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1[GCSE English]1 > Macbeth - Introduction to "Macbeth" and Shakespeare > Flashcards

Macbeth - Introduction to "Macbeth" and Shakespeare Flashcards

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1
Q

What is “Macbeth” about?

A

+The corrupting power of ambition

+Macbeth is about an ambitious nobleman who murders the Scottish King after some Witches make a prediction that he will rule Scotland

+Macbeth becomes a cruel king who commits many crimes, before he is eventually killed

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2
Q

How successful is Macbeth?

A

+Macbeth is one of Shakespeares most-performed plays

+Its themes of ambition and betrayal are still relavent today, and the basic plot has inspired many adaptations

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3
Q

What are the major themes in Macbeth?

A

+Ambition and betrayal

+Shakespeare shows that even honourable men can be corrupted by ambition - Macbeth betrays his king, his country and his own conscience to satisfy his lust for power.

+Macbeth and Lady Macbeth show that power that’s taken unfairly doesn’t bring happiness, but leads to guilt, madness and death.

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4
Q

Who is William Shakespeare?

A
  • The most famous writer in the English language
  • William Shakespeare wrote at least thirty-seven plays and a lot of poems.
  • He wrote some of the most famous plays in the English language, including comedies [such as Twelfth Night], tragedies [such as Romeo and Juliet and Hamlet] and histories [such as Richard lll]
  • Macbeth is one of his best-known tragedies
  • It was written in the 1600s, but the story is very loosely based on history - an man called Macbeth was King of Scotland in the 11th century.
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5
Q

Describe the timeline of William Shakespeare.

A
  • 1564 - Born in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire
  • 1582 - Married Anne Hathaway
  • 1583-85 - Had three children: Susanna, Hamnet and Judith
  • 1585-92 - Began an acting career in London
  • 1589-1613 - Wrote most of his plays
  • 1611 - First known performance of “Macbeth”
  • 1616 - Died, aged 52
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6
Q

What are the important places in the play?

A
  • Macbeth’s Castle in Inverness
  • Forres Palace
  • Battlefield and Camp
  • Dusinane Castle
  • Birnam Wood
  • Macduff’s Castle in Fife
  • Witches’ Cave
  • Heath
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7
Q

Why was the theatre an important form of entertainment?

A

+There was no TV, radio or internet in Shakespeare’s time, so going to the theatre was really popular.

+The theatre wasn’t just for rich people - Shakespeare’s audiences included servants and labourers - audiences could get quite rowdy during performences.

+The poorer people in the audience stood in front of the stage - if it rained they got wet; the richer people sat in the covered galleries above.

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8
Q

Where did Shakespeare’s theatre company perform?

A

+Shakespeare’s theatre company, the King’s men [previously called the Lord Chamberlain’s Men], performed in the Globe Theatre in London.

+This was rebuilt in 1997

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9
Q

In Shakespeare’s age, who played female roles?

A

+It was illegal for women to act, so the women’s parts were played by young boys [even Lady Macbeth]

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10
Q

Who is Macbeth?

A

+Macbeth is an ambitious Scottish nobleman - He murders the King of Scotland and takes his place.

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11
Q

Who is Lady Macbeth?

A

+Lady Macbeth is Macbeth’s wife - She persuades Macbeth to kill the King; she eventually goes mad and kills herself.

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12
Q

Who is Duncan?

A

+Duncan is the King of Scotland at the start of the play - Macbeth murders him.

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13
Q

Who is Malcolm?

A

+Malcolm is Duncan’s son - he flees after Duncan’s, and becomes King at the end of the play.

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14
Q

Who is Macduff?

A

+Macduff is a noble soldier - He doesn’t trust Macbeth an eventually kills him.

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15
Q

Who is Lady Macduff?

A

+Lady Macduff is Macduff’s wife - Macbeth has her and her children murdered.

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16
Q

Who is Banquo?

A

+Banquo is a brave soldier and nobleman - He’s friends with Macbeth but Macbeth has him killed.

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17
Q

Who are the Three Witches?

A

+The Three Witches are evil supernatural beings who can predict the future - Their leader is called Hecate.

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18
Q

What is Act 1 of Macbeth about?

A

The Witches make two prophecies.

