Macbeth

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Macbeth the Hero

At the start of the play, Macbeth is a hero.

'For brave Macbeth...'

'For brave Macbeth (well he deserves that name)'
Macbeth has bravely fought in a battle on the side of his ruler, King Duncan, risking his own life.
The Captain, who is telling King Duncan about the battle, is clearly impressed by Macbeth's bravery. By using brackets here, Shakespeare is emphasising that Macbeth deserves to be called brave and that his bravery stands out.
Macbeth obviously lives by the heroic code (tells you how a noble person should act).

‘We will proceed no further'

‘We will proceed no further in this business’.
Macbeth tells his wife that he does not want to kill King Duncan anymore.
Macbeth really struggles with the decision to go ahead with the plot. Macbeth does not want to go against his friend, his king or God (removing the rightful king from the throne was a sin against God).
Lady Macbeth manipulates Macbeth to go ahead with the murder – she calls him a coward, accuses him of lying to his wife, implies that he is less than a man, etc.

‘Unseam'd him from the nave...'

‘He unseam'd him from the nave to th' chaps, / And fix'd his head upon our battlements’.
- N.B. chaps is spelt 'chops' in some versions.
Macbeth's violent side is present from the start.
He is thought to be a hero because of his violent nature – but, he uses this violence to kill people for the king.
When fighting the Norwegian enemies, Macbeth attacked a man he had never met before and slit him open from his belly to his jaw, and then cut off his head and placed it on the battlements.

Macbeth meets the three witches while returning from the battle. They greet him as Thane of Glamis (which he is), Thane of Cawdor (which the audience knows he is, but Macbeth does not), and tell him he shall be king.

Illustrative background for <b>'Two truths are told / As happy prologues to the swelling act / Of the imperial theme'</b> (1,3).

Illustrative background for <b>'Two truths are told / As happy prologues to the swelling act / Of the imperial theme'</b> (1,3). ?? "content

'Two truths are told / As happy prologues to the swelling act / Of the imperial theme' (1,3).

When Macbeth finds out that he is in fact Thane of Cawdor, as the witches have told him, his mind leaps to the possibility of becoming king.
But he is immediately not sure if what he has been told is for the best.

'If good, why do I yield to that suggestion / Whose horrid image doth unfix my hair, / ...

... And make my seated heart knock at my ribs, / Against the use of nature?' (1,3)
Macbeth`s mind jumps to the death of King Duncan - the only way of becoming king.
The imagery of terror that Shakespeare uses in this quote suggests that Macbeth is already thinking about murder.
The possibility of power has moved him from a loyal subject to the worst kind of traitor.

Illustrative background for <b>‘Stars, hide your fires, / Let not light see my black and deep desires’.</b> (1,4)

Illustrative background for <b>‘Stars, hide your fires, / Let not light see my black and deep desires’.</b> (1,4) ?? "content

‘Stars, hide your fires, / Let not light see my black and deep desires’. (1,4)

In an aside, Macbeth says that Malcolm is now an obstacle for him and says those words, admiting that he wants the crown, even though it is disloyal to want it.

‘I have no spur / to prick the sides of my intent, but only / ...

...Vaulting ambition which o’erleaps itself / And falls on th’other’. (1,7)
- Macbeth says this in his soliloquy at the start of the scene.
- Macbeth is struggling to take action. He realises the only thing making him want to kill King Duncan is ambition. He says ambition makes people do stupid things and leads to disaster.

1Literary & Cultural Context

1.1Context

1.1.1Tragedy

1.1.2The Supernatural & Gender

1.1.3Politics & Monarchy

1.1.4End of Topic Test - Context

2Plot Summary

2.1Act 1

2.1.1Scenes 1 & 2

2.1.2Scene 3

2.1.3Scenes 4-5

2.1.4Scenes 6-7

2.1.5End of Topic Test - Act 1

2.2Acts 2-4

2.2.1Act 2

2.2.2Act 3

2.2.3Act 4

2.3Act 5

2.3.1Scenes 1-3

2.3.2Scenes 4-9

2.3.3End of Topic Test - Acts 2-5

2.3.4Diagnostic Misconceptions - Ambiguous Ending

2.3.5Diagnostic Misconceptions - Jacobean

3Characters

4Themes

4.1Themes

4.1.1Power & Ambition

4.1.2Power & Ambition HyperLearning

4.1.3Violence

4.1.4The Supernatural

4.1.5Masculinity

4.1.6Armour, Kingship & The Natural Order

4.1.7Appearances & Deception

4.1.8Madness & Blood

4.1.9Women, Children & Sleep

4.1.10End of Topic Test - Themes

4.1.11End of Topic Test - Themes 2

4.2Grade 9 - Themes

4.2.1Grade 9 - Themes

4.2.2Extract Analysis

5Writer's Techniques

5.1Structure, Meter & Other Literary Techniques

5.1.1Structure, Meter & Dramatic Irony

5.1.2Pathetic Fallacy & Symbolism

5.1.3End of Topic Test - Writer's Techniques

6Recap: Main Quotes

6.1Characters Quotes

6.1.1Macbeth

6.1.2Macbeth 2

6.1.3Macbeth 3

6.1.4Macbeth 4

6.1.5Lady Macbeth

6.1.6Lady Macbeth 2

6.1.7Banquo

6.1.8Banquo 2

6.1.9The Witches

6.1.10King Duncan

6.1.11Macduff

6.2Text Structure - Quotes

6.2.1Violence

6.2.2The Supernatural

6.2.3Ambition

6.2.4Armour, Kingship & the Natural Order

6.2.5Appearances & Deception

6.2.6Lady Macbeth's Masculinity

6.2.7Madness & Blood

6.2.8Men, Children & Sleep

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