macbeth themes

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effect of ambition on macbeth’s character

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- ambition - loyalty and betrayal - kingship - good and evil - supernatural - reality vs appearances - fate and free will

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1

effect of ambition on macbeth’s character

  • motivates him to commit terrible deed: changes from “valiant” soldier to “dead butcher”

  • play shows ambition is dangerous - it can quickly spiral out of control

  • he considers the morality of killing Duncan for a long time but doesn’t hesitate ab killing Banquo

  • once he starts killing he has to kill more people to get what he wants and to try to make his position secure - shows ambition can make people ruthless and selfish

  • both M and LM eventually destroyed by their ambition - play can be read as warning against ambition that isn’t balanced by reason or morals

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2

how can ambition be considered macbeth’s biggest weakness

  • macb fatal flaw

  • he’s brave hero at the start: Duncan calls him “noble” and LM says to “wouldst not play false” to get what he wants

  • M reluctance to kill Duncan show that he’s moral but his actions emphasise how strong his ambition is

  • his ambition makes him against his morals

  • makes him act against his better judgement

  • knows ambition often “o’erlaps itself / And falls” - it can lead a person to aim too high so that they fail and lose everyhting: foreshadowing M own tragic downfall.

  • by end play M lost everything and dies an “abhorrèd tyrant”

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3

ambition can corrupt, but also be positive

  • not all characters corrupted by it as L and LM are

  • ambition can be a positive thinh if motivated by a desire to help others rather than yourself

  • ML and MD ambitious for their country - want to take M power away, not got their own selfish desires, but for the good of Scotland

  • Banquo ambitiouse for his sons - hopes that “there come truth” from Witches prophect - but doesn’t act on predictions in violent way M does

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4

how do characters show loyalty

  • characters who say they’re loyal - like < who talks ab loyalty he owes D even when plotting kill him

  • characters whose actions show their loy MD

COUNTRY

  • MD to Scotland

  • he chooses to go to England to ask ML to defend his country instead of protecting his family

  • he’d rather leave Scotland than see it be ruled by a bad king

KING

  • the thanes are loyal D because he’s been a great king

  • M gives D “service and loyalty” by fighting for him in A1

BELIEFS

  • B is loyal to his own sense of honout - says that he will keep his “allegiance clear”

  • he won’t let ambition or W prophesies affect hi,

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5

show how betrayal and loyalty are related

  • when characters betray their loyalty - to pursue their own selfish desires

  • often go hand in hand - MD loyalty to Scotland leads him to betray his family

  • betrayal often linked to power

  • power (in form of titles) - given or taken away depending on a person’s loyalty

DUNCAN

  • has old ToCawdor executed for being a “disloyal traitor” and rewards M loyalty by giving him the title

  • play has a circular structure - ends with M being killed for betraying Scotland an ML rewarding thanes’ loyalty

MACBETH

  • betrays his own sense of right and wrong

  • eventually leads to his loss of self-worth and his death

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6

how do the macbeths pretend their loyalty

  • M initially loyal to D as “kinsman and his subject” - makes it even more shocking when he puts his own desires ahead of his loyalty to the King

  • LM fakes an appearance of loyalty - tells D that she and M are “Your servants ever” while they’re plotting his murder.

  • her two-faced nature helps her betray D - trsts her as a “Fair and noble hostess” and doesn’t see her lust for power (reality and appearance)

  • Sh juxtaposes LM plotting to kill D with her welcoming him into their castle, developing her character and making her murderous intentions more dramatic.

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7

good rulers vs bad rulers

  • DUNCAN EXAMPLE IDEAL KING “gracious” and inspires loyalty in his subjects who see him as a “most sainted king” therefore rightful ruler of Scottland

  • M described “tyrant” because he rules selfishly, using violence - rarely referred to as “king” which shows other characters don’t accept him as the true King

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8

act 4, s4 ML describes gvb kings

bad king

  • “bloody, Luxurious, avaricious, false, deceitful, Sudden, malicious, smacking of every sin That has a name”

  • ML describing M reign - “avaricious” he’s motivated by selfish greed

  • lies make him “false” and “deceitful”

  • “bloody” because he uses violence to keep control over his people

good king

  • “king-becoming graces, As justice, verity, temperance, stableness, Bounty, persevearance, mercy, lowliness, Devotion, patience, courage, fortitude”

  • ML could be describing D in this speech

  • D shows “temperance” in his calm, peaceful manner, “lowliness” (humble) in his gratefulness for loyalty, “justice” when dealing with those who betray him and “Bounty” in his generosity

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9

good kingship and religion

  • M says good ruler is holy

  • people believed King was appointed by god

  • KoE Edward has a “healing benediction” uses “holy prayers” cure sick people - surrounded by “blessings” that “speak him full of grace”

  • in contrast D is “Devilish” - commits murder and talks to evil witches - not the chosen king

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10

how does macbeths character change throughout play

  • a good man who does evil acts

  • beginning he shows hes a “noble” person and has potential gratness

  • once he’s tempted to give in to his ambition, M goodness is overcome by his evil desires - shows good poeple can be led astray by their power

  • M becomes increasingly evil as he becomes hardened to many crimes he commits

  • the strugle for the crown of Scotland vecomes btw good and evil

  • M is the evil “tyrant” who must be killed before he destroys Scotland

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11

how is evil linked to gender

  • LM links cruelty and aggression with masculinity

  • want spirits to “unsex” her and fill her with “direst cruelty” - thinks femininity hlds her back from taking violent action

  • Masc ideas of evil focus on violence and bloodshed

  • though she wants to be more like a man, LM relies on manipulation rather than action

  • she sees M weakness and uses emotional blackmail to commit evil

  • W gender is ambiguous - B says they “should be women” but have beards - like LM rely manip ather physical force

