How does Shakespeare present Macbeth as a powerful person?

• Power through bravery- getting title after the war for his bravery- title comes with power. (extract)

  • ‘Unseamed him from the nave to the chaps’ - power in violence

  • ‘like valour’s minion’

  • genitive pronoun suggests that he is at the mercy of a higher power (bravery or valour probably) giving him power.

• Loss of power after duncan’s murder

  • ‘Will all neptune’s ocean wash the blood clean from my hands?’

  • ‘is this a dagger i see before me?’

  • ‘oh full of scorpions is my mind, dear wife’

• Lack of power at the end of the play- thought powerful and undefeatable due to the apparitions- instead they strip his power away. (while fighting macduff)

  • ‘none of woman born shall harm macbeth’

    • gave him a false sense of security and hubris over his power and undefeatability

    • an example of equivocation

  • ‘Macduff was from his mother’s womb untimely ripped’

    • by revealing this, Macduff strips away his power and proves abuse of power will come to a painful end.

• Also the death of lady macbeth diminishes his power as she was what urged him to commit regicide in the first place.

  • ‘she should have died hereafter’

How does Shakespeare present Macbeth as a dangerous character?

How does Shakespeare present the issue of morality?

How does Shakespeare present Lady Macbeth as a powerful woman?

• extract: Macbeth and lady macbeth talking about committing regicide.

  • ‘When you durst do it then you were a man’

  • uses his masculinity against him

  • shows she’s powerful as she’s upsetting the typical jacobean gender roles by having complete control over her husband.

• Lady macbeth calling on the spirits to reject her femininity

  • ‘come you spirits that tend on mortal thought/ unsex me here and fill me from the crown to the toe top full of direst cruelty’

  • shows she’s a powerful character as she has command and communes with the evil supernatural.

  • imperative verbs shows that she not only has power over her husband but of those not from the realm.

• Her loss of power at the beginning of act 5

  • ‘The thane of fife had a wife, where is she now?’

  • ‘all the perfumes of arabia could not sweeten this little hand’

  • ‘out damned spot’

  • ‘yet who would have thought the old man to have had so much blood in him?’

  • She is reliving the regicide of duncan as a consequence of calling down upon the hellish powers earlier on in the play.

  • those who commit unnatural crimes will experience unnatural consequences.

How does Shakespeare present the supernatural?

• presented as deceitful, powerful and influential through the witches use of equivocation and the apparitions.

  • The first thing the witches say in the play is ‘where shall we three meet again, in thunder, lightning, or in rain?’ which is responded with ‘when the hurly burly’s done, when the battle’s lost and won. that will be ere the set of sun’.

  • the use of pathetic fallacy and reference to violent weather combined with the stage directions of ‘thunder and lightning’ shows the witches to be an unpredictable and violent force, as the weather associated them is known for being sudden and changeable.

  • the reversal of ‘thunder and lightning’ foreshadows the disruptiom of the natural order that is going to occur further on in the play.

  • similarly, the witches speak in trochaic tetrameter which contrasts with the rest of the play written in iambic pentameter, upsetting the flow of the play and reflecting the upset of the natural order causing chaos.

  • The use of paradox with ‘when the battle’s lost and won’ can be seen as a form of equivocation, as the assumption is that theyre referencing the ongoing battle between the norweigans and the Scottish, however upon closer inspection they could be referencing the future battle for scotland- the struggle to remove tyrannical macbeth from the throne and restore the natural order.

  • This idea could similarly evidence the witches’ influence over fate- the use of the definitive verb ‘will’ implies that they already know the outcome of the battle, and when it will end. This leads the jacobean audience to wonder if the events of the play are influenced or even controlled by the witches, and if macbeths descent into madness was entirely his own doing, or if he really ever had free will in the first place.

    • 'fair is foul and foul is fair’

    • ‘none of woman born shall harm macbeth’

• banquo’s ghost- poses as a reminder to macbeth of the noble qualities he should have embodied as king of scotland.

  • the whole reason for macbeth killing banquo off was to rid himself of the constant reminder of of how he should have been.

  • Both macbeth and banquo experienced the same interaction with the witches, and yet banquo stayed vigilant and true and overcame his temptation (biblical allusion) to learn more and give in to the words of a supernatural being, while macbeth let his ambition get the better of him.

  • Even the name macbeth means righteous man, and at the beginning of the play we are told ‘to brave macbeth, well he deserves that name’ showing with all intents and purposes macbeth could have proven to be a righteous and noble king which emphasises what he’s lost.

  • The ghost of banquo coming back to haunt him emphasises how the results of his ambition and temptation will continue to follow him through his decent into madness, while the memory of banquo will follow him into the afterlife as a holy and noble person.

