English Macbeth Flashcards
Who was named prince of Cumberland and what was Macbeth’s reaction?
• Malcolm
• Macbeth begins to plot KD’s death out of envy and ambition
Who was executed for treason?
Macdonwald
When was Macbeth written?
1606
Chiasmus definition
Paradoxical language
What is sleep a motif of and how is it significant?
• Lack of peace of mind/Gulit
• Macbeth and Lady M struggle to sleep highlighting their guilt and disturbed conscience
• Innocence
• Sleep connotes with a lack of awareness
• When Macbeth murders sleep his innocence and purity has been destroyed
What are children a motif of ?
Succession and legacy
Megalomaniac meaning
A person with an obsessive desire for power
How is Macbeth still relevant today?
• The influence of ambition within many leaders still ignites political corruption and exploitation
• Discrimination against women still exists eg wage gap and sexual abuse
What did the Jacobean English perceive the Scottish as?
Brutish and barbaric
Regicide was known as
The worst sin
What did Macbeth’s murder of King Duncan represent in real life?
Guy Fawkes’ attempt to kill King James (Gunpowder plot)
What did King James I approve of in his book ‘Demonology’?
The practice of witch-hunting
How is a cyclical structure used in Macbeth?
• Previous Thane of Cawdor (MacDonwald) betrayed Scotland (by joining forces with Norway)
• Macbeth betrays King Duncan (by killing him)
Proto feminism meaning
When women are presented differently to what they usually are
Soliloquy meaning
When a character speaks alone about their thoughts
Aside meaning
When a character speaks to the audience
What does the dagger symbolise in Macbeth’s hallucination?
• His driving ambition to kill the king
• Foreshadowing of bloodshed is also emblematic of his guilt
• His vision of the dagger could also be a supernatural force that influences Macbeth to kill
•This intensifies battle between fate and free will
Catharsis
Emotional release
Why do Donalbain (KD son) and Malcom flee Scotland?
They are worried about their safety after the king’s death
Equivocate meaning
Using unclear / ambiguous language
How is the porter presented in Macbeth?
He provides comic relief breaking tension in the play through his use of sexual innuendo and his relatability to audience
Pathetic fallacy in Macbeth
• The play begins with ’thunder and lightning’ (Act 1)
• Used to welcome the witches as they arrive creating a tone of unease among audience
• Foreshadows how they’ll bring disruption and chaos
• Lennox says, ‘The night has been unruly’ (Act 2)
• Denotes that a storm has occurred
• Reflects how the natural order is chaos after the Divine right of kings has been broken
• Mirrors the inner turmoil within characters (especially Macbeth)
• Highlights consequences of defying natural order
Who did King James believe he was a descendant of?
Banquo
Omen meaning
An event taken as a sign of the future
What is ‘the Great Chain of Being’ and how was it broken?
• Hierarchal system from the peasants to God at top
• Macbeth commits regicide to break it which brought about chaos mentally and in nature
What becomes of Lady Macbeth at the end of the play?
• She sleepwalks and washes her hands in obsession, eventually committing suicide
• This demonstrates how guilt and unchecked ambition has consumed her
Who leads the attack against Macbeth’s castle near the end of the play?
Malcom & Macduff
What are hands a motif of ?
• The guilt that remains
• Stain of blood
What does Lady Macbeth have by her side as she sleepwalks and what is its significance? (Act 5)
• Lady Macbeth has a candle light by her side
• Denotes her fear of darkness and consciousness of her immorality
• Highlights peripeteia (fortune reversal) and downfall
What is Macbeth’s hamartia?
His ambition
How is Duncan’s blood and skin described by Macbeth upon ‘discovery’ of the king’s body?
Macbeth describes Duncan as ‘his silver skin laced with his golden blood’
• This implicates Duncan’s divinity and appointment by God
• Also emphasises how Macbeth isn’t suitable for the throne
Who does the Porter imagine is knocking on the castle gates ?
