Context; The Great Chain of being

- Life ordered in a number of steps, everyone had a position: minerals, plants,

animals (eagles, owls), humans (peasants, lords/thanes, monarchs), angels,
everything until God
- Had subdivisions (in brackets)
- Monarchs are god's representatives on earth
Macbeth’s transgressive act of ‘destructing’ the chain of being is led by his ambition

*Greek Tragedy - The hero tries to do anything to avoid the fate but is lured closer to
it, unlike Macbeth who tries to become king.

Act Quote + Analysis Adjectives

Character

1.7 I have no spur Macbeth has his intentions that are not enough as it
To prick the is such a big jump so he has no control. He does not
sides of my believe that killing Duncan will be successful. His
intent, but only ambition is not his hamartia, and needs a rider for it
Vaulting to be successful–Lady Macbeth
ambition,
which
o’erleaps itself
And falls on
the other

1.1 Fair is foul and The world is a universe you can’t trust and can’t read Perspective
foul is fair. intentions from a man’s face. Suggests Duncan’s of duality
Hover through death is inevitable. Macbeth’s fate would have been
the fog and ‘fair’ if he had waited but as he committed regicide Sinister
filthy air later on, he made it ‘foul’, opposite of a greek
tragedy*. Fricative alliteration makes it violent of Amoral
witches’ desires. Spoken in trochaic tetrameter -
childish fantasy

5.1 Out, damned LM has christian guilt and realises she will go to hell
spot! Out, I so she tries to clean out the bloody spot on her
say! One-two hand. The candle symbolises christianity. Says they
-why then ‘tis will get away with regicide as they have the higher
time to do/’t power, dramatic irony as Macduff and Malcolm turn
against them. Didn't realise how vulnerable she
could be.

1.5 Come, you In order to succeed in this society you need to be a

spirits That man, and a man needs to have cruelty–cruelty and
tend on mortal kingshop does not belong together like how James I
thoughts, slaughtered catholics. Shakespeare manipulates
unsex me here history to show what being a good king looks like.
And fill me Women are excluded from power and is only
from the crown obtained through men in their family – women had to
to the toe act in unfeminine ways to achieve power, e.g the
top-full Of witches–excluded from society only has each other n
direst cruelty evil
A failed wife bc she hasn't provided a successor for
 macbeth : failed her role in society so she goes
down another path

1.3 Lesser than Noble ancestry chosen by god - believed ancestor of

Macbeth and James I - divine right of kings, god chooses who is
greater king (Macbeth goes against and is driven by is and
Not so happy condemned to hell) Antithesis of Banquo being good
yet much behaviour and Macbeth bad behaviour. Gunpowder
happier plot unsuccessful and implying other plans will be
Thou shalt get unsuccessful like macbeth, suggests Banquo will be
kings though much happier than macbeth because he doesn't act
thou be none on evil thoughts

4.1 By the pricking Talking about Macbeth's evil nature

of my thumbs
something
wicked this
way

1.7 Dash’d the Abandoned all sense of femininity and rejected

brains out patriarchal roles and duty of providing children for
husband
Extreme level of violence wanting Macbeth to inflict
on Duncan – a recent grief stricken mother
Her attack against god, she attacks god
Important of matter life and death fiend-like,
inherently evil and society makes her evil sympathy
of terrible life of women (her miscarriage)
Shakespeare asking what kinds of society is it for
women to only value themselves on appearance
person they are married to and to have children
Exceeds the role of a women and rightfully punished

5.2 Out, out, brief Echoes LM’s language showing how close they are
candle! Life's in tuned together and his evilness candle- christian
but a walking image, suggesting his love for wife more powerful
shadow, a poor than love from god deserve divine punishment poor
player That player - actor playing a part
struts and frets Nihilistic view of life is pointless
his hour upon An idea of how tragedy works, no matter what we do
the stage And we would be at where god dictates us
then is heard Life is a play, did not control life but fate has
no more. It is a Deception - refusing to accept responsibility
tale Told by an Blames “scriptwriter”
idiot, full of Ironic bc he acts on his own free will which leads to
sound and fury. tragedy
Signifying Dark humour - performing someone else’s script,
nothing. maybe life not actually fully in control, makes
audience think
Shakespeare - self-invented man supposed to work
@ glove shop but started writing plays at 20 years
after plays were created looks on macbeth who
could have chosen differently and wrote his script in
blood - rejection of god audience entirely turned
 away from macbeth

1.5 Look like the Out of genesis – Adam and Eve

innocent flower Eve meets the serpent who persuades her to eat the
but be the apple as serpent is the devil, like how lady macbeth
serpent under't is persuading macbeth like eve persuading adam
and the serpent is persuading eve
Shakespeare shows how women are more evil than
men and r open to temptation
LM portrayed as a worse figure than Macbeth
OR
Flattering King Jame as he sponsors him
Ingratiating himself to King James is this image as
James had a medal produced after the gunpowder
plot to commemorate victory with snake (plotters)
underneath flower to remind nobles that catholic
plotters were utterly unsuccessful, same to one's
coming in the future

5.5 I ‘gin to be Understands he is going to die, knows the end is

aweary of the coming
sun Wishes the world is undone and wants to destroy
And wish the everything
estate o’ the His nihilism is childish, drawing parallelism to
world were nobles who want to get rid of King James
now undone Reject the sun = reject god
Rejects the whole world and is now very much
nihilistic as rejecting god means life has no meaning
Macbeth served as example that going against god
will lied to punishment on earth like the Macbeth’s
eternal damnation to hell
Imagery of destruction of world shows Macbeth’s
guilt and childish refusal transposing all these
emotions to other things and doesn't take
responsibility