Macbeth Flashcards
“so foul and fair a day I have not seen” act1
-signs of influence both physically or orally
-first words in the play echo the witches paradox “so foul and fair a day I have not seen” showing him slowly becoming a mouthpiece for the witches evil (a vessel for their misconduct)
-use of fricatives emphasis his innate violence
“doth unfix my hair and make my seated heart knock at my ribs”
-externally and viscerally the witches have rattled him
-The phrase “doth unfix my hair” could relate to the subtle motif of clothes as a symbol of power deception and identity.
“why do you dress me in borrow’d robes?”
-his questioning manner suggests he has been awarded a title that doesn’t belong to him,
-shows that through the play as he moves through the hierarchal ranking it is superficial and transient (similarly to clothes) rather than being an intrinsic role that he was destined to have
why is Macbeth’s introduction so important
Macbeth’s reputation precedes him which establishes him as a respected figure to emphasise his fall from from grace- the descent from a reputable character to one that is abhorred; a key aspect of dramatic tragedy
-this makes him a tragic hero
how is Macbeth described as in act 1
-“valour’s minion”; strongly abides to codes of honour, alternatively the noun minion could foreshadow his susceptibility to manipulation and how he will soon be a marionette of the witches
Smok’d with bloody execution
-relentless force in battle; so skilled his sword did not have time to cool
-“smok’d Connotes heat, he’ll so foreshadows his evil
-“disdaining fortune” shows a disregard for his fate and his attempt to manipulate the natural order; this becomes evident in his disruption of the divine right of kings
-evoked biblical imagery; alludes to flaming swords given to angels to guard the garden of Eden. Implies Macbeth is gods soldier but due to his callousness god will punish Macbeth in the afterlife.
how is Macbeth emasculated “was the hope drunk/Wherein you dress’s yourself?”
-interrogates with a rhetorical question to ridicule and question his state of mind; gives him time to ponder about his action, evident lady Macbeth exploits his emotion if embarssament and shame
-she uses the epithet “coward” which threatens his sense of being a solider, not only questioning his masculinity but also his livelihood
—she makes and example of herself to quantify his weakness; “dash’d the brains out” of her own child is she had sworn to commit murder the merciless act of rejecting maternal inclinations characterises lady macbeth as violent and determined, she effectively competes with macbeth who as a man of that era could not be weaker than a woman
how does lady Macbeth and macbeths relationship subvert Jacobean expectations
-his initial stoic presentation is starkly juxtaposed with his mass emasculation, his wife,typically synonymous with subservience, makes him her inferior.
-lady macbeth mobilises the plot of regicide through her manipulation and emasculation of Macbeth -initially she belittles hum saying his “face is “a book where men may read strange matters”, she Mack’s the candidness of his expression
-this introduces her manipulation as it portrays macbeth as vulnerable which were qualities that did not align with the ideal masculine archetype of the era
-she indirectly questions his ability to fulfil his role and it would be atypical for him to have been instructed by a woman
macbeths soliloquy in act 2 s1
-this is a Volta for Macbeth as he begins to experience the effects of guilt
-the rhetorical question “is this a dagger which I see before me, the handle towards my hand?come let me clutch thee” shows his internal conflict and confusion. Foreshadows his later madness.
-‘handle towards..” he is ridding himself of the responsibility of regicide as if it was being forced upon him. He acknowledges the immorality of his actions yet ambition overpowers.
“Fatal vision” act2 s1
-this is reinforced by the ambiguous phrase “fatal vision” the adjective fatal simultaneously alludes to the fatalities that will come as a result of the tragedy and the idea that his actions are decreed by fate. The latter suggests another example of Macbeths abstaining responsibility as he dismisses it as conducted by higher powers or destiny
Macbeths description of daggers in act2 s1
-he calls the dagger an “instrument” perhaps alluding to how the “instruments of darkness” (the witches” with their dark musicality have brought him to this sheer point of inner turmoil.
-Macbeth uses the dagger as a scapegoat to expel himself of the blame of regicide as a coping mechanism for his premature guilt.
“God bless us” act 2 s1
-his abandonment of religion, the foundations of Jacobean society, is salient as his hallucinations he hears “god bless us”
-the religion of the statement paired with biblical cries of “amen” highlights how Macbeth has deviated so far from god and religion, this will begin to torture his mind on earth before he will be eternally tortured in hell
“I heard a voice cry, sleep no more:/Macbeth does murder sleep,’ the innocent sleep” “Macbeth shall sleep no more”
-3rd person:can’t understand how he committed regicide, highlighting inner duality.
-disassociation with morality foreshadows his inexorable descent into violence
-he is so perturbed by guilt that he is imprisoned within a state to restlessness
-sleep is a motif exploring the notion of innocence throughout the play, an inability to sleep is synonymous with a loss of innocence
-repetition of sleep portrays him stumbling over his words, he has lost control over his lexis and articulation
banquos ghost
-banquet scene is Macbeths opportunity to gain respect as king but the Macbeths and lady Macbeth overzealous in their welcoming of the guests,’welcome’ is repeated by both which gives impressing of flustering, their guilt threatens their composure.
-structurally it is significant that the murderers enter before Macbeth can sit with his guests.Ironically his past actions interrupt his ability to assimilate with his peers and Noblemen as king.
-his kingship is unnatural and disrupts divinerightofk
“I am in blood/Stepp’d in so far that should I wade no more, returning were as tedious”
-previously the blood was merely on his hands yet now it has enrobed his entire body, and by extension his entire sense of being.
-Macbeths response to fear and guilt has transitioned from being horiifided to indulging in heinous acts, murder becomes his means of self preservation
-LM discourages M from murdering Banquo saying ‘you must leave this’ yet he is trapped within t the momentum of evil; little rational for his barbaric decisions
