Disorder Flashcards
Natural order being overthrown
“Chimneys were blown down…the earth was feverous and did shake” - series of unnatural imagery that symbolises the death of King Duncan as an event causing the natural world going into revolt. Personification of earth being feverous emphasises the chaos that has resulted from Duncan’s death
Duncan’s horses eating each other, falcon killed by small hunting bird: more examples of ^
“dark night strangles the travelling lamp” - dark, evil actions have obscured lightness - lightness rhat symbolises good actions. So, there is a juxtaposition between good and moral actions - manifesting that what Macbeth did was horrible - so much so that it obscured light itself.
Shortly after murdering King Duncan, Macbeth cries out,“Macbeth does murder sleep” Macbeth cant sleep as a result of the chain of being being disrupted . This is indicative of Macbeth’s crime - it was so abhorrent that his crime was an act against God - it has disrupted every natural aspect of the world.
Macbeth’s guilt and remorse
Guilt - “will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this this blood clean from my hand? “This symbolises that the guilt has stuck with him since he cannot wash it away and asks the gods to do it.
“Thy bones are marrowless, thy blood is cold, thou hast no speculation in those eyes” - this is when Banquo’s ghost appears before him. his guilt is so powerful that he has lost his sense of reality and cannot be sure whether this vision of Banquo is real or not. These lines are spoken to reassure himself.
Lady Macbeth being overcome by pride and guilt
“To bed to bed, theres knocking at the gate…what’s done cannot be undone”
