macbeth Flashcards
“fair is - and - is fair “
fair is foul and foul is fair
reality / appearance
Shakespeare establishes the supernatural importance
witches speak in rhyme which implies they are sinister and evil
”- him from the nave to the - “
unseemed him from the nave to the chop
describing macbeth in battles
it is seen as an admirable thing to do and shows the type of world they live in
” what he - lost - macbeth has won “
what he hath lost noble macbeth hath won
thane of cawdor is a traitor and macbeth has been given his title
foreshadowing
” - intelligence “
strange intelligence
banquo questions the witches prophecies showing he a a good and honest character
“stars hold your - - - the light see my black and - desires”
stars hold your fires let not the light see my black and deep desires
macbeth begins to think of what he has to do to become king but he is afraid someone will find out
appearance vs reality
” - o’th the - of human kindness”
full o’th the milk of human kindness
lady macbeth fears macbeth is too nice
milk is a biological differnce between men and women
accusing him of being to nice
sees good qualities as a bad thing
” pour thy - spirits in - ear “
pour thy spirits in thine ear
lady macbeth is moving to the supernatural
shocking to an elizabethan audience
she is incharge
“when - durst do it , then you were a - “
when you durst do it then you were a man
lady macbeth challenges his manhood for not wanting to kill duncan
” false - must hide what the - heart doth know “
false heart must hide what the false heart doth know
appearance / reality
she wants him to hide his true feelings
” merciful - “
merciful powers
banquo looks to merciful powers when he cannot sleep unlike macbeth who looks to evil spirits
” is this a - I see before me “
is this a dager i see before me
hilousination
symptoms of a fevered mind
the dager leads him to duncan
” a little - clears us of this deed “
a little water clears us of this deed
irony considering lady macbeth goes mad washing her hands
metaphor represents the murder
“hark - knocking “
hark more knocking
shakespeare is reminding us of the outside world
it puts in perspective what they have done and the secret they must keep
i - thou - most - -
i fear thou played most foully for’t
banquos soliloquy in act 3 scene 1
he is not happy with how macbeth got the crown
he says it in a soliloquy because he cannot openly admit that he questions the kings intenstions as it would be treason
my lord - - not
my lord i will not
banquo says he will not miss the feast
dramatic irony as we know his ghost will appear
he is a better person than macbeth
be innocent of the - dearest -
be innocent of the knowledge dearest chuck
macbeth to LM
their roles have reversed he is incharge
he does not want to tell her of his plans to kill banquo
their relationship is breaking down
feast
a sign of social harmony
the macbeths go overboard to make everyone welcome
but the murderer arrives with blood on his face as a symbol that macbeth cannot hide his truth
my - is often - and has been since -
my lord is often thus and has been since youth
lady macbeth
act 3 scene 4 LMs last act of power to cover up macbeths imagination
after this their marraige breaks down and she will go insane
banquo
his ghost sits in the kings chair to echo the prophecy that his sons will be king
none - of - shall harm -
none born of woman shall harm macbeth
witches
macbeth thinks that he cannot be killed but actually;
macduff was “untimely ripped from his mothers womb “
great - wood to high -
great birnam wood to high dunsinane
prophecy
macbeth thinks that he cannot be killed
but the english advance hiding behind the sticks from the forest
macbeth
plots to kill macduffs family for absolutly no reason
he becomes a monster
he does not kill them himself because shakespeare wants us to maintain a small amount of sympathy
- damned -
out damned spot
unable to remove the image of blood from her hands
guilt has turned her insane
she is weak now unlike at the begining
macbeth has taken her strengh
- from my bones my - be -
till from my bones my flesh be hacked
macbeth
shakespeare wants us to admire his bravery that he will fight to the death
it reminds us of the brave warrior we met at the begining
great - wood is coming to -
great birnam wood is coming to dunsinane
the prophecy has come true
why should i - the - fool and - on my own -
why should i play the roman fool and die on my own sword
he has concidered suicide but does not think it is a good idea
he wants to die in battle
context
james 1 was king of scottland
he was interested in witches and wrote daemonology
james thought he was related to banquo
shakespeares company came under royal patronage
divine right of king was part of social order
witches were persecuted
women were expected to do what their husband says
so - and - a day i have not seen
so foul and fair a day I have not seen
macbeth after the battle
he is using the witches language which foreshadows his relationship with them later in the play
brave -
brave macbeth
the sergant tells duncan macbeth has been a hero in battle at the begining of the play
macbeth is shown as a good character who is brave and the audience like him
- him from the - to the
unseamed him from the nave to the chop
macbeth in battle at the begining of the play
he is violent and brave in protecting his country
i fear thou - most fouly -
i fear thou played most foully fort
banquo is questioning macbeths actions in the murder of duncan but it is said in a soliloquy so that he cannot be charged for treason
key theme - ambition
ambition motivates macbeth to commit terrible deeds
ambition is presented as dangerous because it can spiral out of control
it can make people ruthless and selfish
ambition is macbeths biggest weakness
he is reluctant to kill duncan but ambition makes him act against his morals
malcom and macduff are ambitious for their county , it is not their selfish desires but for the good of scotland
key theme - loyalty and betrayal
characters usually betray their loyalty to purse their selfish desires
macbeth is rewarded for his loyalty at thebegining after the thane of cawdor is execute dfor treason. but in the end he is killed for betraying scotland
it is a circular structure
betrayal is linked to power
macbeth and lady macbeth pretends to be loyal
key theme- kingship
at the time in scotland the heir to the throne didnt have to be the current kings son
macbeth wins the throne by killing duncan and framing malcom
duncan is described as a good king because he is “gracious “ where as macbeth is a “tyrant “
key theme - good and evil
macbeth is a good man who does evil acts at the beginning he is noble but he is tempted by ambition and his goodness if overcome by desire
evil is linked to gender
lady macbeth links cruelty and agression to masculinity
she thinks her feminine qualities hold her back
masculine ideas of evil foucus on violence and bloodshed
battles represent confilict between good and evil
key theme - the supernatural
the witches are a supernatural force and have power over the humans
they drive the action of the play
they are associated with chaos and disrupting the natural order
visions are a sign of guilt
they fill the character with fear
witches would have frightened 16 th centuary audience
key theme - apperance v reality
appearance can be deceptive
lady macbeth encourages her husband to hide his thoughts
meaning of words can be unclear and appear good when they are actually evil
witches use false words to trick macbeth
some characters trust too much in apperances (ducan trusts macbeth and dies for it )
in contrasts malcom is immediately skeptical of his fathers death
key theme - fate and free will
fate is the idea that everything is already decided
free will is the idea that humans choose their own actions
if fate is true it is not macbeths fault but if its free will then he is to blame for his downfall
when he first hears the prophecy he is happy to let fate take its course but his wife thinks they should take matters into their own hands
at first macbeth acts deiberatly but however in the end the witches prophecies are self fulfulling suggesting he has free will
