Appearance v Reality (deception)

Question 1

‘Stars hide your fires. Let not light see my black and deep desires.’ (MB)

Answer 1

Language = rhyming couplet

The light symbolises heaven
Adjectives: “black” represents evil and “deep” shows us how deep his ambition is BUT he knows killing D is wrong

Context

The king would be appointed by God (DRK) so killing a king would be an act against God

Question 2

‘Look like the innocent flower but be the serpent under it.’ (LMB)

Answer 2

Language = metaphor

The serpent represents sin and evil
Deeper: LMB is like Eve in Genesis tempting MB to commit a sin

Context:
James I had a medal struck that had a flower and snake to commemorate the discovery of the Gunpowder Plot

Reader: A Jacobean would recognise this 👆🏾and shows that murderers (like MB) will be discovered and punished

Question 3

‘There’s daggers in men’s smiles.’ (Donalbain)

Answer 3

Language

Metaphor, Malcolms and Donalbain ( sons of D) realise and other Thane murdered their father. They cannot trust anyone so they must flee to safety

Question 4

‘I have a strange infirmity’ (Macbeth)

Answer 4

LMB and MB lie and claim MB seeing a ghost is because he suffers from fits and has done since childhood. They are trying to conceal the murder of B.

Reader: the audience will now despise Mb for lying and for murdering his innocent friend

Question 5

Topic sentence 1:

Answer 5

From the beginning of the play, the witches deceive Macbeth

Question 6

Topic sentence 2:

Answer 6

Macbeth hides his ambition to become king after hearing the witches’ prophecies but his wife encourages him to be a deceitful murderer.

Question 7

Topic sentence 3:

Answer 7

At the end of the play, Macbeth realised that he has been deceived by the witches and they have led him to damn his soul to hell.

Question 8

‘Fair is foul and foul is fair’

Answer 8

Language= paradox/chiasmus. The witches predict MB will be king which is good but lead him to commit murder which is evil, in order to achieve his ambition to be king. Shows equivocation of witches

Question 9

‘juggling fiends’

Answer 9

Language = metaphor. MB realises he has been deceived by the witches as agents for the devil and that he has damned his soul to Hell for murdering a king.
Context = Divine Right of Kings. Punishment from God.