Macbeth

Question 1

what is synthetic listing

Answer 1

when a sentence contains a list and within the list there are one or more conjunctions
tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow

Question 1

what is a soliloquy

Answer 1

these are speeches but they are meant to be heard only by the audience. They tell us directly about a character’s thoughts and feelings and they are important in Macbeth, because we can understand exactly what is going through a character’s mind.

Question 2

what is Iambic pentameter

Answer 2

a metrical foot that is made up of an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed one: da-DUM
Lines composed of 10 syllables.
When Macbeth is considering violence he slips out of it but when he is Nobel and good he uses it.
When Macbeth is violent he uses prose (like ordinary characters) or trochaic tetrameter like the witches.

Question 3

what is a hamartia

Answer 3

The fatal floor leading to the hero’s downfall

Question 4

C T M W B A T M M F G Y M M
shows lady Macbeths wish to be able to commit acts of violence

Answer 4

come to my woman’s breasts and take my milk for gall you mudering ministers

The language around womanhood eg milk and breasts impedes her from performing acts of violence
she wants to be able to murder
Act 1 scene 5

Question 5

T a T a T C I t p p f d t d

Answer 5

Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow Creeps in this petty pace from day to day
Macbeth feels his life is meaningless because of lady Macbeths death sees no future for himself at the end of the play act 5
synthetic listing

Question 6

A L W C U O T D
A quote to show lady Macbeths denial

Answer 6

“A little water clears us of this deed”
Lady Macbeth is in denial that she has murdered the king
They wash King Duncan’s blood off their hands, and Lady Macbeth makes the mistake of assuming that this act also frees them from all guilt.
act 2 scene 2

Question 7

O F O S I M M M D W

Answer 7

O full of scorpions is my mind, my dear wife

Macbeth can not rest easy when those scorpions are alive
he is worried about banquo having kings in his family line

Question 8

I T A D T I S B M

Answer 8

Is this a dagger that I see before me

Macbeth is being messed with by the witches
Supernatural
Macbeth is unsure of the existance of the dagger. Yet by having a vision of a dagger, it is clear that the violent ambition of Macbeth is clearly tempting Macbeth to commit the murder of Duncan.
Act 2 scene 1

Question 9

A T B M T W Y W Y W B S M M T M

Answer 9

“and to be more than what you were you would be so much more the man”
In this quote Lady Macbeth is manipulating her husband Macbeth by speaking of his manhood. She gains more and more control over Macbeth
she attacks his masculinity. This would hurt his pride even more.

Question 10

U F T N T T C

Answer 10

unseamed from the nave to the chops
Shows how Macbeth is a natural killer

Question 11

M H A O Y C B I S T W A H S W

Answer 11

“My hands are of your colour but I shame to wear a heart so white”
Lady Macbeth talking to Macbeth after the killing of Duncan
Lady Macbeth is in the same situation as Macbeth but does not feel guilty likes him she wants him to man up
Emasculates Macbeth

Question 12

I W H B T S I W H B

Answer 12

It will have blood that say it will have blood”
He knows hw will have to suffer for his murders.
Macbeth is stuck in a cycle of bloodshed

Question 13

A quote from act one scene one about the witches and them being supernatural.

F I F A F I F H T T F A F A

Answer 13

“fair is foul and, foul is fair.
Hover through the fog and filthy air”

the quote is said in unison suggesting the witches are supernatural and can predict what they all say. seems rehearsed.

this quote happens in act one scene one when the witches open the play.

About the supernatural
said by the witches
first half suggests the world is untrustworthy and you won’t get or want what you expect. So for Macbeth becoming the king would be fair if he had waited. but Macbeth makes it foul by committing regicide.

the way the quote is said (in trochaic tetrameter) is very childlike and almost like a nursery rhyme. gives off a different idea to the more serious ideas.

pathetic fallacy- the witches can control the weather and choose what the atmosphere is

Question 14

A quote from lady Macbeth about her desire to be cruel.

U M H , A F M, F T C T T T, T F O D C

Answer 14

unsex me here, and fill me, from the crown to the toe, top-full of direst cruelty.

she is saying in order to succeed in society you need to be a man and a quality if a man is cruelty

Lady Macbeth wants to achieve the cruelty and would want to become masculine to do that. the quote is not saying she wants to become masculine but she wants to be a cruel person.

the adjective direst suggests she wants the absolute worst.

Question 15

Shakespeare presents lady Macbeth as ambitious and violent. Shows she would rather kill her baby than not go through with the plan.

Answer 15

“I would while it was smiling in my face have pluck’d my nipple from his boneless gums and dash’s the brains out”.

