English lit

• Macbeth's first line in the play "So foul and fair a day I have not seen" echoes the paradoxical language of the witches
• The oxymoron 'foul and fair' in Macbeth's line directly mirrors the witches' ominous nursery rhyme like chants, portraying him as malleable and susceptible to their malevolent schemes
• The lexis on ’not seen' in implies blindness or loss of vision, paralleling how Macbeth is blinded by the witches' equivocal prophecies, leading him to lose sight of reality
• This line foreshadows that Macbeth will forever be entranced by evil, as his words emulate those of the witches before their first interaction, alluding to how he has an innate sense of unchecked evil he is unable to control
• Banquo dehumanises the witches by stating they “look not like th’innhabitants o’th earth”, suggesting they look like neither humans or animals and therefore are supernatural creatures.
• The witches' physiognomy exposes them as inhumane and evil
• Banquo's portrayal as perceptive is linked to the belief that he was an ancestor of James I, serving as a form of indirect flattery
• Banquo's comment on the witches' “beards” connotes masculine traits and ugliness in women, imbuing the witches with a threatening dominance as masculinity is portrayed as synonymous with power throughout the play
• Banquo’s nolbility is made explicitly clear throughout the play, and Shakespeare consistently holds him up as an example of ideal morals for in the face of normal humanity.Though he struggles against temptation, his good morals and noble character wins out, and he makes the morally correct choice to stop supporting Macbeth. Banquo is described to have a ”royalty of nature’’, emphasising his noble and majestic nature. This idea is compounded shortly after, when Macbeth describes him as “wise”, implying a rational and intelligent character.
• Shakespeare uses Banquo’s character to make a clear assertion about the importance of religion. Banquo is used as an exemplary example and Macbeth as an example of what happens if you stray from god
• • The first time we see Banquo's religious nature come to light is in Act 1 “If you can look into the seeds of time// And say which grain will grow…” In this instant we see sceptical Banquo use his religion to try and understand the witches' prophecy.
• Natural imagery is parallel to the bible; thus Banquo seeks salace in biblical teachings- using these to protect him from malevolent supernatural forces.
• A natural semantic field is established with "seeds" and "grains will grow". This reinforces how Banquo remains obedient to the natural order and God, he does not try altering his position akin to Macbeth.
• Arguably, he is emblematic of Jesus as he confesses his temptation, Banquo claims the heaven’s “candles are all out” in rerference to the lack of stars in the sky. Banquo seeks solance from heaven. Macbeth tries to hide this opposed to confess: "stars hide your fires", this motif of stars exposes Macbeth and Banquo as diametrically opposed in their aspirations: Macbeth wants to hide his malicious intentions from God yet Banquo wants to confess his temptation to be free of them. Through resisting the witches' temptation Banquo parallels Jesus, who was tempted by the devil.
• As envy is one of the 7 deadly sins, a cardinal sin, Banquo is used by Shakespeare to explore the detrimental effects of envy and unchecked ambition. Macbeth's envy is Banquo's ability to restrain himself is clear: "He hath wisdom that doth guide his valour to act in safety".
• Banquo is a foil to Macbeth as Macbeth embodies reckless power, whereas Banquo has self-constraint and control. Macbeth is envious of Banquo’s ability to restrain his ambition and refrain from over-indulgence into “deep desires”. The diction on “guide” connotes “leading” this exposes how Macbeth has aimed to control, guide and lead his ambition, however has become weak to its powerful force.
• Banquo is able to lead and guide himself away from sin. Banquo’s ambivalent presentation is the antithesis to Macbeth’s bloody thirsty depiction
• Lady Macbeth's dark and terriffying soliloquy shows how callous she is. She is full of temptation and ambition as she commands for supernatural forces to go to her; "Come you spirits", "Come, thick night". the imperative verb 'come' implie that she is trying to control the supernatural. it seems she is almost casting a spell, the nouns 'spirits' and 'night' allude to a dark supernatural force.
• She yearns to be rid of her feminity to encompass the inhumane and witch like role that would grant her power. Her androgynous nature would be perceived to be supernatural in the Jacobean era as the gender roles were rigid.
• "O' full of scorpions is my mind, dear wife!"


  "Scorpions" are poisonous, representing how Macbeth's ambition has poisoned his mind- he is consequently plagued by guilt and remorse. As it is 'full' it highlights he has been completely engulfed by guilt and mercy. Moreover, the metaphor of a creature festering his mind shows that his tyrannical nature has been so omnipotent, he now resembles more of a savage creature than a moral human.
• "Sleep no more! Macbeth does murder sleep"


  It portrays he is so perturbed by guilt that his is imprisoned in a state of restlessness. Macbeth after the murder is born into a climax of insanity. The motif of sleep plays an important role in exploring the notion of innocence throughout the play, an inability to sleep is synonymous with a loss of innocence. Sleep represents tranquility and healing "sore labour's bath", the noun 'bath' reinforces this as it connotes cleanliness which is also synonymised with innocence through the allusions to the washing of blood.
• "Sleep no more! Macbeth does murder sleep"


  The exclamative sentence emphasises the enduring and irreversible nature of Macbeth's loss of sleep and innocence. His disruption to the natural order through his wickedness, masked by a facade of piety, has forever condemned his mind to the relentless torment of guilt. Sempiternally, he will battle with moral restlessness, finding no redemption or salvation for the sins he has committed as a murderous tyrant who defied the innate moral and natural order.
• "Sleep no more! Macbeth does murder sleep"


  The repetition of 'sleep' portrays him stumbling over his words, he has even lost control over his lexis and articulation.
• "Is this a dagger which I see before me?"


