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Macbeth - Coggle Diagram
Macbeth
Plot
After a heroic victory in battle, Macbeth encounters 3 witches who predict that he will become the king of Scorland
Encourgaed by the witches and his wife, Macbeth kills King Duncan
His guilt and paranoia gets the better of him and, spurred by the witches' prophecies, becomes a tyrant
He tries to kill off anyone who he deems as a threat such as Banquo and Macduff's family
Macduff joins with Duncan's son, Malcolm, in order to overthrow Macbeth
Lady Macbeth's guilt drives her mad and she takes her own life
During the battle, Malcolm's army prevails over Macbeth's and he realises the witches had tricked him into believing he was safe
Once Macbeth dies, Malcolm becomes king and restores Scotland to order once again
Context
JACOBEAN ERA
In the early 1600s, King James I became King of England
King James claimed to be a descendant of
BANQUO
Was a patron of Shakespeare's works
Gunpowder Plot of 1605
Guy Fawkes and his group tried to blow up Parliament and kill the king.
However it failed and they were publicly executed
Reminder to the contemporary audience to not rebel against God and abide by His word
Witches were seriously feared
King James I wrote a book called 'Demonology' that wrote about how to identify and punish witches
People found witches unsettling because they were women and went against their preconceived traits of women, making them unnatural
GENDER ROLES
It was believed that women were meant to be soft and innocent while men were meant to be cruel and violent
Rules prevented women from having any power or agency over their own lives
RELIGION
DIVINE RIGHT OF KINGS
The belief that kings were chosen to rule by God
When Macbeth killed Duncan, it's portrayed as a crime against Heaven that upsets the order of nature
Characters
Macbeth
Beginning
Macbeth described as a brave war hero
"
brave Macbeth - well he deserves that name
" (Captain, A1S2)
"
valiant cousin! Worthy gentleman!
" (Duncan, A1S2)
Macbeth is then shown as frightened due to his deepest darkest desires being brought to life
"Good sir, why do you start and
seem to fear / Things that do sound so fair?
" (Banquo, A1S3)
Macbeth is afraid of his own ambition as it directly rebels against the power Heaven has assigned to the King
Macbeth's vaulting ambition is balanced out by his conscience and this creates an inner conflict that manifests through his
soliloquies
Purposefully done to show Macbeth as a three dimensional character who harbors guilt, humanity and fear and not as just a ruthless murderer
When Macbeth kills Duncan, he feels paranoia and regret
"
I am afraid
to think what I have done / Look on't again I dare not" (Macbeth, A2S2)
He's afraid as he has murdered the divinely appointed king and defied both God and nature
Middle
Macbeth gains power but is now paranoid of losing it
"
To be thus is nothing but to be safely thus
" (Macbeth, A3S1)
The murder of Banquo singals the start of is transformation into a ruthless tyrant
"I am in blood / Stepped in so far that should I wade no more /
Returning were as tedious as to go o'er
" (Macbeth, A3S4)
After having killed Duncan, each evil deed he does feels easier to do and he feels as if it would be worse if he tried to go back on what he has done
End
Macbeth seems wearing of life by the end of the play
"
She (Lady Macbeth) should have died hereafter
"
"
Life's but a walking shadow
"
(Macbeth, A5S5)
Macbeth gives us a glimpse of the man he used to be at the very end, heightening the tragedy of his character
"
Lay on, Macduff!
" (Macbeth, A5S8)
Macbeth was a man that could've been great but let his ambition destroy him
Tragic hero
Starts out in a fortunate position but then falls to his hamartia (fatal flaw):
AMBITION
Comparing the Macbeths
Beginning
They were partners who respected each other
Macbeth
Hesitant
Indecisive
Emotionally vulnerable
Lady Macbeth
Confident
Ruthless
In control
"
My dearest partner of greatness
"
(Macbeth, A1S3)
End
Macbeth started to leave LM out of his plans due to lack of respect
Macbeth
Ruthless
Cold
In control
Lady Macbeth
Emotionally vulnerable
Powerless
"
Be innocent of the knowledge, dearest chuck
" (Macbeth, A3S2)
Lady Macbeth
Beginning
Shown to be in control and ambitious, even more so Macbeth at this point
"
Unsex me here
/And fill me with direst cruelty" (LM, A1S5)
She wants to be rid of her stereotypically feminine traits
LM may not be naturally cruel as she needs to ask the spirits for these traits - her personality is an act?
Shown to be ruthless
"A little water clears us of this deed" (LM, A2S2)
Refers to Duncan's death as a 'deed'
Middle
Overtime she starts to show some fear and doubt when alone
"
Naught's had, all's spent where our desire is got without content
" (LM,A3S2)
They got their desires at the cost of their contentment
Around other people she still puts on a show of control
"
Are you a man?
" (LM, A3S4)
Her anger is more likely coming from fear and guilt
End
She reveals her suppressed guilt and fear via her sleepwalking
"Out damned spot, out I say... Here's the smell of blood still."
