Macbeth study guide

Adage

• A proverb or short statement expressing a general truth 

Anon

• Immediately or soon

Battlements

• Part of a castle mostly used in war

Beguile

deceive

Chid

scolded

Entreat

• To ask someone earnestly or anxiously to do something

Feat

• An achievement that require great strength and skill

Frieze

• any decorative band on an outside wall, broader than a string course and bearing lettering, sculpture, etc

Gall

• Bile or poisonous acid

Jocund

• Cheerful; jovial

Knell

•  solemn ringing of a church bell to announce someone's death.

Liege

• a lord or sovereign or one to who allegiance/ loyalty is owed

Mettle

• spirit, temperament, disposition

Minion

Favorite

Pernicious

•  causing insidious harm or ruin; ruinous; injurious; hurtful:

Prate

• chatter, noise

Recompense

• Make amends to someone for loss or harm suffered.

Quell

• put an end to (a rebellion or other disorder), typically by the use of force.

Surfeited (grooms)

• Overfed servants

Trammel

• entangle in a net from which nothing can break free

Vanquish

• to conquer or subdue by force.

“This castle hath a pleasant seat; the air nimbly and sweetly recommends itself” 

Duncan

"Thou hast it now: King, Cawdor, Glamis, all, as the weird women promised; and, I fear, thou play'dst most foully for't.” 

Banquo

“By the pricking of my thumbs, something wicked this way comes.” 

witches

“Infirm of purpose!” 

• Lady Macbeth

 "False face must hide what the false heart doth know." 

Macbeth

“I dreamt last night of the three weird sisters” 

Banquo

“Let us seek out some desolate shade and there Weep our sad bosoms empty.” 

Macbeth

“Therefore much drink may be said to be an equivocator with lechery.” 

Porter

"'Tis the eye of childhood that fears a painted devil.” 

• Lady Macbeth

"What, all my pretty chickens and their dam at one fell swoop?" 

Macduff

”'I fear thou play'st most foully for it” 

Banquo

“Nothing is but what is not.” 

• Lady Macbeth

“Angels are bright still, though the brightest fell.

Malcolm

"Macduff was from his mother's womb, untimely ripped." 

Macduff

“All the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand.”

• Lady Macbeth

“It will have blood they say; blood must have blood.” 

Macbeth

“Knock, knock. Who's there, in the other devil's name?”

Porter

“What bloody man is that?”

Duncan

“Hail, King! for so thou art. Behold where stands

 Th’ usurper’s cursèd head. The time is free.”

Macduff

Duncan

• King of Scotland

• Virtuous and benevolent

Malcolm

• King Duncan son

• Restored to the throne after macbeth death 

• Had fled after fathers murder

Donalbain

• King Duncan son

Macbeth

• Noblemen of scotland

• Thane of Glamis

• Thane of Cawdor

• Brave but not virtuous

• Tyrant king

Banquo

• Noblemen of scotland

• Friend of macbeth

• Is killed by the murderers by order from macbeth

• Children will inherit scottish throne

• Becomes ghost and haunts macbeth

Fleance

• Banquo's son

• He survives the murder attempt

• Is never mentioned after the murder scene

Macduff

• Noblemen of scotland

• Is one of the people to suspect that macbeth is not getting his positions honestly 

• Leads the crusade on macbeth

Porter

• written in prose

• drunk

Lennox

• Scottish nobleman

Ross

• Scottish nobleman 

Three murderers

• Used by macbeth to kill Banquo and Macduff's wife and children

Lady macbeth

• Wife of Macbeth

• Calls upon devils

• Wants power and is the vice to macbeth's actions

• Kills herself

Lady macduff

• Wife of macduff

• Is murdered 

Hecate

• The goddess of witchcraft

Witches

• Predictions lead to the murder of duncan, banquo and macbeth downfall

• Servant of hecate

• Resemble fates

Shakespear

• born Stratford-upon-avon, UK in 1564

• died april 23 1616

• playwright, poet, and actor

• Attended the town’s free grammar school 

• At 18, he married 26 yr old Anne Hathaway

• Had a daughter, Susanna, and twins Hamnet and Judith

• Many of his plays were performed at the Globe theater. 

• He wrote his 154 sonnets during the Black Plague from 1592-1594

• Most are addressed to a young man, urging him to marry and have kids in order to pass on his looks and talents. 