  Suggests he is riding himself of resposibility for 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 subject to this inner turmoil.
• "a little water will clear us of this deed"


  Lady Macbeth's omnipotent ambitions blind her to the profound mental turmoil Macbeth is experiencing. Her callousness becomes apparent as she employs liotes such as the understatement 'a little', not only to trivialise the act of murder but also to emasculate Macbeth, encouraging him further along his murderous path.
• "a little water will clear us of this deed"


  She employs euphemism to characterise regicide as a mere 'deed', highlighting a paradoxical aspect of her character. Despite her ambition to shed femine traits and embrace tyrannical brutality, she struggles to articulate the gravity of the heinous act. Thus, foreshadowing her descent into a melodramatic state of insanity in act 5.
• "(enters with a taper)"


  As a 'taper' provides light this is emblematic of how Lady Macbeth is seeking light, hope and solance in her eternal mental darkness. In Christian symbolism, light often represents hope and divine guidance. Thus, her 'entering' with it can be seen as a desperate grasping for solance and perhaps even a subconscious plea for God's redemption from the sins that torment her.
• "(enters with a taper)"


  Her need for light is the antithesis to her earlier presentation in Act 1 where she calls upon the "thick night" wanting darkness to to help fuel her violent and malevolent plans. However, even from then she alredy felt guilty because the adjective 'thick' implies that it is so dark we cannot see her actions, LM knows what she is doing is illegal and unorthodox. Therefore, she wants to hide it so it doesn't affect her mentality. The motif of darkness and light reinforces LM's depraved and dark wants for violence cause her desperation to see light and seek redemption.
• "A squeezing,wrenching,grasping,scraping,clutching,covetous old sinner!"


  The asyndetic list portrays Scrooge's immoral characteristics as ongoing, casting him a unrepentant. The use of the 7 negative adjectives mirrors the 7 deadly sins, cardinal sins. As the foundations of Victorian morality was religion, the parallel between Scrooge and the sins are used by Dickens to highlight how the wealthy, symbolised by protagonist, are more inclined towards moral transgression than the poor.
• "A squeezing,wrenching,grasping,scraping,clutching,covetous old sinner!"


  Dickens implicitily critiques societal structures, such as the 1834 Poor Law, which were ironically designed to address the perceived sin and laziness of the poor.
• "A squeezing,wrenching,grasping,scraping,clutching,covetous old sinner!"



  The verbs 'squeezing' and 'wrenching' connote struggle, this illustrates how Scrooge struggles to see the detrimental consequences of his frugality and thus, his role is perpetuation social inequality. Alternatively, the undertone of a struggle is used by Dickens to illustrate how the avaraciousness of the upper classes directly causes a strugglefor the impoverished.
• "External heat and cold had little influence on him"


  He is successful in his ostracisation of himself as even the elements of nature, typically uncontrollable, he has managed to isolate himself from. This suggests that nothing can intercept with him, no love, generosity, compassion. It is almost as if he puts a metaphorical barrier around himself and nothing is able to break that because it is so strong. Scrooge is strong in his avariciousness and strong in his apathetic nature.
• The supernatural seems to be able to change Scrooge's attitudes and behaviour because he is described as being "cold" and having a "frosty rime". This metaphor implies Scrooges redemption because ice can be melted and change shape implying that with the help of the supernatural Scrooge will also be molted into a magnanimous and penitent man.
• "he was so fluttered and so glowing with his good intentions"


  The verb 'fluttered has connotations of nervous, confusion or excitement which shows Scrooge's change because he has never felt many emotions before but in stage 5 he is very vivacious. Moreover, the verb 'glowing' link to the fire imagery suggesting love and warmth, constrasting to the "cold within him froze his old features". The alliteration of the letter 'f' emphasises shivering, reinforcing the idea of Scrooge's cold hearted nature as a hostile and unappealing character.
• "he was so fluttered and so glowing with his good intentions"


  Dickens' messages to his readers is that if the most callouless person can can under go a "surprising transformation" and have a journey from arrogant to jovial as he is now as "happy as an angel" than so can we. Furthermore, the motif of fire is explored through out the novella and could perhaps imply how the warmth and lovingness can change people's attitudes towards the world. Dickens' intentions is to tell the stagnant upper class readers they need to change to make society a better place to live in.
• " I wear the chains o forged in life"


  This quote acts as a warning to Scrooge, in an attempt to deter him from a similar fate to that of Marley. The length and weight of the chain highlights the repercussions that will be faced due to his misery and greed. The prisoner acts as a catalyst for Scrooge's redemption. The metaphorical chains are used to show Scrooge the consequences of his actions, will lead him to wearing "heavy" chains.
• "I wear the chains I forged in life"


  Scrooge has "laboured on it ever since" conveying that Scrooge's punishments will be harsher than Marley's. It also acts as a warning to the readers because in Victorian society Christians believed there were consequences for people's actions in the after life such as going to hell. Furthermore, Marley says he made it "link by link". The chains being made of links, which are all interconnecting, is alike to how Marley is warning Scrooge that his infatuation with money and abandonment of compassion for others, is directly connected to his anguish.
• "Scrooge trembled more and more" Stave 1


  The verb 'trembled' illustrates Scrooge is afraid of what could happen/ consequences in the after-life. Therefore, this is the beginning of his redemption, because he is realising his actions. Scrooge trembling is ironic to the beginning of Stave 1 where "external heat and cold had little influence".