main quotes Flashcards
(1.1) “[1] is foul, and foul is fair”
[1] - fair
paradoxical chiasmus, untrustworthy language; highlights the hypocrisy that people adopt to hide their true intentions.
APPEARANCE V. REALITY & deception
(1.1) “when shall we [1] meet again? in thunder, [2], or in rain?”
[1] - meet
[2] - lightening
opening lines of the play, begins in the middle of action, immediately intriguing the audience, pathetic fallacy
shakespeare creates a world that is already in motion; the audience feel as if they are intruding/eavesdropping
(1.2) “like [1] minion”
[1] - valour’s
servant of courage; superheroism
proleptic irony “dead butcher” (5.8)
(1.2) “[1] him from the [2] to the [3].”
[1] - unseam’d
[2] - nave
[3] - chaps
violent and ruthless, disembowelment, situational irony since this is how macbeth dies
(1.2) “ as sparrows [1], or the [2] the [3].”
[1] - eagles
[2] - hare
[3] - lion
simile demonstrating his fearlessness; foreshadows macbeth becoming king as lions are the ‘king of the animal kingdom’
(1.2) “brandish’d [1] which [2] with [3] execution.”
[1] - steel
[2] - smoked
[3] - bloody
metaphor; greatly skilled on the battlefield. ‘bloody’ implies of a dirty massacre
(1.3) “the [1] of darkness tell us truths but to betray us in the deepest consequences.”
[1] - instruments
‘darkness’ suggests an evil force of a higher being; links to the supernatural. ‘instruments’ = play the truth into a tune that soothes macbeth’s ears (tell him what he wants to hear)
shows that there are 2 types of men and that everyone has a choice in following what god has ruled against
(1.3) “[1] hide your fires and let not see my [2] and deep desires.”
[1] - stars
[2] - black
‘black and deep desires’ = metaphor since his thoughts are dark and evil. personification of stars = overstepping his role in the great chain of being (trying to command nature which is ruled over by god)
commanding language = sense of entitlement, overarching ambition (hamartia)
(1.4) “whose [1] image doth unfix’d [2] [3] and make my [4] heart knock at my [5].”
[1] - horrid
[2] - my
[3] - hair
[4] - seated
[5] - ribs
physiological manifestations of his mental torment and unnerving thoughts; shows the power of god and the supernatural - the witches have corrupted his brain
the thought of murder is causing him considerable anxiety; even his body knows not to step out of its hierarchical role but the brain has other ideas
(1.5) “[1] me here… and take my [2] for [3].”
[1] - unsex
[2] - milk
[3] - gall
calling on spirits to feed and nurture them. leaving her femininity (shows that women were confined in their roles during jacobean era - simone de beauvoir second sex)
gall = bitter poison (foreshadows the deaths of lm and m as their brains have been poisoned)
(1.5) “fill me to the [1] to the [2], topfull of the most [3] cruelty.”
[1] - crown
[2] - toe
[3] - direst
superlative ‘direst’ = shows no remorse, dedicated and ambitious
‘crown’ = royal imagery; already mentally decided that regicide will take place ALTERNATIVELY = crowning when born = reborn (new attitude, no longer conforming to societal expectations for women)
(1.5) “hie thee [1], that i may [2] my spirits in thine ear.”
[1] - hither
[2] - pour
immaculate conception = how the virgin mary was impregnated = role reversal between the 2 genders auguring a power imbalance
sense of urgency; which is a motif that increases throughout the play as
(1.5) “your [1] my thane is a [2] where men may [3] strange [4].”
[1] - face
[2] - book
[3] - read
[4] - matters
metaphor; lm is manipulating m into thinking that he is secretly suppressing his dark ambitions acting as a catalyst/his subconscious
APPEARANCE V. REALITY
(1.5) “look like t’h’innocent [1] but be the [2] undern’t.”
[1] - flower
[2] - serpent
religious imagery; adam and eve + fall of man = their fall from ‘perfection’ as they lose their perfect lives to temptation
(1.5) - “leave [1] the [2] to me”
[1] - all
[2] - rest
ending line of the scene; gender imbalance = juxtaposes the norm in the jacobean era
