Quotes Flashcards
(36 cards)
1
Q
‘fair is foul and foul is fair’
A
- Appearance vs Reality
- Deception
- Witches induce unnatural order - were everything is reversed
- Echo of MB first lines - suggests he is already under there influence
2
Q
‘his brandish steel smoked with blood execution’
A
- imagery of a courageous noble solidier
- alliteration of ‘brandish’ and ‘bloody’ - focuses on the violence
- ‘smoked’ - majestic tone = mesmirised by MB bravery
3
Q
‘he was a man whom I had built an absolute trust’
A
- Dramatic Irony: Duncan allocated MB as thane - MB will betray Duncan
- Foreshadows MB betrayal
- theme of deception
- Duncan is naive
4
Q
‘There’s no art to find minds construction in the face’
A
- Duncan trusts easily - betrayed by previous thane
- vulnerable character
- makes the same mistake again my trusting MB
- modern audience would be critical of Duncan - shows poor judgement and should understand the threat that comes with power
5
Q
‘If good, why do I yield to that suggestion’
A
- Macbeth is horrified at the idea of killing Duncan
- giving in to temptation
- ambition is struggling against morals
6
Q
‘the instruments of darkness tell us truths’
A
- Pleases Jacobean audience as Banquo identifies the witches as force of evil or the devil
- Recognition of the deceptive nature of supernatural
- Acts a as a warning to the readers and MB about the dangers of trusting the witches
7
Q
‘look like the innocent flower but be the serpent under’t’
A
- Metaphor expresses appearance vs reality
- Imagery of ‘flower’ is delicate and vulnerable
- Imagery of ‘serpent’ is temptation and deceit
8
Q
‘Come, you spirits that tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me’
A
- LMB views feminity as a weakness
- wants to be rid of her feminine qualities in order to be ruthless and brutal
- rid herself of weakness to gain power
- Jacobean audience - shock and discomfort as she goes against societys expectations for women
9
Q
‘take my milk for gall’
A
- Metaphor - signifies her desire to reject compassion in favour of cruelty
- ‘milk’ - nurture, care and kindness of a mother
- ‘Gall’ represents posoin
10
Q
‘had he not resembled my father when he slept i would had’t done it’
A
- LMB capacity for violence and ruthless personality
- softer and sentimental side associated with family
11
Q
‘Stars hide your fires let not light see my black and deep desires’
A
- Light and Dark Imagery & appearance vs reality
- ‘Black’ - evil rooted within him - good vs evil
- ‘Deep desires’ shows his ambition to be king
12
Q
‘False face must hide what false heart doth no’
A
- ‘False face’ is a representation of a metaphorical mask - showing dishonesty and duality
- Appearance vs reality
- MB acknowledges the need to conceal his true intentions
- Deception
13
Q
‘our fears in banquo stick deep’
A
- Metaphor shows how MB sees him as a threat
- MB Betrayal oftrust shows how ambition erodes loyalty
14
Q
‘when durs’t you do it then you are a man’
A
- Suggesting he is no longer a man - demasculating and shaming him
- Implying ambition and action is tied to masculinity
15
Q
‘vaulting ambition’
A
- Personification of ‘ambition’ portrays MBs ambition as a destructive force
- Verb ‘waulting’ suggests MB will overcome any obstacle in order to be king
16
Q
‘the multitudinous seas incardine, making the green one red’
A
- Hyperbolic imagery - inescapability of guilt
- physical guilt
- loss of innocence
17
Q
‘a little water clears us of this deed’
A
- Juxtaposition with MB turmoil
- Suggest guilt and remorse can be washed away
- Audience - unsettled as it highlights her ruthless
18
Q
‘full of scorpions is my mind’
A
- Metaphor – torment and agitation in Macbeths mind - poisoned by his ambition
- ‘scorpions’ - violent and threatening - capcacity for violence
19
Q
‘never shake thy gory locks at me’
A
- Addressing the ghost of Banquo
- ‘gory’ has connotations of blood and violence
- Guilt and fear – Macbeths unravelling mental state
20
Q
‘let old robes sit easier than our new!’
