key concepts

• what are the themes in macbeth

  ambition/power , the supernatural , appearance vs reality and corruption of nature
• How is ambition portrayed in macbeth


  -the play is tragedy-macbeth is a tragic hero who has a flaw (hamartia- used in greek tragedies which is the flaw of overconfidence leading to a character's death)-macbeth is corrupt in his ambition and commits regicide (murder of the king)-lady macbeth is also ambitious but her punishment of suicide is less noble
• what was shakespeare's intentions with the theme of ambition and power


  -morality of jacobean audience - deep christians believed in divine providence-moral corruption / act against societal norms you will suffer consequences-ambition is a sin-reflex the anxiety of stability of the monarchy / political ambition-jacobean audience believed in the divine right of kings (kings were derived from god , so you should not go against them)-shakespeare suggests unaccustomed and undeserving power will be destroyed by it-kings are legitimist and tyrants aren't
• How is the supernatural portrayed in macbeth


  -in jacobean england they believed in witches / withcraft and satan so there were lots of excusions-king james I was fascinated by witches but distrusted then hence why the witches in macbeth are potrayed as untrust worth and malevolent as macbeth was wrote as flattery to the monarch-Banquo represents societyal norms as he doesnt trust the witches-withches negitvely influence macbeth , mislead him with their prophacies-withches aid macbeth in gaining power-lady macbethb calls for evil spirtits to acheive her ambition-macbeth return to witches for a second time act IV scene I
• What are shakespeare's intentions with having supernatural in macbeth


  witches symbolise temptation which all humans need to fight against , they are agent of fate and encourage macbeth to act upon his true nature
• How is appearance vs reality portrayed in macbeth


  -at the start macbeth is valorant and loyal but then his soliloquies show his doubt of his public vs private throughts-at the start lady macbeth is strong and has control but her sleep walking show her weakness and realtion between her manipulative facade-banquo contrasts with macbeth as he is morally steadfast and honurable-witches ambigious prohascies lead macbeth to death they provide a false and misleading sense of security-duplicitous (2 faced) characters-macbeth was once loyal enough to kill a traitor but with become another treasonous than of cawdor (like the one he replaced)-despection - Duncan's inibility to see through macbeth
• why did shakespear use appearence vs reality

  Shakespeare could be suggesting thatthose who deceive and lie do not - and should not - prosper.He could also be suggesting that once a character starts lying - or using violence - to protect themselves, it only ends up in a cycle of more deceit or violence.
• How is the corruption of nature portrayed in macbeth


  -jacobean audience believed in the Great chain of being ( a heirachy for society)

  -men above women in social order

  -witches are corrupting influence and seek to undermine the Great chain of being , whch would lead to chaos

  -in macbeth the Great chain of being is disrupted by the regicide of Duncan , Macbeth becoming king when he was not chosen by god and lady macbeth domitating macbeth

  -the consequence of this disruption are the storm the night of Duncan's murder , an earthquake in act II scene III , owl killing a falcon , Duncan's horses eating each other

  -the day being as dark as night in Act II scene IV

  -instablity shows the kingdom of scotalnd should not be under macbeth;s rule

  -other effects of disruption - macbeth's murder of innocent people , his and his wife's descend into madness , battle at macbeth's castle
• what is shakespeare's intention for the corruption of nature


  -consequnces of disruption of the Great chain of being are serioius

  -shakespear ends the play with restoration - malcom is is the rightful king becomes the monarch suggesting that the chaos is over
• quotes which show ambition in macbeth


  -'i have no spur to prick the sides of my intent , but only vaulting ambition '

  -'stars, hide your fires,let not light see my black and deep desires'- macbeth

  -'fill me direst cruelty' - lady macbeth from unsex me here...

