MACBETH Flashcards
“Stars, hide your fires. Let not light see my black and
deepest desires” ~ Macbeth
theme = Ambition and guilt
A1S5
links in with the societal belief= that kings were appointed by God. It was believed that the thought committing regicide alone was a great sin.
The plural nouns “stars” and “fire” = semantic field of light = religious imagery =hide his desires from God as he knows it is wrong.
juxtaposition of light “black” suggests that Macbeth is inwardly conflicted between a path of ambition and
morality.
alliteration = “deep desires’ =
how Macbeth has become corrupt by overpowering ambition as it controls his thoughts and, soon, his actions.
“Yet I do fear thy nature. It is too full o’th’milk of
human kindness” ~ Lady Macbeth
theme = Ambition Masculinity + cruelty Guilt
A1S5
- Lady Macbeth is proposing that Macbeth is a “brave”
soldier. Macbeth is not a murderer by nature which shows
that he does not confine to the ideas of a
two-dimensional villain commonly presented at the time. - The depth of Macbeth’s character and his fall to ambition
would have greatly fascinated Shakespeare’s Jacobean
audience.
-The verb “fear” shows how Lady Macbeth sees
Macbeth’s kind nature as a weakness. - She takes a subtle dig at his masculinity through the common noun “milk” which connotes the nurturing nature of a mother.
- Lady Macbeth’s attitudes toward Macbeth, Shakespeare is
criticising the relation of men to cruelty. This concept was
very prevalent in Jacobean society and Shakespeare was
claiming that there were deeper sides to men that went
unappreciated.
“Come you spirits”
“Unsex me here”
“Direst cruelty” ~ Lady Macbeth
theme = Supernatural Appearances vs reality Masculinity +
cruelty
A1S5
- Throughout Lady Macbeth’s soliloquy, the association of
power with masculinity is a prevalent concept. Lady
Macbeth’s desire for the spirits to “unsex” her proposes
her belief that ambition can only be fulfilled by a
masculine role. - She wants to defy what was believed to be
the natural behaviour of a woman and calls upon the
supernatural to provide her with the “direst cruelty” that
she needs to carry out these acts. - Whilst Lady Macbeth appears willing to act upon her ambition, her call upon the supernatural suggests that she is not cruel by nature. This
foreshadows her inability to cope with her guilt later on in
the play.
“Is this a dagger which I see before me?” ~ Macbeth
theme = Supernatural , Guilt , Appearances vs reality , Fate + free will
A2S1
- Shakespeare employs a rhetorical question here to
demonstrate how Macbeth remained conflicted right up
until the murder of Duncan.
-Macbeth is questioning his sanity as he is unsure whether the dagger is a hallucination or a supernatural sign prompting him to commit regicide.
-Macbeth himself is aware of his conflict and questions
whether he sees the dagger as an excuse for his disloyal
thoughts and actions. - The common noun “dagger” emphasises the violence of the act that Macbeth would go
on to commit and creates the idea that misplaced ambition will ultimately face punishment. - The dagger could also be foreshadowing the other hauntings
experienced by Macbeth such as the ghost of Banquo.
“Had he not resembled my father as he slept , I had done it” ~ Lady Macbeth
theme= Guilt ,Masculinity + cruelty ,Appearances vs reality
A2S2
- Through this line, Lady Macbeth’s more vulnerable side is
revealed. Shakespeare suggests that whilst Lady Macbeth
has ambition, she lacks the physical power to act on it and
relies on her husband to carry out the murder. - This demonstrates the significance of Lady Macbeth’s
manipulative nature as the “spur” to prompt Macbeth
towards regicide. Through this concept, Shakespeare is
portraying old-fashioned societal views of women as
physically and mentally inferior.
-This presents Lady Macbeth’s pursuit of masculinity as unnatural and
suggests that this possession of misplaced power will not
go unpunished.
“Sleep no more, Macbeth does murder sleep” ~ Macbeth
theme = Guilt , Supernatural
A2S2
-This line demonstrates Macbeth’s immediate guilt
following the murder of King Duncan. This may evoke a
small amount of sympathy for Macbeth from the
audience, however, the act of regicide was still seen as
unforgivable in Jacobean society.
- The idea of Macbeth’s guilt and regret strays away from the concept of a two-dimensional villain. Macbeth’s depth as a character was unusual within antagonists at the time and would have sparked interest amongst Shakespeare’s 1600s audience.
- Macbeth’s frantic language portrays his fear of the
consequences of his actions. The common noun “sleep”
symbolises innocence with Macbeth’s lack of sleep
emphasising his guilt and culpability.
“‘Tis unnatural, even like the deed that’s done” ~ Old man
theme = Kingship Vs Tyranny , Supernatural
A2S4
- Through this line, the old man is describing the reaction of
nature to the murder of the king. The concept of nature
reacting to Macbeth’s regicide acts as a warning to
Shakespeare’s 1606 audience against attempting to take
King James’ throne. - The portrayal of regicide as unnatural
furthermore implies the involvement of the supernatural
with Macbeth and Lady Macbeth’s “vaulting ambition.”
