Act 4 Quotations Flashcards
Witch: “F_____ of b____-s________ babe”
Act 4, Scene 1
“Finger of birth-strangled babe”
- This is just one of the many ingredients that go into the witches’ cauldron
Most evil when the finger of a “babe” is added, a symbol of pure innocence being destroyed, liking to the destruction of the previously good Macbeth
Image of it being “birth-strangled” highlights the extreme cruelty of the witches
The alliteration of the “b” and “d” sounds creates a chant-like tone to the list of ingredients, accentuating the supernatural
Macbeth: “Though you u_____ the w____ and let them f_____ / A_______ the c_______”
Unnatural - natural world against religion
Act 4, Scene 1
“Though you untie the winds and let them fight / Against the churches”
The completely unnatural behaviour of the witches is so powerful that it. Has even turned the natural world against religion
The churches are a symbol of morality and goodness - distressing for the religious audience to see Christianity attacked in this way
The witches have the power to change weather - e.g. night of Duncan’s death there was a storm
“Untie” the winds has associations with great power being unleashed against the moral goodness of the church. The wind is attacking “against the churches” - it seems as if the Church is passive and vulnerable to evil’s power.
Macbeth: “Then l____, Macduff. What need I f____ of thee? / But yet I’ll make a_______ double sure, / And take a b____ of f___: thou s_____ not live”
Act 4, Scene 1
“Then live, Macduff. What need I fear of thee? / But yet I’ll make assurance double sure, / And take a bond of fate: thou shalt not live”
- He relies on fate to assist him - lack of power
- He is nervous and fragile - rather than the brave warrior from the beginning of the play, now he is desperate to be “sure” and needs “assurance”
- It also shows the conflict in his mind - he starts by suggesting that Macduff can “live”, but follows this with a question, then a complete contradiction, saying “thou shalt not live”
Ross (to Macduff) : “Your wife and b_____ / s________ s__________”
Act 4, Scene 3
“Your wife and babes / savagely slaughtered”
Image of violence - lengths Macbeth is willing to go in his quest for power
The juxtaposition of “wife and babes”, images of innocence, love and care, being “savagely slaughtered” indicates to the audience the level of violence and evil Macbeth now engages in
“Savagely slaughtered” - sibilance adds swiftness to the sentence, a clear development from the hesitancy he showed before he killed Duncan. “Savage” suggests an almost inhuman behaviour.
Malcom: “Let g_____ / convert to a_____. B_____ not the heart, e______ it”
Act 4, Scene 3
“Let grief / convert to anger. Blunt not the heart, enrage it”
Malcom insists that Macduff not feel sorrow, but instead use his pain to exact revenge.
The use of emotive language shows the audience how emotionally charged the final acts will be - the abstract nouns “grief” and “anger” are a dangerous mix of sorrow and fury
Malcom personifies Macduff “heart”, demanding he “enrage it”, as if it were another soldier in the battle against Macbeth.
MALCOM: “Dispute it like a man”
(Dispute = argue)
What is Macduff’s response?
MACDUFF: “I shall do so but I must also feel it as a man”
Masculinity - he recognises that pain and suffering must be dealt with emotionally too - he doesn’t just act on fury and rage, he takes time to “feel” the pain
WITCHES: “Something w______ this way c_____”
“Something wicked this way comes”
Ironic that the witches are calling Macbeth “something wicked” - justifies the true level of evil that has become of him
