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120 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
- 3rd side (hint)
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“But all’s too weak for brave Macbeth” |
Shakespeare makes Macbeth seem like a hero at the beginning = when he falls he falls harder |
hard fall |
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“smok’d with bloody execution” |
smoke is coming off his sword shows the energy and effort he puts into battle his sword is well used presents him as a good person |
effort |
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“Like Valour’s minion” |
valour = courage minion = favourite Macbeth is the picture of courage |
picture |
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"unseamed him from the nave to th'chaps" |
"unseamed" = verb - to take apart = proves his honour, he is loyal and brave to his king - violent verb suggests strength and brutality but these are qualities that would have been admired in the Jacobean era - he can do unspeakable things for the King. "nave to th'chaps" = he has split him open from the belly button to the mouth - his insides would have spilled out onto the battlefield (disembowelment) = gruesome, painful death - punishment for his treachery - demonstrates Macbeth's honour to his King. The insides of the traitor are exposed like his sins against the King - shows Macbeth's predatory nature + desire to mutilate and obliterate anyone who would threaten the security of Duncan's kingdom. Warning to others. Dehumanises the traitor ALTERNATE INTERPRETATION - reveals Macbeth's lack of control and volatile nature. Structural significance - cyclical structure - play begins and ends with both traitors dying violent gruesome deaths = shows Macbeth's downfall is inevitable - shows Shakespeare's attitude to traitors - they should be punished severely for treachery CONTEXT: Gunpowder Plot 1 year ago - warning to others. |
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“So they doubly redoubled strokes upon the foe” |
Macbeth and Banquo are fighting four times as hard in the second battle Presents them as great people |
4 |
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“And oftentimes to win us to our harm, the instruments of darkness tell us truths” |
“instruments of darkness” = a metaphors for the witches - darkness is associated with evil things Banquo says the witches tell them this to trick Macbeth and make him make big mistakes (killing the king) |
“to win us to our harm” = to hurt us |
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"There's no art to find the mind's construction in the face"
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You can't tell what someone is thinking just by looking at their face. Links to the theme of deception and foreshadows Macbeth's deceit. Macbeth is betraying Duncan the same way the previous Thane of Cawdor deceived him. DRAMATIC IRONY: Duncan is misjudging Macbeth too. Duncan is too trusting. |
deceit |
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“The sin of my ingratitude even now was heavy on me” |
Duncan praises Macbeth highly = shows his humility and passion He feels he hasn’t rewarded Macbeth enough and this is a sin Duncan is presented as a generous king and concerned with Christian values CONTEXT: Kings and Queens were seen as God’s representative on Earth - killing one was seen as one of the worst sins because it is like killing God |
presents Duncan |
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"My worthy Cawdor" |
Duncan has high respect for Macbeth and trusts him a lot. Ironic as we know he plans to kill Duncan. He is deceiving Duncan DRAMATIC IRONY |
deceit |
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“Stars, hide your fires, let not light see my black and deep desires” |
Macbeth tries to mask his bloodlust = shows how quickly he is corrupted by the promise of power “light” is God = Jesus is seen as the light of the world he asks the stars to hide their fires (he wants a dark night) so God can’t see what he wants to do |
God |
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“my dearest partner of greatness” |
Macbeth’s letter to Lady Macbeth shows us they are equal in the relationship Macbeth respects Lady Macbeth and sees her as an equal CONTEXT: different to normal relationships in the Jacobean era. |
gender stereotypes |
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"it is too full o'th'milk of human kindness" |
She thinks Macbeth has the perfect opportunity but he is too nice to kill the king Milk = metaphor milk is white = purity, innocence, cowardice - usually associated with women = subversion of gender roles |
purity |
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"Thou wouldst be great, art not without ambition, but without the illness should attend it" |
Macbeth is ambitious but he lacks the "killer instinct" She is questioning his manhood Subversion of gender roles Repetition of "without" = emphasises Macbeth's lack of wickedness |