  • supernatural elemnts play presented as evil + powerful - W linked devil, B calls them “devil” and M “fiends”, associating them with evil deeds

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12

how do battles represent conflict between good and evil

  • symbolise g and e

  • opening scene, battle Scot and Norw: enemy army led by a traitor “merciless Macdonald”, whose “villanies of nature” show hes evil

  • ends with a battle against M: ML men have “dear causes” and fight to “dew the sovereign flower”, to restore the rightful King

  • Sh emphasieses conflict btw g+e through religious imagery - M described as “cùrsed” and has a name “More hateful” than devil

  • in contrast, Young Siward is “God’s soldier” because he died fighting to defeat an evil “tyrant”

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13

how are the witches a supernatural force

  • evil

  • “strange intelligence” and ability predict future gives them power over humans

  • however, when planning to harm the sea captain, say his ship “cannot be lost”, hints their power is limited

  • not in many scenes but drive action of the play

  • unlikely that M would have committed so many terrible crimes if he hadnt been influenced by the W

  • associated with caos: try impose an unnatural on whats good + natural.

  • M says they “untie the winds” and make “castles topple”

  • W are motivated by destruction rather than goodness - represent struggle btw natural and unnatural order

  • Sh prenents as completely evil - cruel, inhuman and dont show any remorese, celebrate evil

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14

how are visions linked to the supernatural

  • signs of guilt

  • ambiguous, real or imaginary

  • fill characters who see them with fear

  • M “blanched with fear” by B gost and his languafe is agitated and nervous: “Prithee, see there! Behold, look, lo!”

  • fear made him lose control of his speech

  • M calls his own reactiona “strange infirmity” linking to other signs of madness later in play

  • LM languagr when she sleepwalks desperate “O, o, o!” - shows that she's disturbed by the vision of blood on hands

  • Doctor says her heart is “sorely charged” - sees that the vision is result of her guilty conscience.

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15

how can appearances be deceptive

  • character often hide their thought and pretend be someting they’re not

  • LM encourages M to appear good so nobody suspects that he plans to kill Duncan

  • “look like th'innocent flower, But be the serpent under't”A1S5 The serpent links Lady Macbeth to Satan who tempted Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden

  • M knows he needs a "False face" to hide his murderous acts. However, when Macbeth sees Banquo's ghost, his face is "the very painting" of his fear and betrays his feelings.

  • At first LM no trouble disguising her evil behaviour.

  • pretends to faint with shock when D death is discovered

  • her guilt becomes too great to hide and she starts sleepwalking.

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16

how are the meaning of words unclear

  • W chant “Fair is foul, and foul is fair” suggests things that appear good are actually evil

  • use language to trick M abd convince him of a false reality - tell him “none of woman born” will harm him giving him false confidence to fight to protect his reign

  • other spek using paradoxes: M “Nothing is / But what is not”

  • create uncertainty showing nobody can tell whats real

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17

how do characters suffer when they trust too mcuh in appearances

  • D trusts M and dies for it, even though he made the same mistake by trusting the disloyal Thane of Cawdor.

  • D says, "There's no art / To find the mind's construction in the face" — he thinks that there's no way of telling what someone's really like.

  • M knows that reality and appearances don't always match up, but he completely trusts the Witches prophecies. This leads to his downfall.

  • In contrast, ML is immediately sceptical that D was murdered by his servants and suspects one of the thanes: "To show an unfelt sorrow is an office / Which the false man does easy". His awareness of what "false" men can do causes him to flee and probably saves his life.

  • Apparitions seem real to the characters who see them, but they're a sign that the character can't tell reality from appearance.

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18

how is fate related to free will

  • Fate is the idea that everything has already been decided, so people can't change what happens to them.

  • Free will means that humans choose their own course of action, so their future is made up of the results of their choices.

  • If it's fate that everything that happens was destined, then it's not M fault that he murders D.

  • If free will exists, then M own choices lead to his downfall.

  • The play raises a lot of questions, but Sh doesn't make it clear whether the W "strange intelligence" is real, and therefore whether M was truly fated to kill D

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19

how could you argue M is doomed from the star

  • At times, M seems to believe in fate.

  • After he hears the Witches' prophecy, he seems happy to let fate take its course — he believes that "chance may crown me, / Without my stir" so he'll become King without doing anything to make it happen.

  • LM thinks that Macbeth is fated to be King

    "fate and metaphysical aid doth seem / To have

    thee crowned withal"

  • despite believing in fate, she decides Macbeth must act to make it happen.

  • by the end M says that life is "a poor player / That struts and frets his hour upon the stage" - feels that people are no more than actors playing a part who aren't in control of their lives.

    The Witches

  • It's not clear whether the Witches are messengers of Macbeth's fate or whether their prediction inspires Macbeth to make bad choices.

    Macbeth

  • doomed because of his 'fatal flaw'

  • If he wasn't so ambitious, he'd ignore the Witches and Lady Macbeth.

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20

how could you argue M acts on his own free will

  • At first, M makes a deliberate choice not to kill D after he's considered the options: "We will proceed no further", he carefully weighs up the pros and cons, which suggests that he's in control.

  • Later, M acts on the W prophecies despite B

    earlier warning that they're "instruments of darkness".

  • M could do as B does and accept the prophecies without acting.

  • Some of the prophecies are self-fulfilling - M only acts because he hears his future, so he causes it to happen.

  • This suggests that he has free will.

  • The captain says that Macbeth '

    was "Disdaining fortune" when he fought Macdonald — it shows

    that Macbeth killed Macdonald against the odds.

  • It hints that Macbeth could have changed his actions if he'd wanted to.

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