Macbeth Key Themes Flashcards
How is the theme of guilt presented
Both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth struggle with guilt in the play.
Macbeth guilt: Act 3 scene 4-‘Never shake they gory locks at me’-Ghost of Banquo manifestation of guilt.
Attempts to assert control by the imperative ‘never shake’ although his guilt is evident through ‘gory‘.
Act 2 scene 2-‘Will all Neptune’s oceans wash this blood clean from my hand’- metaphor to show the extent of Macbeths guilt for killing Duncan (holy charcter [great chain of being])
Act 3 scene 2- ‘ O full of scorpions in my mind’- animal imagery shows his thoughts are conflicting with his conscience. The metaphor show sthe extent of guilt he will feel when killing his dear friend Banquo and his son (Fleance) reinforced by the exclamation mark (mental strain)
Lady Macbeth: Act 5 scene 1 ‘Out dammed spot, out I say!’ The adjective ‘dammed’ shows she feels like she is condemmed (suffering). The noun ‘out’ shows her guilty conscience and how she is transforming into insanity by commanding her guilt
Act 5 scene 1-‘all the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand’. Similar to Macbeth metaphor for how her guilt can no longer be hidden (guilty conscience). Her suffering of her guilt is shown by the repeated ‘O’ after
How is masculinity presented and how does LM switch traditional gender expectations
Macbeth: “brave Macbeth” act 1 scene 2 ‘Noble Macbeth act 1 scene 3- Macbeth characterised as a warrior.
Act 1 scen 2 ‘Yes as sparrows, eagles or the hare, the lion’- referencing M to be both the ‘lion’ and ‘eagle’ which are seen to be dominating animals.
Act 3 scene 4-‘like the rugged russian bear … arm’d rhinoceros, or th’Hycrsn tiger’- zoomorphism of powerful animals to highlight is mascuilinity
Act 3 scene 2-‘Be innocent of the knowledge dearest chuck’ role reversal both dearest and chuck can be infered to be dehumanising towards LM. M response to ‘whats to be done’ shows that she is reliant on him.
Lady Macbeth: ‘you live a coward … like the poor cat i’ the adage’ act 1 scene 7- Scornful to Macbeth disregarding expectations of women (submissive). She uses zoomorphism to demonstrate how she views him as inferior. The adjective ‘poor’ is also dehumanising. The Jacobean society would be shocked by this.
Act 2 scene 2- ‘Think so brain sickly of things’the adjective sickly gives a sense of corruption which shows the extent to which she views M as a lower character attacking his self of identity (dominance)
Act 3 scene 4- ‘Woman’s story at a winters fire’ metaphor for M being a story told by a women could be symbolism for M being viewed as a women by LM also the weak consonant sound of ‘woman’s winter’ mimics the pathetic nature of M which highlights the extent to which LM acknowledges M to be inferior
How is good vs evil presented
Act 1 scene 1’ In thunder, lightning and in rain’ pathetic fallacy used which highlight the danger of the witches. Additionally, the witches are seen to foreshadow the play ‘shown by thunder’ which symbolises the prophecies made the ‘Lightning’ symbolises the rare act of killing Ducnan caused by ‘thunder’ (prophecies) and the fall of the ‘rain’ is the affect of killing the king/prophecies (downfall of Scotland and characters). Foreshadows how evil will affect all.
Macbeth was firstly viewed to be good since he was fighting for the king (Duncan) who is closest to God (holy). However, when the witches begin to tell M about the prophecy that he will be king it influences his hamartia - act 1 scene 3 ‘why chance may crown me without my stir’. The witches have dominance over M
False propecies from the witches. Act 4 scene 1 ‘none of woman born shall harm Macbeth’ however Macduff born from a C-section. Witches have power over M knows the future
How is the supernatural presented
Banquo: The witches are seen to be ‘instruments of darkness’ act 1 scene 3 shown by how they try to influence Macbeth to become king leading to his hamartia- wicthes were used in the play for King James who was interested by the supernatural (wrote Daemonologie)
Ross: The great chain of being is disrupted through the unatural act of regicide (Duncan) which affected Scotland. Act 2 scene 4- ‘they eat each other’ (horses) and ‘tis day And yet dark’ no aspect of time since Macbeth has murdered sleep ‘Macbeth does murder sleep’
LM : displays supernatural aspects firsly shown by how she commands the supernatural. Act 1 scene 5-‘come, you spirits’ and ‘come thick night’ then says ‘unsex me’ which highlights how she doesn’t want to be feminime. This is shocking to the audience as LM is begining to display qualities of a witch.
‘Is this a dagger which I see before me. Come let me clutch thee’ act 2- Macbeth imagining a dagger (guilt getting to him that he imagining things)
How is ambition presented
Macbeth: ‘I have no spur … but only vaulting ambition which overlaps itself’-act 1 scene 7 LM presented to be a spur ( enters scene after the quote) which sparks M ambition to kill Duncan
‘Why chance may crown me without my stir’ act 1 scene 3- M wants to become king accepets the prophecies
“Is this a dagger which I see before me’ act 2 scene 1- M can’t acknowledge existence of dagger but by having a vision of a dagger it is of his ambition to become king
‘I am blood stepped in so far … returning were as tedious as go o’er’ act 3- acceptance of his ambition
Lady Macbeth: act 1 scene 5- ‘too full of the milk of human kindness to catch the nearest way’- LM knows of M moral compass and conscience.
