macbeth Flashcards
a captain in act 1 states Macbeth’s sword as
“Disdaining Fortune, with his brandished steel,
Which smoked with bloody execution”
what does this suggest
-brandished means to wave around
-implies hes killed to much people so quick that his sword is metaphorically smoking with death and blood
-presents him as fighting heroically for his country compare to later in the play
-foreshadows how he ignores the signs of his defeat in Act 5 of the play,
“Stars hide your fires let not light see my black and deep desires”
Themes - ambition,supernatural,evil influence of witches
-inner conflict is emphasised through use of personification “stars hide your fires” Macbeth is begging the stars to hide his ambition
-juxtaposition between light(truth) and black shows Macbeth’s inner conflict as at this stage he is not fully corrupt
-metaphor of black and deep desires shows us that he sees his thoughts as being evil
Vaulting ambition which o’erleaps itself/and falls on the other”
Themes -ambition,supernatural,divine right of kings
-Macbeth wants to show lady Macbeth his masculinity through ambition but equally wants to stay loyal to Duncan
-hyperbole “vaulting ambition” illustrates that he himself recognised he may not fit into the shoes of a true ruler
-personification “o’erleaps” shows his ambition is too great
-if macbeth fulfilled this ambition it means he would have to kill duncan,upsetting the natural order
“Will all great Neptune’s oceans wash this blood from my hand “
Themes-guilt
-Neptune-Roman god of the oceans suggests the god cannot save him now
-blood is a symbol for guilt throughout the play,shows Macbeth’s guilt will never clear
-hands is a symbol for responsibility
-foreshadows Lady Macbeth’s dramatic change and how she experiences hallucinations
lady macbeth describes macbeth as
‘too full o’the milk of human-kindness’
what does this show
theme-masculinity
-metaphor is used to show that despite his reputation macbeth has a strong sense of compassion
-milk is mild,natural and white
-white is linked to purity,angelicness and heroism
-this is contrasted by the red of blood that macbeth is associated with at the end of the play
macbeth quotes
-‘too full o’the milk of human-kindness’
-“Will all great Neptune’s oceans wash this blood from my hand “
-Vaulting ambition which o’erleaps itself/and falls on the other”
-“Stars hide your fires let not light see my black and deep desires”
-“Disdaining Fortune, with his brandished steel,
Which smoked with bloody execution”
-“Art thou a dagger of the mind,a false creation”
before macbeth kills duncan he hallucinates a dagger
“Art thou a dagger of the mind,a false creation”
themes -supernatural,guilt,corrupting influence of supernatural
-foreshadows duncan’s murder as blood is on the dagger
-metaphor “dagger of the mind” illustrates macbeth’s stress
-by wondering if the dagger is false it shows how macbeth is still looking for a way out of killing
-hallucination is a result of the guilt macbeth feels for being to ambitious and being influenced by supernatural
-dagger symbolises the guilt that will plague him for the rest of his life
