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GCSE > ENGLIT MACBETH macbeth quotes > Flashcards

ENGLIT MACBETH macbeth quotes Flashcards

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1
Q

How is Macbeth introduced?

A

“for brave Macbeth - well he deserves that name”

  • first time his name is mentioned in the play is with adjective brave
  • gives the audience an immediate impression of what type of character he is
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2
Q

How is Macbeth presented in I.2?

A

“brave” “worthy gentlemen”

  • shows how well-respected he was by Scottish nobles which gives events that occur during the play much more drama and emotional impact
  • universally loved, through his own actions has resulted in his downfall
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3
Q

How is Macbeth’s fighting skills shown in I.2?

A

“carved out his passage”

  • juxtaposes violent imagery of “bloody execution”
  • “carved” suggests slow and careful way, which isn’t how someone would perform in battle unless they were highly-skilled
  • elucidates meticulous nature of Macbeth that is presented as if he makes no mistakes, ironic as he makes the mistake of heeding the Witches’ prophecies
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4
Q

How is foreshadowing of Macbeth’s future shown in I.2?

A

“most disloyal traitor, Thane of Cawdor”

  • Thane of Cawdor’s betrayal is disapproved of and scorned at while Macbeth is praised
  • foreshadowing as both Thane of Cawdor and Macbeth will end up being traitors, Macbeth betrays his king and his country
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5
Q

How does Macbeth’s use of language change throughout play?

A
  • occasionally will change throughout the play to match form of witches (rhyming couplets, trochaic tetrameter)
  • this shows the influence that the witches have on his thoughts and language
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6
Q

How does Macbeth shown to have thought about being king before?

A

“why do you start and seem to fear things that sound so fair”

  • is scared by the witches’ prophecies, this shows that this isn’t the first time he has thought about killing the king to become
  • shows that he’s not as noble as everyone seems and is different to what others may perceive of him
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7
Q

How is Macbeth presented as being linked to the supernatural in his first appearance?

A

“so foul and fair a day I have not seen”

  • first words spoken by Macbeth, clear link to witches’ choice of language provides an immediate clear link to the supernatural
  • means the audience will be suspicious of Macbeth at first
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8
Q

How does Macbeth show that he’s going to be treacherous in I.4?

A

“the service and loyalty I owe, in doing it, pays itself”

-the audience knows Macbeth has thought about killing Duncan, shows that he is planning to be deceitful and treacherous

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9
Q

How does Macbeth seem sinister in I.4?

A

“stars hide fires..desires”

  • rhyming couplet has only been used by the witches so far
  • diverging from blank verse, which means he stands out from the nobles and seems more malicious
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10
Q

How does Macbeth dismiss his wife in I.5?

A

“we will speak further”

  • dismisses his wife completely
  • begins to add an extra dimension to Macbeth’s character, his private life (as well as being warrior and worrier)
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11
Q

What is Macbeth’s opening line in I.7?

A

“if it were done when ‘tis done, then ‘twere well it were done quickly”

  • Macbeth is showing that if he wants to murder Duncan, he wants to do it as soon as possible, shows he doesn’t fully support it as he doesn’t want bloodlust
  • ALTERNATIVELY: could show that if it finishes with Duncan’s murder, then he would prefer to murder ASAP
  • shows he’s worried about what happens after and murdering Duncan would lead to a chain of events out of control
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12
Q

How is Macbeth shown giving into his wife in I.7?

A

“if we should fail?”

  • although it seems he’s arguing, shown that he’s fully accepted and handed the reigns of his direction to her
  • she is now fully in control and it seems that Macbeth is under her spell
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13
Q

Why is Macbeth’s ‘dagger’ soliloquy significant?

A
  • this moment shows his troubled state of mind
  • he has already decided to kill, shows the symptoms of a fevered mind, mental pressure that he has
  • product of imagination that shows he’s decided to follow this evil path
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14
Q

How does Macbeth exchange guilt with LM in II.2?

