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English Literature: Macbeth Flashcards

1
Q

Who is Macbeth?

A

He an ambitious, Scottish nobleman that murders the King of Scotland and takes his place.

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2
Q

Who is Lady Macbeth?

A

She is Macbeth’s wife and she persuaded Macbeth to kill the King. She eventually goes mad and kills herself.

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3
Q

Who is Duncan?

A

He is the King of Scotland at the start of the play, Macbeth murders him.

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4
Q

Who is Malcom?

A

He is Duncan’s son, he flees after Duncan’s murder and then becomes King at the end of the play.

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5
Q

Who is Macduff?

A

He is a noble soldier that doesn’t trust Macbeth and eventually kills him.

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6
Q

Who is Lady Macduff?

A

She is Macduff’s wife. Macbeth has her and her children murdered.

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7
Q

Who is Banquo?

A

He is a brave soldier and also a nobleman, he is friends with Macbeth but Macbeth has him killed.

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8
Q

Who are the three witches?

A

They are evil supernatural beings that can predict the future. Their leader is called Hecate.

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9
Q

What happens in act 1?

A
  • The three witches plan to meet Macbeth
  • Macbeth and Banquo meet the witches, who tell Macbeth he’ll be Thane of Cawdor and then King
  • Duncan makes Macbeth Thane of Cawdor which makes him wonder if the Witches prophecy about him becoming King will come true too
  • Macbeth tells Lady Macbeth about the prophecy and plans to persuade him to murder Duncan
  • Duncan comes to stay with the Macbeth’s. Macbeth is reluctant to kill Duncan but Lady Macbeth convinces him they can frame Duncan’s murder on the servants and Macbeth agrees to the plan.
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10
Q

What happens in acts 2&3?

A
  • Macbeth murders Duncan and Lady Macbeth plants blood stained daggers on Duncan’s servants
  • Macduff arrives and discovers the Kings body. The Kings sons, Malcolm and Donalbain leave Scotland because they fear for lives but this makes them look guilty of Duncan’s murder
  • Rosse and an old man discuss the strange and unnatural things that have been happening since Duncan’s murder. Macbeth is about to be crowned but not all the other noblemen support him.
  • Macbeth is now King but is worried by the Witches prophecy about Banquo’s descendants being kings and so orders two murderers to kill Banquo and his son Fleance.
  • The murderers kill Banquo but Fleance manages to escape. Macbeth holds a feast and sees Banquo’s ghost and decides to visit the witches again.
  • Lennox and a Lord suspect Macbeth of murdering Duncan and Banquo. They say that Macduff is getting an army together to attack Macbeth and put Malcolm on the throne.
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11
Q

What happens in act 4?

A
  • Macbeth visits the witches again and they summon three apparitions
  • Each apparition makes a prophecy. The first warns Macbeth about Macduff, the second tells him that no one born from a woman can harm him and the third tells him that he cannot be beaten until Birnam Wood moves to Dunsinane Hill.
  • When Macbeth demands to know if Banquo’s children will ever rule Scotland the Witches show him Banquo’s ghost and a line of Kings who seem to be Banquo’s descendants.
  • Macduff has fled to England so Macbeth sends his murderers to kill Macduff’s wife and children.
  • In England Macduff proves his loyalty to Malcolm and Malcolm reveals that the English King has given him 10,000 soldiers to fight Macbeth. Macduff learns that Macbeth has killed his family and vows to avenge their deaths.
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12
Q

What happens in act 5?

A
  • Lady Macbeth has gone mad. She sleepwalks and keeps washing invisible blood from her hands.
  • The Scottish lords plan to meet the English army at Birnam Wood and attack Macbeth
  • Macbeth heard about the approaching English army but is not scared because of the witches’ predictions
  • Malcolm tells soldiers to cut down branches from Birnam Wood and hide behind them as they march towards Macbeth’s castle
  • Macbeth prepares for battle and finds out that Lady Macbeth has killed herself
  • Macbeth and Macduff meet on the battlefield and Macbeth is sure that he will win until he finds out that Macduff was born by Caesarean so he isn’t born from a woman. They fight and Macbeth is killed.
  • Malcolm is made King of Scotland.
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13
Q

What is Macbeth?

