Sh Act 4 Flashcards
double, double, toil and trouble / fire burn and cauldron bubble
- witches
obscure and like a chant
twice the amount of trouble will be brought on macbeth
something wicked this way comes
- witches
signals the approach of the monster they have created themselves
- very far from the hero he was at the beginning(character development)
- even witches believe he’s evil and they are agents of the devil
What is’t you do?
a deed without a name
- Macbeth and witches
witches and Macbeth share iambic pentameter
show how intertwined the two are
indisputably linked
echoing back and forth
mirroring structure
an armed Head
foreshadows the beheading of Macbeth(his fate)
armed to symbolise impending war
“Beware Macduff, / Beware the Thane of Fife”
bloodied child
shows the violent entry of life Macduff had through a c-section
is a symbol of legacy - a recurring theme in the play
also could foreshadow that Macduff’s children in danger
“none of woman born / shall harm Macbeth”
dramatic irony - Macbeth believes it is impossible
A child crowned, with a tree in his hand
represents Malcolm as he is true king
“never vanquished be until / Great Birnam Wood to high Dunsinane hill / Shall come against him”
symbol of Malcolm’s attack
while convincing him of his invincibility, the witches actually show him that he is not invincible and will be defeated
That will never be: Who can impress the forest
- Macbeth
dramatic irony
Macbeth misunderstands and believes he is safe
Thou too art like the spirit of Banquo
- Macbeth
a show of eight kings and the last with a glass in his hand [Banquo’s ghost following]
mirror is directed at King James I
- earns Shakespeare favour
theme of succession
- emphasises what Macbeth can’t achieve
- significance of Banquo’s legacy will stretch further
shows Banquo’s importance
- appears after death twice
The castle of Macduff I will surprise
- Macbeth
has lost his conscience and remorse
no moral compass
- sends murderers to kill an entire family based off paranoia in the blink of an eye
used to killing people
- maybe always had murderous intent
- easier for him to release it now
He wants the natural touch
- Lady Macduff
her husband lacks human kindness
Macduff has prioritised his country over his family, abandoning her
- considering nature of genuine courage
ironic echo of Lady Macbeth’s saying her husband having too much of “th’milk of human kindness”
the poor wren, / the most diminutive of birds will fight
- Lady Macduff
metaphor
vulnerable wren to the owl
state of terror and disbelief
has been left to fend for her children
- prepared to do what’s necessary for defence and survival
He is noble, wise, judicious, and best knows / The fits o’th’season
- Ross
supports and trusts Macduff, believing he has done the right thing
- gone to rally help to depose Macbeth and install Malcolm as king
float upon a wild and violent sea
- Ross
effect of Macbeth’s tyrannical role
chaotic images to symbolise the falling apart of Macbeth’s court
there are liars and / swearers enough
- son of Macduff
enough dishonest men in the world to heat the honest ones
statement captures the state of Scotland at this time
- Macbeth and his wife seem to be winning
Whither should I fly? … to do harm is often laudable … Do I put up that womanly defence?
- Lady Macduff
womanly defence
- the argument that she should suffer no harm because she has done no wrong
- oxymoron because woman have no power
in this world, doing harm is praisable and good acts are considered a dangerous act
she is opposite of Lady Macbeth
- protective of family, caring and innocent
What, you egg! / Young fry of treachery!
- murderers
fry
- small wren, a creature of no consequence
egg
- defenceless against predator
- a bird that has no yet hatched
symbolises the killing of innocent and defenceless
Angels are bright still, though the brightest fell
- Malcolm
goodness can still exist even if such a good man as Macbeth can become evil
alludes to the bible
- reference to Lucifer
our country sinks beneath the yoke; / It weeps, it bleeds and each new day a gash / Is added to her wounds
- Malcolm
personifying Scotland to that of a dying, suffering creature in agony under Macbeth’s reign
patriotism
- feels empathy and great pain for his country
- set up to be a good and noble king
verbs connote emotional and physical agony
new sorrows strike heaven on the face
- Macduff
Christian, godly connotations of “heaven”
- Macbeth is going against god, further emphasising the evil of his actions to the point of blasphemy
highlighting Macbeth’s breakage of the divine right of kings and the natural order
tyrannical, poor monarch through his wrath and ungodliness
to offer up a weak, poor innocent lamb, t’appease an angry god
- Malcolm
contrast to Duncan’s hamartia of being too trusting
alludes to bible
- Malcolm is loyal to god unlike Macbeth
beings to establish Malcolm as a good potential king
this tyrant, whose sole name blisters out tongues, was once thought honest
- Malcolm
emphasises Macbeth’s wickedness
- evil ruler
name is so despised and associated with evil that it is comparable to inflicting physical pain and damage unto those who speak it.
black Macbeth will seem as pure as snow
- Malcolm
black
- connotations of evil
juxtaposition emphasises extremity of wickedness Malcolm purports to be a part of his character
