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MACBETH - Coggle Diagram
MACBETH
Gender roles
Lady Macbeth's Ambition and Masculine Traits: Lady Macbeth, in Act 1, is portrayed as ambitious, assertive, and challenging traditional gender norms. She uses supernatural forces to "unsex" her, embracing ruthless determination.
Macbeth's Ambivalence and Masculinity: Macbeth, initially a brave warrior, grapples with conscience and ambition, contrasting with Lady Macbeth's assertiveness, challenging societal expectations of masculinity and moral qualms.
Manipulation of Gender Roles: Lady Macbeth manipulates Macbeth's sense of masculinity to goad him into committing regicide. She questions his courage and masculinity, accusing him of being "too full o' th' milk of human kindness" to seize the throne. By undermining his masculinity, she compels him to prove his worth through violence and ambition.
Gendered Language and Imagery: Gendered language and imagery in Acts 1 and 2 highlight characters' subversion of traditional gender roles, with Lady Macbeth rejecting femininity and Macbeth's anxieties about masculinity and power.
conflict
Internal
Macbeth: Macbeth struggles with ambition, morality, and loyalty to King Duncan, balancing power with guilt and fear of punishment. Hallucinations blur reality and fantasy, exacerbating his internal turmoil.
Lady Macbeth's ambition to crown her husband leads to guilt and remorse, ultimately causing madness. Her strength is exposed through her sleepwalking scene.
Banquo: Ambition vs. Integrity: Banquo, unlike Macbeth, wrestles with his ambition and integrity. While he is also tempted by the witches' prophecies, he chooses not to act on them. His internal conflict arises from his desire for greatness and his commitment to moral principles.
Macduff: Loyalty to Scotland vs. Suspicion of Macbeth: Macduff's loyalty to Scotland and suspicion of Macbeth's tyrannical rule create internal conflict for him. He feels compelled to act against Macbeth for the greater good of the country but also faces personal risks and emotional turmoil in doing so.
external
Macbeth vs. Duncan: A significant external conflict is evident between Macbeth and King Duncan. Macbeth is torn between his ambition to become king and his loyalty to Duncan, who is his king and cousin. This conflict leads Macbeth to contemplate regicide, the murder of Duncan, in order to seize the throne.
Macbeth vs. Lady Macbeth: Another external conflict emerges between Macbeth and his wife, Lady Macbeth. Lady Macbeth challenges Macbeth's masculinity and pushes him to commit the murder of Duncan to fulfill their ambition. This external conflict arises from their differing approaches to ambition and morality, with Lady Macbeth taking a more ruthless stance.
Macbeth vs. Banquo: Macbeth also experiences an external conflict with his friend and fellow warrior Banquo. Banquo is suspicious of the witches' prophecies and wary of Macbeth's sudden rise to power. This conflict foreshadows future tension between the two characters as Banquo's suspicions grow stronger.
Macbeth vs. His Own Conscience: Macbeth's internal conflict also manifests externally as he grapples with his conscience. He is tormented by guilt and fear after murdering Duncan, and this conflict is reflected in his interactions with other characters, such as Lady Macbeth and the supernatural forces he encounters.
Macbeth vs. Fate: Macbeth's belief in fate and the witches' prophecies leads to an external conflict with the concept of destiny. He struggles with the idea of predetermined outcomes versus free will, questioning whether his actions are driven by fate or by his own choices.
Macbeth vs. Macduff: Although Macduff's conflict with Macbeth becomes more prominent in later acts, there are early indications of tension between them. Macduff's suspicions about Macbeth's role in Duncan's murder foreshadow their eventual confrontation and external conflict as Macduff becomes a significant threat to Macbeth's rule.
power
overambition
lady macbeth
Lady Macbeth, a captivating character in Shakespeare's "Macbeth," is driven by ambition and power, causing her husband, Macbeth, to pursue the throne through treacherous means.
Act 1, Scene 5:
When Lady Macbeth receives the letter from Macbeth informing her about the witches' prophecy, she immediately recognizes the opportunity for them to seize power. She fears that Macbeth is too full of "th' milk of human kindness" to take the necessary steps to become king.
Lady Macbeth calls upon supernatural forces to "unsex" her, removing any tenderness or remorse from her character so that she can commit the deeds necessary to achieve her ambitions. This shows her willingness to go to extreme lengths to achieve power.
Act 1, Scene 7:
Lady Macbeth persuades Macbeth to murder King Duncan by questioning his masculinity and accusing him of cowardice. She manipulates him into believing that killing Duncan is the only way to prove himself as a man and to fulfill their ambitions.
Her ambition to become queen and see Macbeth as king blinds her to the moral consequences of their actions. She is willing to sacrifice everything, including their honor and humanity, to achieve their goals.
Act 2 Scene 2:
After Macbeth has committed the murder, Lady Macbeth takes charge and handles the aftermath. She remains calm and composed, instructing Macbeth on how to act and planting the murder weapons on the sleeping guards to frame them for the crime.
Despite her outward confidence, Lady Macbeth's overambition begins to show signs of strain. She is shaken by the blood on her hands and tries to wash it off, but realizes that the stains will not disappear. This foreshadows her eventual descent into madness as guilt consumes her.
Macbeth
Act 1 Scene 3
When Macbeth and Banquo encounter the witches and hear their prophecies, Macbeth becomes immediately intrigued by the idea of becoming king. The witches' words awaken his dormant ambition and plant the seeds of desire for power in his mind.
Despite initially dismissing the witches' prophecies as mere fantasy, Macbeth's ambition is ignited when Ross arrives and confirms that he has been named Thane of Cawdor, fulfilling one part of the witches' prediction. This confirmation fuels his belief that he can indeed become king.
Act 1, Scene 4:
Macbeth's ambition intensifies as he contemplates the idea of murdering King Duncan to seize the throne. However, he also grapples with his conscience and recognizes the immorality of such an act. He acknowledges that Duncan is a virtuous and beloved king, making the idea of regicide all the more heinous.
Act 1, Scene 7:
Macbeth's overambition is further manipulated and encouraged by Lady Macbeth, who questions his masculinity and challenges his resolve to act on his ambitions. She accuses him of cowardice and urges him to seize the opportunity before them.
Despite his reservations and moral qualms, Macbeth succumbs to his ambition and agrees to carry out the murder of King Duncan. His desire for power and status outweighs his sense of morality and loyalty to his king.
Act 2, Scene 1:
As Macbeth prepares to commit the murder, he experiences a moment of inner turmoil and hallucinates a dagger before him. Despite his conscience warning him of the consequences, his ambition drives him forward, and he resolves to follow through with the deed.
Act 2, Scene 2:
After murdering Duncan, Macbeth is plagued by guilt and paranoia. His ambition, once a driving force, now becomes a source of torment as he grapples with the enormity of his actions and the fear of being discovered.
Macbeth's overambition leads him to commit further acts of violence and betrayal to secure his position as king, ultimately setting him on a path of destruction and tragic downfall.
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