killer instinct |
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"chastise with the valour of my tongue all that impedes thee from the golden round" |
"impedes"=barrier in his way "golden round"=crown He is impeded by himself. "chastise"=tell off She is going to tell him off for being a barrier in his own way to getting the crown. Suggests that Lady Macbeth is like the parent who scolds the child (Macbeth) CONTEXT: subversion of gender roles |
tell off |
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"Come, you spirits that tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here" |
"unsex me here" = take away my womanliness/femininity She is willing to sacrifice her femininity to get the job done "spirits"=linking her to the witches |
femininity |
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"Come to my woman's breasts and take my milk for gall" |
CONTEXT: women were seen as weak and submissive but LM breaks these stereotypes and takes on ore masculine qualities. "take my milk for gall"=women produce milk to feed babies=life-giving/life-nourishing quality "gall"=poison=the opposite(killing/deadly) She wants her good qualities replaced with deadly poison so she feels no remorse for killing Duncan. |
life giving vs deadly |
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"that my keen knife see not the wound it makes" |
"keen knife" = excited Personification of the knife She is excited to kill Duncan Not behaving like the stereotypical Jacobean era woman = subverting gender roles = audience is shocked and angry Shows she is strong and powerful OR She doesn't want to see what she has done = she is nervous, scared, weak She wants the dark to hide her actions from God. Killing the king will break the Great Chain of Being |
powerful or weak? |
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"look like th'innocent flower but be the serpent under't" |
He needs to appear happy and inviting to hide his deceit. "like th'innocent flower" = simile "serpent" = metaphor - sly, cunning, evil, sneaking "serpent" has connotations of temptation and loss of innocence through the serpent's link to the biblical story of Adam and Eve |
sly and cunning |
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"you shall put this night's great business into my dispatch" |
Subverting gender stereotypes Macbeth doesn't have to do any of it. Lady Macbeth will do it all - she will kill Duncan She is in control She is more ambitious |
control |
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"if th'assassination could trammel up the consequence and catch with his surcease, success" |
If the assassination could prevent any further consequences and achieve its success with Duncan's death. Macbeth's main concern is being caught and punished for regicide Shows his selfish and egotistical nature He is only concerned about his own well-being rather than the immorality of his actions. |
Macbeth's character |
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"I have no spur to prick the sides of my intent, but only vaulting ambition which o'er'leaps itself and falls on th'other-" |
"spur" = a shark prick on the side of a cowboy's boot to prick the horse so it jolts and speeds up/encourages the horse Metaphor = he doesn't have a good reason to kill the king, he only has ambition Excessive ambition His ambition is like the horse that jumps too high and ends up falling on the other side of the fence. His ambition will be his downfall |
ambition |
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"We will proceed no further in this business" |
Macbeth says they will not kill the king Shows strength from Macbeth He is being assertive The full stop emphasises that he has made his decision |
strength |
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"Like the poor cat i'th'adage?" |
Lady Macbeth suggests that Macbeth wants it but he doesn't have the guts to kill the King. He is cowardly - the cat would eat fish but will not wet her feet. She calls Macbeth a coward She is telling him off = shocks and angers the audience Women in the Jacobean ear were submisive, they shouldn't be scolding their husbands. |
coward |
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"When you durst do it, then you were a man" |
When he dares to kill the King, then he is a man Lady Macbeth suggests he is no longer a man in her eyes Insulting his masculinity = angers the audience (women in Jacobean era) |
masculinity |
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"pluck'd my nipple from his boneless gums and dash'd the brains out, had I so sworn as you have done to this" |
She would kill her baby if she had promised Macbeth she would = overtly voilent = visceral language Shocks the audience Shakespeare presents LM as a monster She is proving her loyalty to Macbeth Guilt tripping Macbeth into agreeing to kill Duncan Shows us how cruel and manipulative she can be |
cruel and manipulative |
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"There's husbandry in heaven, their candles are all out." |
