Macbeth GCSE

“I have no spur to prick the sides of my intent, only vaulting ambition”

Macbeth, deciding wether to kill banquo or not, theme ambition

Macbeth states his hamartia (ambition) , theres no other motivation for macbeth (no spur)

Shakespeare suggests macbeths fatal flaw (ambition) overcomes all his other positive character traits

Also says ambition “overleaps itself”

Suggesting macbeth is aware he is doomed if he commits regicide

“When you durst do it then you were a man”

Lady macbeths power

Suggests macbeth is not a real man unless he commits the regicide, she attacks his masculinity. Hurting macbeths pride in the jacobean era as maniless would be equated with strength so LM calls him weak. LM aligns masculinity with cruelty and daring violence

Example of a role reversal, LM is manipulating and dominating a man

Femme fatale

His short replies mirror his lack of power in the conversation

Aposiopesis (cut of mid sentence which is what lady macbeth does

“Life.. is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing”

Macbeth is powerless, life is meanigless

This is after LM dies, a poweful soliloquy.

Example of nihilsm a belief that life is pointless. For a largely jacobean christian audience this wouldve been shocking. But pathos in the audience despite the blasphemous words. Also shows his anagnorisis, his actions were for NOTHING and he will be defeated.

Lm was his moral anchor, he let himself become controlled by her, he enjoyed the subverted roles, for once he could relax while lady Macbeth took control over the stressful murder situation, he allowed himself vulnerablity

“stars hide your fires; let not light see my black and deep desires”

“Come thick night and pall thee in the dunnest smoke of hell”

1)macbeth

2)Lm

Supernaturual. Both ask for their evil desires to be hidden by god both quotations are before the plotted murder of King Duncan. Satanic

These soliloquies reveal the characters true feelings as they’re both on their own stage as they speak these. The fact LM and Macbeths word echoes show they still have a close relationship

Religous symbolism suggest both characters are aware of the significance and consequences of hell by comitting regicide

Both characters use imperative verbs to command the naturual world. Which may be seen as blasphemous and an attempt to disrupt the great chain of being or gods plan

“The dead butcher and his fiend-like queen”

Malcom, describing the death Macbeth and LM

A butcher is someone who kills without feeling nor remorse. Shakespeare suggests that because of his ambition macbeth turned into a noble general to a common murder. (Critic marxism)

Malcom doesn’t refer to any character by name. This omission shows their immediate fall in status

Lm is describes as a fiend: a demon. She is being compared to the evil forces present in the llay (the witches) who aim to solely bring chaoas to the kingdom of scotland

“Fair is foul and foul is fair”

Start of the play, the “weird sisters” are introduced as a malevolent force. Shakespeare establishes the disruption of the natural order and the corruption of nature through paradoxical language and syntactical parallelism

The use of rhyming language conveys impression of evil spellcasting adding to the supernatural atmosphere (trochaic tetrameter). Incantory

Equivocation

“Hover through the fog and filthy air” illustrating their influence permeated actions of both LM and Macbeths even when they’re not around

This scene starts of in “thunder and lightning” - bring in James I daemonologie AO3

“Come you spirits..unsex me here”

Lady macbeth outlining her desires

She uses imperative verbs when commanding evil spirits showing her power at this point in the play (or at least the power she believes she holds at this point”

The fact she is commanding evil spirits demonstrates her hubris

She wants to remove her femine traits of being nurturing, dutiful, powerless and become unsexed. By doing this she subverts the characteristics of a typical woman. Shakespeare suggests that only by adopting male characteristics can woman gain poeer. This may have been seen as disturbing to a jacaobean audience and rather unnatural, akin to the actions of a witch

“Milk for gall” - refusal to feed her child, her heart has failed in maternal love

“Look like the innocent flower but be the serpent underneath it”

LM, Appearance vs Reality

LM suggests Macbeth hides his treasonous self from king duncan

This quote is reflective of LM duplicitous nature. Her use of the imperative verbs shows her power over Macbeth. She has no trouble acting like an innocent flower in the very next scene as she greets duncan in an endearing docile manner

Serpent holds religous connotation, reference from the bible to the snake ( a representation of the devil) who tempts Eve in the Garden of Eden

LM who is a woman is tempted by wvil and in turn tempts a man (macbeth). In the bible, this temptation causes the fall of man, in macbeth its the downfall of macbeth and LM. This implies shakespeare suggesting commitng blasphemy will always equate to ruin

“Out damned spot; out i say”

“Out, out brief candle”

1) LM 2) Macbeth

Lm is desperately pleading for the hallucinations of blood on her hands to simply disappear. This is before she looses her mind to suicide. Macbeth comments on the brief nature of life after he is told LM is dead.

