Macbeth Flashcards
How is Macbeth’s ambition shown in the play?
“I have no spur To prick the sides of my intent, but only Vaulting ambition, which o’erleaps itself And falls on the other”. Act I, Scene VII
Macbeth’s tragic fatal flaw is seen to be his ambition.
-Metaphor compares his experience to horse riding.
-Unable to motivate himself to take action like a rider who can’t use spurs to make his horse go faster.
-Only has ambition like a rider who overestimates his ability to leap over an obstacle and ends up falling.
-Macbeth’s unwillingness to move ahead. Acknowledged he is going on a dangerous path.
‘Vaulting ambition’- Verb. Shows it can corrupt human morals and conscience. Foreshadows his downfall Had no reason to kill Duncan and his wrongdoings are catching up with his conscience.
What does Macbeth mean when he says “To be thus is nothing, but to be safely thus (3,1)?
-Repetition.
- Feels restless and insecure.
-Frustrated that he has no heir.
-Without this knowledge that his lineage will carry on, him being king is meaningless.
-Shows him giving into ambition and killing Duncan has brought no peace.
- First violent act sets off a chain of reactions to commit more violent actions to hold on to his power.
What does Lady Macbeth mean when she says “ Thou wouldst be great, Art not without ambition, but without The illness should attend it (1,5)?
-Shows her attitude towards ambition.
- People need to be ruthless and cruel to fulfill their needs and desires.
-No room for kindness.
-“Illness”- That is wickedness-must accompany it if the ambition is to be realised.
- “Illness” is what Macbeth lacks but Lady Macbeth possesses.
“Is this a dagger which I see before me, / This handle toward my hand?
Macbeth imagines a dagger in front of him-not really there.
First hallucination-descent into stress-induced madness.
play’s overall interestis portraying the supernatural as a formidable force(inspiring fear or respect through being impressively large, powerful,)
“And oftentimes, to win us to our harm,
The instruments of darkness tell us truths,
Win us with honest trifles, to betray’s
In deepest consequence.
Characters: Banquo
* Noun phrase “tell us truths” - nothing they can recount is false.
* Paradox - “Honest trifles” that “betray” - prophecies are genuine, but the components are insignificant. The “instruments of darkness” will use prophecies to manipulate him and Macbeth.
* Suspicion - Banquo resists, Macbeth adheres - showing the belief that posits a worldwide view on humans acting freely from the influence of the supernatural.
“Look like th’innocent flower, but be the serpent under’t”
Characters: Lady Macbeth
* Passive image “innocent flower” juxtaposes active corruption of “the serpent”, reflecting the ideas of “fair” and “foul” in Act 1, Scene 1.
* Relate to biblical allusions - Garden of Eden. Is especially evocative as Lady Macbeth is engaged in supernatural paganism; she is asking her husband symbolically to strike out against Christian ideals - role of biblical villain?
Is this a dagger which I see before me?”
-The line reflects Macbeth’s mental and emotional turmoil.
- The ambiguity (more then one interpretation) surrounding the dagger contributes to the overall theme of appearance versus reality in the play.
-symbolism- “unreal” emphasizes the supernatural elements at play, as well as the psychological weight on Macbeth’s conscience.
-foreshadows the murder that is about to take place.
Out, damned spot!” Lady Macbeth in Act 5, Scene 1,
“spot” symbolizes the bloodstains resulting from the murders. This reflects the play’s theme of the destructive power of guilt on the human soul.
-subconscious mind- inner torment.
Irony- Told Macbeth to “screw [his] courage to the sticking-place” and carry out the murders but shes now tormented by guilt herself.
-scene foreshadows Lady Macbeth’s eventual demise. Her mental and emotional breakdown is a precursor to her death.
“All the world’s a stage, And all the men and women merely players.”
-This metaphor suggests that life is temporary, much like a play that has a beginning and an end.
-People have their exits and their entrances.”
-Invites contemplation on the nature of existence, identity. prompts the audience to consider the roles they play in their own lives and in the larger societal context. In “Macbeth,” characters grapple with the consequences of deception and ambition.
“Life […] is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing” Act V, Scene V
-soliloquy comes after Macbeth is told of the death of Lady Macbeth.
-example of nihilism: a belief that life is pointless.
-Christian Jacobean audience, this rejection of God’s plan would have been shocking.
-represents a moment of anagnorisis: a tragic hero’s realisation that all his actions were for “nothing” and that he will be defeated.
“Come you spirits […] Unsex me here” Act I, Scene V
-calling on evil spirits to take away her feminine traits.
-commanding evil spirits shows her hubris: it is arrogant for humans to believe they can control evil forces.
-Shakespeare suggests that only by adopting male characteristics can women gain power
- seen as disturbing to a Jacobean audience and very unnatural, (acting like a witch.)
