Scenes
1.1
What is one purpose of beginning the play with a storm and witches
To evoke discomfort and associate it with the action of the play
What is the significance of Macbeth's first line, 'so fair and foul a day I have not seen'
He is using language similar to the witches
The technique that shows Macbeth is thinking about the prophecies is...
aside
What is Shakespeare advocating for by showing the chaos that comes from subverting the GCoB
Order
Why would Shakespeare's context have seen witches as dark and evil?
They were a Christian nation
1.3
What 3 prophecies are given to Macbeth?
- Thane of Glamis
- Thane of Cawdor
- King of Scotland
'Two truths are told, as happy prologues to the swelling act' means...
That two of three of the witches' prophecies have come true and Macbeth is looking forward to the third
Why does Shakespeare include so much biblical imagery
To show the immorality of Macbeth's decisions (that he knows he is opposing God's will)
How are gender roles explored via M and LM
Teacher's discretion
Describe the Great Chain of Being
The belief that God had established a social hierarchy, with the King being God's representative on Earth and social classes were organised from top to bottom, leaving the natural world on the bottom
1.7
What metaphor does Macbeth use to describe his ambition?
He describes his ambition as if it were a leaping horse, hard to control
Finish the line:
'Hear it not Duncan, for it is a knell...'
That summons thee to heaven or to hell
Why does Shakespeare include allusions to witchcraft and astrology
To contrast their evil against the 'Good' of heaven and God's will (create a dichotomy of good and evil)
Name one way that Shakespeare is encouraging his audience to uphold the GCoB
- showing regicide to be an evil act
- biblical imagery
- showing the chaotic effects of regicide
- showing Lady Macbeth's manipulation to have negative consequences
- etc
What word describes Shakespeare's context as allowing men to hold power and authority?
Patriarchal
2.1
Even though Macbeth is alone, what suggests some influence of the witches?
Allusions to witchcraft and pagan goddesses
Finish the line:
'And to be more than what you were, you would Be so much more...'
The man
Macbeth's speech when he is alone and walking to Duncan's chamber is an example of a...
soliloquy
What is Macbeth's flaw and what should he have pursued instead?
Ambition vs loyalty/service
Who was the Monarch at the time of the play?
King James I
2.4
What is the point of including a scene that describes strange occurrences after Duncan's death?
To suggest the subversion of the Great Chain of Being; that now the chaos of Nature reigns
'Heavens as troubled with man's act' means...
That the natural world is in chaos as a result of the regicide of Duncan
During Macbeth's hallucination of a dagger, what technique suggests his doubt and delusion?
Rhetorical questions and caesura
How is Macbeth forced to maintain power?
By killing everyone who opposes him (live by the sword die by the sword)
What was the name of the attempted regicide during Shakespeare's lifetime?
The Gunpowder Plot