  -'yet i do fear thy nature' - lady macbeth 'when thou durst do it , then you were a man
• quotes that show the supernatural in macbeth


  'fair is foul and foul is fair' - the witches

  'is this a dagger which i see before me the handle towords my hand?' - macbeth

  'come you spirtis , unsec me here!' - lady macbeth
• quotes which show appearance vs reality


  'look like th' innocent flower but be the serent under't ' - lady macbeth

  'help me hence,ho!' - lady macebth

  'there's daggers in men's smile' - donalbain 'brave macbeth - well he deserves that name' - ross
• quotes that show the corruption of nature


  'by the clock 'tis day and yet dark night strangles the travelling lamp'

  'fair is foul and foul is fair Hover through the fog and filthy air' 'full of scorpion is my mind' macbeth
• Context - James I


  -24th march 1603 to 1625

  -shakespear was very popular with Elizabeth I and he wanted to remain favs of new king of he wrote macbeth the flatter james

  -in 1567 James was king of scotland

  -he descended from medicval thane called banquo so bankquo is presented as brave loyal and conscientious

  -malcom unifies the lords and thanes of England and scotaldn becuase James I wasnted to unif the 3 nations to Great Britain

  -1605 gunpowder plot on james

  -james wrote The Basilikon Doron , royal gift , whcih sets out his belief in the divine right of kings
• context of witchcraft in macbeth


  -james was facinated in witchcraft - attented witch travails and supervised the torture of women accused to be witches

  -1597 james wrote Daemonolgie where he set hs belief that witches are slaves of satan and should be excuted

  -James I outlawed ever witch and person associated with being one
• Context of gender roles in macbeth


  -all of shakespears plays women have lack of agency by lady macbeth attempts to have agency - control over her status and husband

  -shakespear suggest better for women to stick to societal norms

  -couldnt chose who to mary , own property , controlled by fathers then husbands

  -Lady macbeth subverts these espectations making her unnatural similar to the witches

  -lady macbeth is a warning to women

  -women are subordinate,dutiful and nuturing to men

  -macbeth being mentally ill was seen as a sign or moral weakness

  -because macebth fails to conform gnder expectation he is more easily influenced by the evil
• context of God and the chain of being


  -jacobean audeince were christian believed in literaly words of bible making theme very fearful of hell,witches , demons and the devil

  -chain of being was god's plan for the world which can be broken by witch and devils
• what is the form in macbeth

  -dramatic play; a tragedy so there was a fatal flaw and a tragic hero, a faoil (banquo who contrasts with tragic hero),supernatural , catharsis , conflict (macduff external conflic and lady macbeth and macbeth's declining mental healthy) , final restoration and status quo
• what is the structure of a tragedy


  -exposition - intro to macbeth

  -rising action - tragic hero's flaws are exposed and the prohacies

  -climax - king is killed

  -falling action - tragic hero is to be defeated

  -denouement- normality and the natural order is restored
• poetry and prose in macbeth


  shakespear wrote in blank verse , rhymed verse and prose to distinguish characters from one another , reveal the psychology of characts and to show their devlopemnt

  
  

  blank verse - represent human feelings in speech's and soliloquies in everyday ordinary life

  
  

  rhymed verse

  refelct ritualistic and supernatural events

  like chanting a spell

  shakespeare has macebth speak in rhymed couplets to echo the form of language of the witches linking them together in evil - he has been enchanted by their prophacies

  
  

  
  

  prose

  unrhymed lines with no rhythm

  for serious epidsodes , when characters are lsoing their minds ie. when the letter to lm from m was presented about the witches prophacies

  lady macbrth uses prose when she no longer has the albity to speak blank verse reflecting her disordered mind and that she has lost touch with reality
• Appearance vs Reality


  How something looks ( Appearance ) vs the actual truth ( Reality )
• Macbeth is the tragic hero, who starts off as an honourable man but becomes corrupted by ambition
• Lady Macbeth is the manipulative wife who pushes her husband to commit murder
• Duncan is the king who trusts his friend Macbeth too much
• The Witches are the supernatural force behind Macbeth’s downfall
• Malcolm is Duncan’s son who eventually takes over the throne