context

• macbeths downfall is caused by his fatal flaw (hamartia) of ambition. shakespeare‘s purpose could be to show the corrupting influence of ambition
• shakespeare’s contemporary audience believed in the supernatural. shakespeare used the supernatural to create a haunting effect and to lead the audience into thinking macbeth is possessed by mysterious forces
• shakespeare shows that violent act always lead to more violent acts. after using violence to take the throne, macbeth must continue to use violence to keep his crown until violenfr is all he has left
• shakespeare uses blood, sleeplessness and hallucinations as symbols to explore how guilt manifests itself in the characters. shake shoes that guilt is an inevitable and unavoidable consequences of commuting unnatural acts
• shakespeare suggests false appearances are unnatural and not fitting for a king. macbeth‘s false appearances help him to become king only to later be a victim of false appearances when he discovers the witches have tricked him