A
  • he returns the daggers to her, metaphor for the guilt that he’s carrying
  • LM forced to return them, she is later traumatised by the image of Duncan’s body
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15
Q

How does Macbeth’s language change in II.3?

A
  • speaks in short, simple sentences in contrast to the long monologues and soliloquies that we’ve seen earlier
  • his language was very emotive and emotional but is now more flat “good morrow both” “i’ll bring you to him”
  • he has to speak like this to ensure that he doesn’t give himself away as the murderer of Duncan, he has to equivocate or lie outright
  • changes after Duncan has been murdered to make his language more poetic, this poetic language seems false
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16
Q

How is Macbeth murdering the chamberlains important?

A
  • links to what he said in Act 1 about how bloodshed leads to more bloodshed, it came true
  • the roles of Macbeth and LM are switched
  • his response to why he did it seems more thought out, implies he was already planning to do it without telling lM
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17
Q

What could Macbeth’s soliloquy in III.1 represent?

A
  • fears Banquo may stil be loyal to a dead king

- or that Banquo may still be loyal to no king at all and instead will choose to act in his own self-interests

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18
Q

How does Macbeth start to sound like LM in III.1 when speaking to Banquo?

A

“fail not our feast”

-sounds like the manipulative language that the witches and LM might use

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19
Q

How does Macbeth start to sound like LM in III.1 when speaking to the murderers?

A
  • gone is his noble and considered speech and is now becoming cajoling and cunning when speaking to murderers
  • appeals to their manhood, “in the catalogue ye go for men”, exact same line of argument that his wife used against him
  • makes us question whether this was the true Macbeth all along and his mask is slipping or does he have one of many masks so that he can pursue his own advantage
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20
Q

Why does Macbeth try to kill Banquo and Fleance?

A
  • he’s challenging the witches’ predictions and as a result he’s challenging fate
  • the same fate that brought him his titles, he believes that the fate won’t bring anyone else their titles, shows how in control he likes to be
  • inconsistent with the way he approaches fate, doesn’t show him as a noble leader, but instead as someone who’ immature and weak
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21
Q

Why does Macbeth send a third murderer after Banquo?

A
  • shows his complete lack of trust for anything and anything

- could be a sign of his spiral of decline

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22
Q

Why is Macbeth initially unable to sit with his guests in the feast in III.4?

A
  • the fact he is distracted by the murderer and cannot sit could by symbolic of how he can not be at ease with Scottish nobles because of his murderous acts
  • the fact the he tries to lighten mood and sit down with guests, only to find his seat replaced by Banquo’s ghost is symbolic of the order and disarray that Scottish society has fallen into underneath him
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23
Q

How has Macbeth overtaken his wife in III.4?

A
  • appears to be growing in role of murderous king
  • now takes the initiative when it comes to killing others
  • as he has grown in his murderous nature, LM’s role has shrunk, he has taken the powers from her to commit the evil deeds and no longer needs her anymore
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24
Q

Why is it significant that Macbeth approaches the witches with confidence in IV.1?

A

reflects Hecate’s prophecy in III.5 that Macbeth is his downfall “security is mortals’ chiefest enemy”

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25
Q

How is IV.1 significant to Macbeth’s character?

A

“give to th’edge o’th’sword his wife, his babes”

shows he’s become a cruel tyrant and monster and is difficult to feel any sympathy for him

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26
Q

Why is Macbeth not present for the Macduffs’ murder in IV.2?

A
  • we would not feel any sympathy at all if he saw him carrying out the deed
  • Shakespeare makes sure that there are always structural ploys to make sure the audience can feel sympathy for Macbeth throughout or else it isn’t a tragedy
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27
Q

How is Malcolm’s interrogation of Macduff in IV.3 significant to Macbeth?

A
  • shows that he doesn’t know who to trust or whether Macbeth is tricking him
  • contrasts to the comment LM made earlier where Macbeth’s face could be read “as a book”
  • describes a terrible cruel Scotland and how it would be like under him, way of describing how Macbeth runs Scotland
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28
Q

How is the audience encouraged to support Macbeth in V.3?