"husbandry" = very old fashioned word for housekeeping/being efficient "candles" = metaphor for stars = the stars aren't shining Links to "stars, hide your fires" and "come, thick night" Both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth wished for a dark night to hide the murder from God = indicates the King will die tonight. |
Stars hide ur fires |
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"A heavy summons lies like lead upon me" |
The witches' prophecies are affecting him "like lead" = simile = they are a burden Shows that Banquo is a good person. He is based off King James I's distant relative also called Banquo. Shakespeare makes him look good to please James I |
Banquo good |
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"I dream'd last night of the three weird sisters"(Banquo) AND "I think not of them"(Macbeth) |
Banquo is being honest Macbeth is lying to his best friend Shows that Banquo is a better person than Macbeth DRAMATIC IRONY = the witches are the only thing that has been on Macbeth's mind. |
dramatic irony |
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"my bosom franchis'd and alliegance clear" |
"bosom franchis'd" = heart free from obligation "alliegance clear" = he is loyal to the King He will listen to what Macbeth says but he will not do anything that breaks his loyalty to the king. Shows Macbeth that Banquo won't support him in killing the King, he won't help He is an obstacle/threat to Macbeth |
threat/obstacle |
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"Is this a dagger which I see before me, the handle toward my hand?" |
He hallucinates a dagger The DAGGER SCENE starts Rhetorical question = shows his uncertainty Hallucination + uncertainty = he looks like a weak character Jacobean men were not seen as weak = shocks audience |
hallucination |
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"With Tarquin's ravishing strides, towards his design, moves like a ghost." |
"Tarquin"=murder is now compared to the Roman tyrant, Tarquin, who came in the night to ravish (rape) his best friend's wife, Lucrece He compares himself to Tarquin "moves like a ghost" = simile = he is stealthy He gets more confident. |
Roman tyrant |
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"This is a sorry sight." |
He just killed Duncan He has blood all over his hands He regrets it |
regret |
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"I could not say 'Amen'" |
He feels remorse for his actions. "Amen" = when you say this, it means you agree with God Macbeth can't agree with God anymore He has upset God Regrets killing Duncan |
can't agree |
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"Consider it not so deeply." |
She tells him not to worry. She tells him to calm down. She is unbothered. She shows no remorse = ironic as she eventually goes crazy because of it. Shows her character as cruel, without remorse, evil |
unbothered |
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"These deeds must not be thought after these ways; so, it will make us mad." |
"it will make us mad" = it will make them go crazy She is FORESHADOWING how both her and Macbeth go crazy DRAMATIC IRONY = Lady Macbeth goes crazy and kills herself = predicts her own demise. |
foreshadowing, dramatic irony |
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"Macbeth does murder sleep." |
Metaphor = by killing the King, he won't be able to sleep at night ever again. HYPERBOLE. Shows his remorse, regret, guilt |
hyperbole |
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"wash this filthy witness from your hand" |
His hands are bloody and he still has the daggers = he wasn't meant to bring them downstairs. She tells him to take care of the evidence and wash the blood off his hands "witness" = evidence Imperative verb = she's in charge She tells him off = subversion of gender roles |
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"Infirm of purpose!" |
Telling him he's useless = insulting him = subversion of gender roles Exclamation mark and short sentence to emphasise her frustration with him. |
frustration |
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"If he do bleed, I'll gild the faces of the grooms withal" |
She will smear Duncan's blood on the guards' faces. Shows she is willing to get her hands dirty Presents her as cruel, evil, heartless |
smear blood |
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"Will all great Neptune's ocean wash this blood clean from my hand?" |
There's not enough water in the world to clean the blood off his hands "blood" = metaphor for guilt His hands and mind will never be clean His guilt will never be washed away HYPERBOLE |
guilt |
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"My hands are of your colour but I shame to wear a heart so white." |
"white" = connotations of purity, innocence, without sin, cowardice She is calling him a coward She says she would be ashamed if she was so cowardly |
