Macbeth - Context and Themes Flashcards
What are the 7 themes in Macbeth?
1.Ambition
2.Loyalty and Betrayal
3.Kingship
4.Good and Evil
5.The Supernatural
6.Reality and Appearances
7.Fate and Free Will
How is ambition the main theme in Macbeth?
Ambition
1.Ambition motivates Macbeth to commit terrible deeds - changing him from a ‘valiant’ soldier to a ‘dead butcher’
2.The play shows that ambition is dangerous, as it can quickly spiral out of control - Macbeth considers the morality of killing Duncan, but kills Banquo quickly
3.Once Macbeth starts killing, he has to kill more to get what he wants, so he can be secure - ambition can make people selfish and ruthless
4.Both Macbeth and LM are eventually destroyed by their ambition - the play is a warning against ambition that isn’t balanced by reason or morals.
How is Ambition Macbeth’s biggest weakness?
Ambition
1.Ambition is Macbeth’s fatal flaw, he’s a brave hero at the start, Duncan calls him ‘noble’ and LM says he ‘wouldst not play false’ to get what he wants.
2.Macbeth’s reluctance to kill Duncan shows thay he’s moral, but his actions emphasise how strong his ambition is - his ambition makes him act against his morals.
3.It makes him act against his better judgement. He knows ambition often, ‘o’er leaps itself/and falls’ - it can lead to you aiming to high, and failing, foreshadowing Macbeth’s own demise, when he dies an ‘abhorred tryant’
What do all the main characters of Shakespeare’s plays all share?
Context
THe hero is a noble person with one main flaw - their ‘fatal flaw’
How is ambition good?
Ambition
1.Malcolm and Macduff are ambitious for their country. They want to take Macbeth’s power away from him, not for their own selfish desires, but for the good of Scotland.
2.Banquo hopes ‘there comes truth’ from the witches’ prophecy, but doesn’t act violently like Macbeth, to make it come true.
Who is loyal to their country and how?
Loyalty and Betrayal
Macduff is loyal to Scotland - he chooses to go to England and ask Malcom to defend his country instead of protecting his own family.
Who is loyal to the King and how?
Loyalty and Betrayal
- The thanes are loyal to Duncan, because he’s been a ‘great’ King.
- Macbeth gives Duncan ‘service and loyalty’ by fighting for him in Act 1
Who is loyal to their beliefs and how?
Loyalty and Betrayal
Banquo - he is loyal to his sense of honour. He keeps his ‘allegiance clear’. He won’t let ambition or the Witches’ prophecies affect him.
How is loyalty rewarded in the play?
Loyalty and Betrayal
1.Macbeth’s loyalty is rewarded by giving him the title of Thane of Cawdor
2.Macduff stayed loyal to Scotland, and saved the country from Macbeth
How is betrayal punished in the play?
Loyalty and Betrayal
1.The old Thane of Cawdor is excecuted for being a ‘disloyal traitor’
2.Macbeth is killed for betraying Scotland
3.Macbeth betrays his own morality, whihc leads to his loss of self-worth, and death.
How do Loyalty and Betrayal go hand in hand?
Loyalty and Betrayal
1.Macduff’s loyalty to Scotland, leads him to betray his family
2.Macbeth’s loyalty to Lady Macbeth leads to the Betrayal of Duncan
How does Lady Macbeth fake loyalty?
Loyalty and Betrayal
She tells Duncan thaty she and Macbeth are ‘your servants forever’, whilst plotting his murder
What is the context around the heir to the thrones in Scotland?
In Scotland, the successor didn’t have to be the King’s eldest son.
What is the line of succession in Macbeth?
Kingship
1.Duncan
2.Malcom
3.Donaldbain
4.Macbeth
But when Macbeth kills Duncan, Malcom and Donaldbain both run so Macbeth becomes King.
How is Duncan a good King?
Kingship
1.He is described as ‘gracious’ and inspires loyalty in his subjects
2.His subjects see him as a ‘most sainted King’, therefore the rightful ruler of Scotland.
How is Duncan’s rightful reign, and Macbeth’s tyrannical reign reflected in the country?
Kingship
1.Duncan ‘s rightful reign makes the country oredered and peaceful
2.Under Macbeth’s unlawful reign, the natural order is overturned - day turns to night, horses eat eachother
Why is Macbeth a tyrant?
Kingship
He rules selfishly, using violence. He’s rarely referred to as king, suggesting other characters don’t accept his status
In Act 4, Scene 3 how does Malcom describe a good king?
Kingship
- He says a good king has, ‘King-becoming graces, As justice, verity, temperance, stableness, bounty, perseverance, mercy, lowliness, Devotion, patience, courage, fortitude’
- Malcom may be describing Duncan here, as he shows many of these qualities
In Act 4, Scene 3, how does Malcom describe a bad king?
Kingship
1.He says a bad king is, ‘bloody, Luxurious, avaricious, false, deceitful, Sudden, malicious, smacking of every sin That has a name.’