A

“till from my bones my flesh be hacked”

this gives the audience some sort of admiration for Macbeth as we are once again reminded for the noble and brave soldier that he is

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29
Q

Why is Birnam wood being cut down significant for Macbeth in V.4?

A
  • Macbeth believes that he is truly invincible based off the ambiguity of the witches predictions
  • the audience seeing one of the prophecies come true and them realising how misleading they were makes us begin to realise how Macbeth isn’t all powerful and we can see his tragic end coming soon
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30
Q

How is the way that Macbeth responds to finding about his wife’s death significant?

A

“she should have died hereafter”

  • could mean that she should have died earlier, this represents the complete breakdown of their relationship
  • could also mean that she should have died later
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31
Q

What is significant about Macbeth’s soliloquy in V.5?

A

“told by an idiot signifying nothing”
could be describing himself and his regret for his way of actions
“lighted fools the way to dusty death”
could be representative of how Macbeth tried to gain the power in his life (i.e. the light) but it was ultimately meaningless and ended up leading to his own death

32
Q

What is significant about Macbeth’s response to hearing about Birnam wood in V.5?

A

“if thou speak’st false, upon the next tree shalt thou hang alive”

  • stripped of all of his self-confidence and self-assurances
  • the truth of the situation becomes apparent to him
  • he realises the witches have deceived him and he may have killed his friends and the king all for nothing
  • an painful realisation for audience to experience, most likely to feel pity for macbeth rather than be satisfied
  • despite the fact that he thinks life is meaningless and that he is alone, he still chooses to go out and fight the numbers of soldier outside his castle, gives him back some of his former glory
33
Q

How does Macbeth view his enemies in V.7?

A

“they have tied to me to a stake; I cannot fly, but bear-like, i must fight the course”

compares himself to a bear fighting a pack of dogs, shows how he views his enemies and he still has a tiny bit of hope for his future despite realising that the previous two prophecies from the witches were intentionally misleading

34
Q

How is V.7 significant to Macbeth’s character?

A
  • shows a glimpse of brave and valour in the viscous and overtly masculine world that Macbeth is set in
  • he kills the same amount of people, but kills the wrong type of people because he disrupts the natural order
35
Q

How does V.7 further Macbeth’s bravey?

A

“we have met with foes that strike beside us”

  • highlights how alone Macbeth and that it really is him against the world
  • loneliness contrasts to how he had the full country’s support behind him earlier
36
Q

How does Macbeth approach suicide in V.8?

A

“why should I play the Roman fool and die on my own sword?”

  • shows that he may have considered suicide but uses reasoning to talk himself out of it
  • instead decides that he should kill as many enemies as possible
37
Q

How is the old Macbeth shown in V.8?

A
  • he feels immense guilt about killing Macduff’s family “my soul is too much charged with blood of thine already”
  • still believes that he can’t be harmed by any one born of woman and has misplaced confidence
  • after realising he was misled, he is trapped and is doomed but still continues to fight man-to-man instead of choosing to send murderers, reminds us of the Macbeth from the start of the play
38
Q

How is Macbeth devastated in V.8?

A

“Macduff was from his mother’s womb untimely ripped”

devastating because this was the sole thing that his confidence was resting on and for the first time is now completely vulnerable

39
Q

How does Macbeth respond to Macduff’s bombshell in V.8?

A

“I’ll not fight with thee”

  • only agrees to fight Macduff when he starts taunting him, shows the old Macbeth coming through once more
  • shows how others bully him to do what they want e.g. LM as well
  • could show that he chooses to act so as to not have a lower self-image of himself rather than fighting purely for his country or for his king
40
Q

How is Macbeth described in the last lines of the play in V.9?

A

“of this dead butcher”

  • shows how he is viewed and given a peasant job seen as derogatory in complete contrast to the fearsome noble man that he was at the start
  • ironic because he killed the same amount of people at the start, but instead chose to kill the wrong people and disrupt the natural order
41
Q

Why isn’t Macbeth all that he seems in I.2?

