| What is a theme? | The central message and it comes from the author |
| What is a motif? | A recurring symbol, idea or image that contributes to the development of the theme |
| What does “reinforcement” mean? | It’s a theme/symbol |
| What are 2 symbols in Macbeth? | Blood and weather |
| What does the symbol blood represent? | Guilt |
| What does the symbol weather represent? | Disruption of the natural order of things |
| What are 5 motifs in Macbeth? | Supernatural, violence, time, borrowed clothes, disorder |
| What are the 6 themes in Macbeth? | Fate vs. Free willAmbition and PowerGender rolesEquivocation Appearance vs. Reality Duality of man |
| What is equivocation? | Concealing the truth |
| What quote goes with the theme of appearance vs. reality? | “Fair is foul and foul is fair.” |
| What does duality mean? | Capacity for good and evil |
| What 2 themes go together? | Equivocation and Appearance vs. Reality |
| When was Macbeth written? | During Jacobean England |
| Who was the king during Jacobean England? | James (1603-1625) |
| What did James believe? | Ghosts, seance |
| Who is Lady Macbeth? | Macbeth’s wife |
| Who is Banquo? | A loyal friend of Macbeth |
| Who is Fleance? | Banquo’s son |
| Who is Hecate? | The ruler of the 3 witches |
| What do the 3 witches do? | Predict the future of Macbeth and Banquo |
| Who is Duncan? | The King (at the beginning of the play), cousin of Macbeth |
| Who does Macbeth murder and Lady Macbeth aids the murder? | Duncan |
| Who are Malcolm and Donalbain? | The sons of Duncan |
| Who are Lennox, Menteith, Angus and Caithness? | Nobles of Duncan – Lennox is a information giver |
| Who is the Porter? | The gatekeeper for Macbeth |
| Who is Ross? | Cousin of Macduff, Thane |
| Who is the Old Siward? | The ally of Macduff |
| Who is the Young Siward? | The Old Siward’s son |
| Who is Macduff? | The suspect of murder to Macbeth |
| Who is Macbeth? | The Thane of Glamis, will become Thane of Cawdor and the King |
| Who is the sergeant? | Information giver on what happens in the first scene |
| Who is Banquo related to? | King James |
| Who is Sweno? | King of Norway |
| What is a thane? | Chief, duke, title of royalty |
| What are characteristics of Banquo? | Equally as brave as Macbeth, fought side by side to Macdonwald and Sweno |
| What’s an aside? | Stage direction and a character speaks his/her thought but no one else can hear them except the audience |
| What is a prophecy? | Foretelling of the future |
| What does the them of Fate vs. Free Will do? | Establishes Macbeth’s conflict |
| What are characteristics of the 3 witches? | Up to no good, manipulate peoples lives, able to things that aren’t normal, conjured a charm |
| What doe the 3 witches call themselves? | The weird sisters |
| What is the 1st set of prophecies? | Telling Macbeth that he will be the Thane of Cawdor and King hereafter |
| What are Ross and Angus both? | Thanes of Scotland and loyal to King Duncan |
| Why does Macbeth become the Thane of Cawdor? | Because Macbeth doesn’t know that the Thane of Cawdor will die |
| What theme is when ‘the devil (witches) make evil look good’? | Theme of Equivocation |
| Why does Macbeth know the prophecy is good but is thinking bad? | He’s thinking of killing Duncan so he can be the King |
| What advantage does Macbeth have by being cousins with Duncan? | He has a legitmate claim to the throne |
| Who is the older son of Duncans? | Malcolm |
| Why was the original Thane of Cawdor executed? | He was a traitor |
| What does Lady Macbeth do to Macbeth to make herself a manipulator? | She is pushing him to kill Duncan, she is deciding the factor |
| Why are Lady Macbeth and Macbeth’s minds alike? | They both think about killing Duncan |
| What do Lady Macbeth and Macbeth not have? | Kids |
| What does Lady Macbeth fear of Macbeth? | That Macbeth doesn’t have the evil to kill |
| Why is the natural order of things messed up? | Because of the 3 witches |
| What does Lady Macbeth do when she knows Duncan is coming to her castle to stay the night? | Makes a prayer to the devil, she needs the power of darkness and doesn’t want light |
| What is a monologue? | A speech given by 1 character to the audience |
| What is a soliloquy? | A speech given by 1 character to him/herself (plus the audience), “thinking aloud” |
| What is Invernes? | Macbeth’s castle |
| What are characteristics of Duncan? | Gullible, happy |
| What is dramatic irony? | Audience sees something that the characters don’t |
| What are some motifs in Macbeth? | Bird (theme of equivocation), child (Macbeth is barren), weather, sons being killed |
| What does Macbeth’s 1st soliloquy express? | Doubt about killing Duncan |
| What does Macbeth’s 1st soliloquy (first part and last part) express? | The first part he is still himself and the last part justifies the means |
| What will happen if people find out Duncan is dead? | They will be upset because he is so good |
| How does Lady Macbeth convince Macbeth to kill Duncan? | She tells him that if he was a real man he will kill Duncan |
| How does the theme Gender Reversal come in? | Lady Macbeth is a strong female character |
| What does Lady Macbeth do to the guards so Macbeth can kill Duncan? | Gets them drunk |
| What will everyone blame the guards for? | Getting drunk and killing the King |
| ‘Pretending to be innocent but be evil inside’ is what theme? | Equivocation |
