Macbeth (Kingship) Flashcards
What is the quotation from Macbeths soliloquy in Act 1, Scene 7 depicting how Duncan is a just and benevolent King?
‘Besides this Duncan hath borne his faculties so meek…his virtues will plead like angles’
Analyse the quotation from Macbeths soliloquy in act 1, scene 7, ‘Besides this Duncan hath borne his faculties so meek…his virtues will pled like angles’
-meek= kindness and becoming of a king (hints of his overly trusting nature)
-religious symbolism= presenting Duncan as a god. Simile links to the great chain of being showing a deep connection between the king and the heavens
What quotation does Macbeth say about Duncan after “discovering” his body?
‘His silver skin laced with golden blood’
Analyse the quotation ‘His silver skin laced with golden blood’
Silver and gold link to wealth, kingship and purity. Metaphors reveals Duncan is blessed and enriched by gos and dramatic irony as we know he is dead by Macbeths hand
What quotation shows Duncan can be characterised as a generous, benevolent and just king who rewards loyalty and service?
‘I have began to plant thee, I will labour to make thee full of growing’ Duncan
Analyse the quotation form Duncan, ‘I have began to plant thee, I will labour to make thee full of growing’
Nature imagery symbolic of health and goodness
Shakespeare uses the extended metaphor of Duncan as a gardener tending his plants to reach maturity mirroring Duncan to be true King who rewards his subjects by helping them reach their full potential
How does Shakespeare present Kingship in Macbeth?
-explores kingship through the character of Duncan, a divinely appointed ruler, who is characterised as a benevolent, generous and just king
-in contrast Macbeth gains the throne through treachery
-reveals the impact of an illegitimate kingship on the country, its subjects and nature through Macbeths tyrannical rule
What is the context for why Shakespeare presents kingship this way?
-due to King James I being patron to Shakespeare and his acting company, he uses Macbeth as a presentation and warning on how the dire consequences subverting from the Dive Right of Kings has on god, king and country
-this appeased King James as it would secure and validate his right to the throne during a time of political turmoil
What quotation shows the impact of regicide and how it disrupts the natural world said by the old man in Act 2 Scene 4 to Ross
‘A falcon, towering in her pride, was by a mousing owl, hawk’s at and killed’
Analyse the quotation ‘A falcon, towering in her pride, was by a mousing owl, hawk’s at and killed’ from the old man to Ross in Act 2, Scene 4
The falcon, a powerful bird of prey is unnaturally killed by a weaker ‘mousing owl’ hinting at the destruction of the natural order and the diminishing of the great chain of being.
(Also mirrors Duncan, a great and powerful king, being murdered by his weaker and unworthy subject, Macbeth)
Used to highlight the illegitimacy of Macbeths rule as nature itself is rejecting him
What quotation that uses personification said by Malcom in Act 4 demonstrates the impact of Macbeths tyrannical rule on Scotland?
‘It weeps, it bleeds and each new day a new gash is added to her wounds’
What are Duncan’s good qualities?
-presented as kind, benevolent and just ruler
-willingness to reward loyalty and service with kindness (‘valiant cousin’ and ‘worthy gentleman’)
-administers justice (execution of the thane of the traitorous thane of Cawdor
-responsibly names an heir (choosing Malcom to succeed him thereby ensuring a clear and stable kingship
What does Duncan say in Act 1, Scene 2 in response to finding out the thane of Cawdor is a traitor?
‘No more that thane of Cawdor shall deceive our bosom interests. Go pronounce his death’
