macbeth

• “unsex me here” – Lady Macbeth’s desire to be more like a man than a woman highlights the idea that women are inferior to men and need to act as such to succeed in society
• ambitionmacbeths: hamartia- weakness that caused his downfall

  he has natural ambition but this is reinforced by his meeting with the witches and by his wifes persuasive powers

  "i have no spurs...only vaulting ambition" hes having doubts about the validity of his ambitions to kill the king,describes the tension between Macbeth’s unwillingness to move ahead with his plan, and his acknowledgement that his ambition is leading him down a dangerous path.
• guilt

  -blood is a symbol of guilt: " Out, damned spot, out, I say! One. Two " psychological hell,

  -Lady MB: 'whats done cannot be undone' trying to be reassuring and not look towards the past, shows little remorse for duncan

  -banquos ghost is symbol (for mb)

  -macbeth does murder sleep: can never sleep (restlessness of the mind) again, deceitful thing to do-divine right of kings

  -'blood will have blood' MBfeels trapped in the inevitability of this violence. bad actions lead to bad consequences/actions

  'full of scorpions in my mind' animal imagery, stinging
• ambition LM


  LM 'art not without ambition, but without the illness should attend it' she knows MB can have ambitious dreams but hes unwilling to display the ruthless behaviour necessary to achieve them, reflects her philosophy of power, in which only individuals who are willing to set their morality aside will rise to greatness. shes a good judge of character and understands her husband
• ambition witches


  'All hail Macbeth, that shalt be king hereafter!'

  witches manipulate MB by playing on his secret ambition to become king and by planting the idea of murder in his mind, they give the impression that they can foretell the future and control fate
• ambition macduff


  'let me find him, fortune, and more i beg not'

  MD all consuming ambition is to kill MB to revenge brutal murder of his family. MD calls on fortune to help him find MB and kill him to continue the role of fate and supernatural in the play
• Violence


  MB: 'til he unseam'd him from the nave to the chaps' ruthlessness on battelfield, inflicting severe pain, highlights strength and valor in battele, foreshadows mbs demise later in play

  LMB: 'I have given suck...dashed the brains out' she is describing how she would rather kill her own child than live through the shame of going back on their word. This example is meant to show how far Lady Macbeth would go for the crown and to shame Macbeth for changing his mind about killing Duncan

  MD: 'O horror,horror,horror!' when he discovers duncans body, cruel unjust nature of event, DROK,
• guilt 2

  LMB: 'a little water clears us of this deed' 'will these hands ne'er be cleanB: 'a heavy summon lies like lead upon me. and yet i would not sleep' simile, b confesses the witches prophecies are on his mind, making him feel a sense of guilt, contrasts with mb 'i think not of them'
• false appearnce


  MB: stars hide your fires let not light see my black and deep desires' MB has learned that malcollmhas been chosen to be next in line to the throne, he realises he must act out his evil desires to become king. in the metaphor, he asks help from the stars and the nature to hide his unnatural actions so as to avoid punishment on earth and in afterlife

  LMB: 'look like th' innocent flower, but be the serpent under't' simile, strong imperative tone to advise MB on how to disguise his evil intentions in front of duncan . flowers connote beauty while snakes connote sin
• fasle 2


  Banquo: 'i fear thou play'dst most foully for it' metaphor, suspicious towards MB that hes cheated to win crown, doesnt voice this to others as hes loyal to mb or for selfish reasons, not interfere with sn prediction that he will be the father to a long line of kings

  MD: 'bleed bleed, poor country' emotive metaphor depicts mbs laments the devastating affect MBs reign is having on scotland, md is angry at himself and others who wont stand up to MB
• kingship

  context: divine right of kings, king is chosem by god, treason was punished with death during jacobean era. GCOB also reveals importance of king

  -king duncan: well meaning, fair king. MB says 'his virtues plead like angels' pure, fair, simile. he also fairly promoted MB after he was heroic in battle 'for brave macbeth' 'well he deserves that name' successful reign emphasises how disastrous mb reign was

  -start macbeth: showed good characteristics of king : brave, heroic, stereotypical jacobean man. end macbeth: tyrrant, 'each new morn New widows howl, new orphans cry, new sorrows'
• kingship 2


  duncan makes errors: trust macbeth and give mb title of 'thane of cawdor' - shakespeare wanted to show what makes a good king, hes a supporter of royal power

  tyrrant= cruel leader

  'hold thee to my heart' a1s4 Duncan congratulating Macbeth and banquo graciously. shows his appreciation for this thames and reflects his naivety. its an implict stage direction of him hugging the 2 men, shows how kind yet also fatherly he is towards them which reflects his kingship and the graveness of his murder.
• kingship 3


  MB: 'those he commands, move only in commands, nothing in love' (angus) shows isolated and tyrannical way MB is ruling. MB no longer a king as hes respected and loved by his people. those who work for him are afraid of him and do what they do bc they must. suddenly he does not fit the king role