Macbeth Flashcards
(23 cards)
What is Macbeth’s high social standing?
“Worthy Macbeth” and “Valiant cousin”
What is Macbeth’s fatal flaw?
Ambition, as seen in “happy prologue to the swelling act / Of the imperial theme.” after becoming Thane of Cawdor.
What demonstrates Macbeth’s potential for greatness?
He is Thane of Cawdor, rewarded for his victory, and trusted by the king.
What limitation do the witches have?
“Though his bark cannot be lost, / Yet it shall be tempest-tost.”
How is Macbeth affected by the witches’ prediction?
He is immediately intrigued, with Banquo describing him as being, “rapt withal.”
What do the witches represent?
They have supernatural powers and an inverted sense of morality, as seen in “Fair is foul and foul is fair”.
How are Macbeth and Banquo perceived in their roles?
They are seen as equals, referred to as “our captains, Macbeth and Banquo.”
What is Banquo’s attitude towards ambition?
He shows gratitude rather than lust, stating, “if I grow,/ the harvest is your own.”
What advice does Banquo give to Macbeth about the witches?
He warns him, “And oftentimes, to win us to our harm, / the instruments of darkness tell us truths, / win us with honest trifles, to betray us / in deepest consequence”
How does Banquo react to the witches?
He is intrigued but not as speechless as Macbeth, noting, “That look not like the inhabitants o’th’earth / and yet are on’t.”
What is Banquo’s stance on the witches’ predictions?
He is not as convinced, saying, “Speak then to me, who neither beg nor fear / your favours nor your hate.”
What does the witch say directly to Macbeth?
“All hail, Macbeth, Hail to thee, Thane of Cawdor.”
What is the paradoxical statement about Banquo?
“Lesser than Macbeth, and greater.”
What is Banquo’s reaction after being titled Thane of Cawdor?
“What, can the devil speak true?”
Blood is seen as admirable
“So well thy words become thee as thy wounds / They smack of honour both.”
What does Lady Macbeth ask regarding her blood?
“Make thick my blood.”
What contrasts Macbeth’s noble and ignoble?
“Carved out his passage, / till he faced the slave” vs “smothered in surmise”.
What does Macbeth feel about the murder?
“Whose horrid image doth unfix my hair.”
Macbeth about the weather
“So foul and fair a day I have not seen”
Macbeth questioning the motives of the witches?
“This supernatural soliciting / Cannot be ill, cannot be good, if ill / Why hath it given me earnest of success, / Commencing in a truth? I am Thane of Cawdor. / If good, why do I yield to that suggestion / Whose horrid image doth unfix my hair / And make my seated heart knock at my ribs, Against the use of nature?”
he wonders if it is his fate to be king or if he must act to become king
“If chance will have me king, why, chance may crown me, / Without my stir.”
Borrowed robes
why do you dress me in borrowed robes?