coward |
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"A little water clears us of this deed" |
She thinks she can just wash away the guilt
Opposite to what Macbeth says about Neptune's ocean DRAMATIC IRONY = she goes crazy and keeps washing her hands |
easy |
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"To know my deed, 'twere best not know my self" |
To recognise what he has done, it would be better if he forgot who he is As a murderer, Macbeth will have a new identity He assumes a new persona: a cold-blooded killer This is his turning point |
new persona |
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"Wake Duncan with thy knocking, I would thou couldst" |
He wished he could bring Duncan back Shows remorse, regret, guilt He feels the pressure of the situation |
guilt |
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"Some say the earth was feverous and did shake" |
"was feverous and did shake" = there was a storm and an earthquake Great Chain of Being has been broken Duncan's murder has interrupted the natural order of the world |
Great Chain of Being |
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"Help me hence, ho" |
Lady Macbeth pretends to faint = the attention is drawn off Macbeth Shows her two-faced, sly, cunning nature = She knows when and how to behave like a stereotypical Jacobean woman |
two-faced |
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"This sore night" |
PATHETIC FALLACY = Duncan's murder has made the weather CHAOTIC = reflects how the natural order has been destabilised Great Chain of Being broken |
pathetic fallacy |
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"dark night strangles the travelling lamp"
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METAPHOR = darkness is strangling the sun "darkness" links to evil dark/light imagery again |
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"A falcon tow'ring in her pride of place, was by a mousing owl hawk'd at and kill'd" |
METAPHOR = falcon being killed by an ordinary owl Macbeth = the owl Duncan = the falcon This isn't right = unnatural Great Chain of Being |
unnatural |
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"'Tis said, they eat each other" |
Great Chain of Being broken METAPHOR = horses going wild and eating each other = Duncan's murder was unnatural |
horses going wild |
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"God's benison go with you, and with those that would make good of bad, and friends of foes" |
RHYMING COUPLET to end the scene "benison" = blessing Warning to Ross that he should be careful in dealing with Macbeth JUXTAPOSITION = "good of bad", "friends of foes" = everything is messed up and wrong = adds to the CHAOS |
juxtaposition |
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"I fear thou played'st most foully for't" |
"foully" = he thinks that Macbeth did something bad to become King Suspicious that Macbeth killed Duncan |
sus |
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"Is't far you ride?" AND "Goes Fleance with you?" |
He needs to know where Banquo and Fleance are so he can send the murderers Needs to kill Fleance (Banquo's son) so Banquo's descendants don't take away his status as king. |
kill |
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"I wish your horses swift and sure of foot"
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DRAMATIC IRONY = he is going to have Banquo and Fleance killed |
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"To be thus is nothing, but to be safely thus." |
It is nothing to be King as I am now - I must be King in safety He has what he wants but there are threats (Banquo, Fleance, Macduff) He doesn't feel secure as king |
threats |
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"There is none but he, whose being I do fear" |
The only person he is afraid of is Banquo |
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"Upon my head they plac'd a fruitless crown and put a barren sceptre in my gripe" |
"fruitless crown" = he doesn't have anyone to pass the crown onto He has no heir "barren" = lifeless = no chance of having kids to pass it onto "fruitless" = links to Creation story in the Bible - "be fruitful and multiply" = Macbeth can't do this = shows that he shouldn't be King because he can't have kids but God told humans to have kids so he is not a good enough candidate to be King. It is unnatural that Macbeth is king |
"be fruitful and multiply" |
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"wrench'd with an unlineal hand" |
"unlineal" = not in his line of descendants "wrench'd" = verb = emotive - aggressive/violent It will eventually be snatched away from him by someone not in his line of descendants. |
not in his line of descendants |
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"For Banquo's issue have I fil'd my mind" |
"issue" = kids
"fil'd" = defiled/broken/damaged He has killed Duncan just for Banquo's kids to become the next Kings and take away his throne He is reasoning with himself to kill Banquo and Fleance |
