between Renaissance Humanism and Christian religion in the Jacobean era, which lead to actions that were no longer sealed by a wavering convenant between individuals and God.

Question 7

“Two truths are told”

Answer 7

Biblical connotation in soliloquy
Regicide is against biblical commandments, yet Macbeth’s ambition urges and justifies his usurpation of the role of king
Reflects the secular doubting of the Jacobean time, where Renaissance Humanism shifted the social archetype towards individualism and decisions no longer reflecting the ideals of God

Question 8

“Nature seems dead”

Answer 8

Personification
Macbeth’s tyrannical ambition challenges the natural order of the universe, disturbing its balanced and established Hierarchy, an allusion to the GCOB
Resonated with the Jacobean audience, who were grappling with the upheaval and tensions between Protestant and Catholic paradigms

Question 9

“Nature’s germens”

Answer 9

Symbolism
Seeds as a symbol for nature’s potency to establish life and order, challenging the anthropocentric ideologies of the Jacobean era, which viewed nature and fortuna as subordinate to humans and virtu

Question 10

“My thanes…henceforth be earls… under the grace of Grace”

Answer 10

Allusion
Suggests the restoration of natural order and unity of social fabric of Scotland that is not a result of human agency but of divine intervention
Relfects cycling nature of divinity and fate in Jacobean era, and its timeless consequences to those that tried to defy Catholicism and other traditional paradigms