Character: Macbeth 🤴 Flashcards
1
Q
‘Oh, full of scorpions is my mind, dear wife!’ 🦂
A
- L= double stress [spondee] on ‘oh full’
- and by severing/breaking the iambic pentameter, Shakespeare highlights how something is wrong/iffy.
2
Q
‘Oh, full of scorpions is my mind, dear wife!’ 🦂
Hint: patriarchal language
A
- I= by referring to LM as ‘dear wife’, the use of patriarchal language reflects how in the Jacobean era, [most] women were subordinate and inferior to their husbands.
- since everything she owned, became her husbands’.
- This makes Lady Macbeth appear as as a possession- [juxtaposes to my dearest partner of greatness’ ?]
3
Q
‘Oh, full of scorpions is my mind, dear wife!’ 🦂
Hint: what does it emphaise ?
A
I= ‘dear’ can perhaps emphasise Macbeth’s deep love for Lady Macbeth.
4
Q
What alternative interpretations link to this quote ? ‘Oh, full of scorpions is my mind, dear wife!’ 🦂
A
- I= Alternatively, it could also suggest that internally he is beginning to blame Lady Macbeth, for the expensive/costly error/mistake of committing regicide and murdering Duncan
- although he was the one who murdered Duncan in cold blood]
- [this is highlighted by the adjective expensive, which is a synonym of the adjective: dear ]
5
Q
‘Oh, full of scorpions is my mind, dear wife!’ 🦂
A
- L= metaphor- reflects the excruciating psychological pain [because a scorpion’s sting is excruciating].
- Additionally, the plural of the noun ‘scorpion(s)’ emphasises the pain he’s in since Banquo and Fleance are still alive, therefore this is the reason his mind is still so tortured.
6
Q
- Fill in the gaps:
- In ‘Oh, ____ of ________ is my mind, ____ wife!’ 🦂 the plural of the noun ‘scorpion(s)’, emphasises the pain he’s in since Banquo and Fleance are still alive
- therefore this is the reason his mind is still so tortured.
A
- Additionally, the plural of the noun ‘scorpion(s)’ emphasises the pain he’s in since Banquo and Fleance are still alive.
- therefore this is the reason his mind is still so tortured.
7
Q
What context relates to the quote: ‘Oh, full of scorpions is my mind, dear wife!’ ?🦂
A
- C= by referring to LM as ‘dear wife’, the use of patriarchal language reflects how in the Jacobean era, [most] women were subordinate and inferior to their husbands.
- Everything she owned, became her husbands’. This makes Lady Macbeth appear as as a possession- [juxtaposes to my dearest partner of greatness’ ?]
8
Q
What other alternative interpretations, link to this quote: Oh, full of scorpions is my mind, dear wife!’ 🦂
A
- I= On the other hand, it suggests he was internally being attacked, and forced to murder Duncan by the ‘scorpions’.
- Macbeth is trying to not take accountability for actions, and instead tries to shift blame for murdering Duncan
- he tries to not only blame his wife, but external forces that he argues are at play. Labelling them as scorpions.
9
Q
‘Oh, full of scorpions is my mind, dear wife!’ 🦂
Hint: echoes
A
- This echoes/imitates what Lady Macbeth said previously in the playing, asking Macbeth to become the ‘serpent’- satan.
- If Macbeth has doubts about what could happen next, he should exclaim that full of serpents is his mind; he doesn’t.
- This is because, becoming a serpent connects himself to evil; it’s quite ironic how Macbeth doesn’t want to see himself as malicious and evil, yet he was the one who committed these treacherous and malicious acts.
10
Q
What’s ironic about the quote ‘Oh, full of scorpions is my mind, dear wife!’ ?🦂
A
- Macbeth deliberately uses the word choice of ‘scorpions’, in his mind instead of serpents.
- as using [concrete] the noun serpent connects himself to evil
- ; it’s quite ironic how Macbeth doesn’t want to see himself as malicious and evil, yet he was the one who committed these treacherous and malicious acts.
11
Q
What other context can relate to the quote: ‘Oh, full of scorpions is my mind, dear wife!’ ? 🦂
A
- C/R= A Jacobean audience would expect Macbeth to be punished for committing treason against God, since it would be frowned upon.
- This is because, it contradicts the divine right of beings and great chain of being and Duncan- regicide [of King Duncan].
- ; a Jacobean audience would soon realise neither fate/destiny or God will punish Macbeth, it will instead be his own guilt conscience, torturing him.
12
Q
‘It is a tale Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, Signifying nothing.’ 📢
A
- Macbeth has used an extended metaphor in his soliloquy to equate [compare] life to a ‘brief candle’ and the living to a ‘poor’ actor who struts on a stage and is never heard again.
- By doing this, Shakespeare constructs Macbeth as a character who is self-aware he is simply playing a role. [perhaps suggesting Macbeth knows the outcome of what will happen/he can see the end]
13
Q
‘It is a tale Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, Signifying nothing.’ 📢
A
- I= Additionally, it could be argued Shakespeare [at this point in the play] uses Macbeth to express a message to his audience.
- as by claiming that life is a ‘tale’, it perhaps reflects how all of Shakespeare’s plays are tales/stories.
- moreover, a tale always has a moral lesson- therefore, he uses Macbeth word’s, to ward people of any idea of regicide, suggesting that if they do, it will be the cause of their tragedy/demise.
14
Q
What context relates to the quote: ‘It is a tale Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, Signifying nothing.’ 📢 ?
A
- Shakespeare uses Macbeth word’s, to ward people of any idea of regicide, suggesting that if they do, it will be the cause of their own tragedy/demise.
- C= And a Jacobean audience would understand this message because of the gunpowder plot.
- this involved Guy Fawkes and his conspirators, [such as Robert Catersby] attempting to overthrow James I and place a Catholic ruler on the throne, by trying to blow up the houses of parliament [when James I was inside]
15
Q
What alternative interpretations link to the quote: ‘It is a tale Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, Signifying nothing.’ 📢 ?
A
- I= perhaps, Shakespeare also uses Macbeth as a mouthpiece, to has plant another message to his Jacobean audience [in this quote.]
- perhaps Shakespeare is arguing, there isn’t a meaning of life because God doesn’t exist- expressing his own view that we live for a short period of time and there is no hell or heaven.