• The devil - ‘Who’s there in the name of Beelzebub?’ (Act 2)
• He imagines the Macbeth’s castle to be gates of hell reflecting the moral chaos Macbeth has unleashed
Descriptions of Macbeth at the beginning of the play (Act 1)
• O valiant cousin! (by Duncan)
• Brandished steel which smoked with bloody execution
• As cannons overcharged with double cracks
Descriptions of Macbeth at the end of the play (Act 5)
• ‘hell-hound’
• ‘tyrant’ (by himself too)
• ‘dead butcher’ (dehumanised)
by Malcolm and Macduff (A5 S8)
Why does Macbeth kill Macduff’s children?
Macbeth commits infanticide to try intimidate Macduff
How do the witches use equivocation in Macbeth?
‘Fair is foul and foul is fair’
• The chiasmus introduces the theme of duplicity
• Establishes a world where moral certainties are blurred
• Equivocate suggests the witches are characters that can’t be trusted
• Audience questions the witches intent
Who is Hecate?
The goddess of witches who views Macbeth as a ‘wayward son’
How did Lady Macbeth contribute to the death of King Duncan?
She drugged the guards and smears blood on their faces to frame them
What was Macbeth’s reason for killing the king’s guards?
• He says his anger was to blame
• Also feigns loyalty to the king when he lies ‘the expedition my violent love outran the pauser’ (A1 S7)
• Stating that his devotion drove him to act impulsively
Quotes that demonstrate guilt in the play Macbeth
Macbeth:
• ‘a dagger of the mind, a false creation’ (hallucinates before the murder) (A2 S1)
• ‘I could not say Amen’ (A2 S2)
• ‘sleep no more, Macbeth does murder sleep’ (after killing the king) (A2 S2)
Lady Macbeth:
• ‘all the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand’ (A5 S1)
• ‘Out, damned spot!’ (sleepwalking) (A5 S1)
Quotes that demonstrate ambition in the play Macbeth
Macbeth
- ‘stars hide your fires let not light see my black and deep desires’ (A1 S4) (soliloquy of guilt)
- ‘Upon my head they placed a fruitless crown’ (A3 S1) (dissatisfaction)
- ‘We have scorched the snake not killed it’ (A3 S2) (megalomaniacal & paranoia)
Lady Macbeth
- ‘Too full of the milk of human kindness’ (A1 S5) (emasculate)
- ‘Look like the innocent flower, but the serpent under it’ (A1 S5) (duplicity)
Quotes that demonstrate the supernatural in the play Macbeth
Witches - ‘fair is foul and foul is fair’
Banquo - ‘The instruments of darkness tell us truth’
Purpose of the supernatural in Macbeth
• The witches symbolise moral corruption
• Contribute to the tension between fate and free will
• Engineered to be disliked - majority of Jacobean England were Christian therefore the supernatural would’ve been viewed as evil
• Outward manifestations of characters’ inner turmoil
How is Banquo presented?
• A loyal and honourable soldier
• Acts as moral compass of the play and a foil to Macbeth
• Skeptical of the witches (’Can the devil speak true?’ Act 1)
• A perceptive character - (understands that Macbeth is rapt from prophecies)
• Used as political propaganda - King James believes he’s a descendant of Banquo
Quotes that present anagnorisis
Macbeth:
• ‘Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow’
• Refers to life as: ‘a walking shadow’ and ‘a tale told by an idiot signifying nothing’ (A5 S5)
• (Futility of life and demoralisation)
What is the role of the raven and why is it significant in Macbeth?
Lady Macbeth says that a ’raven croaks the fatal entrance of Duncan’ (Act 1)
• Ravens connote with death
• Used as an omen foreshadowing Duncan’s death
• Reveals that evil deeds will take effect as a byproduct of their ambition
How is Macduff presented?
