Macbeth test Flashcards
(23 cards)
Wyrd
fate and destiny/doom
Comitatus
A body of wellborn men attached to a higher subject
Monologue
A long speech by one of the characters
Soliloquy
An act of speaking ones thoughts aloud when by themselves regardless if anyone hears
Aside
a remark or passage in a play that is intended to be heard by the audience but unheard by the other characters in the play
iambic pentameter
a line of verse with five metrical feet, each consisting of one short (or unstressed) syllable followed by one long (or stressed) syllable, for example Two households, both alike in dignity.
tragic hero
A noble figure that experiences a tragic downfall
Divine rights of kings
Royal subjects were chosen by Gods so they couldn’t be accountable for their actions
regicide
The act of killing a king
“the instruments of darkness tell us truths,/Win us with honest trifles, to betray ‘s/in deepest consequence”
They lure you in with a bit of truth to harm you
So foul and fair a day I have not seen
Things are not always as they seem
Lesser than Macbeth and greater
Banquo will have a lesser title than Macbeth but will be a greater person in regards to character
. “I dare do all that may become a man/Who dares do more is none.
everything that is appropriate for a man – if you go further, you have dehumanized yourself
The sleeping and the dead/Are but as pictures. ‘Tis the eye of childhood/That fears a painted devil.
the sleeping and the dead are essentially harmless and unthreatening
“A little water clears us of this deed:/How easy it is then!”
simply washing their hands with a small amount of water can erase the evidence of their crime
“Things without all remedy/should be without regard.”
when something cannot be fixed or changed (“without all remedy”), you should not worry about it or give it any further thought (“without regard”)
“This supernatural soliciting/Cannot be ill, cannot be good.”
the witches’ prophecy, which is considered “supernatural” and is actively encouraging Macbeth to take action, is so ambiguous that it can’t be definitively labeled as either evil or good
Yet do I fear thy nature;/ It is too full o’ th’ milk of human kindness/To catch the nearest way.
to express her concern that her husband, Macbeth, lacks the ruthlessness to kill Duncan and take the throne
“What thou wouldst highly,/That wouldst thou holily/wouldst not play false/And yet wouldst wrongly win.”
he wants to do things in a good or holy way, he doesn’t want to cheat in life or play unfairly, but he does want something that shouldn’t be his
“He’s here in double trust:/First, as I am his kinsman and his subject,/Strong both against the deed; then, as his host,/Who should against his murderer shut the door,/Not bear the knife myself.”
He says that as subject to the King he cannot kill him because he owes him his loyalty. Secondly as his host, due to hospitality, he should care for his safety instead of killing him.
“Is this a dagger which I see before me,/The handle toward my hand?”
Macbeth is unsure of the existence of the dagger
“The worm that’s fled/Hath nature that in time will venom breed/No teeth for th’ present.”
while a small, seemingly insignificant threat (the “worm” - referring to Banquo’s son, Fleance) has escaped, it has the potential to grow into a dangerous enemy in the future
