Macbeth Flashcards
Macbeth is known as a….
Tragic hero
Describe macbeth
-Highly renowned
-Good to bad
-Misfortune brought about by personal error
Define hamartia
A fatal flaw leading to downfall of tragic hero or heroine
What is macbeths hamartia
His ambition
Sergeant calls macbeth…
‘Brave macbeth’
How does macbeth kill macdonwald
Cuts him open from “the nave to th’ chops”
What kind of world is the play set in?
A world where people prove themselves worthy of honour by their actions on the battlefield
What is jacobean society like?
A society that has no principle of rule other than strength
What are banquo and macbeth at the beginning of the play?
Perfect Parallels
How does banquo recact to the witches prophecies?
-Not interested
-skeptical
-weary
How does macbeth recact to the witches prophecies?
The witches give a voice to macbeths inner ambition - becoming king.
Macbeth decends into a path of destruction which ultimately brings about his demise
How does macbeth address his wife in act 1 scene 5?
‘My dearest love’
How does macbeth react to his wifes death in act 5 scene 5
‘She should have died hereafter’
Near the end of the play, after all the murders, what has macbeth lost?
The ability to feel empathy emotion towards others. Even his wife
In act 1 scene 7 macbeth admits to what? (In his soliloquy)
His ‘vaulting ambition’. He admits to his hamartia. He wants to kill king duncan
Who does macbeth cause the deaths of and how?
-Duncan (killed by macbeth)
-Banquo (three assassins hired by macbeth)
-Fleance (same as banquo, but he escapes)
Lady Macduff and her children (macbeth sends murderers to kill them)
What do the witches say as macbeth approaches in act 4 scene 3?
‘Something wicked this way comes’
How does malcom describe macbeth in act 4 scene 3?
‘Tyrant whose sole name blisters our tounge’
‘Devilish’
How does malcom refer to macheth in act 5 scene 5?
‘Dead, butcher’
(Reffering to macbeths death)
Why does macbeth need to evoke sympathy in the audience?
So when he dies, the audience pitied him. If macbeth is hated then no lesson will be learnt from his downfall
Macbeth is a character of…
…good reputation whos one fatal flaw leads to his downfall
Why does king duncans murder take place off stage
To help the audience to still see some shred of humanity in macbeth
Why does macbeth not kill banquo, lady macduff, and her kids himself?
Audience would not feel a shred of pitty for macbeth if they witnessed him murder his friend and other innocents
What quote in act 3 scene 2 shows macheths change in character?
‘Be innocent of the knowledge, dearest chuck, till thou applaud the deed’
Why does macbeth not share his plans with his wife?
Their relationship is falling apart as macbeths hamartia takes control
What quote from macbeth in act 2 scene 1 shows that he is hallucinating?
‘Is this a dagger which i see before me?’ - psychological affect of the guilt macbeth feels
What is the quote about scorpians
‘O, full of scorpians is my mind dear’ - the guilt is psychologically breaking macbeth
What quote from macbeth mirrors the witches quote, “Fair is foul and foul is fair.”?
“So foul and fair a day, i have not seen”
Whats the philosophy of macbeth?
Do lady macbeth and the witches actually influence macbeth, or does he just twist their words to fit his own cruel intentions
