Revision Flashcards
What are some of the play’s main themes?
Regicide, the supernatural, God, betrayal, justice and mental suffering
Finish the quote by the witches:
“Fair is-“
“Foul and foul is fair”
What do rhyming couplets represent within the play?
Supernatural influence
Finish the quote regarding Macbeth:
“Like valour’s-“
“Minion carv’d out his passage till he faced the slave.”
Finish the quote regarding Macbeth (FROM DUNCAN)
“O valiant cousin,”
“Worthy gentleman”
The semantic field of honour is cemented into the themes in the first act of the play. Give an example of a quote which conveys this idea directly.
“They smack of honour both”
Macbeth, Thane of Cawdor, is a traitor by the end of the play. The play’s nature is cyclical, and by the end of it, he too is executed, like the first thane of Cawdor, in the same way. Which quote foreshadows the betrayal?
“Assisted by that most disloyal traitor, the Thane of Cawdor, began a dismal conflict”
What is one of the first examples of rhyming couplets used to present the influence of the supernatural - On no-one less than the king himself?
“Go pronounce his present death and with his former title, greet Macbeth”
Define equivocation
The use of ambiguous language to conceal the truth or to avoid committing oneself.
Deliberately misleading language in order to manipulate.
Define a motif
A recurring idea or theme in a piece of text or music
Macbeth is presented as weak from the very start of the play, as he attempts to command the witches though they do not listen. Quote?
“Speak, I charge you.”
Which line from Banquo:
Foreshadows Macbeth’s insanity
Presents Banquo as wise
Is the first reference to mental suffering
And compares the contrast between Banquo and Macbeth in their ambitions and reasoning abilities
“Or have we eaten on the insane root, that takes the reason prisoner?”
WHAT IS AN ASIDE
A stage direction demonstrating the character is speaking directly to the audience, whilst others are on the stage too
When is it foreshadowed that Macbeth will accept his death?
“He died as one that had been studied in his death, to throw away the dearest thing he ow’d as ‘twere a careless trifle”
What foreshadows Macbeth’s betrayal, as said by Duncan?
“He was a gentleman on whom I built absolute trust”
