English: Macbeth - Guilt, Innocence and Paranoia

• What unchecked ambition causes the Macbeths' downfall?

  Amoral ambition
• What emotions break the Macbeths apart?

  Guilt and paranoia
• What might have limited the Macbeths' murder spree?

  Lack of paranoia
• How does guilt affect the Macbeths' sanity?

  It drives them insane
• What significant event occurred when 'Macbeth' was written?

  Elizabeth I died without an heir
• Who became the new king of England after Elizabeth I?

  James VI of Scotland
• What political tension is referenced in 'Macbeth'?

  The Gunpowder Plot of 1605
• How does Shakespeare illustrate the consequences of regicide?

  By showing the Macbeths' destruction
• What type of country was Jacobean Britain?

  Very religious, Christian
• What belief did people hold about God in Jacobean Britain?

  God was all-seeing
• How does Shakespeare depict the Macbeths' punishment for their crimes?

  Through their personal hell
• What does the Renaissance belief in innate goodness suggest about the Macbeths?

  Their guilt rebels against immorality
• Who represents youthful innocence and virtue in 'Macbeth'?

  Malcolm
• How does Macbeth's guilt manifest after Duncan's murder?

  As paranoia leading to violence
• What does Macbeth's statement about not pronouncing 'Amen' signify?

  His fear of being denied God's forgiveness
• What does the metaphor "stuck in my throat" imply about Macbeth?

  He feels blocked from God
• How does Macbeth view his identity after killing Duncan?

  He prefers to forget who he is
• What does Ross's statement about Scotland reveal?

  Scotland is afraid to know itself
• How is paranoia depicted in Macbeth?

  As a relentless and inescapable poison
• What happens to Macbeth's heroic qualities due to paranoia?

  He loses all his heroic qualities
• How does Lady Macbeth's guilt differ from Macbeth's?

  It leads her to weakness and insanity
• What does Lady Macbeth's desire to "unsex" herself indicate?

  She associates guilt with femininity
• What does Lady Macbeth's statement about "Nought's had, all's spent" suggest?

  She envies the dead for their peace
• What does Lady Macbeth mean by "What’s done, is done"?

  They cannot change their fate
• How does blood function as a symbol in 'Macbeth'?

  It symbolizes guilt and death
• What does Lady Macbeth believe about washing away blood?

  It will rid them of guilt
• How is sleep used symbolically in 'Macbeth'?

  As a symbol of innocence and peace
• What happens to the Macbeths' sleep after Duncan's murder?

  They are plagued by nightmares
• What does "restless ecstasy" imply about the Macbeths' state of mind?

  They are tormented by their actions
• How do Lady Macbeth and Macbeth react differently to blood?

  They reveal how differently their minds work
• What does Lady Macbeth believe washing their hands will do?

  Rid them of physical blood and mental guilt
• What does Lady Macbeth order her husband to do with water?

  Wash the filthy witness from his hand
• What does "water" symbolize in Lady Macbeth's context?

  Purity and life
• How does Shakespeare use sleep as a symbol in the play?

  It symbolizes innocence, peace, and escape
• What happens to the Macbeths' sleep after Duncan's murder?

  They are plagued by nightmares and restlessness
• What is concluded about Macbeth's ability to sleep?

  Macbeth shall sleep no more
• What does Macbeth realize about himself after the murder?

  He has damned himself
• How does insomnia affect Macbeth?

  He longs for peace, even death
• What does Macbeth envy about the dead?

  He envies their peace in death
• How is Lady Macbeth's sleep disturbed?

  By sleepwalking