Malevolent Macbeth Flashcards
What type of character is Macbeth?
Macbeth is a tragic hero, who is also a foil to Banquo.
‘Valour’s minion’
‘Smoked with bloody execution.’
‘So foul and fair a day I have not seen.’
What is the soliloquy used for in Act 2?
The soliloquy before Duncan’s murder is a technique Shakespeare used to draw the audience closer into his mind and deeper inner thoughts.
‘Is this a dagger which I see before me?’
‘Macbeth does murder sleep, the innocent sleep.’
He is born into a climax of insanity after the murder. It shows that he is so imprisoned by guilt that he is now in a state of restlessness. The repetition of ‘sleep’ shows him stumbling over his words, losing control of lexis and articulation. MOTIF OF SLEEP explores the notion of guilt and innocence. An inability to sleep is synonymous with a loss of innocence, so this could reveal Macbeth’s peripeteia as his innocence is lost and he cannot ever go back to his once sane state of mind.
‘Will all great Neptune’s oceans wash this blood clean from my hands.’