“Naught’s had, all’s spent, where our desire is got
without content” ~ Lady Macbeth
theme = Ambition , Guilt , Appearance Vs Reality
A3S2
- Through Lady Macbeth’s reflection on the deed, a
remorseful side to her is revealed. Through the portrayal of
the vulnerable characteristics of Macbeth and Lady
Macbeth, Shakespeare is suggesting that they are not
suitable villains and that their guilt would ultimately lead
them to their tragic fate. - The adjective “content” implies that Lady Macbeth did not gain the happiness that she was seeking from Macbeth’s rise to kingship and that it is potentially “better to be with the dead” than to be tortured by her guilt.
- This line portrays a hollow success and shows
how Lady Macbeth has internally lost more than she has
gained. Her guilt and madness will ultimately be the cause
of her suicide.
“Out, damned spot; out, I say …” ~ Lady Macbeth
theme = Guilt , Madness , Supernatural , Masculinity + Cruelty , Appearance Vs Reality
A5S1
- Through Lady Macbeth’s guilt and madness, Shakespeare is presenting the tragic consequences of misplaced
ambition. - Sleep acts as a symbol of innocence, suggesting that Lady Macbeth’s sleepwalking is a result of her guilt.
-This is furthermore exemplified through the ‘blood’ on her hands. It was a Jacobean belief that kings were appointed by God. Her inability to cleanse herself of the deed
provides religious connotations implying that regicide is an unforgivable sin.
-This contrasts Lady Macbeth’s earlier
claim that “a little water clears us of this deed.” There is no escaping the consequences of her actions. - Lady Macbeth’s fate acts as a warning to Shakespeare’s 1606 audience against overthrowing King James out of
ambitious desires.
“Life’s but a walking shadow … It is a tale told by an idiot, full of
sound and fury, signifying nothing” ~ Macbeth
themes = Guilt , Ambition ,Fate vs free will ,Kingship vs
tyranny
A5S5
- Macbeth’s response to the death of his wife is fairly muted
considering the love between them. This would have
greatly shocked the Jacobean audience at a time when
family life was highly valued. - However, it is through Macbeth’s pessimism and despair that the audience realises how completely his wife’s passing and the ruin of his power have undone Macbeth.
- The idea of life “signifying nothing” suggests that Macbeth no longer sees the value or purpose of life.
-Yet, there is also a defensive and self-justifying quality of his words. If everything is meaningless, then Macbeth’s awful crimes are somehow made less awful, because, like everything else, they too “signify nothing.”
“This dead butcher and his fiend-like queaen” ~ Malcolm
themes = Ambition Kingship vs tyranny
A5S11
-The common noun “butcher” and compound adjective “fiend-like” creates a monstrous and evil semantic field.
-This dehumanises Macbeth and Lady Macbeth, showing how their actions strayed away from basic human morality
and dignity.
-This demonstrates how Malcolm and the rest
of the characters have only hatred towards the Macbeths.
Following their deaths, no sadness or respect is expressed,
juxtaposing the view of Macbeth as a “brave” and “valiant”
soldier in act 1.
- This contrast emphasises that Macbeth’s
ambition was the fatal flaw that led to his tragic decline.
‘when you durst do it , then you were a man’ - lady macbeth
themes = ambition
A1S5
alliteration (durst do) = shows how forceful and how powerful she is that shes talking to Macbeth , shes the one that has control in the relationship not the other way round.
theme = she sees ambition as a sign of power and strength and that Macbeth is lacking in enough ambition to kill the king.
context = lady Macbeth went against conventional ideas of femininity - questioning her husband , their marriage was not regular usually Jacobean relationships had men and husbands are the ones that are more powerful and wives were meekly and quiet and waited for them at home to be told what to do (lady Macbeth has flipped the roles)
‘the sleeping and the dead are but as pictures:’tis the eye of childhood that fears a painted devil’ - Lady Macbeth
themes= ambition
A2S2
assonance (e) and metaphor = illustrate how lady Macbeth completely lacks humanity, she doesn’t care for dead bodies and dead people
context = kings James I/ VI’s book ‘daemonologie’ identified women like lady Macbeth. (King James found women like lady Macbeth as devilish , he saw them as being possessed this illustrates how some women like her were witches’
‘o valiant cousin , worthy gentlemen’ - King Duncan
themes = loyaltly and guilt
A1S1
adjective (worthy and valiant) = praising Macbeth quality
exclamatory sentence = king Duncan has amazing noble qualities , he is very quick to recognise great deeds of his men (he illustrates what a rightful king should do)
theme = King Duncan is incredibly loyal and generous towards his men
context = Scotland was powerful as everyone respected their position in Great Chain of Being (he is used to illustrate when a country has the rightful king who has been chosen by God in through the divine right of kings is in power)
‘My worthy Cawdor’ - King Duncan
themes = kingship
A1S3
pronoun (my) = shows how proud King Duncan is of Macbeth
exclamatory sentence = he is so excited of what Macbeth has achieved and hes not stingy with his promotions (this makes him a really good king)
theme = King Duncan juxtaposes Macbeth as he is the rightful king and Macbeth is not.
context = Shakespeare uses him to reflect the noble values of the ruling monarchs at the time - Queen Elizabeth I/ King James I/VI (both these monarchs deserved to be king and queen , they show what happens to England when the rightful monarch is in place)