    • ‘to brave macbeth well he deserves that name’

    • banquos ‘royalty of nature’

    • ‘worthy banquo’

    • ‘noble banquo’

• The supernatural is presented as a force of unnatural torment that repeats itself in an eternal cycle.

  • At the beginning of the play, lady macbeth calls upon the ‘murdering ministers’ and the ‘spirits that tend on mortal thought’ in order trade her femininity for more masculine qualities.

  • this would have upset traditional jacobean gender roles and stereotypes, and in its own way disrupting the great chain of being, which would have been used by shakespeare to emphasise the abnormality of her actions.

  • the rejection of her femininity is shown to be the beginning of a cycle of torment that eventually leads to her suicide.

  • At the end of the play we see her plagued by nightmares, where she relives the unnatural crimes she has committed, thanks to the aid of the supernatural stripping her natural womanly nature from her at her request.

  • ‘out damned spot! out i say!’ the repetition of this phrase emphasises the cyclical nature of the supernatural’s torment, and shows through her lack of sleep (which is of nature for a person to do) that unnatural actions lead to unnatural consequences

    • ‘come you spirits who tend on mortal thought, unsex me here, and fill me from the crown to the toe top full of direst cruelty’

    • ‘murdering ministers’

    • ‘out damned spot’

How does Shakespeare present the theme of guilt?

• presented through the metaphor and motif of blood.

• guilt is presented as a punishment for macbeth and lady macbeth

• macbeth is guilty even before killing duncan

  • ‘stars hide your fires, let not light see my black and deep desires’

  • he knows the regicide he is contemplating is a despicable sin, however does not want to take responsibility for it and asks heaven to turn its back on hsi traitorous thoughts.

How does Shakespeare present Macbeth’s inner conflict?

How does Shakespeare present the relationship between Macbeth and Lady Macbeth?

How does Shakespeare present Macbeth’s ambition?

How does Shakespeare present Lady Macbeth as unstable?

• hallucinations at the end

• ‘dearest partner of greatness’

  • not considered ‘stable’ within society as traditionally women were considered the lesser gender, however with macbeth referring to her as an equal untips the balance and makes her unstable, foreshadowing the consequences of the power macbeth gives over to her which is eventually used to manipulate him.

• ‘unstable’ when requesting the spirit’s and suprenatural’s aid.

How does Shakespeare present the relationship between Macbeth and Banquo?

How does Shakespeare present Macbeth and his anxieties?

How does Shakespeare present Lady Macbeth's state of mind?

How far do you think Shakespeare presents Lady Macbeth as a powerful woman who has influence over her husband?

How far do you think Shakespeare presents Macbeth as a man who struggles with a guilty conscience?

How does Shakespeare present masculinity in the play?

How does Shakespeare present hallucinations in the play?

How does Shakespeare present Macbeth as a troubled character?

How far do you think Shakespeare presents Macbeth as a man in control?

How does Shakespeare present chaos and disorder in the play?

How does Shakespeare present women in the play?

How does Shakespeare present Macbeth's state of mind?

How does Shakespeare present bravery in the play?

How does Shakespeare present kingship in the play?

• regicide destroys the great chain of being and leads to chaos

  • AO3: Gunpowder plot —> chaos —> replace with a catholic monarch

  • When the rightful king, duncan is murdered nature begins to unravel and invert

    • cannibalistic horses/ ‘mousing owl’ kills the falcon/ earthquake/ eclipse

  • regicide is morally corrupt- famine, disease and mass death because everything in the gcob is disrupted including plaints and grains. Affects the masses.

• destruction of the gcob will lead to tyranny

• Macbeth has destroyed his own place in the gcob and therefore cannot function properly as king- leading to tyranny. Macbeth is a usurper, his reign is not sanctified by god.

  • ‘lack of moderation’- Buchanan

    • Warning signs at the beginning: ‘unseam’d him..’ and ‘sword smoked..’

• Malcolm is a model of humble kingship which could restore order.

How does lady macbeth use language to manipulate her husband in the play?

How far do you think shakespeare presents the witches as evil?

How far do you think shakespeare presents the witches and supernatural events to influence macbeth’s decisions?

• the opening ‘fair is foul and foul is fair’- ‘such foul and fair a day i have not seen’

• Within the opening lines of the play, we see the witches discussing where they will reconvene and we see them say ‘when the battle’s lost and won, that will be ere the set of sun’ The use of the modal verb ‘will’ suggests that the events of the play are predestined- and that being supernatural beings they are privy to what the end result of macbeth’s story will be. Similarly, at first glance the use of the paradox ‘when the battle’s lost and won’ is seemingly in reference to the ongoing battle between the Norwegians and the Scottish army- as one side cannot win without the other suffering a loss- however upon closer inspection, the witches could be referencing the future battle for Scotland- the struggle to dethrone macbeth and strip him of his borrowed robes, in order to reinstate the divine right of kings and return the great chain of being to its natural order. This suggests that the witches have an element of control over the future, and that macbeth may not have had the freedom of free will throughout the duration of the play.

