LMB and MB Relationship Flashcards
Ts1: at the beginning of the play, MB and his wife appear to have a loving relationship
‘Dearest partner of greatness’
‘If we should fail?’
Ts2: LMB realises she must become the dominant partner to manipulate MB into achieving his ambition to become king.
‘Like the poor cat i’th’adage’
‘My hands are of your colour but i shame to wear a heart so white’
‘We will proceed no further in this business’
Ts3: Following the murder, tension builds in their relationship due to MB’s guilty conscience and they begin to grow apart.
‘Quite unmanned in folly’
‘Be innocent of the knowledge, dearest chuck, till thou applaud the deed’
Ts4: at the end of the play, they both die, paying the ultimate price for their evil acts.
‘She should have died hereafter’
‘Til my flesh my bones be hacked’
Topic sentences
Ts1- start both have loving relationship
Ts2- LMB realises she has to become dominant partner for manipulating MB into achieving his ambition
Ts3- following murder of D, tension grows due to MB’s guilty conscience.
Ts4- both die at end, paying ultimate price for evil acts
‘Dearest partner of greatness’
L= superlative adjective indicates how much he loves her. C= sees her as his equal ‘partner’, unusual in Jacobean era as it was a patriarchal society where women had less power than men. So going against societal standards shows their true bond as a couple. R= would leave JA shocked and confused that their relationship is for love and they are equal. modern audience proud of LMB and MB for going against societal standards.
‘Like the poor cat i’th’adage’
L= simile. LMB compares him to the cat in the proverb- he wants the crown, but doesn’t want to get his hands bloody. She takes control, planning the murder herself, and her dominance is shows in how she dominates the dialogue, but MB has to do it in the end as Duncan looks like LMB’s father.
‘My hands are of your colour but i shame to wear a heart so white’
C= DRK= MB knows he has damned himself by killing God’s representative on Earth. His guilt causes tension. L= white symbolises cowardice as she thinks he is a coward to be so afraid after Duncan’s murder. Ironic- she washes the blood off her hands whilst sleepwalking before she kills herself. C= she mocks his masculinity, implying he is a coward, which would be the ultimate insult to a famous warrior.
‘Quite unmanned in folly’
L= verb choice. LMB mocks MB for being so unmasculine in his fear after he appears to see Banquo’s ghost at the banquet; she fears he will be foolish enough to betray the murder to the other Thanes, which causes tension between them.
‘Be innocent of the knowledge, dearest chuck, till thou applaud the deed’
I= MB desire to conceal things from LMB can be interpreted in different ways .1) he loves her and wants to protect her from Banquo’s murder until he knows it is successful. This is suggested by the endearment ‘dearest chuck’. 2) it is a symptom of the fact that they are becoming emotionally distant from each other.
‘She should have died hereafter’
I= MB’s response can be interpreted in different ways. 1) As he is facing attack from the English, he has no proper time to grieve for her. 2) she should not have died too soon- she has died too young.
‘We will proceed no further in this business’
L= euphemism showing one of the first times MB stands up to LMB. R= JA proud of MB for being more masculine as it was a patriarchal society where men were expected to be more powerful and strong in the Jacobean era (C).
‘If we should fail?’
L= rhet Q- MB looks for reassurance from LMB. C= this contradicts how women were seen at the time as it was a patriarchal society where women were seen as subordinate to men.
The pronoun ‘we’ includes MB + LMB and shows they rely on each other and have a strong relationship.