2.Malcom is describing Macbeth here.
How are kings appointed?
Context
They are appointed by God - the divine right of Kings
How are King’s holy in the play?
Kingship
1.King Edward of England has a ‘healing benediction’, and uses ‘holy prayrers’ to cure sick people. He’s surrounded by ‘blessings’ that ‘speak him full of grace’
2.Duncan, and Malcom being the righful heir, are holy as they are appointed by God
How are King’s unholy in the play?
Kingship
Macbeth is ‘devilish’ - he commits murder, speaks to witches and is not the chosen King
How is Macbeth shown to be a good man - who becomes evil
Good and Evil
1.At the beginning Macbeth shows he’s a ‘noble’ person, he has the potential for greatness, which is recognised by Duncan who makes him a Thane
2.He gives in to his ambition, and his goodness is overcome by evil desires, showing even good people can succumb to their desires
3.Macbeth becomes increasingly evil, as he commits more violence
How is the battle for the crown, a battle between good and evil?
Good and Evil
Macbeth is the eivil ‘tyrant’ who must be killed by Malcom - the rightful King - before he destroys Scotland
How does gender affect Lady Macbeth’s evil?
Good and Evil
LM links cruelty and aggression with masculinity. She wants the spirits to ‘unsex’ her and fill her with ‘direst cruelty’ - she thinks her femininity holds her back from taking violent action.
What does masculine evil focus on?
Good and Evil
Cruelty, aggression, violence and bloodshed
How does Lady Macbeth enact her evil?
Good and Evil
1.Although she wants to be more like a man, LM relies on manipulation rather than action
2.She sees Macbeth’s weakness, and uses emotional blackmail to persuade him to commit evil
Why are the Witches’ gender ambiguous, and how do they enact evil?
Good and Evil
1.Banquo says they ‘should be women’, but they have beards
2.Like Lady Macbeth, they rely on manipulation rather than force
How are Supernatural elements presented as evil?
The Supernatural
1.The witches are linked to the devil
2.Banquo calls them ‘devil’
3.macbeth calls them ‘fiends’, which associates them with evil deed
How does Shakespeare use battles to symbolise good and evil?
Good and Evil
- In the opening scene, there’s a battle between Scotland and Norway. The enemy army is led by a traitor, ‘merciless macdonald’, whose ‘villanies of nature’ show he is evil vs Scotland’s good.
- The play ends with a battle. Malcom’s men have ‘dear causes’ and fight to ‘dew the sovereign flower’ - to restore the rightful King. Macbeth is an ‘abhorred tyrant’ - evil.
How does Shakespeare use religious imagery to show the conflict between good and evil?
Good and Evil
1.Macbeth is described as ‘cursed’ and has a name ‘more hateful’ than the devil.
2.In contrast, young Siward is ‘God’s Soldier’ because he died fighting to defeat an evil ‘tyrant’
How much power do the witches have?
The Supernatural
- They have a ‘strange intelligence’ and can predict the future, which gives them power over humans.
- However, when they’re planning to harm the sea captain, they say his ship ‘cannot be lost’, suggesting their power is limited
How do the Witches drive the play?
The Supernatural
It’s unlikely Macbeth would have committed the crimes if he hadn’t heard the witches prophecies.
How are the Witches associated with chaos?
The Supernatural
1.They try to impose an unnatural order on what’s good and natural.
2.Macbeth says they ‘untie the winds’ and make ‘castles topple’.
3.The witches are motivated by ‘destruction’ rather than goodness, they represent the struggle between natural and unnatural order.
What’s the context to witches in the play?
At the time, many people thought witches were real, so the Weird sisters were believable and frightening to audiences.
How do supernatural elements add to the atmosphere?
The Supernatural
They make the play darker and more frightening. Shakespeare only hints at what’s real and what’s not, adding to the drama
What do visions symbolise?
The Supernatural
They symbolise guilt
What vision does Macbeth have in Act2, Scene 1, and what does it represent?
The Supernatural
1.Macbeth sees a vision of a dagger, just as he’s about to kill Duncan.
2.It’s not clear whether it is leading him to Duncan or warning him against murder
3.It represents the ‘bloody business’ he’s about to do
What vision does Macbeth see in Act 3, Scene 4, and what does it show?
The Supernatural
1.Macbeth sees Banquo’s ghost, which gives him a ‘strange infirmity’. Nobody else can see the ghost, which suggests that it’s a sign of Macbeth’s guilty conscience.
What vision does Lady Macbeth have in Act 5, Scene 1, and what affect does it have?
The Supernatural
1.LM is driven ,ad as she imagines her hands will ‘ne’er be clean’ of Duncan’s blood
2.Her guilt is so strong, she kills herself.
What effect do the visions have?
The Supernatural
- they fill characters with fear
- Macbeth is ‘blanched with fear’ by Banquo’s ghost, and his language is agitated and nervous: ‘Prithee, see there! Behold, look, lo!’
- Macbeth calls his own reaction a ‘strange infirmity’ - it links to other signs of madness later in the play.