justifying his reason to kill them |
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"Nought's had, all's spent where our desire is got without content." |
They've put in all this effort for nothing = they have what they wanted but they aren't happy. Lady Macbeth's first sign of cracks showing = first time she shows weakness = her powerful mask is starting to crack = not confident |
first cracks |
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"'Tis safer to be that which we destroy than by destruction dwell in doubtful joy" |
It would have been better to be dead = they wouldn't be so stressed and scared Speaking in rhyming couplets = shows she is an important person (noble) = she has something important to say. |
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"what's done, is done" |
They've already killed Duncan, can't do anything about it now. She starts to behave strong again. Doesn't tell Macbeth because she knows he's weak and can't handle it. |
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"We have scorch'd the snake, not kill'd it" |
Metaphor = they aren't finished yet They are still unsafe Snake represents Duncan They have killed Duncan but they still have a lot to do to be stress-free and happy - they haven't dealt with the problem. |
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"Better be with the dead" |
He mimics what Lady Macbeth said but he doesn't know it. Not enjoying life He would rather be dead |
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"nothing can touch him further" |
Talking about Duncan He is dead so he doesn't have to be stressed or worried about anything. Nothing bad will happen to him anymore. Macbeth is jealous of Duncan and of the peace that comes with being dead. |
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"Sleek o'er your rugged looks, be bright and jovial among your guests tonight" |
Lady Macbeth tells Macbeth to look happy and friendly in front of the people at the banquet. He needs to stop looking so scared and guilty Links to "look like th'innocent flower but be the serpent under't" |
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"Let your remembrance apply to Banquo" |
DRAMATIC IRONY = Banquo is getting murdered. He won't be there. |
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"O, full of scorpions is my mind, dear wife!" |
Shows his mental state Metaphor = he is scared and stressed = hurt, pressured, anxious, confused His mind is in a state of distress It's like scorpions are running around his mind = he can't order his thoughts. |
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"Be innocent of the knowledge, dearest chuck, till thou applaud the deed" |
He won't tell her what he's about to do. Shows their relationship is breaking Their roles in the relationship are changing They are starting to conform to gender stereotypes. |
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"Thou marvell'st at my words, but hold thee still; things bad begun, make strong themselves by ill." |
"things bad begun" = killing Duncan "ill" = they can't go back from this = he will have to do more bad things to be safe Cliffhanger + rhyming couplet = adds dramatic effect = Banquo is about to die |
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"Thou canst not say I did it; never shake thy gory locks at me!" |
Speaking to "Banquo's ghost" = just a hallucination Shows weakness No one else can see it He says Banquo can't say he killed him "don't shake your head at me" |
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"If charned houses and our graves must send those that we bury back, our monuments shall be the maws of kites." |
More bird imagery - "kites" = birds that feed off the dead Expresses Macbeth's horror at death If graves and buildings that store bones send the bodies back, then the monuments for the dead will be nothing more than the stomachs of those birds that feed off the dead. He is haunted by the dead not staying dead (Banquo) |
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"Avaunt and quit my sight! Let the Earth hide thee! Thy bones are marrowless, thy blood is cold;" |
"Avaunt" = imperative verb - implies he is taking advantage of his power and attempting to use it against something which can't be controlled (a dead spirit) - theme of the supernatural. "marrowless" and "cold" = morbid imagery - connotations of death - theme of murder + violence He is tormented by thoughts of the evil things he has done = shows his guilty conscience = triggered his overactive imagination |
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"It will have blood they say: blood will have blood." |
Karma = he will be killed eventually More blood must be spilled - he will kill Macduff |
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"I am in blood stepp'd so far that should I wade no more, returning were as tedious as go o'er." |