Renaissance History

• King James wanted to rid the land of witchcraft

• Elizabethan drama

• Shakespeare wrote Macbeth to get on King James’ good side and get $$$

Elizabethan drama vs medieval drama

Medieval plays

Morality plays 

1. Based on religious themes

2. Showed good and bad conduct

Miracle plays

1. Showed scenes

   from the bible 

Other plays

1. Put on by wandering actors called “strolling players”

2. Far from religious

3. Authorities tried to ban them 

elizabethan reign

• During this time, playwrights began to create comedies and tragedies 

• As watching plays became more popular theaters were built 

1. Rose, Swan, Globe Theatres were built between 1587 and 1598

Features of Elizabethan theater

1. The theater was open and plays had to be performed in daylight 

2. A flag would be flown from the top of the theater to show a play was going to be performed 

3. People sat around the stage in galleries

4. The cheapest place to sit was in front of the stage where ordinary people stood

• Known as “groundlings”

5. There was very little scenery 

• A character would tell the audience where the scene was set

6. Women’s parts were played by boys 

7. Long speeches gave actors time to change their clothes 

8. There was generally plenty of violence in the plays 

• Tudor audiences loved it. 

Chamberlain men

-> king’s men

• The chamberlain’s men were actors that were actors hired by the queen

• Eventually they were called the “king’s men” when paid by the king (after the queen died)

scansion and analysis

Act 1

7 scenes

1. introduces the witches and their predictions

2. king duncan receives word about brave Macbeth(the boast), macbeth vs the norwegians, the betrayal of the thane of cawdor. Thane of cawdor is to be executed and Macbeth given his title

3. Witches meet macbeth and banquo. (Macbeth to be thane of cawdor and king, Banquo son to be king) Ross and angus then arirve after witches leave to let them know that macbeth is now the thane.

4. King duncan formally thanks banquo and macbeth and says that his heir is his son maslcom

5. At Macbeths home, Lady Macbeth reads about the witches in a letter and then plots to kill him and calls upon dark forces inclduing demons and devils.

6. King duncan arrives, this scnee is jsut formal

7. Macbeth does not want to murder the King, She threatens his masculinity and convicnes him to do it.

Act 2

4 scenes

1. Middle of the night banquo and his son see macbeth they question him. Banquo tells him of his dream of the witches and macbeth sees the vision of a bloody dagger. bell sound and then he goes to kill duncan

2. Macbeth returns anxiously, he had brought the dagger with him and lady macbeth takes it back to the scene, she returns with bloody hands and calls him a coward then go to clean they hands.

3. Porter answers door, Macbeth leads macduff to duncan they discover he is murdered, sons fins out their dad is murdered everyone goes into a frenzy and the sons flee.

4. Ross tlaks about natural things that are happening,

Act 3

6 scenes

1. Macbeth talks to banquo about his feastand then after he leaves plots with a murderer to kill him

2. Macbeth is plagued by fears and tells his wife his plan of killing banquo, she tells him to put on a brave face. He says his mind is full of scorpions

3. The Murderers kill Banquo but arent able to kill his son and they go to tell macbeth

4. the macbeths host a banquet for the Scottish thanes, the murder tells macbeth he killed banquo but fleance escaped, Macbeth sees the ghost of banquo and freaks out

5. Scene between hecate and the 3 witches. She tells them off for giving phrophicies to macbeth without her approval. She says to meet her in the morning when they will tell macbeth his destiny and lead him to his confusion

6. Lennox is suspicious about the murders of banquo and duncan He tells about how macduff left to england to join forces with malcom and him and the other lord pray that gods vengeance will reach macbeth

Act 4

3 scenes

1. Witches at cauldron and cast a spell, Macbeth visits them and emnands to know what will happen and they show him three visions. 1st - disembodied head of warrior wanring of macduff bloody revenge. 2nd - blood covered child syaing that maceth cant be killed of any man who was woman-born. 3rd - child wearing crown saying he wont lose till Birham wood moves to him. he askss aout banquo and they show him a vision of banquo leading future kings. Macbeth is angry and plans to slaughet macduff and his fmaily

2. Lady macduff and her son, warned to escape by the thane of ross but are killed (son first and then mom and very brutally)

3. Malcom tests macduff, they join together and ross arrives, Macduff hears that his family is dead, he grieves like a man, Passage on edward the confessor

Act 5

9 scenes

1. Shows hoe lady macbeth has ptsd and is obbsessed with washing her hand.

2. Malcoms army grows with scottish men,

3. Macbeth hers that and army is coming but he doesnt care because he thinks of him self invincible, he prepares for war, and lady macbeth is becoming crazier and doc tries to fix her

4. Malcom tells his army to grabs trees so they can hide (witches prophecy)

5. Macbeth reflects on life, is told of birham wood coming to his castle, is unerved but vows he will die fighting

6. duncan and the thanes arrive at the castle

7. Siward challeneges macbeth and dies, and macduff searches for him, big fight coming sloser

8. Macbeth vs macduff. Macduff revels he was not techinally born of a woman (c-section)

   macbeth beheaded, malcom becomes king of Scotland

9. Macduff arrives with his head and hails malcom as the new king. Malcom honors those who fought and died and invites them to see him crowned.

theme

• supernatural

  • fate (how you are not in charge)

• ambition

  • greed

• masculinity vs feminity

• appearence and relaity

• be careful who you trust

• chaos

  • order will be resotored

or