How is Lady Macbeth deceptive?
Reality and Appearances
1.She encourages Macbeth to appear good so nobody suspects that he killed Duncan
2. “Look like th’innocent flower, but be the serpent under’t” - The serpent links LM to Satan, who tempted Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden
How is Macbeth deceptive, and how does his true self appear?
Reality and Appearances
- Macbeth knows he needs a “False face”, to hide is acts
- But when he sees Banquo’s ghost, his face is ‘the very painting’ of his fear.
How do the witches suggest appearances are not reality?
Reality and Appearances
1.They chant “Fair is foul, and foul is fair”
2.This is a chiasmus, and suggests things are not always what they seem on the surface - hinting at the whole idea of deception in the play
How do the Witches use langueage to convince Macbeth of a false reality?
Reality and Appearances
- The witches tell him, “none of a woman born” will harm him, which gives him the false confidence to fight to protect his reign.
- On the surface, it seems Macbeth is invincible, but the reality is, Macduff was born by C-section, not purely from a woman.
What effect do paradoxical statements have?
Reality and Appearances
1.They cause uncertainty - they show nobody can tell what is real
2.eg - Macbeth says, “Nothing is / But what is not” and the Witches agree to meet, “When the battle is lost and won”
How does Duncan trust appearance too much?
Reality and Appearances
- Duncan trust Macbeth, and dies for it, even after making the same mistake with the previous Thane of Cawdor
- When this happens Duncan says, “There’s no art / To find the mind’s construction in the face”. He thinks thay there’s no way of telling what someone is really like.
How does Macbeth understand reality and appearances?
Reality and Appearances
- He knows that they don’t always match up to how the person really is.
- Despite this, he trusts the witches’ prochecies, which leads to his death
- The apparitions he sees seem real to him, showing the character is struggling to tell reality from appearances
How does Malcom understand Reality and Appearances?
Reality and Appearances
- He is immediately sceptical that Duncan was murdered by a servant, and suspects a Thane
- “To show an unfelt sorrow is an office / Which the false man does easy”.
- His awareness of “false” men, shows his understanding of Reality and Appearances, and allows him to flee, saving his life
What is Fate?
Fate and Free will
The idea everything has already been decided.
What role does Fate and Free will play in Macbeth’s murder of Duncan?
Fate and Free will
- If fate is true, then it is not Macbeth’s fault he murdered Duncan
- If free will is true, then Macbeth’s own choices lead to his death
- Shakespeare doesn’t make it clear whether the Witches’ “strange intelligence” is real, and thus makes it unclear whether Macbeth was truly fated to kill Duncan.
How are the Witches linked to Free will and Fate?
Fate and Free will
- It is not clear if the Witches are messangers of Macbeth’s fate or..
- Whether their predictions encourage Macbeth’s poor decisions.
What is Macbeth’s fatal flaw?
Fate and Free will
Ambition, which leads him to listen to LM and the Witches
How does Macbeth and LM show they believe in Fate?
Fate and Free will
- After he hears the Witches’ prophecy, he is happy to late fate take its course. “Chance may crown me, ‘ without my stir”
- Lady Macbeth thinks that Macbeth is fated to be King, “Fate and metaphysical aid doth seem / To have thee crowned withal”, despite her belief in fate, unlike Macbeth, LM encourages him to act
- At the end, Macbeth says life is “ a poor player / That struts and frets his hour upon the stage”. He is saying that people are no more than actors, doing what fate has scripted them to do.
How does Macbeth show he believes in Free will?
Fate and Free will
- Macbeth makes a deliberate choice not to kill Duncan, after weighing up the pros and cons, “We will proceed no further”, showing he’s in control
- Macbeth then acts on the Witches’ prophecies, despite Banquo warning they’re “instruments of Ddarkness”.
- Some of the Prophecies are self fulfilling, Macbeth only acts because he hears his future.
Does Banquo believe in Fate or Free Will
Fate and Free will
He believes in Fate, as he allows the Witches’ prophecies to come true.
Why is the time Macbeth is written relevant?
Context
1.Written during the reign of King James
2.Shakespeare had to appeal to the new king, who was interested in witchcraft and the supernatural
3.The gunpoweder plot had just happened, and the idea of treason was still fresh in people’s minds.
What impact did Scottish influence have on Macbeth: The play?
Context
- James was interested in Scottish history, and Macbeth was loosely based off of Macbeth of Scotland
- Shakespeare’s portrayal of Macbeth was thought to have been influenced by James’ interest in Scottish lineage, and the Divine right of Kings
What was the supernatural context surrounding the play?
Context
1.It is a nod to the King’s fascination with the supernatural
2.The portrayal of the witches reflects contemporary beliefs about witchcraft, which were prevelant in Jacobean society
What was the context around Kingship and Ambition?
Context
- These were key issues in SHakespeare’s time.
- The play poses questions about what makes a good ruler, and the Divine Right of Kings, both of which were relevant during the uncertain times
