macbeth

Question 1

supernatural plan:

Answer 1

1. A1S3 ‘so foul and fair a day I have not seen’
2. A2S1 ‘is this a dagger which I see before me’
3. A3S2 ‘o full of scorpions is my mind dear wife’
4. A4S1 ‘something wicked this way comes’

Question 2

kingship plan:

Answer 2

1. A1S2 ‘unseamed him from the knave to the chaps and fixed his head upon our battlements’
2. A3S1 ‘I fear dauntless, dare, wisdom, valour’
3. A4S3 ‘your wife and babes savagely slaughtered’
4. A5S3 ‘the mind I sway by and the heart I bare shall never sag with doubt nor shake with fear’

Question 3

heroism (bravery) plan:

Answer 3

1. A1S2 ‘brave Macbeth’ ‘as cannons overcharged with double cracks’
2. A2S1 ‘is this a dagger which I see before me’
3. A3S2 ‘o full of scorpions is my mind’ ‘come seeling night’
4. A4S3 ‘your wife and babes savagely slaughtered’

Question 4

guilt/regret plan:

Answer 4

1. A1S4 ‘stars hide your fires; let not light see my black and deep desires’
2. A2S1 ‘is this a dagger which i see before me’
3. A3S2 [two murderers], ‘come seeling night’
4. A4S3 ‘your wife and babes savagely slaughtered’

Question 5

power (macbeth) plan:

Answer 5

1. A1S2 ‘unseamed him from the knave to the chaps and fixed his head upon our battlements’
2. A2S1 ‘is this a dagger which I see before me’
3. A3S2 ‘o full of scorpions is my mind’ ‘come seeling night’
4. A4S3 ‘your wife and babes savagely slaughtered’

Question 6

power (lady macbeth) plan:

Answer 6

1. A1S5 ‘come you spirits unsex me here’
2. A2S3 [Lady Macbeth is carried out]
3. A3S2 ‘what’s to be done’ ‘be innocent of the knowledge dearest chuck’
4. A5S1 ‘out damned spot out I say’

Question 7

ambition plan:

Answer 7

1. A1S4 ‘stars hide your fires; let not light see my black and deep desires’
2. A2S1 ‘is this a dagger which I see before me’
3. A3S3 [Enter Banquo and Fleance with a torch. Murderer strikes out light]
4. A4S3 ‘your wife and babes savagely slaughtered’

Question 8

attitudes towards murder plan:

Answer 8

1. A1S2 ‘unseamed him from the knave to the chaps and fixed his head upon our battlements’
2. A2S1 ‘is this a dagger which I see before me’
3. A3S3 [Enter Banquo and Fleance with a torch. Murderer strikes out light]
4. A4S3 ‘your wife and babes savagely slaughtered’

Question 9

macbeths state of mind plan:

Answer 9

1. A1S4 ‘stars hide your fires; let not light see my black and deep desires’
2. A2S1 ‘is this a dagger which i see before me’
3. A3S2 ‘o full of scorpions is my mind dear wife’
4. A5S3 ‘the mind I sway by and the heart I bear shall never sag with doubt nor shake with fear’

Question 10

explode ‘unseamed him from the knave to the chaps and fixed his head upon his battlements’

Answer 10

• shakespeare withholds macbeths entry and showcases first impressions through other people in order to elevate his status and show how much trust is placed on macbeth, this makes his downfall later in the play a lot more tragic
• ‘unseamed’ seam is found in clothes so this is a clothing metaphor which runs throughout the play and shows how this person is being stripped from his title, shows macbeths brutality and how far he is willing to go in war, the audience will be impressed by this as masculinity was viewed as very important in the jacobean era
• ‘knave to the chaps’ we should be a little bit concerned as he is taking this more personally and going above and beyond what he needs to, this is foreshadowed later on in the play where he is always going above and beyond, shows he is enjoying killing, macbeth views this person as worthless
• ‘fixed’ verb, showing macbeths pride in his killings, he displays the head as if it is a trophy and wants others to see how brave he was during battle but also to warn others not to challenge him

Question 11

explode ‘so foul and fair a day I have not seen’

Answer 11

• first time he speaks and it mirrors the witches in a1s1, evokes idea that macbeth has been taken over by supernatural forces even before he has even met the witches, to some extent we can forgive Macbeth of his actions later on as some my argue he is not in full control of his body
• ‘foul and fair’ verbal binding between macbeth and witches almost as though they are in the same side or macbeth has been taken over, fate is governing Macbeths actions here because it’s the witches who have a hold over him

