macbeth Flashcards
Act 1, Scene 1 - the witches
‘fair is foul and foul is fair’
shows not everything is as it seems and appearances can be deceptive
hints at macbeth and duncan
Act 1, Scene 2 - ross
‘brave macbeth - well he deserves that name - confronted him with steel’
the purpose of the quote is to portray macbeth as a strong and loyal soldier
shows macbeth as loyal to duncan and makes his downfall seem more obvious
it shows the start of multiple evil acts
‘brandished steel’ - implies control and power with his weapon
Act 1, Scene 4 - macbeth
‘stars hide your fires; let not light see my dark and deep desires’
identifies the contrast between light and dark (good and evil)
Act 1, Scene 5 - lady macbeth
‘come you spirits, that tend on mortal thoughts. unsex me here, and fill me, from crown to toe, top-full of the direst cruelty’
strip of feminine weakness
fill her with masculinity as she fears macbeth lacks the strength to kill duncan
the prefix ‘UN’ was often used by shakespeare in macbeth - this could be used to show how the protagonists are trying to undo what has been done
Act 1, Scene 7 - lady macbeth
‘when thou durst do it, then you were a man’
insult macbeth
patriarchal society - worst insult
quite represents lady m’s power over macbeth and her desire for more power
Act 1, Scene 7 - macbeth
‘i have no spur, to prick the sides of my intent, but only vaulting ambition which o’erleaps itself and falls the other’
extended metaphor of macbeths ambition being like a wild horse
‘vaulting’ shows macbeths out of control greed for power
Act 2, Scene 2 - macbeth
‘will all great neptune’s oceans wash this blood clean from my hand’
blood is metaphoric of macbeth’s guilt
macbeth uses this quote to show he is so guilty that he is covered in blood
even if he washed his hand in the ocean they would not be clean be wise if the amount of blood
Act 3, Scene 4 - macbeth
‘i am in blood, steeped in so far, that, should i wade no more, returning were as tedious as go o’er’
‘steeped’ is the key verb - macbeth feels blood has steeped into his soul so will remain forever
shows his own decisions led him to this point
if he doesn’t hold onto the power it will be for nothing
‘tedious’ has many meanings - tiresome, boring etc shows his actions will be pointless if he stops now
Act 5, scene 1 - lady macbeth
‘here’s the smell of blood still. all the perfumes of arabia will not sweeten this hand’
at this point she deeply regrets and feels remorse about what she has done
she feels she will forever stink of blood
remembering blood represents guilt
‘arabian’ perfumes references her wealth and her femininity - suggesting she is no longer strong and masculine
Act 5, Scene 2 - macbeth
‘out, out, brief candle! life’s but a walking shadow’
follows the discovery of his wife’s suicide
exclamation - frustration and shock at her death
Act 1, Scene 6 - lady macbeth
‘look like th’innocent flower but be the serpent under’t’
links to the pin james wore after thwarting the gunpowder plot
further links to deception and everything not being as it seems
Act 3, Scene 2 - lady macbeth
‘what’s to be done?’
contrast to earlier scenes where she dominated the conversation
monosyllabic - represents loss of control
Act 1, Scene 3 (first) - banquo
‘where such things here as we do speak about? or have we eaten on the insane root…’
questions his sanity - opposite of macbeth
‘insane toot’ - is hemlock known to cause hallucinations
Act 1, Scene 3 (second) - banquo
‘what, can the devil speak true?’
first reaction is to link to the witches with the devil
jacobeans - a witch is one who has sworn allegiance to satan so this would resonate with the audience
Act 1, Scene 5 - macbeth to lady macbeth
‘my dearest partner of greatness’
‘dearest’ is a term of endearment - value to macbeth
‘partner’ implies equal