A

It is a typical tragedy, it’s about serious topics such as war be death. It is sad as many characters die and the plays main character Macbeth dies as a result of his flaws.

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14
Q

What does the stage direction enter mean?

A

When someone comes onto the stage

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15
Q

What does the stage direction exit mean?

A

When one person leaves the stage

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16
Q

What does the stage direction exeunt mean?

A

When more than one person leaves

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17
Q

What does the stage direction aside mean?

A

The character is talking to themselves not to the other characters on stage

18
Q

What is the play written in?

A

It is written in poetry and prose.

  • Some of the play is written in poetry but the petty does not always rhyme.
  • The poetry is the parts where all the lines are roughly the same length and each line starts with a capital letter.
  • Some parts of the play are written in prose, prose is normal sentences without any set rhythm.
  • Common characters such as the Porter usually speak in prose. Lady Macbeth also speaks in prose when she goes mad.
19
Q

Who are the supernatural characters and how do they speak?

A

The witches, Hecate and the apparitions speak in rhyming verse.

20
Q

Thou

A

You

21
Q

Thee

A

You

22
Q

Thy

A

Your

23
Q

Thine

A

Your

24
Q

Thou art

A

Verb

You are

25
Q

Thou hast

A

Verb

You have

26
Q

Thou wilt

A

Verb

You will

27
Q

Thou canst

A

Verb

You can

28
Q

Hie

A

Go quickly

29
Q

Hither

A

To here

30
Q

Whence

A

From where

31
Q

Hence

A

From here

32
Q

Wherefore

A

Why

33
Q

Thence

A

From there

34
Q

Ere

A

Before

35
Q

Whither

A

Where

36
Q

Act 1, Scene 1: The Witches Plan To Meet Macbeth
What is the theme here?
What techniques has the writer used?
How are the witches introduced in the play?

A
  • The play starts with thunder and lightning, this sets a dark and violent mood.
  • The three witches are the first characters on stage showing how important the theme of the supernatural is to the play. The wishes are mysterious and we do not know what their purpose is.
  • The witches speak in rhyming couplets e.g. “When the hurly-burly’s done,/ when the battles lost and won”
  • Only the supernatural characters in the play consistently use rhyme and it is what sets them apart from the other characters and makes their speech sound unnatural as if they are casting an evil spell
  • The witches plan to meet Macbeth but do not explain their intentions. Their final rhyming couplet “fair is foul and foul is fair, / Hover through the fog and filthy air”, this hints they are evil.

Theme: Reality and appearances - The witches introduce that nothing is as it seems so “fair is foul and foul is fair”. This theme is central to the play.

Writers Techniques: Language - The witches speak in paradoxes “when the battles lost and won”. At first this doesn’t make any sense but their predictions become clearer as the play goes on .

37
Q

What is a paradox?

A

A statement that contradicts itself

38
Q

Act 1, Scene 2: Duncan Hears Reports Of The Battle
What is the theme here?
What character is given importance?

A
  • The Scottish army that is led by Macbeth and Banquo, are fighting rebel armies from Norway and Ireland.
  • Shakespeare contrasts the eerie opening scene with the brutality and “bloody execution” of the battlefield. This sets a violent mood for the rest of the play
  • The Captain and Duncan describe Macbeth as “brave” and “valiant”. At this point he is a hero that is loyal to his King and Country.

Theme: Reality and Appearances - The witches have just told the audience that “fair is foul”, this suggests that the “Worthy” Macbeth might not be as good as the other characters believe. The audience have not met Macbeth yet so their view of him is based on what the other characters say.

Character: Macbeth - At the start of the play Macbeth is celebrated for his bloodthirsty nature as he cut the traitor Macdonald “from the nave to the chops”. It is ironic that this violence eventually leads to his downfall.

39
Q

Act 1, Scene 3: The Witches Make Three Predictions

How do Banquo and Macbeth react to the predictions?

