Macbeth the supernatural Flashcards
thesis
shake spears purpose was to flatter king James he is his patron he’s going to flatter king James and his interests in witch craft exploring an interesting idea on how our lives are controlled by fate and how muctch is free will can we change our futures our destinies or is that already mapped out we can see how this works in Macbeth life would he become any way if he had not acted on the witches prophecies patrachel context at the Time because shaskespeear is exploring with these women who have beards resort to evil and witch craft because the is no other a way a such unattractive women could get any other power in society
in thunder lightning or in rain
first lines of the play
there to flatter the king gives us the possibility that they can control the weather sets them up to be a true supernatureal force they are there to meet Macbeth a
alternative interpretation
just have the gift of foresight this was quite common in greek tragedy the Macbeth play is a tragedy all tradegdieces defended from greek tradegdies so if they only have the gift of foresight then Macbeth doesn’t need to do anything it will just happen to him also means they don’t actually control him they don’t tell hi9m what to do the just kleave it to his own evil to his own hermasia to make him commit theses sins to get what he wants which is t be king
cawdorking her after
enforces th interpretation that they are just seeing into the future and are not manipulating him by getting him to do any thing this os important because all the responsibility is his own he can’t say the witches made me the witches Madde me do it I was under the influence of satan or the supernatural because they never make him do anything
shakespeasr worldview
we are all accountable for our actions because he is telling the nobles in the you are accountable for your actions do not think about killing the king because this will happen
king James world view
people become evil because satan is working on them through the evil of other people
why do I yield that suggestion whose horrid image doth unfix my hair
asking why what about me Macbeth is causing me to think about murduring Duncan if I don’t have to witches haven’t explicitly said this
this troubles him because he realises there is something morally wrong with him
brav Macbeth
unsealed from his nave to his caps
all the egressing to define the king and being the saviour of Scotland all the heroism hides aa darker problem a character flaw (harmartia ) in greek tragedy and there for in Macbeth
if chance may have me king why chance may crown me without my stir
profound message shakespear emphasis again that every deision Macbeth make is his own
he takes a step back and he says and he says to himself my fate is to become king I don’t havee to stir I don’t have to do anything
fate
he calles fate chance
meaning random and lucky and so by using the word chance and repeating it he is emphasising to himself that the longer he wait the more of a chance it won’t happen as chance gives the connotation of uncertainty uses words to persuade himself to be not certain his mind pushing him towards regicide
banquo
ancestor of king James so shake spear give banjo moral certainty to say to king James your ancestor was wondiful this is why you are wonderful say to the audience look king Jane is wonderful forgaet about the 1605 catholic bombing attempted lest keep him as our glorious king by the way if you don’t you are going to end up like Macbeth
often times to win us to our harms the instrument of darkness tell us truths
sya to Macbeth this is too good to be true to meaning _you won’t become king or you might be king just patient deeper phycology here as Macbeth is influenced banquet is not he is Macbeth opposite (antithesis) banquet is morally good and Macbeth as morally evil go by banquos example and take a step back the view of Shakespeare jackobiean audience not the view of the king James audience
instrument of darkness
completely evil and dark there for they express that evil
however they are the ones that are being controled chain of control from satan to the witches to Macbeth
you should be women yet your beards forbid me to interpret that you are so
shut of sophisticated humour suggest macbr=eth high think they don’t hold physical power but immense sphological power not in the same league as the devil
motive got beards patriachle society and their power will only be accepted through marriage
actors place by men humour
men ar the problem hear as I chose o cast fully grown men groove the fact the society Denise women power
motive on why they want to maniplulate men
a dagger of the mind
Shakespeare give Macbeth this self knowledge it is destoyring his own sanity his desires are so powerful he is going to do it any way
he knows it is not a real dagger know the power of his desires
sees gout of blood emphasises his blood lust
enjoys killing and how much he wants to kill the king absolute power and king ship
the heat oppressive brain
heat =witches words or his own desires so fierce that hey produce their own heat
heart alludes to the fires of hell
Macbeths downfall
thou canst not saying I did it
saying this to banquet ghost
witches =gost of banjo
challenging fate fate intervenes as to not to stop gods plan
never shake then glory looks at me
confuse the noble that he has killed Duncan
now various noble decide to turn against him
where every thing goes wrong
I am bent to know by the worst mean to worst
already knows the worst is coming
by the pricking of my thumbs something wicked the way comes
picked on Macbeth because he is powerful and wicked seen that in him before he has
oporsit to lady Macbeth too full of the milk of human kindness
the witch are now going to play with him
talking to a tragic hero in riddles direct them to a greek tragedy
go to the oracle
Shakespeare there for treating the tree witches as like the tree fates in greek tradegdy art satanic - art instrument of darkness but instrument of fate
macbetat falt own hermatia
ambition and blood lust
none of women born shall harm Macbeth
stretch the truth they are toying ewith Macbeth 80% the truth \nt manipulating Macbeth
he knows he is going to die he just want to know the worst means the worst
beware of macduff
did to persuade Macbeth to kill his family Macbeths own fault
watches not portrait as nessarily evil
the are just manipulating his hope to create greater despair on his inevitable demise
death of lady Macbeth
massive change for Macbeth
silique “tommorw “ proves how much he loved her
he becomes nielictites
could argue that his desire to becomeme king was to elevate his wife to become queen kill banquet to ensure that lady Macbeth and him have children of his own to satisfy his wife
poor player ,a walking shadow that struts his our apron the stage
sees life and himself as an poor player
he is like an actor ain a play a bad actor “poor” he thinks his hole life was pointless
shadow is something you can never catch he is always after the next big thing but he can never get it
shadow also means insubstancual
king ship is the real person Macbeth is th shadow not a real king on again god
Jacobson audience
shadow means understudy goes on when the main actor is ill being an imposter such a bad actor that he is playing soeoneelses part
why do you dress me in borrowed clothes duns fit the role of king
playing a tale told by an idiot
on one level he is the idiot
but if we develop this extended metaphor who has written the script for he is playing a part either blaming the witches or blaming god as to say you made my life meaning less
key point
1 comfermes he is an awful human being to the Jacobean audience bc he is critiquing god
2 he I also denying his own responsibility blame god was his fat
shows how much he has tuned into ashes depart there are no value
he does not blame the witches he blames himself for believing in them
cursing himself to believing in hope
what he that was not born of woman such a one I am to fear
actually goes looking for his death he wants to find this person who wasn’t born of a woman he wan to solve the riddle show the power of fate and the power of tradegdy
he just wants to know the ending
he want to find out the true meaning of his life ois it a tale told by an idiot
I have forgot the taste of fears
as king no longer feels afraid and as king he want to feel that feeling again
his own dicers made him feel this way
conclusion
it is an cautionary tale
to except the great chain of being
not the influence of the witch but the internal phycology and desire own mind encoring the audience not to fall into