| What does Macbeth’s 2nd soliloquy talk about? | The hallucination of the dagger pointing towards Duncan’s room |
| What is Macbeth having a hallucination of? | A dagger |
| What theme is the hallucination? | Allusion vs. Reality |
| What does macabre mean? | Gruesome images of death |
| What else does Macbeth talk about (have images of) in his 2nd soliloquy, besides the dagger? | A wolf, witchcraft and murder/horror |
| Who is Tarquin? | A roman soldier |
| What has Macbeth murdered? | Sleep |
| What theme occurs when Macbeth kills Duncan? | Disturbance of the natural order of things |
| What does the ‘owl’ represent? | Macbeth (awake at night, killing) |
| What does guilt do? | Deterioates a person |
| When Macbeth kills Duncan what does he not have enough of? | Water to clean the blood off of his hands because of all of the guilt |
| What does Macbeth and Lady Macbeth do when somebody knocks at the main door? | Pretend like they are sleeping |
| What is comic relief? | Appeals to groundling, softens the gruesomeness and contrasts with the gore of regicide |
| Who does the porter (doorman) say the knocking at the door can be in his soliloquy? | An equivocator, tailor, farmer |
| What does the porter compare Macbeth’s castle to? | Hell |
| What is a protagonist? | Good guy |
| What is a antagonist? | Bad guy |
| What is a foil? | A character whose qualities highlight another character |
| How does foil come in with Macduff and Macbeth? | Macduff’s goodness is going to make Macbeth more evil and vice versa |
| What is the motif of weather? | When the outside world reflects what happened inside the castle |
| What are example of the motif of weather? | Owl, earthquake, screams of death – this all happens when someone dies |
| Why do Malcom and Donalbain want to leave? | They think the suspicion of their father’s murder will fall of them |
| Who is the first to suspect something about Macbeth being connected to the murder of Duncan? | Banquo |
| Where does Malcolm flee to? | England |
| Where does Donalbain flee to? | Ireland |
| Who represents the falcon? | Duncan |
| How had nature flip flopped? | Skies reflect chaos of castle (dark when supposed to be light), horses go crazy (eat each other) and owl kills falcon |
| What does everyone think Malcom and Donalbain did? | Paid the guards to kill their father |
| Why is Macbeth jealous of Banquo? | His royalty, reigns and bravery |
| What does Macbeth do to Banquo? | Hires men to kill him |
| What does Macbeth see at the banquet he has at his castle? | Sees Banquo’s ghost and all the blood on him |
| How is Banquo a moral pillar? | He’s an example of how Macbeth should have reacted to the witches |
| What happens after Banquo’s death that gets Macbeth mad? | Only Banquo was killed and his son (Fleance) wasn’t |
| What scares Macbeth? | Nothing except a ghost |
| What is Macbeth no longer? | Sane or brave, he’s now dangerous |
| What is going to be Macbeth’s downfall? | His overconfidence |
| Why does Macduff go to England? | To get Malcolm, to get Macbeth’s throne and to start a rebellion/get help from the English king |
| Who does everyone think killed Banquo? | Fleance |
| What made Macduff disgrace Macbeth? | Not going to his banquet |
| What does Macbeth know about Macduff? | That he went to England to plan war |
| How do the witches manipulate Macbeth? | They create a spell and make him see 4 apparitions |
| Who says “double, double toil and trouble”? | The witches |
| What are the 4 apparitions? | Beware Macduff, you can’t be harmed by anyone, you will never be defeated until the forest picks itself up and walks to your castle, Banquos family is infinite |
| What does Macbeth see in the 4th apparition? | 8 kings, a mirror and Banquos ghost |
| What is Macduff? | Thane of Fife |
| Why is Ross afraid to be caught at Macduff’s castle? | It’s bad to be with the king’s enemies |
| Who, out of Macduff’s family is killed? | His wife and kids |
| Who’s King Edward? | King of England |
| What happens during Lady Macbeth’s sleep walking scene? | Relives everything that happened with Macbeth (what she told him to do the night Duncan was killed) |
| Who is listening to everything Lady Macbeth is admitting? | Her doctor |
| What is the doctor fearful of? | That Lady Macbeth will kill herself |
| What is Dunsinane? | The hill where Macbeth’s castle is |
| Who is Seyton? | Attendant |
| What is Macbeth realizing in his 4th soliloquy? | He isn’t doing what he should be doing at old age |
| How is the 3rd prophecy fulfilled? | Malcolm and the English forces cut done the trees and cover themselves in it and walk towards the castle |
| What do Macbeth’s soldiers do? | Leave him |
| What is Macbeth’s 5th soliloquy about? | Lady Macbeth’s death |
| How do people think Lady Macbeth died? | Guilt, killed herself or breaks her heart |
| What does Macbeth realize after Lady Macbeth’s death? | Life is meaningless and there is nothing to live for |
| Who lead the attack on Macbeth’s castle? | Siward and his son |
| Who, from the attack does Macbeth kill first? | Young siward |
| Who kills Macbeth? | Macduff |
| Who becomes king after Macbeth is killed? | Malcolm |
| What does Malcolm promise as king? | To restore the natural order of thing, promises peace, makes the thanes a bigger title |
| What is Malcolm not? | An equivocater |
Macbeth Notes
September 12, 2019