Macbeth Character Plan Flashcards
Macbeth - Macbeth First Time
Duncan and the messenger are discussing Macbeth’s heroic exploits. He is a brave warrior and is completely loyal to Duncan. He has the respect of his peers and is clearly popular as a result of bravery. He seems innocent and noble however, at this early point in the play, there have been no events to convince the audience otherwise.
“Brave Macbeth (well he deserves that name)” - Macbeth begins as a brave,noble man who clearly has the respect of his peers as they discuss his heroic exploits. They believe he is fully deserving of any praise given. Completely loyal and this seems to be known by all characters.
“As sparrows eagles or hare the lion” - Macbeth and banquo were as frightened of the enemy as fierce creatures would be of timid ones. He was not at all daunted by the Norwegian forces which emphasises his bravery. A hare would not frighten a lion just like the enemy did not frighten Macbeth. He remained a brave and noble warrior throughout battle.
Macbeth - second time
Him and Banquo meet with the witches where they each receive the prophecies. He starts to believe them,although he says that he doesn’t. This is where the deterioration of his character begins. He starts to obsess over power and thoughts of becoming king.
“Commencing in truth?” - the prophecies have started to come true as Macbeth becomes thane of Cawdor as well as already being thane of Glamis. He is clearly convinced that he is going to become king however, this thought terrifies him and he cannot comprehend why. Perhaps this is because he has already started to consider the kings murder and is already obsessed with power.
“Whose murder is yet but fantastical” - the plan to kill Duncan is born. Already, Macbeth is considering regicide, before he even talks to Lady Macbeth which shows that murder was not just to her manipulation. He must have wanted to do it as the thought was conceived before he even made her aware of the prophecies, throughout the play we assume that she is the evil one as she talks him into the murder however, perhaps it is actually him.
Macbeth - third time
He is arguing with lady Macbeth about wether or not to kill Duncan. He clearly lacks control in the relationship however, he is reluctant to go through with the murder.
“If we should fail” - Macbeth doubts himself. He is scared of the consequences of being found out. Perhaps this fear is because he is actually a good man, not the greed, avaricious man we see him to be. He is persuaded by his ambitious wife.
“False face must hide what the heart doth know” - Theme of deception. They must deceive everyone. Their faces must fit the occasion and hide what they plan to do. There guilt cannot be obvious, if it is, they will be caught.
“Natural ruby” - Macbeth cannot understand how LadyMacbeth is so in-affected by what they have done. Perhaps this seemingly confident woman is just using forms of deception as she still has control in the relationship and continuously covers for her blundering husband.
“Go at once” - she continues to play the dominant, controlling character in the relationship. This is the final time that that Lady Macbeth shows any power before slipping into the background. Still, she does not seem affected by the kings murder as she remains calm and in control as she demands the exit of lords whilst her husband is in a state of hysteria.
Macbeth - fourth time
Lady Macbeth has begun to enter a state of hysteria as she is seen sleepwalking. This shows a huge deterioration in her character as her mental state deteriorated as a result of the huge, overwhelming amount of guilt that she faces.
“She has light by her continuously” - Lady Macbeth has now developed a fear of the dark. It is ironic that the women who once called for darkness is now afraid of it. Perhaps this because she is overcome by guilt and the dark reminds her of what she did as she requested of darkness. It seems like her natural feminine qualities have been oppressed for so long that they have all been revealed at once, driving her to insanity. This causes her suicide as there is a breakdown in communication between Macbeth and Lady Macbeth as well as an overwhelming feeling of guilt. At this point, Lady Macbeth no longer show an idealistic feminist, instead she shows the features of a stereotypical woman, feeling guilt, remorse, empathy and compassion rather than ignoring all of theses natural qualities as she did at the start.
“All the perfume in Arabia will not sweeten this little hand” - this is a parallel to when Macbeth says that all of Neptune’s oceans will not clean his hands. It is almost like a more feminine version of this as she claims back her femininity that has been suppressed for so long. She makes herself sound more feminine by referring to perfumes and her hands being small. They have come completely full circle as she is not the one who can’t remove blood from her hands. When Macbeth could see it, at least it was actually there, for her it was just an hallucination. It is like what she said to Macbeth to calm him down has come true which is ironic as it is as almost as if she has fallen into her own prophecy. When Macbeth went mad and thought that he could not get the blood off his hands he had her to support him however, she has nobody.
Macbeth - fifth time
The news of Lady Macbeth’s death is revealed to Macbeth
“Should have died hereafter” - Some people could argue that Macbeth could be grieving over the death of his wife as “ hereafter” implies that she should have lived longer and died in the future.However, I believe that Macbeth is in-affected by his wife’s death and he is implying that it doesn’t matter as she would have died anyway. Maybe this is because their relationship had completely broken down and they were no longer confiding in each other. Perhaps it is also because Macbeth has witnessed, and caused, so much pain that he has become hardened to pain and canny even grieve his wife’s death.
“Out, our brief candle” - implies that Macbeth is grieving over his wife. The adjective “brief” implies that Macbeth believes that Lady Macbeth’s life was to short and over too quickly. This implies some feelings and emotions of sadness and grief towards his wife’s death. The metaphor of a “candle” could show that Lady Macbeth lit Macbeth’s way to where he is as she encouraged and fuelled his ambition.