Question 16

What is an aside in Macbeth

Answer 16

Talking to himself but others are on the stage ( Macbeth is aside) gives the reader an insight could in some cases be dramatic irony

Question 17

what metre do the witches speak in

Answer 17

trochaic tetrameter 8 sylobols they also rhyme

Question 18

what is soliloquy in Macbeth

Answer 18

when Macbeth makes a speech and gives an insight to the reader on his own with no one else on the stage

Question 19

how is ambition a theme within Macbeth

Answer 19

Ambition motivates Macbeth to commit horrible deeds and overall changes his as a person throughout the play.

Ambition is presented as being dangerous and easily spiral out of control

Question 20

what type of play is Macbeth

Answer 20

A tragedy

Question 21

how does Macbeth change throughout the play

Answer 21

Macbeth is always presented as a killer but the way in which he kill changes throughout the play. He starts off as a noble killer doing so for his pride and then moves to killing for personal gain and falls into a downward spiral.

Question 22

why is Macbeth a cautionary tale

Answer 22

It was written by Shakespeare to reinforce the status quo and the Devine right of kings.

Question 23

How does Shakespeare show Macbeths fatal flaw

Answer 23

Macbeth has been thinking about whether or not he should murder Duncan. He reaches the conclusion that the only thing that is motivating him (his ‘spur’) is ambition which he compares to a horse leaping over an obstacle (‘vaulting ambition’). As for the horse and rider, what is on the other side of the obstacle is unknown - it could, of course, be disaster. However, before Macbeth can complete the thought and turn away from the crime, he is interrupted by Lady Macbeth entering. Had she not appeared at this point, the outcome might have been different.

quote- I have no spur… but only Vaulting ambition, which o’erleaps itself And falls on th’other – / [Enter Lady Macbeth] / How now? What news? (Act 1 Scene 7)

Question 24

in what ways is ambition Macbeths biggest weakness/ fatal flaw

Answer 24

1. At the start he is a hero Duncan calls him noble.
2. He is reluctant to kill Duncan shows that he is moral but his actions show how strong his ambition is
3. he acts against his better judgment and this leads to him failing and loosing everything. This foreshadow Macbeths tragic downfall. by the end of the play Macbeth has lost everything

Question 25

in Macbeth which characters are loyal to the county the king and their beliefs

Answer 25

the country- Macduff is loyal to Scotland he chooses to go to England to ask Malcom to protect his country instead of staying to protect his family.

the king- the thanes are loyal to Duncan because he has been a great king and Macbeth gives Duncan service and loyalty by fighting for him in act 1

beliefs banquo is loyal to his own sense of honour he won’t let the witches predictions affect him.

Question 26

in what ways do the Macbeths pretend to be loyal

Answer 26

1. Macbeth is initially loyal to Duncan which makes it even more shocking when he puts his desires ahead of his loyalty.
2. lady Macbeth fakes loyalty she tells Duncan that her and macbeth are “ your servants ever” while at the same time plotting his murder.
3. Shakespeare uses this as a juxtaposition with lady Macbeth plotting to kill Duncan while welcoming him into their castle. so this shows her character to have murderous intentions.

Question 27

how is Duncan seen as a king

Answer 27

He is an ideal king described as “gracious” and he inspires loyalty and he is the rightful ruler of Scotland

Question 28

how is Macbeth seen as a king

Answer 28

he is described as a tyrant he is rarely referred to in the play as king which shows that the other characters don’t accept him.

Question 29

How does Malcom describe good and bad kings

Answer 29

in act 4 scene 3 Malcom describes good kings as: “king- becoming graces As justice, verity, temperance, stableness, bounty, perseverance, mercy, lowliness, devotion, patience, courage fortitude”

Malcom could be describing Duncan in his speech- Duncan shows “temperance” in his calm peaceful manner “lowliness” (being humble) in his gratefullness for loyalty “justice” when dealing with those ho betray him “bounty” in his generosity

Question 30

how is evil linked to gender in Macbeth.

Answer 30

1. lady Macbeth links cruelty to masculinity “unsex me here… and will me with direst cruelty.
2. masculine ideas of evil in the play focus on violence and bloodshed whereas female ideas in the play focus on manipulation and blackmail.
3. the witches gender is ambiguous bvanquo says they “should be women” but they have beards. and like lady Macbeth they really on manipulation.

Question 31

how are visions supernatural signs of guilt in the play

Answer 31

1. act 2 scene 1 is this a dagger I see before me. It represents the bloody business he is about to do.
2. act 3 scene 4 Macbeth sees banquet ghost which gives him “strange infirmity” as nobody else sees the ghost its a sign of Macbeths guilty conscience.
3. act 5 seen 1 Lady Macbeth is driven mad as she images her hand will “ne’er be cleaned” he guilt is so great that it appears that she kills herself.

Question 32

A quote to describe the uncertainty Macbeth feels before he kills Duncan

Answer 32

“I have no spur to prick the sides of my intent but only vaulting ambition”

metaphor

the noun vaulting suggests that Macbeth does not now