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19
Q

Describe the events of Act 1 in Macbeth.

A
  1. The three Witches plan to meet Macbeth.
  2. Macbeth and Banquo meet the Witches, who tell Macbeth he’ll be Thane of Cawdor, then King - They tell Banquo his descendants will be kings.
  3. Duncan makes Macbeth Thane of Cawdor - Macbeth starts to wonder if the Witches’ prophecy about him being King will come true.
  4. Macbeth tells Lady Macbeth about the prophecy - she plans to persuade him to murder Duncan.
  5. Duncan comes to stay with the Macbeths - Macbeth is reluctant to kill him, but Lady Macbeth convinces him that they can frame Duncan’s servants for the murder; Macbeth agrees to the plan.
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20
Q

What is Act 2/3 of Macbeth about?

A

+Duncan and Banquo bite the dust

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21
Q

Describe the events of Acts two and three.

A
  1. Macbeth murders Duncan - Lady-Macbeth plants blood-stained daggers on Duncan’s servants.
  2. Macduff arrives and discovers the King’s body - the King’s sons [Malcolm and Donnalbain] leave Scotland because they fear for their lives - making them look guilty of Duncan’s murder.
  3. Rosse and an old man discuss the strange and unnatural things that has been happening since Duncan’s murder. - Macbeth is about to be crowned, but not all noblemen support him.
  4. Macbeth is now King, but worried by the Witches’ prophecy about Banquo’s descendants being kings - he orders some murderers to kill Banquo an his son, Fleance.
  5. The murderers kill Banquo, but Fleance escapes - Macbeth hosts a feast and sees Banquo’s ghost; he decides to visit the Witches again.
  6. Lennox and a lord suspect Macbeth of murdering Duncan and Banquo - they say that Macduff is getting an army together to attack Macbeth and put Malcolm on the throne.
22
Q

What is Act 4 of Macbeth about?

A

The three apparitions

23
Q

Describe the events of Act four in Macbeth.

A
  1. Macbeth visits the Witches again and they summon three apparitions.
  2. Each apparition makes a prophecy: The first warns Macbeth about Macduff, the second tells him that no one born from a woman can harm him and the third tells him that he can’t beaten until Birnam Wood moves to Dunsinane Hill.
  3. When Macbeth demands to know if Banquo’s children will ever rule Scotland, the Witches show him Banquo’s ghost and a line of kings who seem to be Banquo’s descendants.
  4. Macduff has fled to England - Macbeth sends his murderers to kill Macduff’s wife and Children.
  5. +In England, Macduff proves his loyalty to Malcolm, and Malcolm reveals that the English King has given him ten thousand soldiers to fight Macbeth - Macduff learns that Macbeth has killed his family, and vows to avenge their deaths.
24
Q

What is Act 5 of Macbeth about?

A

Macbeth is overthrown

25
Q

Describe the events of Act 5 in Macbeth.

A
  1. Lady Macbeth has gone mad - she sleepwalks and keeps washing invisible blood from her hands
  2. The Scottish lords plan to meet the English army at Birnam Wood and attack Macbeth.
  3. Macbeth hears about the approaching English army - he isn’t scared because of the Witches predictions.
  4. Malcolm tells the soldiers to cut down branches from Birnam Wood and hide behind them as they march towards Macbeth’s castle.
  5. Macbeth prepares for battle and finds out that Lady Macbeth has killed herself.
  6. Macbeth and Macduff meet on the battlefield -Macbeth is sure he’ll win, until he finds out that Macduff was born by Caesarean, so he isn’t born from a woman; they fight and Macbeth is killed.
  7. Malcolm is made King of Scotland.
26
Q

What is Macbeth meant to be?

A

Read not watched

27
Q

What is a play?

A

+Macbeth is a play - a play tells a story by showing it to you.

28
Q

What should you do when reading the play?

A

+When you read the play, it’s often pretty hard to follow whats going on - try to imagine what’s happening and how people would speak and act - it should all start to make more sense.

29
Q

What should you try to do when studying Macbeth?

A

+Try to see the play on stage - if not, watch a film version to get an idea of the story.

30
Q

What should you remember to do when studying Macbeth?

A

+Remember to read the play - films often cut scenes and change the language, so it’s dangerous to rely on them too much.

