The Supernatural

These flashcards are for the theme of 'The Supernatural' in Macbeth.

What is the structural significance of Shakespeare opening Macbeth with the Witches in Act 1, Scene 1?

It immediately establishes the supernatural as a major theme and driving force in the play, creating an atmosphere of mystery and chaos from the outset.

What literary device is central to the Witches' line, Fair is foul, and foul is fair?

This line is a paradox that introduces the play's core theme of appearance versus reality, suggesting a world where moral values are inverted.

How does the Witches' speech pattern differ from that of the noble characters in Macbeth?

The Witches speak in trochaic tetrameter with rhyming couplets, creating a chant-like, incantatory rhythm that separates them from the nobles who use iambic pentameter (blank verse).

In what way can the three Witches be interpreted as a symbolic inversion of a religious concept?

They can be seen as an 'anti-trinity,' a trinity of evil that directly opposes the Holy Trinity (Father, Son, and Holy Ghost), reinforcing their diabolical nature.

What key question does the ambiguity of the Witches' power raise about their role in Macbeth's downfall?

It raises the question of whether their power is one of prophecy (predicting the future) or direction (making things happen), leaving Macbeth's free will and responsibility in question.

How does Macbeth's first line, So foul and fair a day I have not seen, connect him to the supernatural?

It directly echoes the Witches' paradoxical chant from Act 1, Scene 1, structurally and linguistically linking him to their evil influence from his first appearance.

Which historical text, written by King James I, provides crucial context for the Jacobean audience's fear of witchcraft?

'Daemonologie' (1597), a book by King James I about witchcraft, demonstrates the monarch's personal interest and belief, making the Witches a real and terrifying threat for the contemporary audience.

In her soliloquy in Act 1, Scene 5, Lady Macbeth calls on spirits to _ me here.

unsex

What does Lady Macbeth ask the spirits to do with her 'milk' in her Act 1, Scene 5 soliloquy?

She asks them to take my milk for gall, symbolically trading her nurturing, feminine qualities for bitter cruelty.

How can Lady Macbeth be viewed as a 'fourth witch' within the play?

She actively invokes demonic spirits, uses manipulative language that echoes the Witches, and acts as a catalyst for evil, effectively aligning herself with the supernatural.

What does Lady Macbeth's desire for thick night to hide her actions reveal about the supernatural theme?

It links the supernatural to darkness and concealment, showing that evil deeds require an absence of divine light and moral transparency to be committed.

What is the significance of the vision of the dagger that Macbeth sees in Act 2, Scene 1?

The dagger of the mind is a key supernatural manifestation that symbolises the bloody path he is about to take and represents the first major sign of his psychological unraveling due to guilt.

The appearance of Banquo's ghost in Act 3, Scene 4, serves what dramatic purpose?

It is the climax of the play and a physical manifestation of Macbeth's guilt, publicly exposing his tormented conscience and marking his descent into tyranny and paranoia.

How did a Jacobean audience's view of ghosts differ from a modern one, affecting their interpretation of Banquo's ghost?

A Jacobean audience was more likely to believe in the reality of supernatural phenomena, viewing the ghost as a real, vengeful spirit rather than purely a psychological projection of Macbeth's mind.

The first apparition shown to Macbeth in Act 4, Scene 1 is an armed head. What does this apparition symbolically foreshadow?

It foreshadows Macbeth's own decapitation at the hands of Macduff at the end of the play.

The second apparition, a bloody child, tells Macbeth that none of _ born shall harm Macbeth.

woman

How is the prophecy of the bloody child an example of the Witches' use of equivocation?

It deceptively makes Macbeth feel invincible, as he assumes everyone is born of a woman, while hiding the truth that Macduff was born by Caesarean section.

What does the third apparition, a child crowned with a tree in his hand, prophesy?

It prophesies that Macbeth will not be vanquished until Great Birnam Wood comes to high Dunsinane Hill.

How does the final vision in Act 4, Scene 1, showing a line of eight kings with Banquo's ghost, affect Macbeth?

It confirms his worst fear that Banquo's descendants, not his own, will inherit the throne, solidifying his paranoia and driving him to further acts of senseless violence like the murder of Macduff's family.

What Elizabethan and Jacobean belief system held that there was a divinely ordained hierarchy for everything in the universe?

The Great Chain of Being.

How does Macbeth's act of regicide disrupt the Great Chain of Being?

By killing King Duncan, God's chosen representative on Earth, Macbeth unnaturally breaks the divine order, unleashing chaos upon Scotland.

What term describes the literary device where chaos in nature reflects the moral chaos in the human world?

Pathetic fallacy.

What specific unnatural event in Act 2, Scene 4, involving birds, symbolises the murder of Duncan?

A 'mousing owl' is reported to have 'hawked at and killed' a 'falcon,' symbolising the lower-ranking Macbeth murdering the noble King Duncan, an inversion of the natural order.

What is the supernatural significance of Macbeth's inability to sleep after murdering Duncan?

His proclamation that he has murdered sleep signifies that his unnatural act has deprived him of nature's restorative process, a divine punishment that leads to madness.

Lady Macbeth's sleepwalking in Act 5, Scene 1, would have been interpreted by a Jacobean audience as a sign of what?

It would have been seen as a sign of demonic possession or madness, the spiritual consequence of her earlier invitation to evil spirits.

What recurring motif represents the indelible guilt that follows unnatural deeds in Macbeth?

The motif of blood, exemplified by Lady Macbeth's futile attempt to wash an imaginary damned spot from her hands.

In Act 2, Scene 2, Macbeth claims that not even the ocean of which Roman god could wash the blood from his hand?

Neptune.

What does Macbeth's reference to Neptune, a pagan god, suggest about his spiritual state after the murder?

It suggests he has turned his back on the Christian God and is alienated from divine grace, acknowledging the immensity of his sin.

What is the historical significance of the Witches' prophecy that Banquo will be 'father to a line of kings'?

It was a flattering allusion to King James I, who was believed to be a descendant of the historical Banquo, thus legitimizing his reign.

The character of Hecate, the goddess of witchcraft, appears in Act 3, Scene 5. What is the critical debate surrounding this scene?

Many experts believe this scene was not written by Shakespeare and was added later, as its tone and style differ from the rest of the play.

How do the Witches' animal familiars, like the cat Graymalkin and the toad Paddock, contribute to their supernatural characterisation?

These familiars, mentioned in Act 1, Scene 1, are examples of animal imagery that link the Witches to base, earthly, and demonic forces, separating them from humanity.

What does Banquo note about the Witches' appearance that makes them seem unnatural and ambiguous?

He notes they should be women, / And yet your beards forbid me to interpret / That you are so, highlighting their grotesque and gender-ambiguous nature.

How does Banquo's reaction to the Witches' prophecies contrast with Macbeth's?

Banquo is skeptical and wary, calling their predictions honest trifles meant to win us to our harm, whereas Macbeth is immediately captivated and yields to the suggestion.

The porter in Act 2, Scene 3, comically imagines he is the porter of what place?

He imagines he is the porter of hell-gate.

What is the supernatural significance of the porter scene, despite its comic tone?

It serves as a moment of grim dramatic irony, as Macbeth's castle has literally become a hell on Earth through the unnatural act of regicide.

The Porter's mention of an equivocator who could not equivocate to heaven is a topical allusion to what contemporary event?

It alludes to the trial of Jesuit priest Henry Garnet following the Gunpowder Plot of 1605, who was known for his defense of equivocation (ambiguous truth-telling).