Macbeth Flashcards
Thesis
King James + witchcraft (patriarchy)
How much our lives are controlled by fate or free will
Quotation 1 : control of weather by witches
‘In thunder lightening or in rain ‘
Quotation 2 : witches see into future not manipulate Macbeth!
‘Cawdor’ ‘king hereafter’
Quotation 3 : why does Macbeth want to kill banquo if he doesn’t need to? There is something wrong with him , inherent evil , harmartia
‘Why do I yield that suggestion whose horrid image doth unfixed my hair’
Quotation 4 : every decision Macbeth makes is his own decision, ‘chance’ suggests random + lucky ( not certain! )
‘If chance may have me king , why chance may crown me without my stir’
Quotation 5 : witches are being controlled themselves , they don’t directly control Macbeth
‘The instruments of darkness tell us truths’
Quotation 6 : Macbeth knows that he himself is destroying his sanity ( not the witches)
‘A dagger of the mind’
Quotation 7 : ‘I’ macbeths own fate and mind . Not witches, focus on Macbeth for murder , everything goes wrong from here on
‘Thou canst not say I did it ‘
Quotation 8 : even the witches recognise that Macbeth is so evil that they can sense him nearby
‘By the pricking of my thumbs something wicked this way comes’
Quotation 9: witches play with Macbeth but never actually change his behaviour (equivocation)
‘None a woman born shall harm Macbeth’
Quotation 10 : macbeths life is nihilistic , pointless , symbol of shadow is something you can never catch and is insubstantial just life kingship to Macbeth
‘A poor player ‘ ‘a walking shadow’
Quotation 11 : confirms macbeths evil to Jacobean audience when criticising god , never blames the witches , his own fault
‘Told by an idiot’
Conclusion :
Cautionary tale , warning nobles not to turn to evil or be tempted by evil ( catholic plotters)
To accept the GCOB and DROK
Macbeth didn’t kill king from influence of witches but the internal psychology + desires of man
