macbeth Flashcards
(22 cards)
Masculinity/LM
What beast was’t, then, / That made you break this enterprise to me? / When you durst do it, then you were a man;”
This powerful line demonstrates Lady Macbeth’s strategy of questioning Macbeth’s masculinity to provoke him into action. By comparing his earlier determination to his current hesitation, she implies that he has become less of a man.
Highlight: The use of animal imagery (“beast”) and the contrast between past and present emphasize Lady Macbeth’s manipulative techniques.
Vocabulary: Enterprise - In this context, it refers to the plan or undertaking to kill King Duncan.
Shakespeare’s portrayal of Lady Macbeth in this scene establishes her as a dominant and influential character, capable of swaying Macbeth’s decisions through her powerful rhetoric and psychological manipulation.
LM/ambition
Have pluck’d my nipple from his boneless gums, / And dash’d the brains out.
This graphic and disturbing imagery serves multiple purposes:
It demonstrates Lady Macbeth’s ruthlessness and determination.
It challenges traditional notions of femininity and motherhood.
It shames Macbeth for his hesitation by contrasting her resolve with his doubt.
Highlight: The juxtaposition of tender maternal love with brutal violence underscores Lady Macbeth’s complex character and her willingness to defy societal norms.
Shakespeare’s portrayal of Lady Macbeth in this scene emphasizes her power over Macbeth and her role as the driving force behind their ambitions. Her ability to manipulate Macbeth’s emotions and decision-making process showcases her as a formidable and influential character in the play.
Guilt
“will great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood clean from my hands?”
-macbeth
-hyperbole emphasises how he feels corrupted by the guilt of his sins
-not even all the water on earth with divine input from a God can get rid of all the guilt
Guilt
“all the perfumes in Arabia will not sweeten this little hand”
-lady macbeth
-hyperbole mirrors macbeth’s quote
shows she is completely overwhelmed by guilt
-pronoun “all” mirrors when she said ”little water”
-noun “perfumes” can see and smell the blood so every sense is overwhelmed by guilt
Guilt
“out, dammed, spot!”
-psychological consequences, sleep talking
-imperative “out” suggests lady macbeth’s lack of control, ironic now she is sleepwalking
-noun “spots” symbolises the blood that is on her metaphorically as she can’t wash it away like how she cannot repress her guilt
Supernatrual/LM
“Unsex me here”
Lady Macbeth. Calls on ‘spirits’ which may refer to the witches or other supernatural aspects of the play forcing the “unsex me here in order to become powerful and to assent dominance. she wants to be stripped of her femininity due to the patriarchal society in the Jacobean era that favoured masculinity, she uses the imperative “Unsex” to summon the supernatural which highlights that she is an unconventional jacobean woman who objects and subverts the characteristics expected of her
Ambition/Macbeth
“Is this a dagger I see before me?, the handle towards my hand”
-rhetorical question
-changes from noble to disloyal quick
-implies & emphasises his obsession with idea of becoming king and killing Duncan
-shows signs of madness and hallucinations. Also shows deterioration of his state of mind (effect of LM & witches influence)
-questioning his sanity
-audience would feel betrayed on behalf of Duncan & dislike him be of the betrayal
Witches
But in a sieve I’ll thither sail, / And like a rat without a tail, / I’ll do, I’ll do, and I’ll do…….. I’ll drain him dry as hay:
One of the Witches describes how a sailor’s wife has insulted her and how she plans to take her revenge (‘I’ll do, I’ll do, and I’ll do’). She plans to follow his ship (The Tiger) and drain the life out of him by not allowing him to sleep. She is going to keep this up for 567 days (‘sennights nine times nine’ or 7 × 9 × 9). As both Macbeth and, particularly, his wife discover, sleep deprivation is an awful punishment.