A
- Metaphor & clothing imagery
- Questions Macbeths reign and how it will affect Scotland
- Life under Duncan’s rule was easier
21
Q
‘he has no children. All my pretty ones? Did you say all’
A
- Shows MD affection and tenderness which heightens the damage
- Repetition of questions - struggle to accept
- Audience feel sympathetic - innocent children have been killed which highlights the brutality of MB actions
22
Q
‘i must also feel it as a man’
A
- Highlights emotional depth that Macbeth lacks
- Sensitive presentation of Masculinity
- Needs time to feel and grieve
23
Q
‘none born of a women shall harm Macbeth’
A
- MB interprets this as a sign of security and believes he is invincible
- MB blind faith in the witches’ words causes him to ignore reason and act recklessly
24
Q
‘deny me this, and an eternal curse fall on you’
A
- Arrogance - MB believes he can command the supernatural
- Foreshadows MB’s doom - ‘eternal curse’ is ironic as MB is the one truly cursed
- Fate vs Freewill - his obsession with controlling his destiny actually ensures his destruction
25
'i fight till my flesh be hack'd form my bones'
- Graphic imagery
- Determination and courage to fight till death
- Sense of hope – the once noble solider = expert on the battlefield
26
'out damned spot! Out I say!'
- LMB unravelling madness
- Loss of control - commanding tone shows her seperation and loss of power
- symbolism of blood - violent acts are permenant and she cannot be rid of the guilt
27
'all the perfumes of arabia will not sweeten this little hand'
- Contrast to previous dismissal - 'a little water celars us of this deed'
- Hyperbole – emphasises the grief and destruction
- Cannot be rid of her sins – tormenting and corrupting
- Symbolism of blood - extent of guilt and remorse
28
'I am in blood stepped so far that I should wade no more. To return would be as tedius to go'er'
- Macbeth has committed so many acts of violence that turning back is impossible
- Blood is a symbol of guilt and remorse
- His ruthless character and powerful ambition has led to his downfall
29
'of this dead butcher and his fiend-like Queen'
- Fiend-like' has connotations of evil and devil
- 'Butcher' shows that MB will be remembered for his acts of violence and brutality - audience do not sympathise
30
'When shall we meet again? In thunder, lightning, or in rain?'
- Weather Imagery - witches evoke extreme conditions
- Thunder, lightning and rain are associated with chaos, disturbance and unnatural occurrence
- Disruption of natural order
31
'All hail Macbeth, hail to thee.'
- hail' shows respect
- Flattering MB to manipulate him
32
'Double, double toil and trouble; Fire burn, and cauldron bubble.'
- Repetition and rhythm - draws attention to their role as supernatural forces
- Chant = atmosphere of danger and evil
- Bubbling cauldron underlines there role in creating chaos and destruction
33
'Be bloody, bold, and resolute.'
- Imperative verb - encourages him to embrace violence
- It pushes MB to act ruthlessly without hesitation
34
'I dreamt last night of the three weird sisters: to you they have show'd some truth'
- Preoccupied - keeping him awake/disturbing his sleep
- Honesty vs secrecy - Banquo and Macbeth contrasting traits
- Banquo is cautious, unlike MB who is already obsessed with gaining power
35
'O, treachery! Fly, good Fleance, fly, fly, fly! Thou mayst revenge. O slave!'
- Selfless and protective father - his immediate concern is for his son
- Foreshadows revenge and hints at MB downfall
- Emotive installing pity and sympathy in readers
36
‘Turn, hell-hound, turn!’
- Dehumanising Macbeth 'Hell-hound' associates him with evil and hell
- Macduff commands him to 'turn' - force and determination for revenge
- Reversal of power - Macduff has the upper hand over MB
