Macbeth Unit Final Flashcards
who was malcolm
eldest son of Duncan
who was Donalbain
youngest son of Duncan
who were the three murderers
servants of Macbeth
whos the gentlewomen
Lady Macbeths servant
whos banquo
a general in Duncan’s army
whos fleance
Banquo’s son who survives Macbeths attempt to murder him
whos ‘son’
Macduffs son
who are the nobleman of scottland
Ross, Lennox, mentieth, Angus, Caithness
who are the three witches
the weird sisters
whos hectate
Queen of the witches
why can Macbeth not maintain his power
becuase his increasingly brutal actions make him hated as a tyrant
who was Macbeth originally
a Scottish general and the thane of Glamis; king duncans cousin
what does thane mean
Scottish title of nobility
what does Banquos character essentially represent
the path that Macbeth chose not to take where ambition did not lead to betrayal and murder
what does Duncans death symbolize
the destruction of an order in Scotland
where/when does macbeth take place
whos Macduff
scottish nobleman who eventually becomes leader of the crusade to unseat Macbeth
whos the porter
the drunken doorman of Macbeths castle
define tragic hero
great or virtuous character in a dramatic tragedy who is destined for downfall, suffering or defeat
how is Macbeth a tragic hero
he starts as a good character who kills traitors for the king but then after listening to the witches and his wife about killing the king for the crown he becomes excessively greedy and ambitious which leads to his ultimate downfall
characteristics of a Shakespearean tragedy (8)
tragic hero, good against evil, fatal flaws and fatal mistakes, supernatural, fate and fortune, revenge, death/destruction, internal and external pressures
define parallelism
the repetition of grammatical elements in writing or speaking to emphasize similar ideas in a sentence
define simile
figure of speech that compares two things using the words ‘like’ or ‘as’
define paradox
a statement that at first appears to be contradictory but after consideration makes sense
define metaphor
a figure of speech that describes an object or action in a way that isn’t literally true
define personification
A figure of speech in which an idea or thing is given human attributes and/or feelings or is spoken of as if it were human
define soliloquy
when someone speaks their thoughts aloud when you are by yourself
define irony
When a person says or does something that is different than what is expected or from reality
main event for Act 1
background for the murder
main event for Act 2
king duncans murder
main event for Act 3
murder of Banquo
main event for Act 4
murder of the Macduff family
main event for Act 5
retribution against Macbeth for murders
setting of the play
1030 Scotland when the government was weak and kingship was not yet hereditary
where does the real tragedy of Macbeth lay
the deterioration, disintegration and break-up of the inner Macbeth where the man with capacity for greatness turns evil and dies full of self-loathing, emptied of all dignity and self-worth
who is the most dominant character in act 1 scenes 5-7
lady macbeth
who is scotland at war with in the beginning of the play
norway
who discovers duncans murder
macduff
summary of act 1
meet three witches; macduff titled thane of cawdor; decides to murder duncan after the witches prophecies and lady macbeths manipulation
summary of act 2
Duncan is murdered; Malcolm and Donalbain flee from Scotland; macbeth kills guards; macbeth choosen as new king
summary of act 3
macbeth orders 3 murderers to kill banquo and fleance; banuqo killed but fleance escapes; macbeth sees banquos ghost at the party; macduff flees to england to join up with malcom
summary of act 4
macbeth talks to witches and is heartened by prophecies; learns macduff has fled to england and orders to have everyone in his castle killed; macduff gains malcolms trust and convinces him to start an army to overthrow macbeth;
summary of act 5
lady macbeth observed sleepwalking and makes confessions in this state; macbeth remains confident despite nobels leaving him; Malcolm orders soldiers to use branches from the forest for camouflage; lady macbeth commits suicide; macduff and macbeth fight; macduff kills macbeth and returns carrying his head; Malcolm becomes king
