'Macbeth key quotes'

Question 1

‘Vaulting ambition which o’erleaps itself and falls on th’other (Macbeth Act1)

Answer 1

• Macbeeth personifies his ambition,verb ‘fall’,Metaphorical depiction
• Macbeth personifies his ambition, alike to a human force that can corrupt his formerly innocent mind. Making his ambition look like a person
• ‘Fall’ shows Macbeth’s awareness that his all-encompassing ambition is his hamartia destined to lead to his mental and physical decline.
• The metaphorical portrayal of Macbeth’s ‘vaulting ambition’ draws a parallel between him and a jockey who is to manage an untameable, almost animalistic force. This is self deceptive, implies he can control this force. He’s riding his ambition which is a horse and controlling it

Question 2

10 key words (THUD MITCH V)

Answer 2

Tragic hero (a hero that has a downfall)
Hamartia (fatal flaw)
Unchecked (unchecked ambition)
Duplicitousness (deceitful and equivocation)
Motif of sleep/blood (recurring symbol)
Irresistible allure (pull, allure of kingship)
Tyrannical (cruel/oppressive leader) Macbeth is tyrannical in the beginning
Carcass of insanity
Hubris (excessive pride, Macbeth’s hamartia is his hubris)
Violating Divine Right of Kings

Question 3

Key themes VAGGAS

Answer 3

V iolence
A mnition
Guilt
G ender
A ppearance vs reality
S upernatural

Question 4

3 Shakespeare intentions

Answer 4

1. Shakespeare utilises ambition as a central theme to underpin the play, revealing its morally corrosive and blinding influence on individuals driven by self-fulfilling and egocentric aspirations.
2. As King James I was a patron to his plays, Shakespeare uses the play as a veiled (indirect) allegory (intended to teach). He intertwines the act of regicide with tormenting guilt, a potent reminder of the potential consequences for those who disrupt the Divinely ordained order.
3. Shakespeare cautions the audience about the perilous (dangerous) consequences of succumbing to the irresistible allure of supernatural powers, emphasising that such engagement with this dark force inevitably results in a quick catastrophic demise.

Question 5

’ I heard a voice cry sleep no more! Macbeth does murder sleep’ (Act 2)

Answer 5

• The recurring motif of sleep is linked to innocence. Lack of sleep signifies the departure from innocence as he committed regicide
• The exclamative sentence (!) emphasises the irreversible nature of Macbeth’s innocence. His disruption of the natural order through his wickedness has forever condemned his mind to the relentless torment of guilt
• He’s going against the great chain of being and Divine right of kings so he will be eternally punished with no sleep

Question 6

‘Dash’d the brains out’ (LM Act 1)

Answer 6

• Plosive on ‘dash’d creates a brutal sound, mirroring her brutal rejection of motherly instincts. Her tendency for violence takes precedence over motherhood. A typical women in a patriarchal era were expected to be motherly and a wife but she rejects this to become tyrannical.
• Juxtaposition between ‘dash’d’ and ‘brains’ reflects her character - despite her fragile exterior, she wants to instigate violence and chaos
• ironic, as the very organ (brain) she seekd to disrupt in her unborn child becomes the locus (place where sommething happens) of her own downfall. She hallucinates in her brain

Question 7

[Enters with a taper] (Act 5 LM)

Answer 7

• As a taper provides light, it shows she is seeking light, hope, and solace (comfort) from her eternal mental darkness. she’s seeking redemption
• in Christian symbolism light is hope and divine guidance. This is her plea for God’s redemption from the sins that torment her because of her irreversible conscious of guilt
• This also shows her character development as her need for light is the antithesis to act 1 when she says ‘come thick night’ - she uses imperatives to yearn for darkness and the devil
• The motif of darkness and light reinforces how her dark wants for violence causes her desperation to see the light and seek redemption

Question 8

‘Instruments of darkness’ (Banquo says it abt the witches Act 1)

Answer 8

• Links to Supernatural, appearance vs reality, violence, ambition,
• The auditory (image about sound) imagery implies a malevolent (evil) musicality (musical talent), their words posses an almost hypnotic trance for Macbeth - their speech is a manipulative melodic composition.
• Plosive on ‘darkness’ creates a harsh sound foreshadowing the ominous and grim destiny the witches are ready to inflict upon Macbeth. The prophecies are self-fulfilling meaning Macbeth does his actions on his own by them being duplicitous.
• Banquo’s discernment (able to judge it well) of this ‘darkness’ indicates his immunity to the hypnotic and malevolent musicality that captivates Macbeth. He resists the allure of the supernatural

Question 8

'’Fair is foul and foul is fair’ (Act 1 The witches)

Answer 8

• They speak in paradox (conflicting phrases) ‘foul’ and ‘fair’ give sense of contradiction and disorientation that is establishes from the exposition of the play
• This foreshadows the impending chaos in the play - witches deceitful nature will leave Macbeth bewildered and disoriented
  -They also speak in trochaic tetrameter, it gives their speech an eerie songlike quality different from the other characters who speak in iambic pentameter. This exemplifies their duplicitousness as even their speech transcends the earthy realm
• Anything they say is like this

Question 9

’ He hath wisdom that doth guide his valour to act in safety’ (Macbeth says this abt Banquo Act 3)

Answer 9

• Macbeth epitomises (example of) the 7 deadly sin of envy- he envies Banquo’s capacity for courage in abstaining from succumbing to these ‘deep desires’
• ‘Guide’ connotes leadership, mirrors Macbeth’s initial attempt to and lead his ambition but he succumbs to its potent influence. Banquo emerges as a figure capable of self guidance, steering clear of the temptations of sin
• The portrayal of Banquo stands as a character foil to Macbeth’s bloodthirsty depiction

Question 10

‘Turn hell-hound turn’ (Macduff Act 5)

Answer 10

• The repetition of ‘turn’ emphasises Macbeth’s rule of Scotland as tyrannical. He’s turned the order of Scotland on his head through the chaos he’s incited which was foreshadowed by the witches in Act 1. Alternatively once Macbeth ‘turns’ to face Macduff, Macduff knows he will be able to reinstate order within Scotland. Macbeth is very patriotic
• The epithet (the nickname, ‘hell-hound’) creates a infernal image emphasising Macduff’s condemnation of Macbeth’s diabolical ambitions and ensuing turmoil. He illustrates Macbeth as the devil as the consequence of the chaos he’s instilled
• Macduff is the character foil to Macbeth - Macbeth prioritises his own selfish ambitions whereas Macduff places his country and the people that reside in it at the forefront of his concerns

Question 11

’ what i am truly,// is thine and my poor countries to command’ (Malcolm Act 4)

Answer 11

He’s saying he’s the true king and a servant to his countries commands
- The caesura would make the actor pause, allowing the audience to fully absorb Malcolm’s honest dedication. He is, the embodiment of a true king
- Possessive pronoun ‘my’ before ‘poor countries’ reveals not just ownership but a paternal (fatherly) tenderness. The word ‘poor’ evokes sympathy for Scotland’s suffering under Macbeth’s dismantling and tyrannical rule
- ‘ my poor country’ shows Malcolm portrays himself not as a distant ruler, but as a compassionate protector which is a foil the the cruel Macbeth