Macbeth Flashcards

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1
Q

Divine Right of Kings:

A

The Divine Right of Kings was a belief that God had specifically chosen monarchs to rule the country and so an attempt to kill the one God had chosen was not just a worldly sin but actually a sin against God. This belief system is seen in Macbeth as it is possible that the tragic consequences of Lord and Lady Macbeth are because they did not just commit a carnal sin but they also sinned against God, for which the punishment is eternal damnation.

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2
Q

Religion:

A

During this period in England, there was a lot of religious conflict between Catholicism and Protestantism. Both are denominations of Christianity, but there were (and still are) core differences or contradictions in their beliefs. It was customary to have the state’s religion dictated by the ruling monarch. Jacobean England was Protestant since James I was also

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3
Q

Great Chain of Being:

A

This was an ideological belief circulating this time, which originated from the ancient Greek philosophers Aristotle and Plato. The Great Chain of Being was a conception of the universe in which everything, plant, animal or mineral, had a fixed place, according to its important and spiritual nature. This hierarchy started with God, under whom came then the king. At the bottom of the Great Chain of Being were the rocks. The Great Chain of Being explains why the sin of regicide and the resulting punishment was perceived as such a serious sin.

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4
Q

Witchcraft

A

Witchcraft plays a large part in Macbeth and provides a basis for the events of the play. King James’s beliefs definitely played a role in this, influencing Shakespeare’s literary decisions. For example, the expedition which James took is incorporated into the play, the line ‘Though his bark cannot be lost/Yet it shall be tempest-tossed’ is potentially a reference to the storm that James experienced on his way to Denmark. The witches in the play serve many purposes.

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5
Q

Jacobean Era:

A

Macbeth was written during the reign of King James I, who was a supporter of and a patron of Shakespeare’s work. This consequently meant that Shakespeare was greatly influenced by the king. Evidence of this can be seen throughout the plot of Macbeth and the changes that Shakespeare made to the original story of Macbeth.

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6
Q

Shakespeare

A

Shakespeare is England’s most famous playwright. He lived from 1564 – 1616. His plays can be divided into Histories (e.g. Henry VI), Comedies (e.g. Midsummer’s Nights Dream), and Tragedies (e.g. Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet). For the majority of his career, Shakespeare wrote for the acting group the Lord Chamberlain’s Men (who became known as the King’s Men in 1603 when James I ascended the throne).

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7
Q

Hamartia:

A

Hamartia: Hamartia is an ancient Greek term first used by Aristotle in his Poetics. It literally means ‘fatal flaw’. A character’s fatal flaw is the thing that leads to their ultimate downfall - in Macbeth’s case it is his ambition and lust for power that led to his inevitable downfall and is the arc of play between him and his wife.

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8
Q

Catharsis

A

Catharsis: This is also an ancient Greek term that means the ‘purging’ or ‘cleansing’ of emotions, particularly through pity and fear, that the audience experiences at the end of a tragedy. It results in renewal and restoration. Aristotle applied the term to literature in his Poetics, arguing that catharsis was the ultimate end of a tragic work, and that achievement of a catharsis in the audience was a mark of a tragedy’s quality

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9
Q

‘We’ve Scorched the snake, not killed it’

A

He is saying that all the people he killed in order to achieve his ambition is just the tip of the iceberg,and there is plenty more to come to maintain his role as king.
This also suggests that Macbeth’s need for power will never end and he will keep on tormenting himself to get more and more.At the end he doesn’t live a peaceful and satisfied life,but dies as a diabolical and unworthy king.

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10
Q

‘Thus did Banquo’

A

Macbeth lies to the murderers saying that Banquo was the reason for poverty and he did many terrible things to the poor.He is motivating the murderers so they could Kill banquo without any concerns and hesitation. Replicates LM’s manipulativeness.

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11
Q

‘To be thus is nothing,but to be safely thus’-

A

Macbeth isn’t satisfied with what he had got but wants to be safely king so he doesn’t want Banquo’s prophecies to become true so he plans on Killing him and his heir Fleance to make sure the kingship remains in his bloodline.

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12
Q

‘Neptune’s ocean’

A

He is exaggerating that even all of the Neptune’s water can’t wash away his guilt.

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13
Q

‘That is a step which I must fall down’

A

We See a Great change in Macbeth’s thoughts as he now thinks it possible to become king.He has a choice to either beat Malcolm to the throne or give up

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14
Q

‘Lets not let light see my dark and deep desires’

A

Macbeth’s ambition becomes a more narrower path to him and the audience can see Macbeth going through a metamorphosis by changing into an over ambitious character

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15
Q

‘That will never be’

A

Macbeth feels very confident that he can’t be killed after 2 apparitions stated 2 events that felt imposible to occur.

