quote analysis; macbeth (charlie) Flashcards
1
Q
“I have no spur
to prick the sides of my
intent, but only
vaulting ambition, which
o’erleaps itself
And falls on the other”
3 points
A
- macbeth explains his intentions aren’t enough as they will “o’erleap itself’
- what helps him control this are spurs (symbol for ambition), unfortunately he has none
- a rider is required to use spurs, therefore symbolising lady Macbeths manipulative nature (control over his ambition)
2
Q
“Fair is foul, and foul is fair
Hover through the fog
and filthy air”
2 points
A
- fricative meaning this requires a bearing of the teeth to say which is a sign of aggression and why it is used in explicit language
- contrast: they speak in trochaic tetrameter which presents them as child-like
3
Q
“Out, damned spot! Out I say! One-
two - why then ‘tis
time to do’t. Hell is murky!
2 points
A
- blood on her hands is a religious allusion: a symbol for the christian guilt and worry that she may go to hell. this is further represented through “Hell is murky!”
- presents lady macbeth as the powerful one in the relationship and as manipulative when she demands the spot to be “out”
4
Q
“Come you spirits
that tend on mortal
thoughts, unsex me here
And fill me from the
crown to the toe top-full
of direst cruelty!”
A
- rejection of the patriarchy
success = male: male is full of “direst cruelty!” a message for king james to reject cruelty as the ‘rejection’ of the gunpowder plot - macbeth fails he is a cruel ruler, idea of being a good king; it only begins to unravel what he has done when he kills banquo as king.
- direct reference to ‘baskillion doron’ written by James I (how to be good king)
5
Q
“I would, while it was
smiling in my face,
Have pluck’d the nipple
from his boneless gums
And dash’d the brains
out I so sworn as you
Have done to this”
A
- shows abandonment of femininity and her “direct cruelty”. the death of her baby has effected her extremely
- consonance of B and D highlights her aggression