He is in a metaphoric pool full of blood Going back from what he has done will be just as hard as going forward Therefore he might as well go forward and keep killing people. |
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"I the mistress of your charms, the close contriver of all harms" |
Hecate - she's the leader of the witches and the reason they have their powers Emphasises her evil and controlling nature. Witches speak in trochaic tetrtameter (8 syllable lines) - their speech is different to the other characters = makes them stand out and shows they are different - sounds like chanting/casting spells = supernatural/spooky atmosphere. |
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"Spiteful and wrathful, who, as others do, loves for his own ends, not for you" |
Rather than falling under their spell, Macbeth became 'spiteful and wrathful'. He only cares about himself = self-centered |
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"Thither he will come to know his destiny" |
Witches were thought to have the ability to see into the future = Hecate knows Macbeth is coming |
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"Unto a dismal and fatal end." |
Contemporary audience would have thought Hecate's sole purpose to be the destruction and torment of humanity Hecate says her plans will not only prove disruptive but fatal to Macbeth |
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"And you all know, security is mortals' chiefest enemy" |
She plans to give him false security and confidence = man's worst enemy = makes him competent enough for their plans He may become unguarded in his actions = foreshadows his later feelings of invincibility. |
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"By the pricking of my thumbs, something wicked this way comes." |
Darkly ironic - witches are fully aware of Macbeth's character (they helped corrupt him) = they can sense his wickedness "pricking...thumbs" = sudden pains in the body were regarded as signs of the approach of an evil person or strange event. = signals the approach of a monster (Macbeth) |
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"none of woman born shall harm Macbeth" |
Everyone is born of woman = no one will harm him = he feels confident/invincible/untouchable But there's a loophole he doesn't know - c section - "Macduff was from his mother's womb untimely ripp'd" |
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"Macbeth shall never vanquish'd be until Great Birnam Wood to High Dunsinane Hill shall come against him" |
He will only be beaten when the trees come up to his castle But there are loopholes he doesn't know |
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"That will never be" |
The trees will never be able to do that! = Macbeth is HUBRISTIC (overly confident) The predictions feed his HUBRISTIC nature - this is because of his HAMARTIA (excessive ambition) |
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"The very firstlings of my heart shall be the firstlings of my hand." |
From now on, when he has a great idea, he will act on it straight away. |
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"give to th'edge o'th'sword his wife, his babes, and all unfortunate souls that trace him in his line" |
He will send murderers to kill all of Macduff's family. His behaviour and character has completely changed = HE IS A MONSTER |
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"the poor wren, the most diminutive of birds, will fight, her young ones in her nest, against the owl" |
"diminutive" = tiny/insignificant "owl" = the attacker (the murderers Macbeth sent) "wren" = metaphor - she will defend her children Even though she is insignificant she will fight to protect her children. Shows maternal instinct (protecting her young) = Lady Macduff is the ANTITHESIS of Lady Macbeth |
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Killing Macduff's son on stage |
Emphasises Macbeth's cruelty - he killed such a young innocent child. Happens on stage to show how much Macbeth has changes - shows how evil he is Macbeth is a monster/tyrant |
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"each new morn, new widows howl, new orphans cry, new sorrows strike heaven on the face, that it resounds as if it felt with Scotland." |
ASYNDETIC LIST = never ending Each part starts with "new" = ANAPHORA Macduff tells Malcolm what Scotland is like with Macbeth as King = Scotland is in a bad state because of Macbeth |
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"To offer up a weak, poor innocent lamb, t'appease an angry god." |
"lamb" = Malcolm "angry god" = Macbeth Religious imagery = sacrificing a lamb Macduff could be tricking him |
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"Angels are bright still, though the brightest fell." |
Macbeth is like Lucifer (the brightest angel who fell) Religious Metaphor Everyone loved him in the beginning - then he fell due to his hamartia |
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"our country sinks beneath the yoke; it weeps, it bleeds, and each new day a gash is added to her wounds" |
