key themes in macbeth

key themes in macbeth

1. Ambition

   • lady macbeth fuels his ambition and makes him diminish his guilt
   • a dangerous quality
   • the witches' prophesies which where shown throughout the play
   • the downfall of macbeth
   • the driving force of the play
   • "I have no spur To prick the sides of my intent, but only Vaulting ambition, which o'erleaps itself And falls on the other."

2. Gender roles

   • the witches
     • sisters
     • their gender is ambigous
       • "you should be women and yet your beards forbid me to interpret that you are"
   • lady macbeth is the dominant partner in the relationship
     • she rules macbeth and orders him to do the things she wants him to do
   • lady macbeth wants male characteristics to show that she has power
     • "come,you spirits that tend moral thoughts! unsex me here and fill me from the crown to the toe top full of direst cruelty"

3. fate and free will

   • did the witches make macbeth do the things he did or did he do them willingly?
   • macbeth's attitude towards the witches changes as he realises that they are telling the truth
   • macbeth's fate was to be king but the stuff that he says and does suggests that he has full control over what he does