Macbeth Flashcards
(15 cards)
Highlights Macbeth’s bravery and skill on the battlefield. Loyalty/violence
“Like valour’s minion” Act 1 Scene 2
Macbeth’s disturbing ambition to make the witches’ prophecy come true through deceptive means. {Soliloquy} Ambition/fate
“Stars hide your fires let not light see my black and deep desires” Act 1 scene 4
Macbeth confesses his mental turmoil to Lady Macbeth.He cannot cope with the paranoia and guilt that is flooding his mind having killed King Duncan and Ban-quo.Treason
“O full of scorpions is my mind dear wife”Act 3 scene 2
Macbeth’s tyranny and paranoia are foregrounded as he commands his guards to find and kill Mac duff’s family - all of whom are innocent. His decision here is no doubt in response to his visit to the witches.Tyranny/ Paranoia/ Ambition/ The Supernatural
Give to the edge of the sword his wife, his babes and all unfortunate souls that trace him in his line Act 4 scene
In his final soliloquy, Macbeth reflects on the shortness and futility of life in the moments after Lady Macbeth’s death. He uses the metaphor of a candle to comment on how meaningless our ambitions and pursuits in life are in relation to the great darkness of death that surrounds us.Death/ Ambition/ Fate
Out.out,brief candle!Life’s like a walking shadow
Lady Macbeth calls to her husband: urging him to be with her so she can manipulate him into taking the crown and elevate their status .Power/ Ambition/ Gender (women)
Hie thee hither that I may pour my spirits in thine ear Act 1 scene 5
Lady Macbeth is convincing Macbeth to deceive the people around him so that there is no chance of them getting caught. She uses this advice as a way to calm his fear and anxiety in the lead up to regicide. Duplicity/ Gender (women)
Look like the innocent flower but be the serpent under’t Act 1 scene 7
Lady Macbeth’s muddled speech as she sleepwalks demonstrates how much her mental state has deteriorated in light of the people who have died at the hands of Macbeth and her involvement in it - specifically Duncan.Guilt/ Power/ Gender (women)
Out! damned spot! Out! I say!…who would have thought the old man to have had so much blood in him?” Act 5 scene 1
The witches’ equivocal language in the opening scene foreshadows the chaos and corruption that will unfold due to their manipulation and power over Macbeth.The Supernatural/ Power
Fair is foul and foul is fair, hover through the fog and filthy air Act 1 scene 1
The second apparition conjured by the witches encourages Macbeth’s false sense of security and belief that he is untouchable. The irony of this prophecy is realised later in the play when Macbeth finds out that Macduff was born by c-section: and so is exempt from the protection that Macbeth interprets from the words of this apparition. Ambition/ The Supernatural/ Duplicity
Be bloody, bold, and resolute. Laugh to scorn The power of man, for none of woman born shall harm Macbeth. Act 4 scene 1
In the aftermath of Duncan’s death, prior to the other characters finding his body, Lennox describes turbulence and chaos in the natural world. Shakespeare uses the natural world as a metaphor for the devastating effect regicide is about to have on Scotland.Trason/ the Supernatural/ Power/ Kingship
The night has been unruly…the earth was feverish and did shake Act 2 scene 3
Macbeth’s description of Duncan after his body has been found highlights the importance of Duncan within the great chain of being. It further emphasises Macbeth’s ability to be duplicitous but does call to question whether a part of this exclamation is a reflection of Macbeth’s trauma and regret in the moments after he committed regicide.Kingship/ Power/ Loyalty/ Duplicity
His silver skin laced with his golden blood Act 2 scene 3
Banquo advices Macbeth that just because the witches told the truth, it doesn’t mean that they aren’t evil. Banquo has an insight that Macbeth seems to lack: the witches don’t have his best interests in mind. Their prophecies are most likely going to cause harm.Loyalty/ Ambition
to win us to our harm, The instruments of darkness tell us truths, Win us with honest trifles, Act 1 scene 3
Macduff, who acts as a foil to Macbeth, disperses Macbeth’s illusion at the end of the play by revealing he was born by c-section. The penny drops and Macbeth finally realises that he’s been duped by the witches.Violence/ The Supernatural
Despair thy charm, And let the angel whom thou still hast served Tell thee, Macduff was from his mother’s womb Untimely ripped. Act 5 scene 8
Malcolm shows the he is a patriot, like Macduff, who loves his country. By personifying Scotland as an abused country, Malcolm reveals his selfless and noble nature: the binary opposite of Macbeth.Tyranny/ Kingship/ Loyalty/ Violence
I think our country sinks beneath the yoke:It weeps,it bleeds;and each new day a gash/Is added to her wounds Act 4 scene 3
