Act 1
This traitor joined Norway to try and defeat Duncan
Who is the Thane of Cawdor?
Macbeth sees this on his way to kill Duncan
What is a dagger?
When Macbeth says, "To be thus is nothing,/ But to be safely thus" THUS means this
What is "king"?
When the Weird Sisters say "By the pricking of my thumbs/Something wicked this way comes" they are talking about this person
Who is Macbeth?
Banquo telling Macbeth that the prophecies might be a trick the Weird Sisters are playing on him for dark purposes is an example of this theme
What is appearance vs. reality?
This person says "so fair and foul a day I have not seen" at the end of the war
Who is Macbeth?
Macbeth forgets to do this after he kills Duncan
What is plant the bloody knives on the guards
Lady Macbeth says, "’Tis safer to be that which we destroy/Than by destruction dwell in doubtful joy" which suggest this
What is better to be dead like Duncan instead of worrying when they'll be caught?
This is the third prophecy: That Macbeth will not be defeated until THIS happens
Birnam Wood moves to Dunsinane Hill
Macbeth says he will kill Banquo and his son Fleance, even though Banquo's prophecy said Fleance would be king illustrates this theme
What is fate vs. free will?
"What are these,/So withered, and so wild in their attire,/ That look not like th’ inhabitants o’ th’ Earth
And yet are on ’t?" says Banquo about what he sees
Who are the Weird Sisters?
Lady Macbeth does this to distract the men when Macbeth admits to others that he killed Duncan's guards
What is faint/pass out?
This is what Macbeth sees at dinner
What is Banquo's ghost?
This is what Macbeth means when he says "From this moment/ The firstlings of my heart shall be/ the firstlings of my hand..."
He will not think, but act on impulse/what he feels in the moment
Macbeth isn't sure if he should do nothing, or kill Duncan to become king
What is fate vs. free will?
Lady Macbeth says "Hie thee hither,/That I may pour my spirits in thine ear/ And chastise with the valor of my tongue/All that impedes thee from the golden round" and it means she wants to do this
Persuade Macbeth to do what it takes to become king (i.e. kill Duncan)
"sore labor’s bath,/Balm of hurt minds, great nature’s second course,/Chief nourisher in life’s feast" are all descriptions of this
What is sleep?
Macbeth tells Lady Macbeth "Be innocent of the knowledge, dearest chuck,/Till thou applaud the deed" about this
What is Banquo's murder?
They are dead (rest in peace)
Macbeth is not sleeping illustrates this theme
What is consequences of greed and ambition?
One way Lady Macbeth convinces her husband to kill Duncan
What is (any of the following): calls him a coward; says when he wanted to do it he was a man; says she would have followed through with what she says she'll do; tells him with confidence they will not fail; tells him she'll take care of it
"The night has been unruly. Where we lay,/
Our chimneys were blown down and, as they say,/
Lamentings heard i’ th’ air, strange screams of
death" illustrate this symbolism/motif
what is natural vs. unnatural?
"Take any shape but that, and my firm nerves/shall never tremble: or be alive again,/ and dare me to the desert with they sword..."
Macbeth yells this at Banquo's ghost and tells him to be THIS instead of a ghost
What is alive/ a human?
This is why Malcolm tells Macduff he is a womanizer, greedy, and lacks any good qualities
He's testing Macduff to see if he can trust him
Act 3: "Why do you make such faces? When all’s done,/
You look but on a stool" reflect this theme
What is appearance vs. reality OR consequences of greed and ambition?