The country is sinking under the rule of Macbeth "her" = giving the country feminine qualities = PERSONIFYING Scotland as an injured woman (damsel in distress) - the play is set in a patriarchal society so the men will want to save the poor, helpless country. |
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"The king becoming graces … I have no relish of them." |
He lacks the values of a King - 3rd problem ASYNDETIC LIST = suggests it is never ending List from the "Basilikon Doron" - King James I's book where he wrote about what makes a good king Shakespeare uses what King James wrote so he could impress him. |
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"had I power, I should pour the sweet milk of concord into hell." |
If he had power he would say "to hell with harmony" milk imagery again = milk is a MOTIF |
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"My children too?" "My wife kill'd too?" |
Repetition of "too" shows how upset he is |
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"He has no children. All my pretty ones? Did you say all? O hell-kite! All? What all my pretty chickens and their dam at one fell swoop?" |
Repetition of "all" and "?" = shows how upset he is "he has no children" - Macbeth doesn't have children = he doesn't know the pain of losing a child. "chickens" = more bird imagery = birds are a MOTIF |
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"Be this the whetstone of your sword, let grief convert to anger. Blunt not the heart, enrage it." |
"whetstone" = METAPHOR - a wet stone use to sharpen a sword Tells him to take his anger out on Macbeth Sharpen your anger like a sword and get revenge. |
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"Neither to you, nor anyone, having no witness to confirm my speech." |
She won't tell the doctor what LM has said as no one else has been there to hear it. The gentlewoman is of a lower class so she may be considered unreliable and not taken seriously. Could also reveal the tyrannical nature of the Macbeths' rule in Scotland = people are afraid to speak up |
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"fast asleep" |
Sleep is repeatedly compared to death in the play While Macbeth can't sleep, LM is in an arguably worse state - even though she is asleep, sleepwalking and hallucinating means sleep can no longer perform its function of soothing the mind. |
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"She has light by her continually, 'tis her command." |
Motif of "light" represents goodness and purity - she seeks the comfort of this and relief from her wrongdoings = weak, remorseful Links to "come thick night" = DRAMATIC IRONY - she called for darkness before but now she feels guilty so she tries to surround herself with light - darkness brings terror - shows she is scared, weak, submissive. |
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"Ay, but their sense are shut." |
LM is unaware of her actions and of those around her. She is wholly consumed by her guilt. |
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"Out, damned spot! Out, I say! One, two." |
Repetition of "out" emphasises she is mentally unstable = weak and desperate. We can see a flicker of her previous commanding nature - imperative verbs = links to "give me the daggers" Speaking in prose = she has no control or power = reflects her decline. |
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"Yet who would have thought the old man to have had so much blood in him?" |
Confesses to Duncan's murder Avoids using his name - shows her guilt = she can't bring herself to say his name (links to how she couldn't kill him bc he looked like her father). Rhetorical Question = shows she is unstable - who is she talking to? |
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"The Thane of Fife had a wife. Where is she now?" |
She wasn't actually involved in killing Macduff's family. Rhetorical question shows she is unstable. LM's speech declines again here - she is speaking in doggerel (poetry that is irregular in rhyme and rhythm) = reveals the fragility of her mind = she seems even more disconcerting |
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"What, will these hands ne'er be clean?" |
Foreshadowing her fate - no redemption Rhetorical question - emphasises her uncertainty = she is weak/submissive Links to "Great Neptune's ocean" - LM + Macbeth switched roles. Also links to "a little water..." = DRAMATIC IRONY |
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"all the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand." |
