Macbeth Flashcards
What is the link of James I context?
central themes fit his desires: treason, regicide, supernatural. staunch believer of DROK and GCOB
what is the link of divine right of kings context?
james I was a patron of shakespeares company. duncan’s murder was against God. intended to please his king
what is the link of great chain of being context?
Murder of duncan (violation), betrays superior and God. lady macbeth emasculates himm forces into regicide (minor)
what is the link of demonology context?
witchcraft, control, creating potions, chanting and sexual acts. hit james i expectations. wanted people to refrain from witchcraft.
what is the link of religion and 7 DS context?
macbeth guilty of: pride, anger, envy, greed like lady macbeth. punished with death and evil thoughts for being against God. duncan: gluttony and sloth
what is the link of patriarchy context?
GCOB suggests men > women. conformity and challenge (lady mcb) she subverts expectations of women
key themes
violence, ambition, guilt, gender, appearance v reality, supernatural
shakespeare intentions: ambition
utilises ambition as a central theme in the play, revealing its morally corrosive and blinding influenced on individuals driven by egotistical and self fulfilling aspirations
shakespeare’s intentions: king james i
used as an indirect allegory. intertwines act of regicide with tormenting guilt, reminder to those who disrupt the divinely ordained order
shakespeare intentions: supernatural
cautions audience about perilous consequences of succumbing to supernatural .engagement with the irresistible allure of these powers result in a quick and catastrophic demise
“vaulting ambition which o’erleaps itself and falls on th’ other” (MCB) (act 1) ambition, supernatural
personification: personifies ambition, alike to a human force controlling his dark mind that was once innocent
“fall”: shows his awareness of hamartia (all-encompassing ambition) led to his downfall. led to mental decline
metaphor: “vaulting ambition” parallel to a jockey. having to manage an untameable, animalistic force, implies force is controllable.
“i heard a voice cry “sleep no more! macbeth does murder sleep!” (MCB) (act 1) guilt, ambition
motif of sleep: reoccurring, lack of sleep= departure of innocence as he has committed regicide
went from imperative commands “stars hide your fires” to mentally haunting “cries”
exclamation sentence: enduring and irreversible damage of macbeths loss of innocence. disruption of natural order through wickedness condemns him into relentless guilt
dash’d the brains out (LMCB) (act 1) violence, gender
plosive on “dash’d”, creates brutal sound, brutual rejection of motherly instincts, proclivity for violence overpowers motherhood. every organ she seeks to disrupt in her unborn child is the locus of her own downfall
“instruments of darkness” (BQ) (act 1) supernatural, appearance v reality
“instruments” auditory imagery: malevolent musicality. words possess a hypnotic trance over macbeth
plosive on “darkness”: creates a harsh sound, foreshadows macbeths grim ominous destiny.
banquos discernment: immunity to malevolence, macbeth cannot, foil
“fair is foul and foul is fair” (W) (act 1) appearance v reality, supernatural
paradoxes: “foul” and “fair” contradiction and disorientation, foreshadows chaos in the play, witches are deceit,leaves macbeth bewildered.
trachaic tetrameter: eerie song like quality, others speak in iambic, duplicitousness as speech transcends earth
“he hath wisdom that doth guide his valour to act into safety” (MCB) (act 3) ambition, apprehended v reality
7DS: epitome of envy, envious of banquos capability to abstain from succumbing to “deep desires”
“guide” connotes leadership, macbeth attempts to guide hamartia but succumbs to potent influence, banquo capable of self-guidance, steers from sin. ambivalence of banquo is antithesis of bloodthirsty macbeth
“a little water clears us of this feed” (LMCB) (act 2) ambition, guilt
omnipotent ambitions blind her of macbeths profound mental turmoil
callousness, employs litotes (“a little”), trivialises murder, emasculates macbeth
euphemism, “deed”, paradoxical aspect of character, foreshadows melodramatic sense of insanity (act 5)
“ i dream’d of the three weird sisters last night” (BQ) (act 2)
dream’d: abstract noun, haunted in realm of sleep, intrusion of superstitions into consciousness
motif of sleep: retains capability to sleep, acknowledges dreams, preserves innocence, admits to captivation, doesn’t succumb to guilt-induced insomnia. macbeth shows deceit to him
key ideas: supernatural
irresistible allure, holds immense power, leverage desires and ambitions, leads to inevitable downfall, duplicity, art of deception.
key ideas: ambition
driving force behind tragedy, insatiable, catalyst to mental & physical collapse, illusion to transcend divine constructs, mentally rot faculties of mind, tragic hero
key ideas: guilt
succumbs to ambition, brutal war between ambition and divine guilt, reflection, redemption, eternal
“look like the innocent flower but be the serpent under it” (LMCB) (act 1) supernatural, app v reality
“serpent”: biblical, downfall of mankind, adam and eve, temptation, deception
“innocent”: façade, easily orchestrated, deception
