Macbeth

Macbeth

1. Themes

   • Violence
     • "For brave Macbeth"
       • Macbeth is being praised for his ruthlessness
   • Ambition
     • Fate and Free Will
       • "weird sisters"
         • Weird is old english for fate, and the witches mess with macbeth's fate
       • "Disdaining Fortune"
         • Macbeth killed Macdonald in battle against the odds. This hints that macbeth could have changed his actions if he'd wanted to.
     • "Clear in his great office"
       • Macbeth puts his own abmitions above his love for his country, this suggests he'' be a bad king.
     • "spirits... unsex me here"
       • Macbeth is set in a male dominated society, so lady macbeth can only achive her ambitions by thinking like a man
   • Good and Evil
     • Kingship
       • "Clear in his great office"
         • Macbeth knows Duncan is a good king and killing him would damage Scotland
     • Supernatural
       • "fair is foul and foul is fair"
         • this paradox suggests that things that appear good are actually evil. this can be related to Lady Macbeth, who as a women would seem good, but actually is rather evil
       • "In thunder, lightning, or in rain"
         • The witches and apparitions are all accompanied with thunder, which suggests that they are menacing and threatening.
         • the witches are always located in isolated places, which highlights that they are excluded from the rest of the chracters.

2. Characters

   • Lady Macbeth
   • The Supernatural
   • Macbeth
   • Macduff