‘Art not without the ambition, but without The illness’- LM truly believes that pursuing one’s ambition generally resukts in doing evil. She is presented to have more of a ambition due to her lack of conscience
Act 1 scene 5-‘ Come you sprits’,’come thick night’ calling upon the supernatural to aid her in the unatural act of regicide. ‘That my keen knife see not the wound it makes’ shows a distancing effect wants to do the act however doesn’t want to admit to it shown by the personification of the knife.
How is kingship presented
Duncan: He is shown to be the perfect king shown by his emphasised graitude to others act 1 scene 4 ‘ sin of my ingratitude’. Additionally , he also has an heir (Malcolm) ensuring stability
Emphasised to be a greater figure since he displays both gender roles through ‘labour’, ‘plant, ‘growing’, ‘hold’. Imagey of nurturing.
Emphasised to be a holy figure his death will cause suffering act 1 scene 7- ‘deep damnation of his taking off’ . Act 2 scene 3- ‘Lord’s anointed temple’ metaphor for Duncan body being a temple (holy). His death caused natural order to fall.
Macbeth: start of the play displays qualities of a king “brave Macbeth’ , ‘Bellona’s bridegroom’,’valour’s minion’ act 1 scene 2.
Although his noble traits begin to disappear. He is unrighteous since he commited regicide and affects country negatively. This shows shakespeare showing the impact of a king on a country.
Act 5 scene 2- ‘Those he commands, move only in command nothing in love’- his soldiers have no trust in him (love). Additonally, has no heir ensuring that he will bring no stability (prophecised by witches)
Macduff: act 5 scene 9- ‘we’ repeated in the last speech shows formsl language of kinship (communal). ‘Planted newly with the time’ uses nurturing language like Duncan (honourable).
‘Calls upon us by the grace of Grace’ sanctioned by divine right of kings like Duncan
How is betrayal presented
Macbeth: Duncan call M ‘valiant cousin, worthy gentleman’ similar to the old Thane of Cawdor which betrayed him. The cycle repeats itself ( act 1 scene 2)
‘There’s no art to find the mind’s construction in the face’ Duncan implies it is impossible to find deception. Shakespeare suggests the evil of others makes it impossible for a king to be good.
How is a tragic protagonist presented
Macbeth: All protagonists have a tragic flaw. Macbeths insatiable ambition to become king is his tragic flaw and he grows mad with guilt. Macbeths maddness is shown by how how he sees ‘a dagger of the mind, a false creation’ -act 2 scene 1
Macbeths ambition leads to his murder of Duncan since his ‘vaulting ambition … o’verlaps itself’. His ambition leads to his death
Lady Macbeth: Lady macbeths ambition also leads to her tragic flaw (guilt and death). Lady M believes you can achieve greatness by ignoring the moral compass. ‘Art not without ambition , but without the illness’. Her downfall is shown by her sleepwalking and her guilt ‘Out,damned spot!Out, I say!’- act 5 scene 1
How is the theme of children presented
Duncan: Duncan has an heir Malcolm and Donaldbain which shows stability in his reign. Duncan presented as trustworthy.
Macbeth: Does not have an heir prophecised by the witches shows how his reign will be unstable- not trustworthy for the future of Scotland
Macbeth attempts to kill Fleance in act 3 scene 3 with hired murderers- his escape is the turning point in Macbeths tragedy - ‘fly, good Fleance , fly,fly,fly.
Act 4 scene 2 Macbeth kills Macduffs family ‘his wife , his babes’ - Macbeth transitioned into tyranny by killing the most vulnerable (lost his consciousness)
How tyranny presented
Act 4 scene 2 Macbeth kills Macduffs family ‘his wife , his babes’ - Macbeth transitioned into tyranny by killing the most vulnerable (lost his consciousness)
Act4- Malcoms opinion on M ‘this tyrant whose sole name blisters our tongues … not in the legions of horrid hell can top Macbeth’ -verb ‘blisters’ painful highlights the extreme suffering caused by M. ‘Hell’ can’t even top M suffering caused shows Jacobean society how extreme regicide is.
How is appearance vs reality presented
Act 1scene 1- ‘Fair is foul and foul is fair’ said by witches. This shows how appearances can be decieving and what may seem good can be morally corrupt (Macbeth)
Act 1 scene 6-‘look like the innocent flower but be the serpent under it’- biblical illusion to highlight the evilness of the act (sin). This is also a reference to James 1 surviving thr gunpowder plot. Juxtaposition of an ‘innocent flower’ contrasted by a ‘serpent’
‘Out, out, brief candle! Life’s but a walking shadow, … struts and frets his hour … heard no more’- act 5 scene 5 metaphor of life being a ‘walking shadow’ and a ‘poor player’ emphasises the fleeting nature of life. Macbeth wanted to become the key figure (king) however is not respected/loved (LM dies)
