GCSE English - Macbeth

• VIOLENCE

  "Disdaining fortune... smok'd with bloody execution" (Act 1)

  "smok'd" could connote to heat and hell, foreshadowing his evil.

  "distaining fortune" shows a disregard for his fate, and his attempt to manipulate the natural order.
• VIOLENCE

  "His wife, his babes, and all unfortunate souls" (Act 4)

  Their murders are emblematic of Macbeth's excessive bloodthirst, they presented no threat yet he is now on an unstoppable trajectory of murder.

  Macbeth takes on the Godly role of deciding who has the right to live.
• VIOLENCE

  "Before my body, I throw my war like shield" (Act 5)

  As a 'shield' connotes protection, it shows Macbeth desperately wants to protect and preserve his former noble image of him being a 'worthy' and 'valiant' soldier.

  As his last words contain a violent semantic field, it shows how his ambitious and violent nature has directly caused his fall from grace.
• AMBITION

  "Valour's minion" (Act 1)

  Strongly abides to codes of honour, alternatively the noun 'minion' could foreshadow his susceptibility to manipulation and how he will soon be a marionette of the witches.
• AMBITION

  "Vaulting ambition which o'erleaps itself and falls on th' other" (Act 1)

  The verb 'vaulting' describes Macbeth's mammoth ego - his ambition is his hamartia.

  The personification makes his ambition appear like a human-like force, controlling and plaguing his innocent mind.

  The metaphor likens Macbeth to a jockey riding his ambition - his ambition is akin to a barbaric animal.
• AMBITION

  "With Tarquin's ravishing strides, towards his design" (Act 2)

  Macbeth ambitiously wants to emulate Tarquin, a Roman tyrant, so he will be a barbaric tyrant who feels no pity - his ambition and hubris obstructs his moral compass.

  He sees power synonymous with brutality and being a tyrant.
• AMBITION

  "Life is but a walking shadow... it is a tale... signifying nothing" (Act 5)

  Understands the futility of his ambition.

  Moreover, the noun 'tale' extends the idea that the witches' influence was like an ominous nursery rhyme.

  They speak in trochaic tetrameter and rhyming couplets which almost parody their dialogue.
• SUPERNATURAL

  "So foul and fair a day I have not seen" (Act 1)

  Echo the Witches' paradox - slowly becoming a mouthpiece for the witches' evil, he is a vessel for their misconduct.
• SUPERNATURAL

  "Why do you dress me in borrow'd robes?" (Act 1)

  Suggests he has been awarded a title that does not belong to him.

  He moves through the hierarchal ranking throughout the play, it is superficial and transient, much like clothes.

  Significant he has been awarded this by the supernatural.
• SUPERNATURAL

  Threatens the Witches with an "eternal curse" (Act 4)

  Ironic as we have seen their overt supernatural power, he believes he can supersede this.

  His ego is prevalent as the witches' ambiguous apparitions provide him an ephemeral sense of security and invincibility.
• APPEARANCE VS REALITY

  "Stars, hide your fires, let not light see my black and deep desires" (Act 1)

  Paradoxes continue to plague his speech with 'black' and 'fire' juxtaposing one another.

  Fire creates irreversible damage, foreshadowing his duplicitous (two-faced) façade will create irreversible damage.
• APPEARANCE VS REALITY

  "I think not of them" (About the witches to Banquo - Act 2)

  Banquo is honest, characterising him as moral in order to amplify Macbeth's dishonesty and deception.
• APPEARANCE VS REALITY

  "Make our faces vizards to our hearts" (Act 3)

  'Vizards' suggests they should wear masks to conceal their true evil nature.

  Closely resembles 'look like th' innocent flower' - he is a marionette (puppet) of evil influence.
• GUILT

  "Is this a dagger I see before me, the handle towards my hand? Come let me clutch thee" (Act 2)

  Suggests he is ridding himself of responsibility over the murder he will commit.

