macbeth act 1 Flashcards
“Fair is foul, and foul is fair
Embedded and contextualised example: In the opening scene, the witches chant what seems to be a kind of mantra for them: “Fair is foul, and foul is fair”
Encapsulates two of the key ideas in the play - duplicity and corruption
Paradox is used to introduced the inverted morality of the witches - they aren’t just evil - they find evil beautiful.Alliteration is used to accentuate the connectedness of ‘fairness’ (goodness) and ‘foulness’ (evil) - they are closer together, more similar, than we might think - links to duplicity (seeming ‘fair’ but being ‘foul’) and corruption (being ‘fair’ and becoming ‘foul’)
Relevant characters and themes: Macbeth, Lady Macbeth, The Witches, Power and corruption, duplicity and equivocation, good and evil, the supernatural, free will and control
“As two spent swimmers, that do cling together / And choke their art”
Embedded and contextualised example: Just before Macbeth is first introduced, the Captain describes the battle in the moments before his arrival as a stalemate, comparing it to “two spent swimmers, that do cling together / And choke their art”.
A simile suggesting a desperate and somewhat pitiful battle, two tired armies dragging one another gracelessly and clumsily to their deaths. It is an image wholly lacking in glory or heroism, until Macbeth arrives in a few lines time
The imagery can be zoomed into and analysed in more detail, if necessary - the sea, drowning, the idea that they are tired (“spent”)
Relevant characters and themes: Macbeth, masculinity, power and corruption, good and evil
“unseamed him from the nave to th’ chops”
Embedded and contextualised example: When Macbeth enters the battle, he quickly fights his way through the opposing army until he comes face to face with Macdonald, whom he “unseam[s] … from the nave to th’ chops” before chopping off his head.
Vivid and grotesque imagery - conveys both the horror and the glory of the war (battles “lost and won”)
Metaphor of “unseaming” - suggests Macbeth’s skill in battle - the precision of the blow, despite its brutality
Introduces the character of Macbeth in a memorable and notably brutal way - he is a man of action, a warrior
Contrasts with Macbeth’s fear after Duncan’s murder
Relevant characters and themes: Macbeth, masculinity, power and corruption, good and evil
“There’s no art / To find the mind’s construction in the face”
Embedded and contextualised example: Early in Act 1 Scene 4, Duncan expresses his regret at not detecting the thane of Cawdor’s traitorous intent, claiming that “there’s no art / To find the mind’s construction in the face.”
Another key quotation in relation to the theme of duplicity - people are hard to read
Metaphor of the mind as being constructed - it is something complex and intricate but hard to figure out from the outside - like trying to work out how a building was built just by looking at it
Noun “art” suggesting that to read people’s intentions is a skill, a complicated thing that nobody can really grasp
Dramatic irony is being used here as this is structurally positioned just before Macbeth’s entrance, another person whose traitorous intent Duncan will, again, fail to detect
Relevant characters and themes: Macbeth, Duncan, duplicity and equivocation, good and evil, power and corruption
Stars, hide your fires; / Let not light see my black and deep desires”
Embedded and contextualised example: As he leaves for his castle, having not been made heir to Duncan’s throne, Macbeth reveals his dark thoughts, calling on the stars to “hide [their] fires” because he does not want “light [to] see his black and deep desires.”
Another quotation about duplicity - hiding ones “foul” thoughts from others in order to seem “fair”
Symbolic use of light and dark - good and evil
Adjective “deep” is ambiguous - it could mean that Macbeth’s evil desires are well-hidden, far from the surface; it could also suggest that they come from somewhere deep inside him, from his core; they are essential (as in ‘essence’)
Imperative clause (“Let not…”) reveals Macbeth’s desire to continue to conceal his desires - there is shame here, arguably; a desire to feel other than he does - links to free will and control
Revealed in an aside - a dramatic technique that Shakespeare uses a lot to reveal the inner thoughts of characters
Relevant characters and themes: Macbeth, power and corruption, good and evil, duplicity and equivocation, guilt and remorse, free will and control
“too full o’ the milk of human kindness”
Embedded and contextualised example: When she hears of the witches’ prophecies, Lady Macbeth immediately decides that she will help Macbeth to become king, but she fears he is “too full o’ the milk of human kindness” to take the throne for himself.
Important metaphor that conveys Macbeth’s innate goodness at the start of the play (despite all the terrible things he will go on to do)
Imagery in the metaphor is deliberately gendered - milk symbolises femininity (since only women can produce milk) and it is equated with human kindness, suggesting that (for Lady Macbeth at least) femininity is good
Adverb “too” is interesting - how can one be “too full”? Being full is a binary - one is either full or not - but Lady Macbeth suggests something else here
Relevant characters and themes: Macbeth, Lady Macbeth, masculinity and femininity, power and corruption, greed and ambition, good and evil
“pour my spirits in thine ear”
Embedded and contextualised example: When she vows to convince Macbeth to go through with the murder of Duncan in Act 1 Scene 5, Lady Macbeth says she will “pour [her] spirits in [his] ear” in order to persuade him.
Another metaphor rich with meaning that links to most of the themes in the play
Metaphor evokes the idea of spirit as soul or essence (she will pour her spirit into him)
It also conveys the idea of spirit as determination or courage (like a person who has spirit or is spirited)
It also has supernatural connotations and links to Lady Macbeth’s evocation of “spirits” later in the scene.
It could also be alcohol (sprits are strong alcoholic drinks like whisky) - she will intoxicate him with her words
Relevant characters and themes: Macbeth, Lady Macbeth, free will and control, power and corruption, greed and ambition, good and evil, the supernatural
“look like the innocent flower, / But be the serpent under’t
Embedded and contextualised example: Having mostly convinced Macbeth to go through with the regicide, Lady Macbeth tells him that they need to keep their intentions secret; they must “look like the innocent flower, / But be the serpent under’t”.
Yet another key line when it comes to the play’s early exploration of duplicity - looking “fair” but being “foul”
A mixture of simile and metaphor with evocative imagery
The femininity of the innocent flower mixed with the poisonous nature of the serpent
The idea of striking in secret, like a snake in the grass
The overt Biblical connotations of the serpent in the garden of Eden - the root of all evil through original sin and something generally associated with the Devil - the father of lies and the embodiment of evil in the world, from a Christian perspective
Relevant characters and themes: Macbeth, Lady Macbeth, duplicity and equivocation, masculinity and femininity, power and corruption, greed and ambition, good and evil