Lm’s desperation is apparent in her ramblings. Shakespeare shows this by his use of lots of punctuation to reflect her disjointed mind, and the repetition of “out” to show increasing desperation. Imperative verb useage is ironic as before she would command evil spirits now she has completely lost all power. Commands have turned to pleas of desperation. Macbeth echoes language of LM “out , out” lady macbeths desperation has been turned into a reflection of macbeth. The couple is brought closer again, a sense of pathos for the audience is created, its a realisation that what he and LM have done was worthless. She is sleepwaking in this scene (somnambulism) she speaks in prose. Shes going insanse (hysteria)

“ a little water clears us of this deed”

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

LM

she realises nothing can remove her feelings of guilt. These quotations come before the murder of king duncan and then after lady macbeth has lost her mind right before her suicide. Lm displays hubris where she confidently asserts that she and her husband will not be troubled by feelings of guilt or remorse. Her confidence contrasts with macbeths belief that all the water in “neptunes ocean” couldnt wash the blood (symbolising the guilt) from his hand

Hands symbolise responsibility.she senses responsibilty with blood on her hands later on in the play and seemingly kothing can cleanse it of her guilty and respobsibility. Shakespeare suggests that once LM accepts responsibility for the murder, the guilt was overwhelming

“Fair is foul and foul is fair”

“So foul and fair a day i have not seen”

Macbeth comments on the very strange weather that comes after his victory in battle. These lines are before his first encounter with the witches. The witches present the audience with a paradox. Its a suggestion from here on out disruption and chaos is to come. The paradox suggests the words of the witches might be in thhe frrm of riddles. Macbeth without having met the witches echoes their language, suggesting he is already being led by them or under their spell. Suggesting his “fair” character will most certainly become “foul”

“Macbeth does murder sleep”

Macbeth. Quoting a voice he heard that tells him that. Macbeth returns from murdering duncan in a panicked state and is hallucinating . He hears a voice that will tell him hes no longer allowed to sleep. Motifs of sleep. As macbeth as killed the king he has killed his own chance of peace (heaven maybe?). The voice he hears may be interpreted as his own conscience

“Cannot be il, cannot be good”

Macbeth evaluating the witches prophecies . Shakespeare raises questions about fate and free will through his protagonist. His tragic hero expresses uncertainty about the ambiguous prophecies . The oxymoronic “ill” “good” conveys dichotomies in his dilemmas . Macbeth via his questioning nature is presented as doubtful and reflective . Shakespeare initially presents Macbeths as dubious of the witches words simply implying her receptiveness to supernatural ideas.

“I dare do all that may become a man; Who dares do more is none”

Macbeth denies LMS challenge to his masculinity. The alliterative anaphora “dare do all” and “dares do more” stresses macbeths attidude towards masculinity. The repotuton of dare links to bravery and perhaps recklessness. His loyality to the king, macbeth suggests, makes him more of a man

“Instruments of darkness tell us truths, win us with honest triffles”

Banquo. Warning macbeth that the witchs prophecies may be tempting him with small truths to lead him towards darker consequence that will cause harm. Banquo is his foil, he resists the witches, as he believes they are harmful tools of darkness . The oxymornon honest triffles implies banquo seens the witches as deceitful. Banquo has clarity and remains self assured, while macbeth is lured into betraying his king.

“Thou hast it now: king, cawdor, glamis, all..play’dst most foully”

Banquo. Reflecting on macbeths sucesss but he is concerned macbeth has won this sucess by playing unfairly. This quote demonstrates the growing conflict in macbeth and banquos friendship. Raising ideas about machiavellian sucess. This line mirrors the witches words “foul and fair”

“O, treachery! Fly good Fleance, fly, fly, fly”

Banquo is surprised his own friend has betrayed him (macbeth). The climax of the play signals a turning point for the tragic hero macbeth. His submissed to egomania and violence leads to his mental decline and thus his downfall. His treachery cried about by banquo makes macbeth irredeemable. Banquo however calls his son to seek revenge “thou mayst revenge” this is shakespeare implying that loyalty can create a continous cycle of violent revenge.

“What, can the devil speak true”

Banquo. He is scepitcal. His rhetorical question represents a typical Jacobean reaction to the supernatural, he is distrusting and makes an immediate link between the witches and the devil or evil. In this scene he is a foil to macbeth. Macbeth is describes as “rapt” he is transfixed or bewitched by the witches prohecies. This shows the differences between 2 warriors.. banquo is sensible, but macbeth is foolhardy and his ambition allows him to believe in the witches deceptive promises

“Will all great neptunes ocean wash this blood clean from my hand?”