Question 12

explode ‘stars hide your fires; let not light see my black and deep desires. the eye wink at the hand ’

Answer 12

• we see here that Macbeth is a conflicted character who wants to claim the throne but does not want to believe he is committing a crime
• ‘the’ shift to the distant pronoun showing he wants to distance himself from his actions as he recognises that they are bad
• ‘fire’ form of light which has ability to reveal your secrets and dark hidden thoughts which he doesn’t want to share
• ‘black’ juxtaposition between light and dark mirroring his thoughts as he views light as negative as it has the ability to reveal, connotations of evil and sin therefore he knows what he is doing is wrong
• ‘deep’ the audience are in anticipation as they don’t know how far Macbeth is willing to go in order to achieve his ambitions
• this downgrades him from the heroic soldier he once was and how the witches prophecies have forced him into a puppet of manipulation

Question 13

explode ‘come you spirits, unsex me here’

Answer 13

• we are introduced to lady macbeth, and she is commanding the spirits using imperatives, the Jacobean audience viewed the witches as agents of darkness and therefore they are not to be trusted however LM doesn’t treat the witches with caution and fully embraces them, goes against sterotypes for females
• she thinks she needs to reject her womanly nature in order to help Macbeth achieve his desires of being crowned king
• ‘unsex’ she isn’t just wanting to get rid of womanly attributes instead she wants to get rid of any human qualities as she doesn’t want to be weak but instead feel no emotion and the ability to feel and be hesitant about the things you do
• ‘come’ she’s willingly inviting them showing how villainous she is and how she does not fear the supernatural
• however it can be interpreted that she is using these imperatives as she doesn’t want time to hesitate and wants it to happen immediately, or on the other hand it could be that she is really excited and doesn’t want to wait any longer
• however this quote can also show that she is not as powerful as she seems and would like people to believe, by needing help from the supernatural it shows her limited power

Question 14

explode ‘is this a dagger which I see before me the handle towards my hand? come let me clutch thee’

Answer 14

• bewilderment and instability of Macbeths state of mind as it starts to deteriorate
• previously LM was there to assist Jo, but now that she is the is unable to manage without her
• ‘dagger’ represents his violently corrupted mind but also how corrupted he has become
• ‘handle towards me’ appears as though the handle is inviting him and welcoming him as it stresses his desire to get rid of all responsibility
• ‘come’ Macbeth continues to believe that he has some control over the supernatural which is the ultimate force and therefore mirrors his delusions
• ‘clutch’ reflects Macbeths commitment to carry out the murder and showcases the path in which Macbeth is willing to go in order to accomplish his ambitions

Question 15

explode ‘sleep no more, Macbeth does murder sleep, the innocent sleep’

Answer 15

• repetition of sleep and it is a reoccurring motif that appears throughout the entire play, the repetition of it shows how Macbeth is fixated on the idea that he will not be able to get over this and his deteriorating mind, symbolic because it is associated with clear consciousness and peace of mind which Macbeth has murdered showing he will never experience peace or sleep again
• personification of ‘innocent sleep’ acts as a metaphor for Duncan who was killed in his sleep and was vulnerable and had no way to fight back, because they killed Duncan whilst he was asleep, now as a punishment from god Macbeth and lady Macbeth as also robbed off sleep, showing consequences of their actions are finally catching up with them

Question 16

explode ‘I fear… dauntless, valour, wisdom, dares’

Answer 16

• where Banquo was once his friend and fellow mate, he is now a threat and someone who is in the way and acts as an obstacle which Macbeth fears
• the characteristics he fears in Banquo are positive qualities which should be celebrated and not feared, link to LM who feared ‘human kindness’ which was unnatural and now he mirrors her which shows a role reversal as he presence fades away
• at the start it was ambition which was allowing him to do all these things in order to achieve his desires, but now it is envy and he is doing this out of jealousy from Banquo because of his insecurities, where Banquo was his greatest friend he is now his biggest enemy, killing Banquo was not needed as he didn’t show disloyalty but to Macbeth he sees him as the biggest barrier

Question 17

explode ‘o full of scorpions is my mind dear wife’ ‘come seeling night’

