Macbeth Flashcards
1
Q
Divine right of Kings
A
- people believed authority was derived from God, great chain of being
- God at top then angels, mankind, animals, birds, fish
- human order - king was supreme, males above females - challenging place in society disrupted chain, could lead to chaos, people expected to respect position in hierarchy
- regicide - ultimate sin, killing king put there by God
2
Q
King James I
A
- written 1603-1606, coincides with accession of James VII of Scotland to the English throne, as James I of England
- play appeals to king’s interests: fascination with supernatural (witches and prophecies), compliments him by making his ancestor, Banquo, a hero
- survived assassination attempt, play warns society that attempting to commit regicide ends badly - going mad, hell
3
Q
Witches and Supernatural
A
- at time, witches associated with dark + death
- in Christian countries they were thought to be agents of Satan going around at night, believed to gather near graves to conduct evil + make poisons
- King James I wrote Demonology - 1597
- 1604 - witchcraft became capital offence, evidence of a relationship with evil spirits condemned a suspect to death by hanging, burning, drowning
- believed witches could see into future, create storms, hail, thunder, lightning, stop the sun, change night into day + day into night, call upon dead
- to work charms they would open graves and steal parts of the bodies to make potions
4
Q
Adam and Eve
A
- Lady Macbeth and Eve temptresses
- Lady Macbeth goes to great extents to make sure Macbeth goes through with murder
- Eve told one rule she and Adam must follow - not to eat fruit from Tree of Knowledge, when a serpent tells Eve she’ll not be punished for doing so, she eats fruit, serpent planted seed in Eve’s head about eating fruit despite being told not to
- witches planted seed of ambition in Macbeth’s head when prophesising he would be king.
5
Q
Role of Women
A
- patriachal society
- women - ‘weaker sex’, always needed someone to look after them, if were married, husband expected to look after them, if not, father, brother or other male relative expected to take care of them
6
Q
Gunpowder plot
A
- play not long after Gunpowder plot
- shows murderers of king tormented by own guilt + driven to their doom
7
Q
How is ambition presented in Macbeth
A
Corrupting
8
Q
Macbeth ambition quotes
A
- ‘Stars hide your fires let not light see my black and deep desires’
- ‘Be innocent of the knowledge dearest chuck till thou applaud the deed’
- ‘I am in blood stepped in so far, that, should I wade no more, returning were as tedious as go o’er’
9
Q
‘Stars hide your fires let not light see my black and deep desires’
A
- juxtaposition of light/dark represents conflict between good/evil in Macbeth’s mind
- play’s structure speed Macbeth’s ‘deep desires’ appear highlights how quick he foregoes honour to appease swelling ambition
- adjective ‘black’ shows he accepts evil thoughts while ‘deep’ suggests they are deeply entrenched within him
- imperatives verb ‘hide’ highlights how he disdains fortune by commanding stars to assist with hiding crime from God to save him from eternal damnation + circumnavigate conscience
- context divine right of kings - worries about going to hell for going against natural order so wants to ‘hide’ crime
- intends to remind audience regicide is bad to please King James
- ‘worthiest cousin’ initially loyal to King before ambition corrupted him
10
Q
‘Be innocent of the knowledge dearest chuck till thou applaud the deed’
A
- adjective ‘innocent’ he may be trying to sympathetically spare wife of violent horrors by taking full responsibility
- noun ‘deed’ hints something evil has been done, keep from his wife,
- abstract noun ‘knowledge’ suggests she is lacking of competence to be involved in plans
- context role of women - Macbeth reinforces gender stereotypes LM is clueless female
- intends to show Macbeth as dominant in relationship, conforming to typical gender role
- ’dearest partner of greatness’ dramatic shift in power dynamic, previously viewed her as equal
11
Q
‘I am in blood stepped in so far, that, should I wade no more, returning were as tedious as go o’er’
A
- metaphor of wading across river of blood stresses violence of his bloody reign, rivers often associated with baptism/rebirth, but Macbeth sees this river of blood as sign he can’t be saved from weight of sin
- symbolism of blood for guilt reoccurs in play to represent how Macbeth feels and his Machiavellian resolve to preserve his own reign by any means necessary
- adjective ‘tedious’ suggests bloody deed has caused him to lose humanity to extent that day to day living is tiresome to endure.
- context Christianity - Macbeth believes he will go to Hell for sin so may as well keep sinning
- intends to highlight unquenchable nature of ambition, shows unbridled ambition leads to no good
- ‘we will proceed no further in this business’ - ambition has changed him from not wanting to kill king to not stopping killing
12
Q
How is guilt presented in Macbeth
A
Paralysing and inescapable
13
Q
Macbeth guilt quotes
A
- ‘Never shake thy gory locks at me’
- ‘Out damned spot, out I say’
- ‘All the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand O,O,O’
14
Q
‘Never shake thy gory locks at me’
A
- adjective ‘gory’ emphasises importance of manifestation of guilt, only focusing on looks suggests he feels remorse for murder, may be fixating on blood as threat, witches say his bloodline will take crown
- noun ‘locks’ refers to Banquo’s hair, may be referring to how he feels locked/tangled in witches prophecies
- context divine right of kings - Macbeth’s irrational behaviour shows unsuitability for crown as he hadn’t been selected by God
- intends to warn against regicide by showing negative mental effects
- ‘unseamed him from the nave to th’ chaps’ previously strong warrior, now mentally weak/distraught due to guilt
15
Q
Out damned spot, out I say’
A
- repetition of imperative ‘out’ desperate to remove hallucinatory stains of blood contaminating her soul
- noun ‘spot’ bears ineradicable stamp of devil on hands/soul
- form of prose not verse shows fragmented/dignified decline in mental state
- context role of women - guilt causes her to revert to stereotypical woman
- intends to warn against regicide by showing negative mental effects as result of guilt to please King
- ‘spirits that tend on mortal thoughts unsex me here’ initially dominant and composed, reinforces deterioration