She has had the same emotions as Macbeth but does not express them
Wants to be violent and ruthless but cannot cope with the consequences
Cautionary Tale
Probably written to keep women from 'going against their nature' by doing typically male things
Banquo
Beginning
Serves as a foil to Macbeth: both brave and heroic captains but respond to the prophecies in different ways
"
The instruments of darkness tell us truths
to betray's / In deepest consequence" (Banquo, A1S3)
He is suspicious of the witches' intentions, highlighting how wrong Macbeth's choices were
Middle
Banquo has ambition too
"
May they not be my oracles as well, and set me up in hope?
" (Banquo, A3S1)
Banquo is tempted to realise those prophecies but keeps his ambitions in check through his morals
End
Banquo haunts Macbeth rather than Duncan (A3S4)
Banquo and Macbeth are foils to each other in the sense that the former stuck to his values and place in life while Macbeth tried to play God and ascend to the throne
By killing Banquo, he is killing the man he used to be
Macduff
Beginning
Macduff's reaction to Duncan's death shows how loyal he is
"
O horror, horror, horror! Murder and treason!
" (Macduff, A2S3)
His honest grief juxtaposes Macbeth's fake reaction
Only one to question why Macbeth killed the guards - shows he's not naive and stands up for what is right
Middle
"
O Scotland, Scotland!....when shalt thou see thy wholesome days again
?" (Macduff, A4S3)
Macduff is very loyal to Scotland
End
"
Turn, hellhound, turn!
" (Macduff, A5S8)
Referring to Macbeth to show how he's become an agent of the Devil and rebelling against what God and His angels stand for
This puts Macduff in the role of the righteous, holy avenger of Scotland that's there to restore order, highlighting how he's a foil to Macbeth
Malcolm
End
Hail, King of Scotland!
(ALL, A5S9)
Macduff becomes king through justice & public support and his coronation symbolises hope and restoration
contrasts Macbeth who used murder to get power unlawfully
Middle
Tests Macduff for his loyalty by describing a fictional version of himself who possesses all these unlawful traits
"
I grant him bloody, luxurious, avaricious, false, deceitful, sudden, malicious, smacking of every sin that has a name
" (Malcolm, A4S3)
Beginning
"
This murderous shaft that has been shot has not yet been lighted and our safest way is to avoid the aim
" (Malcolm, A2S3)
Malcolm has to flee because he might be next on the chopping block as the rightful heir
He learns to only trust people who have proven their loyalty
Themes
Beginning
Macbeth's hamartia
He has always had ambition, but it is ignited by the witches' prophecy
"Good sir, why do you start and
seem to fear / Things that do sound so fair?
" (Banquo, A1S3)
"My thought, whose
murder
is yet but fantastical..." (Macbeth, A1S3)
Nobody has said anything about murder up until now
He's clearly thought about killing Duncan before for the power
Until now Macbeth's not been able to cross his moral boundaries
"
Art not without ambition, but without the illness should attend it
" (LM, A1S5)
"
...vaulting ambition which o'erleaps itself
" (Macbeth, A1S7)
Macbeth knows his ambition will get out of hand once he gives in to it
Murdering Duncan shows that he has chosen ambition over morality
"
Restrain in me the cursed thoughts
" (Banquo, A2S1)
Even Banquo is tempted by ambition
Shakespeare is showing that power can tempt even the noblest minds and shows that any of the heroes in this story could've walked the path Macbeth did
Suggests that it's in human nature to be ambitious but uncontrolled ambition is the true problem
Ambition
Middle
"
To be thus is nothing but to be safely thus
" (Macbeth, A3S1)
Macbeth's ambition is what drives him to stay on this path of ruthlessness in order to secure his power
His ambition is uncontrollable as he feared
End
The Macbeths achieve their ambitions but at the cost of their happiness
As they have allowed their ambition to outweight their morals, their success is hollow and unaccompanied by overwhelming guilt
Ends up destroying both of them
"
Life's but a walking shadow
" (Macbeth, A5S5)
Guilt
Beginning
Macbeth feels overwhelming guilt after killing Duncan as he has committed regicide, a terrible sin
"I heard a voice cry, 'Sleep no more. Macbeth does murder sleep'" (Macbeth, A2S2)
"Will all great Neptune's oceans wash this blood clean from my hand?" (Macbeth, A2S2)
Lady Macbeth on the other hand, appears calm and cool but it is all just an act to hide what she feels inside
"
A little water clears us of this deed
" (LM, A2S2)
End
Over time, Macbeth has become desensitised to life as a whole due to the overwhelming guilt that follows his hollow crime and the murders he's had to commit in order to ensure his power
"
Life's but a walking shadow
" (Macbeth, A5S5)
Lady Macbeth has a complete mental breakdown and succumbs to the mountainous guilt weighing down on her
"
Out damned spot; out I say
!" (LM, A5S1)
Referring to Duncan, Banquo, and Macduff's family shows that she recognises that by convincing Macbeth to do the first murder, LM knows she's guilt of all the other ones too
Middle
Macbeth is continually haunted over the course of the play by ghosts, which serve as reminders of the man he could've been such as Banquo, enhancing his guilt
"
Do not shake thy gory locks at me!