• Macbeth’s foil
• Symbolises justice, loyalty and patriotism to Scotland
• Heroic figure who restores the Great Chain of Being by killing Macbeth
• Thane of Fife
Macbeth’s title before becoming thane of Cawdor
Thane of Glamis
First round of prophecies given by the witches
• Macbeth will be thane of Cawdor
• Macbeth will be king
• Banquos sons will be king
Second round of prophecies given by the witches
• Beware Macduff
• No man of woman born shall hurt Macbeth
• Macbeth will be vanquished when Birman Wood moved to Dunsinane Hill
How does Macduff prove the prophecies true?
He beheads Macbeth and was able to kill him because he was untimely ripped from mother’s womb
Key messages in Macbeth
• Regicide will result in your downfall
• The psychological consequences of wrongdoing are inescapable
• Uncontrolled desires can destroy your moral compass
• Do not trust the supernatural and their manipulative nature
• The pursuit of power is futile
Context surrounding Macbeth and Lady Macbeth asking for darkness
• Lady Macbeth - ‘Come, thick night’
• Macbeth - ‘Stars hide your fires’ (A1 S4)
• Both on the stage alone giving a soliloquy
• Both characters are aware of the immorality of their decisions
• Macbeth echoes LM’s words to suggest the close relationship
• Could also signify how Macbeth is currently controlled by LM’s thinking
Act 1 summary
• Macbeth and Banquo meet the witches who give them prophecies
• Duncan makes Macbeth thane of Cawdor who starts to wonder if the witches’ prophecy about him being 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 Macbeths
• Macbeth is reluctant to kill him but eventually agrees to the plan
Summary of Act 2
• Macbeth murders King Duncan and Lady Macbeth frames his servants
• Macduff arrives and discovers the King’s body. The kings sons, Malcolm and Donalbain, leave Scotland because they fear for their lives
• Ross and an old man discuss the unnatural things that have been happening
• Macbeth is crowned king
Summary of Act 3
• Despite Macbeth being king he’s worried by the witches’ prophecy about Banquo’s descendants being kings. He orders some murderers to kill Banquo and his son, Fleance.
• The murderers kill Banquo, but Fleance escapes. Macbeth hosts a feast and sees Banquo’s ghost. He decides to visit the witches again.
• Lennox and a lord suspects Macbeth of murdering Duncan and Banquo. They say that Macduff is getting an army together to attack Macbeth and put Malcom on the throne
Summary of Act 4
• Macbeth visits the witches again and they summon three apparitions.
• 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 can’t be beaten until Birnam wood moves to Dunsinane hill.
• The witches also show him Banquo’s ghost and a line of kings who seem to be Banquo’s descendants.
• Macduff has fled to England and Macbeth also sends his murderers to kill Macduff’s wife and children
• In England, Macduff proves his loyalty to Malcolm
Summary of Act 5
• Lady Macbeth becomes paranoid. She sleepwalks and keeps washing invisible blood from her hands
• Malcolm tells the soldiers to cut down branches from birnam wood and hide behind them as they march towards Macbeths castle.
• Macbeth prepares for battle and finds out that lady Macbeth has killed herself.
• Macbeth and Macduff meet on the battlefield and he finds out that Macduff was born by caesarean
• They fight and Macbeth is killed.
• Malcolm is made king of Scotland
What was Lady Macbeth’s reason for not killing King Duncan?
He looked too much like her father
Key themes in Macbeth
• Ambition
• Guilt
• The Supernatural
• Fate vs Free will
• Masculinity
Key quotes in Act 1 on ambition
Macbeth:
• ‘Stars hide your fires let not light see my black and deep desires’ (soliloquy of guilt)
• ‘I have no spur to prick the sides of my intent, only vaulting ambition’
• ‘Supernatural soliciting cannot be good cannot be ill’
Lady Macbeth:
• ‘Too full of the milk of human kindness’ (emasculate)
• ‘Look like the innocent flower, but the serpent under it’ (duplicity)
• ‘Unsex me here’
Key quotes in Act 1 on the supernatural
Key quotes in Act 3
Key quotes in Act 4
Key quotes in Act 5
