Macbeth Flashcards
“I have no spur to prick the sides of my intent”
- talks about the theme of ambition
- his spurs refer to his ambition, therefore he does not have the cruelty to fulfil his goals
- alternatively shows how he is not in control and that Lady macbeth is the rider
What is hamartia
a fatal flaw leading to a tragic downfall of a hero
“Fair is foul and foul is fair, hover through the fog and filthy air”
- theme of appearance and reality through the paradoxical riddle (what seems foul is actually fair)
- links to Macbeth’s betrayal of Duncan
- theme of the supernatural through hints towards their power
- links to the idea of fate, and therefore the tragedy of Macbeth
trochaic tetrameter
a metrical pattern that involves using four trochees in regular pattern (e.g. fair is foul and foul is fair)
“out, dammed spot! Out, I say!”
- Lady macbeth realises she is going to hell and she wants to get rid of it
- the spot represents her guilt
“Hell is murky”
- links back to “filthy air”
- this is why she carries a light with her as it is a symbol of Christianity
what is Lady Macbeth’s tragedy?
she did not think of the consequences of her actions which has led to her excessive grief
“come you spirits that tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here and fill me from the crown to the toe top-full of direst cruelty”
- refers to the theme of masculinity and how you must be a man to succeed in society
- suggesting the traits of being a man should be cruelty
- Shakespeare does not want king James to kill people for the gunpowder plot
“lesser than macbeth, and greater”
- shows flattery of king james through the belief that he was descended from Banquo
- hints to the theme of the divine right of kings through the powers of evil killing off macbeth and appointing fleance as king
- shows how the king is a representative of God through fate that has decided who should be king
What is antithesis?
someone who is a direct opposite of someone else (banquo and macbeth)
“Have pluck’d my nipple from his boneless gums and dash’d the brains out”
- shows how she has abandoned all femininity
- consonance of ‘b’s and ‘d’s show her aggression
- reflects the aggression she wants Macbeth to use against Duncan
“look like the innocent flower, but be the serpent under it”
- biblical allusion
- mysoginistic interpretation, as it implies lady macbeth as eve being easily manipulated by evil
- flattering king james through his beliefs
“stars, hide your fires, let not light see my black and deep desires”
- themes of ambition
- he wants to hide his thoughts from God
- juxta positioning, ‘stars’, ‘deep’, shows his internal conflict
