Fear Flashcards
Ts1: at the beginning of the play, Macbeth is presented as a fearless warrior.
‘Brave Macbeth… distaining Fortune’ (Captain)
Ts2: However, LMB fears that Macbeth is too good natured to become king.
‘I fear thy nature is too full o’th’milk of human kindness’
Ts3: after murdering Duncan, Macbeth fears punishment from God; he also fears that Banquo’s sons will become kings.
‘I could not say amen… every noise appeals me’
‘Our fears in Banquo stick deep…my genius is rebuked as it is said Mark Antony’s was by Caesar’
‘They rise again… and push us from our stools’
‘His virtues will plead like angels…against the deep damnations of his taking off’
Ts4: by the end of the play, Macbeth has become desensitised to fear and chooses to die fighting.
‘I have almost forgot the taste of fears’
Topic sentences:
Ts1: beginning- MB presented as fearless
Ts2: LMB fears MB is too kind to commit the murder to become king.
Ts3: MB fears B’s children will become kings and fears punishment from God after murdering Duncan.
Ts4: end- MB becomes desensitised to fear and chooses to die fighting.
‘Brave Macbeth…distaining Fortune’(Captain)
L= adj and personification. MB is presented as brave; Fortune is personified as being on Macdonwald’s side but MB does not fear this and defeats him anyway. C= MB embodies Jacobean ideals if masculinity in patriarchal society where women subordinate to men- he is brave and noble.
‘I fear thy nature is too full o’th’milk of human kindness’ (LMB)
L= metaphor. LMB feminizes MB as milk is associated with women and maternity. Off the battlefield she thinks he is too good-natured to kill Duncan to become King himselt. She realises she must persuade him.
‘I could not say Amen… every noise appeals me’
C= after the murder, MB cannot pray, therefore he cannot ask God for forgiveness. He is also terrified the murder will be discovered. Jacobeans believed in the DRK: the King was appointed by God. MB realises his soul is damned as he has murdered God’s representative on Earth and this terrifies him.
‘Our fears in Banquo stick deep… my genius is rebuked as it is said Mark Antony’s was by Caesar’
L= imagery. Macbeth compares himself to Mark Antony and Banquo to Octavius Caesar (Caesar eventually defeated Mark Antony). Adjective: ‘deep’ shows how much MB fears Banquo.
‘They rise again… and push us from our stools’
D= MB is terrified by the appearance of Banquo’s ghost, which is a projection of his guilty conscience. I= The ‘stool’ could symbolize the throne. Macbeth is afraid thay the murders he’s committed will lose him his throne.
‘I have almost forgot the taste of fears’
L= alliteration. In contrast to scenes after Duncan’s murder, MB no longer feels fear. He has no loyalty from his people and is ready to die. The natural order- and rightful king- can then be restored.
Ts5: M and Donaldson experience fear when they realise another Thane murdered Duncan
‘There’s daggers in men’s smiles’
Ts6: MB fears he will die and be forgotten
‘A poor player that struts and frets his hour upon the stage, and then is heard no more’
Ts6: B ghost projection of MB’s fear