HYPERBOLE - nothing can remove her guilt Links to "all great Neptune's ocean" - Macbeth was the one felt guilty before but LM just told him that it wasn't a big deal and that "a little water clears us of this deed" but now she's the one who feels guilty and can't stop scrubbing her hands to get rid of the "blood" (metaphor for guilt) ALTERNATE INTERPRETATION: "perfumes", "sweeten" and "little" - LEXICAL FIELD = feminine qualities = links to "unsex me here" --> she didn't want to be feminine before but now she wants all those feminine qualities = highlights her downfall from dominant to submissive. Shakespeare restores the status quo - brings her back to the stereotype = pleases the audience and shows there is a consequence to those misplaced ambitions = serves as a warning. Pleases King James I who didn't like powerful women. |
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"To bed, to bed; there's knocking at the gate. Come, come, come, come, give m your hand; what's done cannot be undone. To bed, to bed, to bed." |
"knocking at the gate" = she relives the tense moments after Duncan's murder - she is haunted by the memory of a knocking at the entrance to the castle. "what's done cannot be undone" = links to "what's done is done" Act 2 - before, when Macbeth was worried, she told him not to worry (dismissing Macbeth's fears) - now she's the scared one = shows her remorse/regret. Repetition of "to bed" and "come" = shows her fragile state of mind - emphasises she is mentally unstable - shows she is weak, submissive, scared. |
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"unnatural deeds do breed unnatural troubles" |
"unnatural troubles" = sleepwalking "unnatural deeds" = killing Duncan - shows how LM was involved in disrupting the divine order by killing Duncan. Her mind is now diseased with guilt. |
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"More needs she the divine than the physician" |
she needs God - she should confess She can only be fixed if God forgives her. |
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"Remove from her the means of all annoyance" |
Remove anything that she could use to harm herself DRAMATIC IRONY, FORESHADOWING - the doctor recognises the symptoms of LM's plight and warns of her possible suicide |
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"he feel his title hang loose about him, like a giant's robe upon a dwarfish thief" |
"giant" = Duncan "dwarfish" = someone who is very small "thief" = Macbeth - he stole the title from Duncan - contrasts to "brave Macbeth" "hang loose about him" = they don't fit well - he isn't man enough to fill his robes - he's not as good as Duncan |
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"Till Birnam Wood remove to Dunsinane, I cannot taint with fear." "Was he not born of woman?" |
He hangs on to the witches' prophecy He is overly HUBRISTIC/arrogant Blinded by his hamartia |
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"My way of life is fall'n into the sere, the yellow leaf, and that which should accompany old age, as honour, love, obedience, troops of friends," |
ASYNDETIC LIST - this is what he should have at this point in his life. - he's about to have his life cut short A bit nostalgic - shows a bit of remorse He would have had all this but he let his ambition (his hamartia) get in the way = he has nothing left to lose = no fear = dangerous |
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"Out, out, brief candle, life's but a walking shadow" |
Life is nothing but an illusion. "candle" = metaphor for life --> life is fragile and fleeting. "out, out" = echoing each other's words = links to LM saying "out damned spot! out I say!" |
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"full of sound and fury signifying nothing." |
Everything you go through is insignificant = won't be remembered. He has lost his will to live - nothing to lose = dangerous |
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"They have tied me to a stake; I cannot fly, but bear-like I must fight the course." |
"tied me to a stake" and "bear-like" = metaphor/analogy = bears used to be tied to a post and attacked by dogs in the so-called 'sport' of bear-baiting for people to watch in an arena and enjoy. He knows he is in a position of weakness = knows he will die = accepting his death but he is still defiant --> he won't go down without a fight. |
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"Turn, hell-hound, turn." |
"hell-hound" = a product of hell - Macbeth is evil --> negative metaphor. Repetition of imperative verb "turn" = EPISTROPHE = same word ends subsequent clauses --> shows Macduff's commanding nature. |
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"Macduff was from his mother's womb untimely ripp'd" |
Macbeth realises he will die now. Macduff was born from c-section. |
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"We'll have thee, as our rarer monsters are, painted upon a pole and underwrit, 'Here may you see the tyrant'." |
Calls him a monster and a tyrant --> Macbeth has done a full 180° = links to "noble" and "brave" - this is his tragic downfall = his HAMARTIA has killed him. |
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"th'usurper's cursed head" |
"usurper" = someone who has stolen the crown - Macbeth was a thief |
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