Macbeth Flashcards
(21 cards)
What is a Hamartia?
A fatal flaw leading to the downfall of a hero
E.g. Macbeths Ambition
Who is the main protagonist in the play
Macbeth
Give Four Words you could use to describe Macbeth
• Ambitious
• Violent
• Guilty
• Impressionable (Easily-Influenced)
Give Macbeth quotes that link to his Ambition
• He had ‘no spur to prick the sides of my intent, but only Vaulting Ambition’
• ‘We have Scotched the snake, not killed it’
• (Greed) - ‘she should have died hereafter’
Give Macbeth quotes that link to Voilence
• ‘Unseamed him from the nave to the chops’
• ‘fixed his had upon our battlements’
• (psychological): ‘I’m afraid to think what I have done’ (after killing D)
• Macduff: ‘hell-hound’
• Young Siward: ‘abhorred tryant’
‘Is this a dagger which I see before, the handle toward my hand’
Zoom in on this quote
In this scene, Macbeth is hallucinating, Shakespeare deliberately uses the noun ‘dagger’ to symbolise murder and death, which implies that Macbeths conscience is prompting him to commit regicide. In Addition to this, the fact that the handle is towards his hand proves this point further, it’s as if the the dagger wants him to take on the desicion.
This all shows Macbeths Ambition.
Give Macbeth quotes about his Guilt
• ‘Will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood clean from my hand’
•’Macbeth does murder sleep’
• ‘Macbeth shall sleep no more’ (symbolism of Guilt).
Give Macbeth quotes on how he is Impressionable (easily-influenced)
• His conscience (helps) to influence him: ‘Is this a dagger which I see before me? The handle toward my hand?’
• Lady Macbeth manipulates him by questioning his masculinity, saying if he killed the kind he would be ‘so much more of a man’, as well as calling him a ‘coward’.
What compression did Shakespeare do between how much Macbeth & Banquo believe the witches prophecies.
Macbeth believes the witches as soon as the first prophecy comes true; ‘thane of cawdor’.
Whereas, Banquo believes that the witches are ‘instruments of darkness’ and that they want to ‘win us our harm’.
Shakespeare deliberately does this to contrast the two characters, deliberately highlighting how Macbeth is ambitious and easily-influenced, whereas Banquo is ‘noble’.
Give quotes that present Lady Macbeth as Ambitious
Any from:
• ‘Fill me from the crown to the toe-top full of direst cruelty’
• ‘unsex me here’
• ‘take my milk for gall’
• ‘too full o’th milk of human kindness
Give three quotes that present Lady Macbeth as Ruthlessness
• ‘look like th’ innocent flower but be the serpent underneath’
• ‘Dashed’
• ‘plucked’
Give two quotes on how Lady Macbeth is Manipulative
• She questions macbeths masculinity as a deliberate technique into manipulating him into committing regicide - ‘coward’ & ‘you would be so much more the man’
• says that she would have ‘dashed’ and ‘plucked’ at child while it was ‘smiling in my face’ to prove her ruthlessness to macenth as a technique of manipulation.
Give a word (not quote) that means pointlessness and meaninglessness
Futility
How is Lady Macbeths Guilt portrayed at the end of the Play?
Through her Sleepwalking:
• ‘will these hands ne’er be clean?’ - symbolism of how she can’t wash away the her guilt and bad deeds.
• Lady M is shocked that Duncan had ‘so much blood in him’ - science at the time thought the more you age, the more blood you lost. Symbolises Lady M guilt because she believes she but Duncan’s life short.
• ‘Out, damned spot!’ - ‘spot’ representing blood. ‘Out’ is actually repeated twice, showing frustrations that she’s losing control and her guilt is consuming her.
How does Macbeth feel at the end of the play and explain how.
Macbeth feels numb and pointless.
• ‘Life’s but a walking shadows’ - the noun ‘shadow’ is used as shadows follow people, similarly to how macbeths past follows him, symbolising his guilt.
• ‘Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow’ - repetition of ‘tomorrow’ represents Macbeth’s view on the futility of life; how actions he thought would make an impact (e.g. becoming king) are now just pointless.
• He considers life a ‘poor player’
Explain how the Supernatural drive the Play ‘Macbeth’
The supernatural (the witches) drive the play by being a catalyst to Macbeths Harmatia, e.g. his ambition. You could say that if it wasn’t for the Witches, Macbeth may not have committed as much terrible crimes as he did.
Give a deliberate technique from Shakespeare that connects to the theme of the Supernatural
The witches add a dark and eerie atmosphere to the play, making it more intense; moreover, Shakespeare only hints at what’s real or not, which adds to the drama. E.g. when Duncan is killed, Macbeth hears voices saying ‘Macbeth does murder sleep’ - this could be the witches or just his own guilt; or when he hallucinates banquo, could be the witches or a symbol of his guilt (the visions are ambiguous)
Give two quotes from the witches
(Hint: one quote is a paradox and the other is about Banquo’
• ‘fair is foul, foul is fair’
• ‘Lesser than Macbeth and greater’
Give the six total prophecies from the witches (not quotes)
- Macbeth will become Thane of Cawdor
- Macbeth will become King
- Banquos descendants will be kings.
- Beware Macduff
- Macbeth can’t be killed by anyone born from a women.
- Macbeth will never die until Birnam Wood moves to Dunsinane Hill.
How is Macduffs son described by the Murders
An ‘egg’