“I have no spur to prick the sides of my intent, only vaulting ambition” Macbeth, Act I, Scene VII
Shakespeare has his protagonist, Macbeth, clearly state his hamartia (“ambition”) to the audience
It is implied that there is no other motivation for Macbeth (“no spur”)
Shakespeare could be suggesting that Macbeth’s fatal flaw (“ambition”) overcomes all of his other, positive character traits
Later in the same soliloquy, Macbeth says this ambition “overleaps itself” (trips itself up), suggesting Macbeth is aware on some level that he is doomed if he commits regicide
“When you durst do it, then you were a man” Lady Macbeth, Act I, Scene VII
Lady Macbeth is suggesting that only if Macbeth commits the murder of King Duncan that he could be considered a real man
This comes after Macbeth has expressed doubts about the plan to commit regicide
Analysis
Lady Macbeth is attacking Macbeth’s masculinity
It would hurt Macbeth’s pride; in the Jacobean era, manliness would have been equated with strength, so here Lady Macbeth is calling Macbeth weak
It is an example of role reversal: Lady Macbeth, unusually for a woman, is manipulating and dominating a man
As a woman, Lady Macbeth’s power is in her skills of deception and manipulation
stars hide your fires; let not light see my black and deep desires” Macbeth, Act I, Scene IV
Meaning and context
Both Lady Macbeth and Macbeth are asking for their evil desires to be hidden from God
Both quotations come as they are plotting the murder of King Duncan
Analysis
Lady Macbeth and Macbeth are both on their own on stage when they speak these lines, suggesting that these soliloquys reveal the characters’ true feelings
The fact that Lady Macbeth echoes Macbeth’s words shows that they still have a close relationship based on shared ideas (unlike later in the play)
The religious symbolism (“stars”, “light”, “Heaven”) suggests that both characters are aware of the significance and consequences (“Hell”) of committing regicide
Both characters use imperative verbs (“hide”, “come”) to command the natural world (“stars”, “night”). This could be seen as blasphemous and an attempt to disrupt the Great Chain of Being or God’s plan
“The dead butcher and his fiend-like queen” - Malcolm, Act V, Scene IX
Malcolm is describing the now-dead Macbeth and Lady Macbeth
This comes as part of the final soliloquy of the play after Macduff has killed Macbeth and Malcolm is restored to the throne
Analysis
A “butcher” is someone who kills without feeling or remorse. Shakespeare is suggesting that, because of his ambition, Macbeth turned from noble general to common murderer
Malcolm doesn’t refer to either character by name: this omission shows their immediate fall in status
Lady Macbeth is described as a “fiend”: a demon. She is being compared to the evil forces present in the play – the witches – who aim to bring chaos to the kingdom of Scotland
Fair is foul and foul is fair” — The witches, Act 1, Scene 1
At the beginning of the play, Shakespeare introduces the supernatural setting and the “weird sisters” as a malevolent force
Analysis
Shakespeare establishes the disruption of the natural order and the corruption of nature through the use of paradoxical language and parallelism
The use of rhyming language conveys the impression of evil spellcasting, adding to the supernatural atmosphere
“A dagger of the mind” — Macbeth, Act 2, Scene 1
Shakespeare reveals the danger of the supernatural elements in the play through the corrupt transformation of the protagonist:
His vision of an imaginary dagger leads him to commit regicide and kill King Duncan
Analysis
Shakespeare’s use of metaphorical language shows Macbeth’s awareness of the malevolent effect of the vision
The vision acts as a catalyst for his murderous actions, showing impact of the supernatural on Macbeth
“Do not shake thy gory locks at me” — Macbeth [to Banquo’s ghost], Act 3, Scene 4
Macbeth sees a vision of the assassinated Banquo at the feast, a sign of his guilt
Analysis
As the play progresses, Shakespeare presents the moral and psychological decline of Macbeth through his use of supernatural visions and auditory hallucinations
The use of assonance and monosyllabic words heightens the sense of his abject terror at seeing the ghost
“Come you spirits […] Unsex me here” Lady Macbeth, Act I, Scene V
Shakespeare has Lady Macbeth use imperative verbs (“Come”; “unsex”) when commanding evil spirits:
This shows her power at this point in the play (or at least the power she believes she commands)
The fact that she is commanding evil spirits shows her hubris: it is arrogant for humans to believe they can control evil forces
