Key Idears And Themes In Macbeth Flashcards
How is kingship portrayed?
-King Duncan portrayed as a natural leader
-Divine right of kings implied
“Tis unnatural…a falcon towering in her pride of place was by a mousing owl hawk’d and kill’d “
How are women portrayed?
-To serve the male narrative
-a force that must be controlled and punished
- reflects the misogynistic tendencies of his age
+occupy positions of power and refuse to conform to stereotypes “Unsex me”
+ Lady m controlling and manipulating her husband
How does control link to language in Macbeth?
-as lady Macbeth begins to loads control, her punctuation increases, language to defrosted and the form changes from iambic pentameter to pros
How is ambition linked to lady M and Macbeth?
- Macbeths hamartia/fatal flaw
- Macbeth says he has “no spur only vaulting ambition”
- Lady Macbeth is often interpreted as the “spur” that Macbeth is looking for through the way he tempts his “partner in greatness” with the letter about the prophecy-
- Macbeth is therefor manipulating lady m to be his “spur”
- alternative interpretation of Banquo by saying that dreaming of the witches prophecy before shows that ambition also made him mentally unstable and the result being Banquo dies. “which grain will grow and which will not”
What can Banquo’s dream suggest about ambition?
HE dreamt of the witches before they appeared. This could either show the power of the witches in an attempt to manipulate Banquo or Macbeth (to please king james) or more likely, a result of the power entitled to him fracturing his mind making him dream then ultimately being killed.
What is one interpretation of the supernatural eliments ike the dagger of banqos ghost?
Used to show that the consequences of going against you own moral beliefs will lead to a broken mind.
How is the divine right of kings used to please King James?
Duncan is used as the natural leader and an example of the divine right of king making it easier to believe. This is used to warn the people surrounding King James who may not agree with him to not seek violence as he was put there by god and “bloody instructions” will “turn to plague the inventor”
How does Malcom link to kingship?
He has a speech in which he presents all the bad qualities of a king. This might be used to show that Duncan is natural leader as he is none of those things. However, could be to show to King James that you could be all those things, but it will lead to your downfall.
What quote shows Macbeth believes in fate?
“if chance will have me king, why, chance will crown me”
What quote shows violence leads to more violence (Macbeth)
“bloody instructions, which being taught, return to plague the inventor”
What does Banquo being a descendant of King james show?
He is used as a tool to please King james and teach king james to compassionate.
- Banquo is described as “royalty of nature”
- “he has wisdom that doth guide his valour to act in safety” which shows that sometimes it his brave and wise to not act aggressively which could lead to his downfall.
HOw is gender and cruelty presented through Lady m?
Shakespeare feels that the patriarchy is a flaw of Victorian society.
- Lady m needs to be more masculine “unsex me here” to achieve the power she desires as Shakespeare believes women cannot achieve power in their patriarchy, unless through unnatural ways like regicide, or through being a witch.
- has power over Macbeth
- “under my battlements”
How is gender and cruelty presented through Macbeth?
- “I dare do all that may become a man” which also shows how the patriarchal society celebrates a ruthless and violent male., which leads to pain
- refers to lady m as his “partner in greatness”
How is gender and cruelty presented through Malcom?
He begins at the start of the play, representative of the male stereotype.
-he tells Macduff when his family as been murdered to “dispute it like a man”.
He then changes before he becomes king to be a more compassionate male figure
-He tells siward that he should have more sorrow for the death of his son who siward was just pleased that he had dies in battle, that “he’s worth more sorrow and that ill spend for him”
