"If chance will have me king, why, chance may crown me Without my stir" (1.4)
if it is my destiny to be a king, i shouldn't have to do anything to make it happen
Who is the last person Macbeth kills?
Young Siward
"My hands are of your color, but I shame To wear a heart so white."
S - lady m
C- in response to M's speech about his red hands turning ocean red
M - My hands are as red as yours, but I would be ashamed if my heart were as pale and weak.
What excuse does Lady Macbeth give for Macbeth’s strange behavior at the banquet?
She says he has had strange fits since childhood.
What is the difference between a metaphor and a simile?
simile: two unlike things with "like" or "as"
"If it were done when ’tis done, then ’twere well It were done quickly." (1.7)
If this business/assassination would really be finished when I did the deed/murder, then it would be best to get it over with quickly.
Why doesn't Lady M just kill Duncan herself, and what does it reveal about her character?
he looks too much like her own father
something about humanity
"Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow, Creeps in this petty pace from day to day To the last syllable of recorded time, And all our yesterdays have lighted fools The way to dusty death."
S - macbeth
C - in response to wife's death and upcoming battle
M - Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow. The days creep slowly along until the end of time. And every day that’s already happened has taken fools that much closer to their deaths
What TWO things does Lady M do in Act 5 that demonstrates her guilt?
1. washes hands 2. writes letter
What is the difference between oxymoron and juxtaposition?
oxymoron: combines words with opposite meanings
juxtaposition: places contrasting ideas/concepts next to each other to highlight differences
"I have supped full with horrors. Direness, familiar to my slaughterous thoughts Cannot once start me." (5.5)
But now I’ve had my fill of real horrors. Horrible things are so familiar that they can’t startle me.
Who warns Macbeth about trusting the Witches, and how does Macbeth respond?
Banquo, and Macbeth pretends like he isn't bothered
"Come, you spirits That tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here, And fill me from the crown to the toe top-full Of direst cruelty. Make thick my blood. Stop up the access and passage to remorse, That no compunctious visitings of nature Shake my fell purpose,"
S - Lady M
C - before plotting regicide
M - Come, you spirits that asist murderous thoughts, make me less like a woman and more like a man, and fill me from head to toe with deadly cruelty! Thicken my blood and clog up my veins so I won’t feel remorse, so that no human compassion can stop my evil plan
Name all THREE prophecies the apparitions give Macbeth in the latter half of the play and how they are "fulfilled"
1. beware macduff
2. birnam wood --> dunsinane hill
3. made of woman born --> beware
What is the difference between personification and apostrophe?
personification: gives human characteristics to non-human things
apostrophe: involves addressing a non-present person or object as if they were present
"By th' clock ’tis day, And yet dark night strangles the travelling lamp. Is ’t night’s predominance or the day’s shame That darkness does the face of Earth entomb When living light should kiss it?" (2.4)
The clock says it’s daytime, but dark night is strangling the sun. Is it because night is so strong, or because day is so weak, that darkness covers the earth when it’s supposed to be light?
Name the speaker: "And oftentimes, to win us to our harm, The instruments of darkness tell us truths, Win us with honest trifles, to betray ’s In deepest consequence."
Banquo
"Whither should I fly? I have done no harm. But I remember now I am in this earthly world, where to do harm Is often laudable, to do good sometime Accounted dangerous folly."
S - L Macduff
C - in response to messenger telling her to flee
M - Where should I go? I haven’t done anything wrong. But I have to remember that I’m here on Earth, where doing evil is often praised, and doing good is sometimes a stupid and dangerous mistake.
Why is the King of England (and his magical cures) included in Macbeth?
To emphasize the Divine Right to Rule / Great Chain of Being
Name and define the three (3) major types of irony
Dramatic: when the audience knows something that characters do not
Situation: when the opposite of what is expected happens
Verbal: when a person says one thing but means the opposite
"Angels are bright still, though the brightest fell. Though all things foul would wear the brows of grace, Yet grace must still look so." (4.3)
Angels are still bright even though Lucifer, the brightest angel, fell from heaven. Even though everything evil wants to look good, good still has to look good too.
What is the function and purpose of the Porter in Act 2?
Comic relief and some ironic foreshadowing
"Fit to govern? No, not to live.—O nation miserable, With an untitled tyrant bloody-sceptered, When shalt thou see thy wholesome days again, Since that the truest issue of thy throne By his own interdiction stands accursed, And does blaspheme his breed?"
S - macduff
C - to Malcolm's "sinful" character
M - Fit to be king? You’re not fit to live!—Oh miserable nation, ruled by a usurping, murderous tyrant, when will you see peaceful days again? The man who has a legal right to the throne is, by his own admission, a cursed man and a disgrace to the royal family.
Macduff - he first pretends to say Malcolm's worries are fine, but then calls Malcolm out and demonstrates his loyalty to Scotland
Name 2 differences and 1 similarity between motifs and symbols
S: both can appear multiple times, aid in thematic development
D: motif - recurring, symbols - don't have to be
D: motif - recurring elements (can be book-specific), symbols - specific object that represents bigger idea (often universal)
etc