Macbeth Flashcards
What is Macbeth’s personality traits
he is a strong warrior and fight bravely in battle, he is ambitious and wants to become King of Scotland and will do anything to make it happen, however he has a conscience and often doubts whether he is doing the right thing and spends time feeling guilty, he is easily influenced by others
How is Macbeth seen as a warrior
he is described as a ‘valiant’ warrior and hi s brave actions impress the king so he names him Thane of Cawdor - this shows how brave he is and loyal, he is a cold and calculating killer and is influenced by the people around him as he allows LM persuade him as his ambition is greater than his morality, he seems most comfortable on the battlefield and doesn’t have to worry about his guilty conscience, he dies in battle but fights ‘bear-like’, however in the middle of the play this is contrasted where he seems weak and uncertain
How is it shown that Macbeth struggles with his conscience
he has a strong sense of wrong and right and worries about the consequences of his actions which makes his actions more shocking, he is reluctant to kill Duncan who has ‘honoured’ him - he sounds confident as if he has made his mind up, Macbeth recognises that Duncan trusts him, after he has killed Duncan he swings between killing anyone who threatens his position and moments of despair when he struggles with guilt, his guilty conscience makes him imagine things, by the end he seams cynical and no longer feels guilty as his feels a person’s actions means nothing
How is it shown that Macbeth is easily influenced
LM greatly influences Macbeth and he wouldn’t have killed Duncan if it wasn’t for her, he does it because he doesn’t want to seem unmanly or a ‘coward’, LM’s influence seems to decline after the murder because it seems to become easier to MAcbeth and he acts alone, he is also influenced by the supernatural - witches = he trusts them straight away but Banquo is suspicious, dagger leads him to Duncan, as the witches propcipes come true he believes them more and more and relies heavily on what they say
Macbeth overall
warrior, influenced, ambition, conscience
