macbeth qupte blurt

• Stars hide your fires, let not light see my black and deep desires


  Act 1, Scene 4

  Macbeth

  Augustinian theology: sin grows in darkness and secrecy. He attempts to veil himself to divine judgement, he understands and deeply fears his unavoidable punishment, yet blinded by ambition, has no other option but to fester in secrecy,
• "Come you spirits that tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here and fill me from the crown to the toe top-full of direst cruelty."


  Act 1 Scene 5

  Lady Macbeth
• "And take my milk for gall"


  Act 1 Scene 5

  Lady macbeth
• "Nor heaven peak through the blanket of the dark to cry "Hold, Hold!""


  Act 1 Scene 5

  Lady Macbeth
• "A little water clears us of this deed"


  Act 2 Scene 2

  Lady Macbeth

  BIBLICAL ALLUSION TO PONTIUS PILATE : when he publicly washed his hands to absolve himself of any guilt for christs crucifixion
• "With Tarquin’s ravishing strides"


  Reference to the rape of Lucrece by the tyrant Tarquin, referencing the equally depraved act of evil. In both their plotted iniquity, they both understand the horror of what they are about to do but driven by ambition/lust

  Act 2 Scene 1

  Macbeth
• "False face must hide what false heart doth know."



  -echo lady macbeth

  Macbeth
• "All great Neptune's oceans wash this blood clean from my hand"


  Macbeth

  Act 2 Scene 2

  Reference to God Neptune, Calvinist beliefs that some sins are un excusable like regicide.
• "Out, damned spot! Out, I say"


  Act 5 Scene 1

  Lady Macbeth - echoes macbeths neptune exclamative

  Prose, no meter
• "O, full of scorpions is my mind, dear wife"


  Macbeth

  Act 3 scene 2

  Irregular Iambic pentameter

  Animal ref.
• "Double, double toil and trouble; fire burn and cauldron bubble"


  The witches

  Trochaic Tetrameter

  , fire irreversible, supernatural manipulation, showing the witches as forces that tamper with fate and morality.
• "Fair is foul, and foul is fair"


  The witches

  trochaic tetrameter catalectic

  Theme of inversion
• "Is this a dagger which I see before me?"


  Macbeth

  Iambic pentamater - contrasts mind

  Manifestation of temptation and inner turmoil, blurs line of reality vs illusion.

  Echoes Plato's theory of forms, for what he sees isnt directly physical, but rather an influential form of regicidal and murderous act.
• "By the pricking of my thumbs, something wicked this way comes"


  Witches

  -tingling a premonition, they understand fate before it arrives

  foretells macbeth as wicked, this idea of evil judging the wicked is ironic, but represents their understanding of his fate

  diabolical prophecy – not fate, but temptation, echoing Augustinian theology of the four types of human will, macbeths downfall whilst being influenced by temptation, ultimately relates to his own perception of will
• "Win us with honest trifles, to betray ’s In deepest consequence."


  Banquo

  He understands far quicker the intentions of the witches, his nobility and intelligence is praised, he is in tune with identifying the supernatural and does not let his ambition of future kings blind him. Macbeth is thus contrasted as foolish,

  Iambic, James I believed himself to be the descendant of a historical figure called “Banquo”, and so Banquo’s characterisation can be seen as Shakespeare flattering his new royal sponsor.
• "When you durst do it, then you were a man"


  Lady Macbeth
• Look like the innocent flower, but be the serpent under't


  Lady Macbeth

  DUAL REFERENCE -

  1. the garden of eden, the serpent. The serpent is a clear reference to Eve, who tempts her to sin. The reference would be instantly understood and recognised to a christian jacobean audience, Lady Macbeth urging Macbeth to be a "serpent" ties her to Eve — a woman encouraging man to fall from grace. Just as Adam did, macbeth will fall too,
  2. Reference to the medal as a result of the gunpowder plot, the commemorative medal appeared with a serpent, of which hid amongst the flowers to symbolise the treachery. Therefore both the plotters iniquity and macbeths resonate to King James I, whilst acknowledging his survival and commemoration, and making Macbeths downfall ever the more cathartic to himself
• "Out, out, brief candle!"


