Macbeth

Macbeth

1. Tyrant

   • People are afraid to talk openly about Macbeth
     • Malcom tests Macduff, in fear that he is loyal to Macbeth - 'your wives, your daughters...could not fill up the cistern of my lust' and had he power he would 'uproar the universal peace' and 'confound all unity on earth'
   • How he is referred to by Macduff, Malcom and Ross
     • Malcom - 'This tyrant, whose sole name blisters our tongues' and 'each new day a gash is added to her [Scotland's] wounds' and 'it cannot be called our mother but our grave' (reference to fair is foul-how macbeth has turned good into bad) - personifies the country as if Macbeth is slaying it. 'Black Macbeth' dark imagery - Macbeths rule has taken the light away.

2. Ruthless

   • Killing of Macduff's wife and kids
     • Macbeth is seen to be most ruthless when he orders the death of Lady Macduff and her 'pretty little chicks'. He now has no respect for life, even of the innocent women and children, and has become nothing but a 'dead butcher'.
   • In battle
     • We first see Macbeth as ruthless through the captains report. Macbeth 'unseamed him from the nave to the chaps' - he didn't just murder Macdonwald but cut him open and 'fix'd his head upon our battlements'
   • How he got to his position of power
     • Macbeth got to power through killing anyone who stood in his way, even Banquo believed that he 'play'dst most foully for't'. Macbeth murdered an hold man despite knowing that 'tears would drown the wind'.
       • Banquo's line reflect the Witches' 'fair is foul and foul is fair' - Macbeth could have become powerful fairly but due to ruthlessness the situation has become very foul

3. Brave

   • At the start of the play he shows that he is a mighty warrior when he leads the Scottish troops to victory. Duncan rewards him by making him thane of Cawdor
     • 'For brave Macbeth, well he deserved that name'
     • The captain describes Macbeths actions on the battlefield using strong verbs and adjectives to show how brave he has been: 'Brandished', 'smoked', 'carved', 'unseamed'
       • 'unseamed' - this verb implies the attack was easy but also hints that deception will follow. 'Seam' is a homophone - it might 'seem' as if Macbeth will be loyal and brave but the opposite will happen
   • He is shown to be brave at the end of the play when he challenges Macduff in single combat despite knowing that he is going to die
     • We see some of his great bravery when he says 'Yet I will try the last', he will not give up

4. Coward

   • Killing of Duncan
     • 'I go and it is done, the bell invites me' - He has to blame the bell for his cowardly act of killing an old man in his sleep - Context - kings were believed to be appointed by God.
     • After killing Duncan he hears voices crying 'Murder' and 'Macbeth shall sleep no more'. He is too much of a coward to face his actions 'I am afraid to think what I have done, look on't again I dare not'
   • Killing of Banquo
     • At the dinner table he is terrified of Banquo's ghost - 'Avaunt! And quit my sight! Let the earth hide thee!'. Again, he is cowardly for he can't take the blame - 'Thou canst not say I did it, never shake thy gory locks at me'

5. Foolish/Weak

   • Believing the Witches' profecies
     • Iron is central to the play - Macbeth is foolish for he believes every word of the witches despite them being double edged. They say how 'none of woman borne shall harm Macbeth. He believes them which results in his downfall.
   • Being manipulated by Lady Macbeth
     • 'Would thou...live a coward in thy own esteem', 'when you durst do it, then you were a man' - Macbeth is easily manipulated. Lady Macbeth solely has to question his manlyhood for him to take part in a horrible deed

6. Guilty

   • After killing Duncan
     • 'Methought I heard a ghost cry "Sleep no more"' - Because of his guilt he will not be able to sleep, and later on in the play lady Macbeth say's 'you lack the season of all natures, sleep' but he cannot for his guilt causes 'terrible dreams that shake us [him] nightly
     • 'Will all great Neptune's ocean wash this blood clean from my hand?' - just like his mind is stained with guilt, his hands are stained with blood. He refers to himself as having 'hangman's hands'
   • After killing Banquo
     • 'Though canst not say I did it, never shake thy gory locks at me' - He is gilt ridden, causing him to have visions of Banquo - before having him murdered he proclaims how 'full of scorpions is [his] mind' - dark imagery
     • Banquo's ghost occupies his seat, as his descendants will occupy his throne and 'push us from our stools' - This scene ironically foreshadows Macbeths downfall due to his inability to keep calm and contain his guilt