Macbeth

Question 1

Macbeth

“Stars hide your fires; let not light see my black and deep desires” (1.4) - Appearance vs Reality

Answer 1

• personification of “stars” = agency - desperation and belief that external forces can intervene in human affairs
• imperative “hide” = authority to demand that the stars conceal his dark thoughts
• irony that Macbeth is calling upon a force beyond his power - ambition is driving his conscious, rather than his nobility
• connotations of “stars” = semantic field of “light”, guidance, hope - juxtaposes “black and deep desires” - evil + secretive tone - false appearance
• caesura = divide the sentence into good vs bad, mirroring how Macbeth splits his demeanour to hold up his facade

Question 2

Macbeth

“Will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood clean from my hand?” (2.2) - Guilt

Answer 2

• recurring motif of “blood” = severity of Macbeth’s actions - consequences stained his hands
• rhetorical question + extreme exaggeration = repercussions are irreparable - “valiant” soldier calls upon a fictitious force - prayer-like call
• rhetorical question = anagnorisis (realisation) - envisaged “the multitudinous seas” becoming “incarnadine” - nature has comprehended his blunder

Question 3

Lady Macbeth

“Your hand, your tongue; look like the innocent flower, but be the serpent underneath it” (1.5) - Appearance vs Reality

Answer 3

• theme of duplicity = callous nature - promotes Macbeth to deceive others
• imperative verbs “look” + “be” = direct command - Macbeth can’t challenge her stance - immense growth in power as ambition extends
• religious imagery = Eve was banished for temptation to eat forbidden fruit - foreshadow Lady Macbeth’s fall from power

Question 4

Lady Macbeth

“All the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand (5.1) - Guilt

Answer 4

• exaggeration + exclamation “perfumes of Arabia” could not “sweeten her little hand” = anagnorisis - comprehends severity of actions
• adjective “little” = minimise act in the regicide - ambition blinded her from societal norms - unable to recognise her role in the eternal sin
• irony = dismissed Macbeth’s guilt, stating “a little water would clear us of this deed” (2.2) - calls upon the “sweetest smells” to free her from inescapable consequences
• semantic field of “Arabia[n]” “smells” - juxtaposes rancid smell from blood

Question 5

Banquo

“What can the devil speak true?” (1.3) - Supernatural

Answer 5

• rhetorical question = doubts upon prophecies - juxtaposing Macbeth’s “vaulting ambition”- symbolising nobility - takes caution
• duplicity of the supernatural in disparity between connotations of nouns “truth” + “devil” = cannot phase Banquo - contrasts Macbeth who succumbs to ominous force - downfall
• placement of the question after prophecies - Banquo uses nobility as a source of wisdom rather than his greed for material gain
• mouthpiece for Shakespeare = wider message to distinguish from “tru[th]” and deception, expressing a more thoughtful approach to ambition rather than following the temptations of life

Question 6

Banquo

“There’s husbandry in heaven; Their candles are all out.” (2.1)

Answer 6

• denotation of “husbandry” = frugality + metaphorical depiction of “candles” to stars - Banquo suggesting that external forces are gatekeeping their presence - foreshadowing events
• absence of stars = deterioration of the natural order - unnatural darkness looms over Scotland due to Macbeth’s “vaulting ambition”
• theme of darkness = Shakespearean era - links to witchcraft - mirrors Macbeth alliance with the supernatural

Question 7

Witches

“The instruments of darkness tell us truths” (1.3) - Supernatural

Answer 7

• metaphorical phase “instruments of darkness” = personify Witches into an oppressive force of evil and destruction - manipulate Macbeth
• only “instruments” = mere tool for a higher power - links to Jacobean fear of the devil
• “instruments” = Macbeth is being played - evoking a loss of agency - constricted in the Witches regulations
• ominous + sinister tone in sibilance of soft “s” in “us” + “truths” = mimics hissing of a snake - Satan represented as a snake in the Garden of Eden
• sibilance = stealth + subtle movements - plant ideas rather than a fully pledged fight
• Shakespeare’s message echoed = not to perceive surface level to be true - delve into forgotten senses - truly pain a picture of the counterparts intentions

Question 8

Witches

“In thunder, lightning, or in rain?” (1.1) - Supernatural

Answer 8

• pathetic fallacy controlled by the Witches = opens the play with the supernatural force rather than human interaction - hints at overarching presence they will have
• beginning with supernatural elements = supreme dominance + power - shaped Macbeth’s story before he appeared - sinister and malicious tone
• dark imagery in triplet “thunder, lightning and rain” = connoting disruption + chaos - Witches presence hinder natural order
• semantic field of stormy conditions = Jacobean fear with natural disasters - links to a demonic being - mirroring the experience of King James I wife
• iambic tetrameter (8 syllable lines) = Witches are unnatural unlike other characters - abnormal presence

Question 9

King Duncan

“O valiant cousin! Worthy gentleman!” (1.1) - Kingship

Answer 9

• exclamatory sentence = praise + enthusiasm towards Macbeth - King’s words are heartfelt given the spontaneity of the exclamation
• noun “cousin” = familial bonds between the two - unity of the monarchy at the time - foreshadows the appointment of Macbeth as future heir to the throne
• adjectives “valiant” + “worthy” = connotes bravery + nobility - references the characteristics of a potential King
• King Duncan expresses with absolute certainty that Macbeth is a suited monarch = parallelism in the phrase - rhythmic balance - lack of self-doubt in his judgement

Question 10

King Duncan

“The sin of my ingratitude even now was heavy on me” (1.4) - Kingship

Answer 10

• metaphorical representation of his “sin” being “heavy” = kingship as a divine duty - views “ingratitude” as a moral + religious failing - juxtaposes Macbeth - sees the role of the King not as a divine responsibility but as a means to strengthen his own ambition
• dramatic irony = Shakespeare teaches audience that despite Duncan’s nobility, he cannot recognise Macbeth’s duplicity
• Macbeth uses the former royalty as a stepping stone to his future aspirations - manipulate him to a false sense of security - uses his duplicitous facade as a “valiant warrior” to deceive the chosen one by God
• breakage in the Divine Right Of King’s = foreshadows how King Duncan must endure the physical pain of being naïve and gullible - truthfulness - viewed as a strength - is a weakness - echoing message to delve beyond to help distinguish from illusion and reality