  Even before committing the treacherous act of regicide, he understands that it will plague his conscience so he poses that it has been put 'towards' him - he has involuntarily been subjected to this inner turmoil.
• GUILT

  "O, full of scorpions is my mind, dear wife!" (Act 3)

  'Scorpions' are poisonous, representing how Macbeth's ambition has poisoned his mind - he is consequently plagued with guilt and remorse.

  As it is 'full', it highlights he has been completely engulfed with guilt and mercy.

  Moreover, the metaphor of a creature festering in his mind shows that his tyrannical naturehas been so omnipotent, he now resembles more of a savage creature than a moral human.
• GUILT

  "My soul is too much charg'd with blood of thine already" (Act 6)

  His guilt begins to surface as he maintains his sense of humanity.

  This reiterates the notion that Macbeth must remain somewhat redeemable to be characterised as a tragic hero, he is not merely a villain.
• GENDER

  "Coward" (Act 1)

  Epithet (insult) which threatens his entire sense of being a soldier, not only is she questioning his masculinity but also his livelihood.
• GENDER

  "Be innocent of the knowledge, dearest chuck" (to LM - Act 3)

  It is ironic that Macbeth now overpowers Lady Macbeth through feminine epithets which belittle her, much as she previously did to him.
• Topic sentence 1 - ambition

  Shakespeare utilises ambition as a central theme to underpin the play, revealing its morally corrosive and blinding influence on individuals driven by self-fulfilling and egocentric aspirations.
• Topic sentence 2 - guilt

  As King James I was a patron to his plays, Shakespeare uses the play as a veiled (indirect) allegory (play intended to teach). He intertwines the act of regicide with tormenting guilt, a potent reminder of the potential consequences for those who disrupt the divinely ordained order.
• Topic sentence 3 - supernatural

  Shakespeare cautions the audience about the perilous (dangerous) consequences of succumbing to the irresistible allure of supernatural powers, emphasising that such engagement with this dark force inevitably results in a quick and catastrophic demise.
• "He hath wisdom that doth guide his valour to act in safety" (said by Macbeth in Act 3)

  7 deadly sins: Macbeth epitomises the 7 deadly sin of envy- he envies Banquo's capacity for courage in abstaining from succumbing to these "deep desires."

  
  

  Connotation: "guide" connotes leadership, mirrors Macbeth's initial attempt to and lead his ambition but he succumbs to its potent influence. Banquo emerges as a figure capable of self-guidance, steering clear of the temptations of sin.

  
  

  The ambivalent (uncertain) portrayal of Banquo stands as the antithesis (contrast) to Macbeth's bloodthirsty depiction.
• "turn, hell-hound, turn" (Macduff - Act 5)

  Repetition on "turn": The repetition emphasises Macbeth's upheaval of order through his tyrannical rule. ALT- Once Macbeth "turns" to face Macduff, Macduff knows will be able to reinstate order within Scotland.

  
  

  Epithet "hell-hound": The epithet (nick-name) creates a infernal (hellish) image emphasises Macduff's condemnation of Macbeth's diabolical ambitions and the ensuing turmoil.

  
  

  Macduff is the antithesis to Macbeth - Macbeth prioritises his own selfish ambitions whereas Macduff places his country and the people that reside in it at the forefront of

  his concerns.
• "What I am truly, // Is thine, and my poor countries, to command" (Act 4) Macduff

  Caesura (pause in middle of the line): The caesura would make the actor pause, allowing the audience to fully absorb Malcolm's honest dedication. He is, the embodiment of a true king.

  
  

  Possessive pronoun "my": The possessive pronoun "my" before "poor countries" reveals not just ownership but a paternal (fatherly) tenderness. The word "poor" evokes sympathy for Scotland's suffering under Macbeth's dismantling rule.

  
  

  "my poor country." Malcolm portrays himself not as a distant ruler, but as a compassionate protector which is a foil to the tyrannical (cruel) Macbeth.