Appearance and Reality Flashcards
1
Q
First quote - Act 1 - Scene 5 - Lady Macbeth
A
“look like th’ innocent flower, But be the serpent under’
2
Q
Second quote - Act 2 - Scene 1 - Macbeth
A
“Is this a dagger which I see before me, The handle toward my hand? Come, let me clutch/ thee”
3
Q
Third quote - Act 4 - Scene 3 - Malcolm
A
“Angels are bright still, though the brightest fell”
4
Q
First quote analysis
A
- Metaphor - Suggests that LM wants Macbeth to be pure and honourable on the outside thus deceiving people with his evil intents
- “serpent” could be link to bible where the snake tempts Eve into eating the forbidden fruit,
- mirrored - due to Shakespeare presenting LM as a manipulative
character, like snake from the bible, audience can assume Macbeth will
be swayed by her words - Snake and flowers were worn by King James I to commemorate the Gunpower Plot, foreshadowing Macduff discovering Macbeth’s wrong doings.
5
Q
Second quote anaylsis
A
- First signs of Macbeth’s insanity as neither Macbeth neither the audience know whether the dagger is real.
- The feminine ending shows uncertainty as the rest of the soliloquy scans normally, could also show LM’s influence and manipulation
- Trochaic inversion in the second line following a caesura highlights Macbeth’s fragmented mindset when it comes to killing Duncan
- Rhyme also shows that is evidence that the witches have affected Macbeth and that if he carries out this act he would be fuelling the super natural’s power further by disrupting the Great chain of being
6
Q
Third quote analysis
A
- In this quote Shakespeare is referring to lucifer who was the brightest angel before he betrayed god and was also corrupt by ambition and power, linking Macbeth to the devil
- Previously Macbeth was loyal to Duncan and had the trust of Duncan and his kingdom, which quickly changed after Macbeth commits regicide going against Duncan and this God
- A Jacobean audience would’ve been mostly devoutly pious and therefore would’ve built a string hatred towards Macbeth
