Violence Flashcards
1
Q
‘Till he unseam’d him from the nave to th’ chaps / And fixed his head upon our battlements’
A
- Macbeth is praised for heroic violence in killing MacDonald who betrayed Duncan
- ‘unseam’d’ - emphasises how Macbeth opened the enemy’s navel. Also shows the fluid movement, conveys Macbeth is not affected but this horrifying violence
2
Q
‘Behold where stands / the usurper’s cursed head’
A
- Start of the play contrasts with the end, Macbeth is seen to retrieve the head of the enemy, and now Macbeth’s head is retrieved by Macduff
- Ironic
3
Q
‘Have plucked the nipple from his boneless gums,’
A
- Violent nature of Lady Macbeth also shows how insensitive
- ‘plucked’ - sees as it is casual
- Lady Macbeth is going against nurture, showing he is contrasting with nature, by refusing to nurture her child
- ‘boneless’ - reflects how young the child is
- Shows how vulnerable the child is, emphasizes the lack of empathy and her careless attitude against nature
4
Q
‘A sorry sight’
A
- Macbeth feels guilty for murdering Duncan
- Especially killing Duncan when he was sleeping, showing that Macbeth is a coward
- Also feels regrets for murdering someone who is his friends and someone he should be loyal to
5
Q
‘It will have blood they say: blood will have blood’
A
- Metaphor
- After a violent act has committed, it will be followed by more violence
6
Q
‘he has killed me, mother’
A
- The murder of the child is seen on stage as it is very upsetting
- The symbol of children are seen as innocent and cannot protect themselves
- ‘Mother’ - creates an emotive feel to the scene, emphasise the sadness of the death of the child
7
Q
‘Savagely slaughtered’
A
- Ross tells Macduff that his family has been killed
- Start of Macduff’s personal revenge against Macbeth
- Sibilance - link with the ‘serpents’
8
Q
‘the usurper’s cursed head
A
- Ironic to the beginning then Macbeth held MacDonald’s head
- Killed a traitor, but turns into a traitor and dies in the same way