Answer 17

• Macbeth is adopting this nocturnal imagery that was previously used by lady Macbeth, we see a role reversal
• ‘scorpions’ unsettling tone, reminding us the evil in which is taking place in Macbeths Scotland and is mirrored through his psychological turmoil
• here his paranoia is shown through the monosyllabic word ‘o’ showing the start of Macbeths fragmented mind which we see more clearly later on when he sees Banquos ghost
• ‘scorpions’ poisonous showing how Macbeths mind has become plagued with poison and ill thoughts, just like poison it has the ability to spread to everything it comes in contact with and everything that comes in Macbeths way, he wants to kill showing his paranoia
• ‘come seeling might’ where previously LM called on the darkness ‘blanket of darkness’ here there is a evident role reversal and where she saw comfort in darkness Macbeth now views darkness in this way, ‘come’ commanding the night which is part of the natural world and holds the most power and so by commanding it, it shows Macbeths belief that he is more powerful than the supernatural and mirrors his delusions

Question 18

explode ‘what’s to be done’ ‘be innocent of the knowledge dearest chuck’

Answer 18

• previously they were viewed as partners in greatness but now we see that isn’t the case anymore
• he answers in a declarative which is quite dismissive rather than sharing his plans, he tells her she doesn’t need to know, her power and relevance quickly lessens showcasing how she was only powerful because her husband gave her power and allowed her to be that way
• now that he has taken away the power for her, she has been left with no voice and is found on the sidelines

Question 19

explode [enter Banquo and Fleance with a torch. Murderer strikes out light]

Answer 19

• this quote shows how any bit of goodness left in Scotland has been destroyed at he request of Macbeth
• ‘torch’ symbolises goodness, light and hope that they embodied and they had this chance to shine this goodness across Scotland and follow Duncan’s footsteps but when it ‘strikes out’ it shows how this sense of hope has forever been lost
• [murderers] Macbeths hires murderers instead of doing it himself, where previously in A1S2 he was heroic in the battlefield, he pre he has lost this bravery, shows how far Macbeth has fallen, he is so dishonourable that he can’t commit the murder himself, courage is lost and replaced with this cowardly sense of being

Question 20

explode ‘your wife and babes savagely slaughtered’

Answer 20

• the Macduff family is murdered
• lady Macduff is very different to LM, she is a foil to her as she treats children very differently to her
• Macbeth is willing to do anything to keep his power but that inevitably results I’m the revelation of his crimes
• sentence is filled with idea of violence showing how desperate Macbeth is to fulfil his desires
• ‘wife and babes’ Macbeth is now depicted as being cruel and heartless as he is not murdering innocent children, where his previous kills had some sort of justification due to them being a threat to the throne, here this one has no justification as the victims are innocent and harmless
• since Macbeth has no children to be heirs to the throne, this is why he sees great discomfort in the idea of children and harbours the greatest dislike for them
• ‘savagely slaughtered’ show the brutality in which Macbeth executes these killings as he tries to satisfy his ambition, a very swift and methodical movement which also dehumanise them and strips the, off any identity as slaughtered is associated with animals

Question 21

explode ‘out damned spot out I say!’

Answer 21

• where previously in A2S1 Macbeth was hallucinating, now this same thing is happening to Lady Macbeth even though she had previously questioned his masculinity it is now reflecting on her
• she has lost all her composure and rational thought, she previously said ‘a little water clears us of this deed’ showcasing how she belittles murder but now she is desperately trying to get rid of it and pleads for it to go
• ‘out’ commanding the supernatural, shows her desperation for it to go and also shows how far she has strayed from the callous and powerful woman she once was in a1s5
• ‘damned’ refers to blood as being damned which has associations with hell as it is described as eternal damnation, her guilt has caught up with her and she fears the punishment which is ultimately hell, the religious audience would see that this is the right thing as if you go against god you get punished, she is the one who is damned not the blood spot, she’s not taking full responsibility

Question 22

explode ‘something wicked this way comes’

Answer 22

• the witches refer to Macbeth in this way
• ‘something’ dehumanises Macbeth to an object showcasing his evil acts have eroded him of any humanity leaving him of more than a thing than a person
• the audience have witnessing how horrific these witches are and for them to refer to Macbeth as ‘wicked’ it symbolises how evil and heartless Macbeth has become and how far he has strayed from a1s2, they are the true embodiments of evil yet they continue to describe him as ‘wicked’ showing how bad he has become

Question 23

explode ‘the mind I sway by and the heart I bear shall never sag with doubt nor shake with fear’

Answer 23

• shows how Macbeths character has had a cyclical structure effect as he has now returned to the brave and warrior Macbeth he was in a1s2, here he is displaying them now
• where he was previously riddled with fear and doubt, the word ‘never’ showcases he has regained control over his own behaviours
• ‘mind’ and ‘heart’ showcase he now has control over them as well which he previously didn’t when he was hallucinating and lost control of these
• ‘sag’ and ‘shake’ are weak bodily movements which Macbeth is rejecting showing he has returned to his fearless warrior self