" (Macbeth, A3S4)
Over time, LM shows signs of her mask slipping away and her true personality
"
You must leave this
" (LM, A3S2)
Represented by blood
"blood on your hands" = guilty of something
Lack of sleep as sleep is associated with peace and innocence
Serves as a warning to the audience that the worse consequences can be mental, not physical
The Supernatural
Beginning
The witches are presented as a slippery slope that the audience should stay away from
"
This supernatural soliciting cannot be ill, cannot be good
" (Macbeth, A1S3)
Middle
The supernatural is used to reflect Macbeth's great guilt as well as Macbeth's morals
"
Thou canst say I did it, never shake thy gory locks at me!
"(Macbeth, A3S4)
End
The witches act like stereotypical witches to show that Macbeth always knew what he was getting into
"By the pricking of my thumbs, something wicked this way comes" (Witch, A4S1)
Macbeth has now fallen to the level of evil of the witches
The witches are deeply weaved into the plot of Macbeth to reflect King James' and society's fascination with the supernatural
The supernatural aspects are not absolute fact so it's left up to the audience to decide how real they are
Meant to serve as a warning that Morals & Reasons should outweigh fascination for dark powers
Used to define the morals of the characters as God = good and Devil = bad
Fate vs Free Will
Beginning
Macbeth turned the tide of the battle with the Norwegians with his bravery, proving that his actions were of his own volition
"
Disdaining Fortune with his brandished steel
" (Captain, A1S2)
Middle
Macbeth seems to believe in Fate yet he goes against it by trying to stop Banquo's prophecy
"
Come fate into the list and champion me
" (Macbeth, A3S1)
End
Macbeth puts his faith in the witches prophecies but succumbs to them due to Macduff's desire to bring Scotland back to its wholesome days
"
For none of woman born shall harm Macbeth
" (Witch, A4S1)
contrasts the beginning of the play where Macbeth turned the tide of battle by sheer will with the ending where Macbeth has lost due to putting his faith in Fate
Shakespeare showing that every man is responsible for their actions and their consequences
reflects how Shakespeare was not born rich and didn't have much formal education yet was a leading playwright
Appearance vs Reality
Beginning
The play gives and early warning that things are not what they seem
"
Fair is foul and foul is fair
" (Witches, A1S1)
Gunpowder Plot 1605
People were very aware that outward loyalty might be just a show
LM and Macbeth put on an act in public to enact their desires
"
Look like th'innocent flower but be the serpent under't
" (LM, A1S5)
Middle
The stress of hiding their true selves wears on them both due to their overwhelming guilt and this is shown to Macbeth in the form of Banquo's ghost
"
Thou canst not say I did it, never shake thy gory locks at me!
" (Macbeth, A3S4)
End
LM puts on a façade for the majority of the play and it is finally broken down when she starts sleep walking
"Out damned spot; out I say!"
Kingship vs Tyranny
Beginning
Duncan is described as a kind, gentle and dedicated ruler, reflecting the virtues of God
"
This Duncan hath born his faculties so meek
" (Macbeth, A1S7)
Middle
The natural world reacts to King Duncan's death, showing how unnatural his death is and heightening Macbeth's regicide
"'
Tis unnatural, even like the deed that's done
" (Old Man, A2S4)
The day turning dark as night, horses eating each other, owls killing falcons, etc
End
Macbeth is shown to be an evil and tyrannical king that does not inspire love nor loyalty
"
Those he commands move only in command, nothing in love
" (Angus, A5S2)
the natural order has been reversed and where Duncan was loved by the people, Macbeth is hated by the people
Used to show how power can be used to protect and serve or to control and destroy
Gender and Power
Beginning
LM is shown to emasculate Macbeth in order to pry at his weaknesses and make him feel as if he has to match her ruthlessness to appear socially acceptable
Macbeth is used to being praised for bravery in battle
"
For brave Macbeth - well he deserves that name
" (Captain, A1S2)
"
...and dashed the brains out had I so sworn as you have done to this
" (LM, A1S7)
Middle
Men are expected to kill with no hesitation or remorse
"
We are men, my liege
" (Murderer, A3S1)
End
Macduff twists the notion the play has been perpetuating during the first few acts of the play
"
I shall do so, but I must also feel it as man
" (Macduff, A4S3)
he seems to understand that expressing emotions is a part of real masculinity
Power is closely linked to gender
The play criticises how gender roles are twisted to suit ambition, power and control
Destructive mindset that led to the plot of the play