• However, on the other hand, after macbeth recieves the prophecies as told by the witches, he begins to contemplate how, exactly, they will come to be. Two of the prophecies have already been proved true: previously he was Thane of Glamis, then named Thane of Cawdor- the only thing not yet true is that he ‘shalt become king hereafter’. Macbeth

• the dagger soliloquy as free will- he has already decided to commit regicide so this could be a conjuring of his subconscious to justify the decision hes made.

  • ‘thou marshall’st me the way that i was going, and such an instrument i was to use’

    • the dagger is affirming his decision to commit regicide- encouraging him to kill duncan.

How far do you think shakespeare presents macbeth as a character who is uncertain of his decisions?

How far do you think shakespeare presents macbeth as a brave man?

How does shakespeare present death in macbeth?

How far do you think shakespeare presents macbeth and lady macbeth to regret their actions?

How far do you think shakespeare presents macbeth to have troubled thoughts?

How does shakespeare present the effects of betrayal?

How far do you think shakespeare presents macbeth as a changed man?

• At the beginning he is a typical courageous and patriarchal Jacobean man, he is brave, powerful - ‘for brave Macbeth, well he deserves that name’ - ‘inseam’s him from the nave to the chops’ - valour’s minion-

• Middle- becomes emasculated in relation to lady Macbeth- she disintegrates his masculinity/ and simultaneously his morality -when you durst do it then you were a man- he loses the patriarchal role in the the relationship to lady Macbeth

• End- loses even what little masculinity he has left and dehumanises himself by comparing himself to that of a bear- ‘but bear like, I must fight the course’- zoomorphism. The modal verb must shows that animalistic instincts have taken over.

How does shakespeare present the importance of trust?

How far do you think shakespeare presents macduff as a hero?

How far do yuo think shakespeare presents lady macbeth as a changed woman?

How does Shakespeare present kingship in the play?

• Duncan

  • presented as a noble and righteous king, represents most qualities shakespeare thinks a king should have

  • however, hamartia is he is too trusting of his noblemen and thane

  • as seen when he gets betrayed by the old thane of cawdor, and then places his trust in macbeth who then also betrays him.

  • ‘theres no art to find the mind’s construction in the face. he was a man in whom i built an absolute trust’

  • not a warrior- relied on his court to fight the war against the norwegians, he wasn’t actually on the battlefield

  • however the success of his reign emphasises the disastrous nature of macbeth’s.

  • duncan produced and named an heir which would have been recognised by the jacobean audience as the sign of a good king, after Elizabeth dying as the virgin queen.

  • ‘theres no art to find the mind’s construction in the face. —> suggests that you can never truly understand what’s going on in people’s heads, so therefore shakespeare is suggesting that duncan could never wholly be a good king, due to the betrayal of his court.

• macbeth

  • shakespeare presents macbeth as a king who was doomed to fail, as he usurped the throne in order to claim the crown.

  • At the beginning of the play, macbeth is described to have had the qualities to make him as good a king as duncan, if not better

  • ‘for brave macbeth’

  • not only does he contain all noble traits required, he is also a warrior and a man of action, which is a quality duncan lacked.

  • in committing regicide, he disrupted the great chain of being.

  • not only did this put nature out of whack but also put himself out of his rightful place, meaning he could never be a good king as it is not natural, and not his place in the holy order.

  • similarly, macbeth and lady macbeth have not produced an heir, highlighting his jealousy over fleance and Banquo.

  • ‘a fruitless crown and placed barren sceptre in my gripe’

• malcolm

  • restores the great chain of being and divine right of kings as he is the righteous heir.

  • displays the same wisdom and compassion as his father did

  • symbol of hope as he is youthful

  • not as naive and gullible as his father

  • however he fled to england rather than staying and fighting for scotland which could be a sign of cowardice.

  • rewards his thanes as soon as macbeth is killed, calls home all who were exiled and restores former balance of scotland

  • ‘calling home our exiled friends abroad that fled the snares of watchful tyranny’

  • only character in the play who excplicitly states what kingship means and should require, when he discusses it at length with macduff, in order to test his loyalty to the country he will inherit. this shows the signs of good kingship as he does not display the impulsive qualities of macbeth.

  • see him grow as a person throughout the play