Macbeth structure Flashcards
Most of Shakespeare’s writing style…
iambic pentameter
Witches speak in…
incomplete trochaic tetrameter
- seems abnormal + outcasts to readers
Thunder, lightning or in rain
Pathetic fallacy
- sinister atmosphere from the beginning
Act 1 scene 1 is written with
rhyming couplets
Upon this blasted heath
First time Macbeth met the witches was on desolate land which parallels their evil nature and depravity
Lady Macbeth’s entrance in Act 1 Scene 7…
is a spur for Macbeth as she will persuade him to kill the king
In Act 2 Scene 2 the Macbeths utilise…
stichomythia (alternating lines) to emphasize the stress and carried burden regarding Duncan’s murder
Act 3 Scene 2 ends with…
double rhyming couplets which relate to the witches + the general theme of casting spells to show Macbeth’s depravity
Act 3 Scene 4 is a banquet. What does this represent?
- metaphor for the great chain of being which will be disrupted by Macbeth’s actions
- also a symbol of hierarchy and order in society
In Act 3, Scene 5, when Hecate meets with the witches, what teaching does he give?
- overconfidence is the downfall of humans
- ‘security is mortal’s chiefest enemy’
What is Macbeth’s hamartia?
his unchecked ambition
In Act 4 Scene 1, what do the witches’ grotesque ingredients symbolise?
their depravity
How does the conversation between the Macduffs portray Macbeth’s ruthfullness?
- humanises the Macduffs and is more traumatising for the audience when they are murdered
- Macbeth is ruthless as he has killed these innocent people
Why did Malcolm test Macduff?
- he is a good king as he has learnt to be less trusting in people
- Malcolm lies very easily and could suggest he is manipulative and untrustworthy
Act 4 Scene 3 sets up…
Macbeth as heinous and Malcolm as a good king
Why was Lady Macbeth not in Scene 4?
- symbolically shows that Macbeth doesn’t need her anymore
- the last time we saw her contrasts to her insanity now
- rational to insane
What does Macbeth’s speech of nihilism signify in Act 5 Scene 5?
- Macbeth realises he is doomed and has a final moment of clarity
- Last moment of pathos before the final denouement
What is the traditional reading of the end of Macbeth?
- order is restored
- rightful king on the throne
- loyalty is rewarded by Malcolm distributing titles like earls to noble soldiers
- transgression is punished
What is an alternative reading of the end of Macbeth?
- Malcolm rewards loyalty the same way Duncan rewarded traitors like Macbeth (could be a continuous cycle)
- Macduff is in the same position as Macbeth as he killed the king
- audience questions whether Malcolm will be a good king as he ran away when Duncan was killed, and lied easily to Macduff
