Macbeth quotes and themes Flashcards
1
Q
“Brave Macbeth - Well he deserves that name”
A
- Said by Ross in Act 1, Scene 2 when talking about Macbeth
- Initial depiction of Macbeth in very high regard
- King already trusts and respects Macbeth
- Deserves the name - has fought for the king as a worthy and valiant soldier, he has put in the work
- Shows how the royals (king) were a terrible judge of character - old Thane of Cawdor and Macbeth betray him
- A man’s character was judged upon his bravery and his performance on the battlefield - Macbeth is perfect
- Bravery allows him to do things that other characters wouldn’t (e.g: kill the king)
2
Q
“Stars hide your fires - let not light see my dark and deep desires”
A
- Said by Macbeth in Act 1 Scene 4, just after he has been visited by the Witches
- Shows that Macbeth was NOT influenced by LM
- Macbeth is already having “dark desires” before even meeting LM
- Power of the supernatural - able to give “brave Macbeth” “dark and deep desires” within 1 scene
- Change of Macbeth (catalyst is the Witches)
- Rhyming cuplets - mimics the witches and the supernatural
3
Q
“Unsex me here, and fill me, from the crown to the toe, top-full of direst cruelty”
A
- Said by LM in Act 1 Scene 5
- Take away the qualities that make me feminine and make me more masculine (not make me a man)
- “Fill me” - wants to be fully emerged
- “Direst cruelty” - worst possible evil
- Contextually, women were beautifull, elegant and weak. She wants to reduce these qualities to become powerful
- For a woman to become powerful, she must sacrifice all of her qualities
4
Q
“When thou durst to do it, then you were a man”
A
- Said by LM to Macbeth in Act 1 Scene 7
- Danger of patriarchy
- For a man to be respected, he must be brave, corrageous and strong especially in the eyes of his wife
- Arguably, Macbeth kills Duncan to prove his masculinity and his worth to his wife (the tipping point)
- Desire to be king vs respect of wife
5
Q
“Will all of great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood clean from my hand”
A
- Said by Macbeth to LM in Act 2 Scene 2, right after he has killed Duncan
- Blood on his hand represents the guilt that he is carrying everywhere
- First time he kills unethically - feels a lot of guilt. Second time he kills unethically (Banquo), it starts to become more normallised. Third time he kills (Lady Macduff), he feels no guilt
- Macbeth become emotionless after this scene
- Can be linked to Act 5 Scene 1, when LM is trying to wash her hands (“out damned spot”) - irony as LM tells Mcabeth to get over it then she does the same thing
6
Q
“The instruments of darkness tell us truths (…) to betray’s in deepest consequence”
A
- Said by Banquo in Act 1 Scene 3
- Witches are going to play Macbeth and Banquo - “instruments”
- Juxtaposition - darkness yet they tell the truth
- Suggests that there is another figure (satan) that is controlling the witches
- “Deepest consequence” of trusting the witches
- Shakespeare is presenting Banquo in a morally correct light as he is King James’s ancestor
- Banquo is the antithesis of Macbeth, shows how we should react to evil
7
Q
Aristotle’s anagnorisis
A
- Moment of critical realisation for a character
- Macbeth’s anagnorisis is Act 5 Scene 5 when he learns of the death of LM
- Macbeth reflects of the futility of life
- Experiences existential nihilism - life is meaningless
8
Q
Lady Macbeth equality
A
- Can be seen as a cautionary tale to show the Jacobean audience of the dangers of giving women equality
- Macbeth is the closest that Jacobean’s have gotten to an equal relationship
- Macbeth can be seen to warn people of the lengths women go to gain equality and / or the effects equality can have on women
9
Q
“We will proceed no further in this business”
A
- Said by Macbeth to LM when first dicussing the regicide
- Shows that Macbeth didn’t want to kill Duncan and LM influenced him - power inbalance
- Euphamistic language - “business”
10
Q
“She should have died hereafter”
A
- Said by Macbeth when informed about the suicide of LM
- Annoyed that she died at this stage
- Annoyed at LM because he is busy with a war and she is distracting him
- Macbeth has grown indifferent to LM - Wiesel (is indifference worse than hatred?) - power of the supernatural, he has become corrupted
11
Q
Lady Macbeth subversion
A
- Macbeth states “we shall proceed no fruther in this business” which is quickly rebuffed when LM states “when thou durst do it, then you were a man”
- LM is going against the Jacobean hierarchy as she goes against her husband and tells him what to do
- Disrupting the chain of order - going against nature - going against God - LM is the fourth witch
12
Q
“If chance may have me king, why, chance may crown me, without my stir”
A
- Said by Macbeth after the first prophecies
- Macbeth is reassuring himself that he doesn’t have to do anything and that he will be king if destined
- Can be used to question whether Macbeth killed Duncan to become king or to prove himself to his wife
- Shakespeare is emphasising that any decision made by Macbeth is his own and NOT the witches
- Repetition of the noun “chance” instead of fate shows how Macbeth is convincing himself that he has to kill the king. Chance has a level of uncertainty and fate is something that will happen. Macbeth is creating his own uncertainty
13
Q
“What greatness is promised thee”
A
- Said by Macbeth in his letters to LM informing about the prophecies
- Instead of talking about the power that he will get, he talks about the power that LM will get
- Values his wifes ambitions over his own?
- LM ambition is greater than Macbeth
14
Q
“Too full of the milk of human kindness”
A
- Said by LM about Macbeth
- Contrasts beginning when Macbeth “unseam’d him from the nave to the chaps” - Macbeth revels in killing and has a violent nature
- LMs judgement of Macbeth is wrong
- LMs judgement of herself will be wrong: “Put this nights great business in my dispatch” - meant to kill Duncan but backs out
- Doesn’t know what she can and can’t do
- Bought suicide on herself rather than divine punishment?
15
Q
“Is this a dagger I see before me”
A
- A solilouy is usually when a character speaks their mind and true feelings
- Macbeth doesn’t mention LM once but rather focuses on the dagger he sees
- Focused on murder (dagger) and blood rather than his wife
- Did he kill Duncan for LM or for his thirst for blood?