  The brief candle is representative of the fleeting nature of life, Macbeth ultimately reflects on nihilistic beliefs, as he lacks the meaning to justify and logically rationalise his iniquity, and cant delve to enjoy its awards. The candle is the metaphysical soul, Macbeth's anagnorisis follows the Aristotelian tragedy trope. His ambition gained him a crown at the expense of love, meaning and inner peace.
• "I have no spurs to prick the sides of my intent, but only vaulting ambition"


  Act 1 Scene 7

  Macbeth
• "To be thus is nothing, but to be safely thus"


  Macbeth
• "Stepp'd in so far that, should I wade no more, returning were as tedious as go'er"


  Macbeth
• "Told by an idiot" "Signifying nothing"


  Macbeth

  Nihilistic speech
• “There’s no art to find the mind’s construction in the face.”


  The theme of appearance versus reality is exemplified, Duncan pertains himself as trusting in others, after the betrayal of the previous Thane of Cawdor, it's perhaps highlighted as a weak trait

  • foreshadowing of his incapability to suspect and determine his traitors , Macbeth and Lady Macbeth, but his naivety makes him a likable character, so noble in himself that to suspect anyone he respects as not just is impossible.
  • Whilst also highlighting the true fact that both Duncan and King James I failed to identify plotters as the favoured man of james: Everard Digby, who was even knighted in 1603 before the gunpowder plot, it portrays this ability as impossible, an art unreadable to man rather than a symbol of inferior capability.
• "He was a gentleman on whom I built an absolute trust."


  • The king is further portrayed as having a rather poor sense of judgement of his followers, its further presenting contrasts between King Duncan's ability to trust and praise those around him without fear, whilst Macbeth delves in the complete opposite
  • Whilst this trusting trait may be perceived as weak, taking into account the presentations of Macbeth's inability to do so (for he is capable of understanding of what one is possible of through experience) as a consuming paranoia that wades him further in blood.
• "The sin of my ingratitude even now"


  The audience further develops a liking to Duncan, who so honourable in his appreciation even further believes it is not enough to praise his so thought loyal thane Macbeth, he proclaims ingratitude of that he can not replenish for macbeth as his gallant savagery goes too noble.

  • It develops a basis character to develop for an ideal, honourable and noble king, though naive in nature, his perception of each individual as "valeint" and ability to display ideal traits for a king further contrasts Macbeth's reign of violence, paranoia and iniquity.
• “It is myself I mean... worse than Macbeth.”


  Malcolm lies, testing Macduff's loyalty, by proclaiming himself worse than Macbeth, as a rapist, liar and greedy man. He attempts to convey himself as an unworthy replacement to Macbeth. Knowing if Macduff were traitorous he would persist in Malcolm's Kingship in order to return a Malcolm to England for Macbeth's own will of murder, he hopes to shock Macduff so bad in his character to be sure his return would not be met by bad fate.

  Malcolms wise tests to decipher friend from foe, portrays him as not only a contrast to Macbeth, ( a man descendant to insanity and paranoia, who uses violence to kill traitors) but to Duncan, a man too innocently naive.
• "gentle heavens, cut short all intermission"


  MACDUFF

  As foil to Macbeth and Lady Macbeth who both try to remove the eyes of heaven, invoke darkness and cut the very source of light, Macduff seeks his revenge in righteousness, invoking heaven in the act, embracing the divinity in his act of revenge. His murder of a king is thus separated from Macbeth's, an audience would have likely vouched, becoming quite boisterous in Macbeth's cathartic punishment beginning.
• "Seems rapt"


  Banquo

  rapt means 'spellbound'
• "What cannot you and i perform upon the unguarded Duncan?"


  Lady macbeth

  unconventionally questions her husband
• ‘May they not be my oracles as well / And set me up in hope?’


  Banquo

  in his turn, he perhaps had black and deep desires, his constraint allows him to control himself

  'dreamt last night of the three weird sisters:

  To you they have show'd some truth."