LM grade nine ideas

Question 1

shakespeare’s construction of femininity

Answer 1

LMB is the primary female character, giving us insight into Shakespeare’s intentions into the construction of the female gender. should LMB be viewed as an exemplar of female agency by taking hers and MB’s destiny into her own hands?

Question 2

LM + the witches

Answer 2

they both influence and control the male protagonist with a certain power usually reserved for men. the force of these characters create power hungry murdering macbeth because they convince him in order to be a man he must be violent

Question 3

changing LMB

Answer 3

presented as a Machiavellian villain - after Duncan’s murder LMB loses her rank - as part of an act LMB faints exclaiming ‘help. me hence, ho!’ even though this is her acting, this is a sign of weakness which shows her diminishing power

Question 4

sleepwalking overall

Answer 4

sleepwalking scene as ultimate demonstration LMB is at mercy at the very forces she set out to control in her first speech. LMB’s somnambulism is the epitome of disturbed sleep as it no longer resembles sleep, it is like amnesia has taken place. somnambulism isn’t sleep but an abnormal mental state

Question 5

Thomas Hill and sleepwalking

Answer 5

her behaviour understood in Thomas Hill’s definition of sleepwalking as stopping the ‘organ of common sense’ as they aren’t just simply sleeping or properly walking and LMB isn’t properly asleep nor awake.

also the effect of the unnatural separation of the mind and physical faculties whilst sleepwalking - actions not governed by common sense links to ‘this disease is beyond my practice’ because as Hill suggests it isnt her body that’s ill, it’s her mind. she cannot distinguish between vision and reality like Macbeth

Question 6

false face

Answer 6

collapse of her false face in 5.1 as her efforts to try to hide behind the mask of the hostess have failed and she may have succeeded at fooling those around her but at the cost of the structural integrity of her mind

Question 7

typical of the stereotype

Answer 7

she is only willing to plan the murder not actually commit it, as Duncan reminds her of her father suggesting a sensitive woman with a depth of emotion making her more typical of the stereotype than we think

Question 8

other shakespeare plays

Answer 8

there are many parallels in the construction of female characters in shakespeare’s plays. in Hamlet, both Gertrude and Ophelia are portrayed as obedient to men however in MB, MB is the obedient one to his wife in the exposition.
Ambiguity of poetic justice - LMB’s and Desdemona’s (othello) disobedience results in consequences