A
  • haven’t met him yet so our initial impressions of him are based off what the characters say
  • we’ve just been told that “fair is foul and foul is fair”, might make the audience suspect when Macbeth is praised as a hero
42
Q

What effect do the witches’ predictions have on Macbeth in I.3?

A

“rapt withal”

  • spellbound by the predictions
  • also scared by the ambition that the predictions have awoken inside of him
43
Q

What is significant about the fact that Macbeth can’t stop thinking about the witches’ predictions?

A
  • shows his lust for power
  • thinks about killing Duncan, but is reluctant
  • he isn’t evil, his conscience is torn between ambition and loyalty
44
Q

How does Macbeth seem confused in I.4?

A
  • outwardly, he’s a brave and loyal warrior but internally his conscience is battling with his ambition
  • he’s trying to hide his “black and deep desires” not from other people, but from himself too
45
Q

How is Macbeth’s ambition strengthened in I.4?

A

confirm one of the witches’ prophecies (being made Thane of Cawdor) this convinces him that the prediction about him becoming king will also come true which strengthens his ambition

46
Q

How is Macbeth’s love for his wife shown ironically in I.6?

A
  • Duncan describes his love for LM as “sharp as his spur”
  • ironic because Macbeth wanted to get home to prepare for Duncan’s murder not for the love as his wife
  • also ironic because LM is the “spur” that drives him to kill Duncan in the first place
47
Q

How does Macbeth show in I.7 that he thinks Murder is a bad idea?

A

he says that murder can “return to plague th’inventor”

48
Q

How does Macbeth seem to be undeserving in II.1?

A

“their candles are all out”

  • shows that it’s very dark, darkness symbolises the evil that Macbeth is about to do
  • shows that there are no stars out, Duncan mentions “like stars, shall shine on all deserves”, Macbeth is not deserving
49
Q

How is tension created in II.2?

A
  • repetition of knocking sound creates a sense of urgency

- seems to echo Macbeth’s pounding heart which is a sign of his fear and guilt

50
Q

How does Macbeth use foreshadowing in II.2?

A
  • says that he’s “murdered sleep”
  • sleep symbolises peace and a clear conscience so its murder suggests that he’s wracked with guilt
  • also foreshadows LM’s sleepwalking in Act V
51
Q

Why does II.4 have bad omens for Macbeth?

A
  • describes how Scotland is in complete disarray and chaos

- a country’s wellbeing is often linked with their king, these unnatural events have bad omens for Macbeth’s reign

52
Q

How is III.1 a significant change in Macbeth’s character?

A
  • before he used to meet his enemies face-to-face

- now he’s having to hire murderers to kill Banquo, suggests that he’s become more of a coward

53
Q

How does Shakespeare use language to show uneasy the Macbeths feel in III.2?

A
  • uses oxymorons “restless ecstasy” and “doubtless joy”

- they’ve got what they wanted but they also feel guilty and uneasy

54
Q

How does Macbeth start to sound more like his wife in III.2?

A
  • tells her “make our faces vizards to our hearts”

- shows that their roles have changed, now Macbeth is the one telling LM to hide her true intentions

55
Q

How does Macbeth treat her wife in III.2?

A
  • hints that he’s going to kill Banquo, but refuses to confide in her
  • could be because he doesn’t want her to be driven by anymore guilt
  • could also be because he is so driven by his own ambition that her opinion is no longer relevant to him
56
Q

What is significant about Macbeth’s language in III.2?

A
  • he uses a lot of animal imagery in this scene “full of scorpions is my mind” “the bat has flown”
  • sets an unsettling tone, animals remind audience of evil and emphasises Macbeth’s feelings of insecurity and paranoia
57
Q

How is Macbeth shown at the start of III.4?

A
  • he’s holding a feast and he’s in a good mood because he thinks Banquo and Fleance have been dealt with
  • “happy to play the humble host”, “play” suggests that his hospitality is fake
58
Q

How doe Macbeth show he feels trapped in III.4?