Macbeth. Guilty after killing King Duncan. Blood repreents guilt in the play and now he is overwhelmed with guilt. The hyperbolic rhterocial question highlights how all encompassing his feelings of guilt are . Macbeth later in the play ( and lm) are haunted by images of blood throughout the play, like the blood stained ghost of banquo in act 3. It is important that macbeth mentions his hand his this symbolises his personal responsibility for the murder, it echoes the lines of the previous scenes wherea dagger appeared towards his “hand” symbolosing his desire toncommit regicide but there are immediate consequences for this ambition. Lm and macbeth used stichomythia in this act. 2 characters sharing rapid verses in a breathless manner (act2S2) to show the panic of macbeth and LM to show need of communication. Macbeth speaks in 3rd oerson as his guilt takes over (depersonalization) . Fragmented sense of identity

“O, full of scorpions is my mind, dear wife”

Macbeth. States that like a scorpion his own mind his attacking and poisoning him. This metaphor neatly highlights macbeths deteriorating mental state as the scorpions represent 2 things. His conscience which is attacking his own mind (he orders assassination of his friend banquo). And his paranoia which poisons his judgement despite recognising his mental fragility, macbeth continues to commit violence against innocent people and entrust himself to the witches prophecy

“I am his kinsman and his subject”

This is macbeth considering not to murder king duncan. He suggests that as a member of the same tribe, and as a subject of the king, he shoukd truly remain loyal to the ling. shakespeare presents macbeths ambivalnence in this scene, he knows he should be loyal but is motivated by personal ambition . Duncan has rewarded him with his new title “thane of cawdor”. Macbeth understands that his regicide will have dire religous consequences he mentions “damnation” later on in the soliloquy.. he recognises his own “vaulting ambition” for commiting the murder”

“Whats done cannot be undone”

Lady macbeth aleepwaking acknowledging her heinous actions in act 5. At this point in the play her mental state has detoriated and she sees visions of blood, and shakespeare presents her speech as repetious, incoherent and in prose (not blankverse). Eventhough she rambles, she acknowledges a few truths, she cant live with her conscience after facillitating the regicide (water and her hands). And she notes there were innocent victimes along the way “the thane of fife had a wife: where is she now?”. Thirdly she acknowledges her own actions and realises her sins may lead to an after life in hell

“Bellona’s bridgegroom”

Ross describing Macbeth . Bellona was the roman godess of war. By describing macbeth as her bridegroom this is a classic metaphor depicting Macbeth as an archetypal hero. Shakespeares use of alloterative b sounds creates a heavy and striking image, demonstrating Macbeths power. He begins the play as a tragic but heroic character

“Too full of the milk of human kindness”

Lady Macbeth. The metaphor of milk is associated with comfort and soothing indicating macbeths possible inner weakness. It becomes very clear LM is the catalyst and driving force of the play as she urges macbeth to commit the regicide

“Is this a dagger i see before me?”

Macbeth. His rhetorical question indicates his uncertain state of mind (he spirals out of control). The dagger is a symbol of sacrfice used by cain to kill his brother abel. This indicates how macbeth is killing an innocent man as close to him as a brother. In a deceptive and immoral manner here macbeths use of complex sentences indicate his anxiety and fear, he contrasts the noble hero he was at the start of the play.

Daggers is also a very masculine way of killing somone. Lm got the daggers ready, dominant matriarch. Macbeth uses mental posion (imaging daggert that float)

Liquid poision is a more feminine way of killing someone

“Here lay duncan/his silver skin laced with his golden blood/gashed stabs looked like a breach in nature”

Macbeth. “Here lay duncan” why not there, making it more immediate and vivid its as jf he pointd and gestures as though seeing it infront of him. First time duncan has beeb named in this scene rather than being described as the king and it makes it more immediate and personal . Macbeths description of him is extraordinary. Imagery of a momarchy desecrated. Silver because he’s old, pale. Its like his body is a reliquary a sacred vessel made from precious metals the streaming blood now like a terrible surface decoration. Laced can mean ornamented. But lace is also what ties garments together, so its here used as the blood looks like it paradoxically attempts to hold the gaping wounds like straining ribbon ties. “Breach in nature” violation of the natural order. A collapse, a rupture, irreparable danage. A wall is breached in a castle that lies open to ruin.