Macbeth

• 'Fair is foul and foul is fair'


  Quote shows that appearances can be deceiving and what may seem good or fair on the surface can be morally corrupt or foul underneath

  This is seen with Macbeth's murder of Duncan and his tyrannical lead
• 'nave to the chaps'


  Shows Macbeth's brutality
• 'But this place is too cold for hell'


  Portrayal of Macbeth's castle being worse than hell

  Irony in that Macbeth will go to hell for his actions against the King which breaks the Great Chain of Being

  Potential double meaning of cold?
• Shakespeare wrote for the monarchy and so would portray their viewpoints

  Monarchy hated the supernatural as they were a threat and so Shakespeare portrayed them to be horrible and deceiving creatures through the construct of the Witches
• King James I wrote a book called Daemonlogie which was used in the Salem Witch Trials

  Shows the monarchy loathing the supernatural as it was the opposite of religion which gave them power through the Divine Right of Kings and the Great Chain of Being
• 'When shall we three meet again in thunder, lightning, or in rain'


  Pathetic fallacy showing the witches dark intent behind their actions and potentially the extent of evil they are aiming to achieve by how bad the weather is when they next meet
• 'something wicked this way comes'


  Shows the witches referencing Macbeth as wicked proving that he is turning evil or has turned evil

  Further projects into his character being a tragic hero as he has been led astray from the path he was meant to take
• 'Dark night strangles the travelling lamp'


  Dark and light imagery is apparent throughout the entire play with this example being caused by the regicide that takes place which disturbs the natural order

  'Strangles' has implications of violence as this forms an atmosphere surrounding the play

  Confusion of day and night can be seen as a sign of evil, Lady Macbeth sleepwalking is another example of this
• 'The night has been unruly ... Our chimneys were blown down'


  Shows that the natural order has been disrupted through pathetic fallacy which turns the weather bad
• In the original work, Banquo is seen to work alongside Macbeth to kill Duncan however because James I believed he could trace his lineage to Banquo despite the Holinshed's Chronicles being mainly legend, Shakespeare had to change it to make Banquo an honourable man who is not an accomplice to the murder
• There are similarities between Adam and Eve and Lord and Lady

  Macbeth.

  Lady Macbeth persuades her husband to sin just as Eve persuaded Adam.

  Lady Macbeth’s ambition and thirst for power, like Eve’s, leads to their ultimate demise.