A

“cabined, cribbed, confined”

  • alliteration emphasises how trapped Macbeth feels
  • Macbeth knows that his future as king is uncertain as long as Fleance is still alive
59
Q

How does Macbeth show his fear in III.4?

A

“it will have blood they say - blood will have blood”

  • repetition of “blood” highlights his confused and panicked nature
  • he’s starting to see the inevitability of his own downfall
60
Q

Why does Macbeth take the witches predictions in IV.1 at face value?

A

suggests he’s desperate for them to give him good news that will make him feel secure about his position

61
Q

How does Macbeth seem paranoid in IV.4?

A
  • wants to kill Macduff’s family
  • shows how evil and paranoid he’s become, willing to kill anyone associated with his enemy even if they don’t pose a threat themselves
62
Q

How is the murder of the Macduffs made more brutal in IV.2?

A
  • murderer calls Macduff’s son “fry” and “egg” to highlight how young he is, which further shows Macbeth’s cruelty in that he is willing to kill young defenceless children
  • shows he’s too cowardly to commit the murders himself
  • happens on stage, could represent how Macbeth no longer cares whether people see his murders or not
63
Q

How is Macbeth’s conflicted state of mind shown in V.3?

A
  • suggests he’s beginning to feel despair “I have lived long enough” starting to feel as though life is meaningless
  • when talking to other characters, uses over-confident language “give me my armour” “lily-livered”
  • this contrast shows that he’s mentally unstable
64
Q

How is a hellish image of Macbeth’s castle created in V.3?

A

he calls his servant “Seyton” which sounds like satan

65
Q

How does Macbeth seem confused in V.5?

A
  • alternates between arrogance and despair in this scene, this shows how confused she is
  • at the start of the scene he’s boasting “supped full of horrors” i.e. nothing can scare him, attitude changes when he finds out his wife died
66
Q

How does Macbeth use language in his soliloquy in V.5?

A
  • “signifying nothing” his terrible acts had no purpose
  • describes life as a “shadow” and a “candle”, it’s fleeting and unreal
  • compares life to a “poor player”, he sees life as meaningless
  • his language “petty” “fools” “idiot” reflects his bitterness
  • sad and reflective, shows he’s not completely a monster, he has a human side which regrets some of his actions
67
Q

How does Macbeth gain confidence in V.6?

A

by killing young siward

68
Q

How is Macbeth’s cruelty shown in V.9?

A
  • siward finds out his son died but is not upset, feels honoured that his son died protecting Scotland
  • shows how desperately the people wanted to overthrow Macbeth
69
Q

Where does Macbeth seem most comfortable?

A

on the battlefield because when he’s fighting, he doesn’t have to worry about his guilty conscience or the morality of his actions

70
Q

Why does he let LM persuade him to kill Duncan?

A

his ambition is stronger than his loyalty

71
Q

What are examples of Macbeth’s violent ambition ruining his noble characteristics?

A

Macduff calling him “hell-hound” and young siward calling him “abhorrèd tyrant”

72
Q

How are Macbeth’s actions made to seem more shocking throughout the play?

A
  • it’s shown that he has a good moral compass
  • he worries about consequences because there’s “judgement”on earth and “deep damnation” after death
  • makes his actions seem more shocking
73
Q

How does Macbeth swing throughout the play?

A

swings between killing anyone who threatens his positions and moments of despair where he struggles with terrible guilt

74
Q

How is it shown that he feels very guilty about his actions?

A
  • his guilt makes manifestations in the form of him hallucinating
  • after killing Duncan he hears a voice saying “Macbeth does murder sleep”
  • he sees Banquo’s ghost at the feast and almost gives himself away
75
Q

How does Macbeth’s guilt change towards the end of the play?

A
  • he seems world-weary and cynical

- no longer seems to feel guilty because he thinks that a person’s actions don’t matter and that life means “nothing”

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