31
Q

How is Macbeth a typical tragedy?

A

+It’s about serious topics like war and death.

+It’s sad - lots of characters die.

+The play’s main character [Macbeth] dies as a result of his flaws.

32
Q

What are the unusual things about Macbeth?

A

+There are supernatural elements - the Three Witches and their prophecies.

+Lady Macbeth isn’t typical of Shakespeare’s female characters - she’s evil and strong-willed.

+There are a few comic moments - the Porter is a comic character.

33
Q

What should you pay attention to when reading Macbeth?

A

+The stage directions

34
Q

What are stage directions?

A

+They’re little phrases in italics that tell the actors what to do, when to come in and when to leave the stage.

35
Q

What are the common stage directions in Shakespeare?

A
  • Enter
  • Exit
  • Exeunt
  • Aside
36
Q

What does the stage direction [Enter] mean?

A

When someone comes onto the stage

37
Q

What does the stage direction [Exit] mean?

A

When one person leaves the stage

38
Q

What does the stage direction [Exeunt] mean?

A

When more than one person leaves

39
Q

What does the stage direction [Aside] mean?

A

The character is talking to themselves, not to other characters on the stage

40
Q

How is the play Macbeth written?

A

+The play is written in poetry and prose

+Some of the play is written in poetry - but the poetry doesn’t always rhyme.

41
Q

What are the poetry parts in Macbeth?

A

+The poetry is the bits where all the lines are roughly the same length, and each line starts with a capital letter,

+Eg.

“Still it cried, ‘Sleep no more’ to all the house,

‘Glamis hath murdered sleep’, and therefore Cawdor

Shall sleep no more - Macbeth shall sleep no more”

[Act 2, Scene 2]

42
Q

Which characters speak in rhyming verse?

A

+The Witches, Hecate and the apparitions [the supernatural characters] speak in rhyming verse.

43
Q

What are some parts of the play Macbeth in?

A

+Some parts of the play are in prose - prose is any normal sentences without any set rhythm.

44
Q

Which characters speak in prose?

A

+Common characters, like the Porter, usually speak in prose.

+Lady Macbeth speaks in prose when she goes mad.

45
Q

What should you not do when reading Macbeth?

A

+Don’t stop reading at the end of each line

+Even though each line starts with a capital letter, it doesn’t mean it’s a separate sentence.

+Just ignore the capitals and follow the punctuation.

+Eg. there’s no full stop here so carry on to the next line:

“My hands are of your colour, but I shame

To wear a heart so white”

[Act 2, Scene 2]

46
Q

What should you also look out for when reading Macbeth?

A

+Look out for words in a funny order

+Another reason Shakespeare can be tricky to understand is the long complicated sentences.

+It’s hard because the words are in a funny order - if you change the order it makes it easier to understand.

+Eg.

  • “So foul and fair a day I have not seen” [Act 1, Scene 3]
    • –> I have not seen so foul and fair a day
  • “O, full of scorpions is my mind, dear wife!”
    • –> O, my mind is full of scorpions, dear wife!
47
Q

What does Shakespeare often do?

A

+Shakespeare often runs two words together and misses letters out to make them fit into a line.

+There’s often an apostrophe instead of the missing letter - so “Is’t” means “is it”

Eg. “What is’t you do”

+If you come across random apostrophes when you’re reading, you’ll have to work out what the missing letters are.

48
Q

What different words did they have in Shakespeare’s time for?

A

+They had different words for “you” in those days.

+People used to say ‘thou’ to be familiar or friendly, and ‘you’ to be more formal.

  • Thou = You
  • Thee = You
  • Thy = Your
  • Thine = Your
49
Q

What verbs look a bit different from modern English?

A
  • thou art = you are
  • thou hast = you have
  • thou wilt = you will
  • thou canst = you can
50
Q

What is the trick to identify and understand old-English verbs?

A

+Take the ‘t’ off the end of the verb:

  • hast -t = has
  • wilt -t = wil(l)
51
Q

What are some more old-English verbs to watch out for?

A
  • hie = go quickly
  • wherefore = why
  • hither = to here
  • thence = from there
  • whence = from where
  • ere = before
  • hence = from here
  • whither = where

1[GCSE English]1 (13 decks)

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