Macbeth

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  • Macbeth
    • He is a war hero and warrior
      • At the exposition of the play, Macbeth and Banquo are told to have been fighting in the battle. Then we are told that Macbeth has triumphed again capturing the traitor Cawdor
        • "for brave Macbeth... his brandished steel which smoked with blood execution"
          • adjective
            • has connotations of courage which links to Macbeth’s being a war hero and a strong soldier
          • metaphor
            • shows how powerful and dominant when he comes to fighting and how he is willing to brutally kill for Scotland.
            • he has no concern or self control for human life
        • 'O valiant cousin, worthy gentleman'
          • adjectives
            • shows that Duncan believes that Macbeth is trust worthy and should be rewarded
            • a compliment from the king was considered a great honour
              • shows that his work in the battle was acknowledged and so Macbeth will likely have a bright future ahead of him
                • However Macbeth is too ambitious. This hubris leads to Macbeths downfall
    • Macbeth straight away shows signs of being evil
      • 'Fair is foul, foul is fair'
        • paradox
          • links to the theme of reality vs appearance that runs throughout the play
      • 'so fair and foul is a day I have not seen'
        • echo
          • could show the positive outcome of the battle even with the horrible weather
            • the  horrible weather could foreshadow the evil events that are soon to take place.
            • could link to the fact that the events of later in the scene are either going to make him- he will accept Duncan's help and rewards or break him- he will take the prophecies to seriously.
          • Macbeth is yet to meet the witches suggesting on the one hand that there are already two sides of Macbeth
            • could suggest that the witches have control of Macbeth excusing him for his bloodlust
      • stars hide your fires let not light see my black and deep desires
        • metaphor
          • Macbeth hasn't even told Lady Macbeth about the prophecies yet and he is already trying to hide his bloodlust
            • Many claim that Lady Macbeth is the one to push Macbeth over the edge to killing Duncan yet this simple sentence is proof that his intentions were clear from the start
          • this could show that Macbeth had no intention of killing Duncan and he wanted to hide his desires rather than acknowledge them
          • Macbeth wants to fool everyone by killing Duncan but getting away with it and so becoming king
        • religious imagery
          • his desires are more powerful than his religious beliefs. He wants to take fate into his own hands and he feels he no longer needs the help of religion to guide him
    • Macbeth has gone against the natural order of things
      • 'A falcon towering in her pride of place was by a mousing owl hawked and killed'
        • The falcon (Duncan) was unseated and killed by the owl (Macbeth)
          • the owl at the time would have had connotations of darker imagery spewing from Norse legends
        • mimics Macbeths soaring ambition breaking the natural divine law of the monarchy by killing Duncan
        • links to how the play is a national tragedy- Macbeth s actions has resulted in the food chain being disrupted.
      • 'though the treasure of natures germens tumble all together even till destruction sicken'
        • metaphor
          • here Macbeth is suggesting that he doesn't care about God and nature anymore as he has become reliant on the witches and is too greedy to give up the throne
            • this links to anagnorisis- he had acknowledged the destruction but ignores it.
        • verb and noun
          • link to the violent ways in which Macbeth rule- opposite of what a king should be

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