A
  • The witches are accompanied by thunder again, this recurring motif hints at chaos, danger and the overturning of the natural order.
  • Macbeth’s first line in this scene is “So foul and fair a day I have not seen”, this immediately links him to the Witches and their “Foul is fair” prophecy.
  • The witches predict that Macbeth will be made Thane of Cawdor and then King and that Banquo’s descendants will also become Kings.

Banquo: - Becomes suspicious and questions his own sanity and asks “have we eaten on the insane root”
- He warns that the witches “Win us with honest trifles - to betray’s” meaning that he accepts that the Witches are telling the truth but he is also aware that they are manipulating Mabeth and himself
Macbeth: - Banquo is less easily decieved than Macbeth. He calls the Witches “Instruments of darkness” because he can see they are evil whereas Macbeth is less certain and says they “cannot be ill, cannot be good”.
- This encounter with the witches leaves Macbeth “rapt withal”. He is spellbound by the predictions and he is also scared by the powerful ambition that the witches have awakened in him.

40
Q 
Act 1, Scene 3: The Witches Make Three Predictions 
What do the Witches tell Banquo?
How does Macbeth feel?
What Character is focused on?
What technique does the writer use?
A
  • The witches tell Banquo that he will be “Lesser than Macbeth, and greater”. This is a reference to Banquo’s sons being Kings and could also mean that Banquo is greater because he is not driven by greed and ambition.
  • Macbeth cannot stop thinking about the prophecies and this shows his lust for power. He then immediately thinks about killing Duncan but is reluctant. At this point Macbeth is not an evil character but he is wrestling with himself, torn between his ambition and his loyalty.

Character: The Witches - They tell Banquo he will be “not so happy, yet much happier”. This hints that although Macbeth will get what he wants it will not make him happy. The witches use riddles and paradox’s to confuse Banquo and Macbeth and lead them astray.

41
Q

Act 1, Scene 4: Macbeth Is Made Than Of Cawdor
What is the theme?
Is there a turning point?
What technique has the writer used?

A
  • Duncan gives Macbeth the title of Thane of Cawdor as a reward of his loyalty.
  • Duncan uses an extended metaphor of plants e.g. “plant thee” and “make thee full of growing” to show that he sees it as his duty to nurture people who are loyal to him. Duncan sees Macbeth as a potential successor which suggests that fate might make Macbeth King without him doing anything.

Theme: Kingship - Duncan is represented as a strong and fair leader and he rewards loyalty and wants Scotland to prosper. This contrats with Macbeth’s violent, tyrannical rule.

Theme: Reality and Appearances - Duncan Says he misjudged the old Thane of Cawdor because there is no way to “find the mind’s construction in the face” so saying people who appear to be good and loyal may not be. This is ironic as he also misjudges Macbeth.

Writers Technique: Symbolism - Duncan says “signs of nobleness, like stars, shall shine / On all deservers”. He thinks that fate will reward those who deserve it. Light is also linked with visibility, this contrasts with Macbeth’s desire to hide his intentions.

42
Q

Act 1, Scene 5: Lady Macbeth Decides Duncan Must Die
What technique does the writer use here?
How does the scene start?
Who does Lady Macbeth’s speech link her to?

A
  • The scene opens with Lady Macbeth reading a letter from Macbeth about the Witches prophecy prophecies and this allows the audience to hear her inner thoughts and see whats she’s really like
  • She has no doubts about killing Duncan and immediately sees that she’ll have to force Macbeth to do it because he’s “too full o’th’milk of human kindness”
  • Lady Macbeth’s soliloquy uses evil imagery such as “smoke of hell” and “direst cruelty”, which shows the evil on her mind
  • Her speech links her to the Witches and she uses imperatives which make her sound like she’s casting a spell. She says “come, you spirits” and “come, thick night”
    which links her to evil, unnatural spirits.
  • Macbeth enters and their dialouge is in half-line breaks making their speech sound urgent and hurried, they are both nervous and need to act quickly in case they are interrupted.

Writers Technique: Symbolism -

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