She wants to remove her feminine traits (being nurturing, dutiful, powerless) and become “unsexed”:
“Look like the innocent flower but be the serpent underneath it” Lady Macbeth, Act I, Scene V
Lady Macbeth is suggesting that Macbeth hide his true, treasonous self from King Duncan
This comes as the couple are first plotting the murder of Duncan
Analysis
This quotation is reflective of Lady Macbeth’s duplicitous nature
Her use of the imperative verb “look” also shows her power over Macbeth
She has no trouble acting like “an innocent flower” in the very next scene when greeting King Duncan
The “serpent” has religious connotations: it is a reference from the Christian Bible to the snake (a representation of the Devil), who tempts Eve in the Garden of Eden:
Lady Macbeth is also a woman who is tempted by evil and, in turn, tempts a man (Macbeth)
In the Bible, this temptation causes the fall of man. In Macbeth, it causes the downfall of Lady Macbeth and her husband
“Macbeth does murder sleep!” Macbeth, Act II, Scene II
Macbeth returns from murdering Duncan in a panicked state and is hallucinating
He hears a voice telling him he will no longer be able to sleep
“Sleep” symbolises peace or calm, so Shakespeare could be suggesting that in the act of murdering a king, he has murdered his own chance at peace – and perhaps eternal peace: Heaven
The voice he can hear might be interpreted as his own conscience
Macbeth and Lady Macbeth’s relationship
While King Duncan is having supper in Macbeth’s castle, Macbeth steps out to think about the plan to kill the King. When Lady Macbeth finds Macbeth, she exclaims, “He has almost supp’d: why have you left the chamber?” (1.7.29). Then, in order to keep Macbeth committed to the murder plan, she verbally assaults his courage and manhood. She accuses him of being the kind of person who can dream of wearing kingly robes only when he’s drunk. She asks sarcastically, “Was the hope drunk / Wherein you dress’d yourself? Hath it slept since?” (1.7.35-36). This is harsh enough, but it gets worse. She says that it appears that the thought of killing the king is making him sick, and “From this time / Such I account thy love” (1.7.38-39). In other words, if he won’t follow through on their plan, he doesn’t really love her, and he’s a coward, no better than the “poor cat i’ the adage” (1.7.45), who wants a fish, but doesn’t want to get its feet wet.
Macbeth tries to defend himself by saying, “I dare do all that may become a man; / Who dares do more is none” (1.7.46-47), but Lady Macbeth declares that she’s more man than he is:
Ambition
-the fatal flaw
I have no spur / To prick the sides of my intent, but only / Vaulting ambition, which o’erleaps itself And falls on th’other – / [Enter Lady Macbeth] / How now? What news? (Act 1 Scene 7)
-leadership
The king-becoming graces - / As justice, verity, temp’rance, stableness, / Bounty, perseverance, mercy, lowliness, / Devotion, patience, courage, fortitude - / I have no relish of them, but abound / In the division of each several crime, / Acting it many ways. (Act 4 Scene 3)
-greed
For Banquo’s issue have I filed my mind; / For them, the gracious Duncan have I murdered, / Put rancours in the vessel of my peace, / Only for them, and mine eternal jewel / Given to the common enemy of man, / To make them kings, the seed of Banquo kings. / Rather than so, come Fate into the list, / And champion me to th’utterance. (Act 3 Scene 1)
Supernatural
-wicked thoughts and actions
Present fears / Are less than horrible imaginings. / My thought, whose murder yet is but fantastical, / Shakes so my single state of man that function / Is smothered in surmise, and nothing is, / But what is not. (Act 1 Scene 3)
-the activities of the Witches
Her husband’s to Aleppo gone, master o’th’Tiger: / But in a sieve I’ll thither sail, / And like a rat without a tail, / I’ll do, I’ll do, and I’ll do…….. I’ll drain him dry as hay: / Sleep shall neither night nor day / Hang upon his penthouse lid; / He shall live a man forbid. / Weary sennights nine times nine, / Shall he dwindle, peak and pine. (Act 1 Scene 3)
-the disruption of nature
The night has been unruly: where we lay, / Our chimneys were blown down, and, as they say, / Lamentings heard i’th’air, strange screams of death / And prophesying with accents terrible / Of dire combustion and confused events, New hatched to th’woeful time. The obscure bird / Clamoured the livelong night. Some say, the Earth / Was feverous and did shake. (Act 2 Scene 3)
Appearances and reality in Macbeth
seeing things
sleep and dreams
fake hospitality
