Quotes Flashcards
The witches only have the gift of prophecy explain
“When shall we three meet again in thunder, lightning or in rain?”
The witches are aware they will meet again but are ascertain what weather conditions will be the most optimum to control Macbeth
Macbeth always address the witches as the
“weird sisters” what does this suggest and an alternative view
that they are not witches at all.
Shakespeare may depict them at the beginning to be witches though he makes it explicit that they have familiars.
The witches speak in trochaic tetrameter what is it and what does it suggest and give images of and what do the images suggest.
Means the stress applies on the first syllable of each pair and tetrameter means that there are 7 syllables in a line. This rhythm is rather childish does not sound like a supernatural incantations.
It may remind us of other child like imagery for example the familiars are animals and children’s stories are full of animals.
Perhaps the belief in witch craft is a childish belief. Although Shakespeare could never say this outright in front of king James because he is a passionate believer in witchcraft. But Shakespeare could allow it to be interpreted ambiguously.
When characters have a trochaic stress what does it signal to the audience
It signals that they are going to do something wicked when they are having evil thoughts
Fair is foul and foul is fair.
The fricatives make us bare our teeth in order to be threatening so this fricative suggests to us the characters violent intentions this suggests that there designs lead to violence.
How does LM dieing off stage have impact
We can see this as sexist patriarchal treatment of women and disapproval of lady Macbeth in particular but one of the points in the structure of the play and indeed the presence and ugliness of the witches suggest that women are denied power in this society and that the only way to achieve it is through transgressive behavior so we might argue that Shakespeare is rejecting this patriarchal view and excluding her from the stage so that the audience will notice her absence and make the link that women are exploited in this society and we might also stop to ask ourselves would the plan actually of succeeded if Macbeth had listened to LM’s advice to power to the women
How does LM dieing off stage have impact
We can see this as sexist patriarchal treatment of women and disapproval of lady Macbeth in particular but one of the points in the structure of the play and indeed the presence and ugliness of the witches suggest that women are denied power in this society and that the only way to achieve it is through transgressive behavior so we might argue that Shakespeare is rejecting this patriarchal view and excluding her from the stage so that the audience will notice her absence and make the link that women are exploited in this society and we might also stop to ask ourselves would the plan actually of succeeded if Macbeth had listened to LM’s advice to power to the women