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16
Q

‘Disdaining fortune’

A

Macbeth rejected bribe and stayed loyal to his king and country.

17
Q

‘Brave Macbeth’

A

He was a Courageous Soldier in the Battlefield.He helped his country fight back and win against Norway.

18
Q

That i did kill them

A

Macbeth says the reasons he killed the guards was because he was angry they murdered Duncan.In reality he murdered to avoid suspicion and because he lost control of himself, contrast to BQ

19
Q

‘I think not of them’

A

Macbeth again lies to Banquo saying he hasn’t thought of the prophecies since the day it was made,but every event occurred was all about Macbeth wanting to achieve what the witches prophesied

20
Q

Lady Macbeth

A

From Now it’ll be Lady Macbeth Quotes:

21
Q

‘Cawdor and shalt be’:

A

Lady Macbeth is very determined to succeed and insists Macbeth will become king.

22
Q

‘Infirm of purpose’

A

She calls her own husband a coward in order to motivate him to complete the ‘deed’ by murdering Duncan so they can get one step closer to achieving ambition.

23
Q

‘Was the hope drunk’

A

She questions Macbeth’s masculinity and mocks it,so he will be more determined to murder Duncan.

24
Q

‘Wash this filthy witness’

A

L.M. convinces Macbeth that he shouldn’t regret Murdering the king as his ambition will come true.

25
Q

“Your face is a book”

A

LM uses the metaphor “..” to manipulate her husband into changing his identity as his “face is a book”, this shows that Macbeth is easy to read and LM is commanding him to change his personality and become like her.
[add more info]…

26
Q

‘All our service’

A

Lady Macbeth says to Duncan that everything she does is for Duncan.Lady Macbeth acts as a typical Jacobean women and deceives everyone including her husband.

27
Q

‘Your servants ever’

A

We are your servants forever.

28
Q

‘Help me out of here’

A

She pretends to act vulnerable after hearing the news of Duncan’s Death,she starts acting as a typical of the time but in reality she was the creator of this master plan.

29
Q

‘To bed,to bed.There’s knocking at the gate’.

A

Lady Macbeth has gone mad and these are the final words she utters in the play.This reveals how guilt had crushed her strong and assertive personality.Now she has to be cared like a child and has no plans for the future.

30
Q

‘Come to My woman’s breasts and take my milk for gall’

A

She is commanding the spirits to take her feminine qualities as she believes she needs to be masculine in order to complete the murder of Duncan.

31
Q

‘Dashed the brains out

A

She would cruelly murder her baby if it was needed for them to achieve their ambition.

32
Q

The Witches Quotes

A

From now we will have quotes from the Witches …….

33
Q

‘Double double toil and trouble’

A

Shakespeare differentiates in the tone on how the Witches speak and other characters.He uses Iambic pentameter to show the difference in the witches and rhyme to make the setting feel very uncomfortable.

34
Q

Portrayal of Witches:

A

The witches are portrayed as evil by the way they say the prophecies.There prediction do come true but not in the way the characters intended it to be,so it could be described as ambiguous.
They say what will happen but not how it will happen,Macbeth falls into their trap and believes he is secure.

35
Q

‘Thunder and lightning’

A

Use of pathetic fallacy to present the witches in a dark and gloomy way,showcasing their evilness.

36
Q

‘lightning’

A

The Noun ‘lightning’ showcases a natural deadly force,which is very violent,also foreshadowing something terrible is going to happen.
The Stormy weather associated with the witches symbolizes how their powers stir up trouble,incite chaos and go against the natural order.

37
Q

HECATE:
‘Security is mortals chiefest enemy’

A

Hecate states that a man’s greatest enemy is his overconfidence and Macbeth becomes a reminder of this later in the play.

38
Q

‘Fair is foul and foul is fair’

A

The witches motif sum up the whole play,where they warn the reader that everything you see isn’t the truth.
The witches say this using rhyming couplets gives a sinister air and tone to the play,much more like daunting and tormenting chants which makes the reader feel uncomfortable.

39
Q

‘Speak,I command you’

A

Witches vanish whilst Macbeth is ordering them to answer his dying questions,this suggest that they don’t get ordered by mortals showing the contrast between the natural and supernatural.