Macbeth Flashcards
Divine Right of Kings:
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.
Religion:
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
Great Chain of Being:
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.
Witchcraft
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.
Jacobean Era:
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.
Shakespeare
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).
Hamartia:
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.
Catharsis
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
‘We’ve Scorched the snake, not killed it’
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.
‘Thus did Banquo’
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.
‘To be thus is nothing,but to be safely thus’-
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.
‘Neptune’s ocean’
He is exaggerating that even all of the Neptune’s water can’t wash away his guilt.
‘That is a step which I must fall down’
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
‘Lets not let light see my dark and deep desires’
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
‘That will never be’
Macbeth feels very confident that he can’t be killed after 2 apparitions stated 2 events that felt imposible to occur.
