Revision guide and Extract questions The Plot 1

Revision guide and Extract questions

The Plot 1. While returning from a battle victory, Macbeth, a powerful lord, meets three Witches who predict that he will become King of Scotland. 2. Macbeth tells his wife of the Witches' predictions and she encourages him to murder the current king, Duncan, who is staying with them as a guest. 3. After Macduff discovers the murder, Duncan's sons flee the country, leaving the way clear for Macbeth to become king. 4. Banquo, Macbeth's best friend, becomes suspicious of what his friend has done so Macbeth has him murdered too. 5. Macbeth pays a second visit to the Witches and receives more predictions. 6. In England, Malcolm (Duncan's elder son) and his chief supporter, Macduff, plan to invade Scotland to win back the throne. An enraged Macbeth has Macduff's wife and children killed; Macduff swears revenge. 7. Lady Macbeth suffers from guilt for what she has done and eventually commits suicide. 8. Malcolm's invasion is successful and Macduff kills Macbeth. Malcolm becomes the new King of Scotland the country counts the cost of Macbeth's short but bloody reign.

Macbeth Key quotes Quote What does it mean? “Look like the innocent Lady Macbeth tells flower but be the Macbeth to act serpent under it” innocent even though his intentions towards Duncan are evil. Macbeth is a complex character who changes throughout the course of the play. He is clearly a brave warrior and leader at the start of the drama but he falls victim to the Witches' predictions. It is unclear whether they plant ideas in his mind or whether they simply highlight thoughts that he has already had. In a series of soliloquies he repeatedly questions himself about his motives for killing the King but is eventually persuaded to continue by his forceful wife. Having committed murder he finds himself caught in a spiral of evil from which he can see no escape. His actions become less heroic and more cowardly as he continues to murder and terrorise others in order to hold on to his power. “We will proceed no further in this business. ” Macbeth tells Lady Macbeth that he has changed his mind about killing King Duncan "Will all great Neptune's ocean wash this blood clean from my hand? ” Macbeth is full of guilt after killing Duncan

Lady Macbeth Key quotes Lady Macbeth is even more ambitious and ruthless than her husband. As soon as an opportunity to gain power presents itself, she has a plan in mind. She uses her influence to persuade Macbeth that they are taking the right course of action and even takes part in the crime herself. For a while she is able to suppress her actions but eventually she becomes unable to deal with the guilt of what she has done. She becomes unable to sleep, and mentally unstable, eventually dying in tragic circumstances. Quote What does it mean? ”unsex me here” Lady Macbeth is asking to be stripped of her feminine weakness. “Come you spirits” Lady Macbeth is talking to evil spirits to help make her evil and capable of murder. “Out, damn'd spot! out, I say!” At the end of the play Lady Macbeth is filled with guilt and is trying to wash Duncan’s blood from her hands

Banquo Key quotes Quote What does it mean? ”That look not like th' He meets the witches and says that they do not look human even though they are on earth inhabitants o' th' Earth” “Speak, then, to me” Banquo also wants a prediction from the witches “I fear Thou played'st most foully for't. ” Banquo suspects that Macbeth had something to do with Duncan’s death Banquo is another general in King Duncan's army and Macbeth's best friend. While both men have ambitious thoughts, Banquo is more cautious and does not resort to murder to get what he wants. Banquo is aware that the Witches' predictions may be tricking Macbeth into evil actions and is the first to suspect Macbeth of murder. He dies while protecting his son, Fleance, and comes back as a ghost to haunt Macbeth.

Macduff Key quotes Quote What does it mean? ”O gentle lady, Macduff has come to 'Tis not for you to hear tell of Duncan’s murder but he doesn’t what I can speak. ” think a woman should here about it. Macduff, the Thane of Fife, is Macbeth's deadly enemy. He discovers Duncan's body and becomes Malcolm's chief supporter, following him to England to support him in raising an army against Macbeth. When he learns of the murders of his wife and family, Macduff feels guilty about leaving them and driven by a need for revenge. According to the Witches' prediction, Macduff is the only one who can stop Macbeth. The two men meet face-to-face on the battlefield and Macduff kills Macbeth. “Boundless intemperance” He says that Macbeth was not patient and may have become king had he just waited. “The time is free. ” At the very end of the play Macduff tells Macbeth that his time as king has come to an end.

The witches Key quotes Quote What does it mean? Fair is foul, and foul is fair; The witches talk in rhyming couplets like a chant. The fog represents them not being able to see what is really there “When shall we three meet again This is from the beginning of the play where they say they will meet Macbeth and Banquo. ”All hail, Macbeth, The witches tell Macbeth that he will one day become King. Although there is clearly more than one of them, the Witches may be seen as seem as a single character; they are often referred to as "The Weird Sisters". Their predictions drive matters forward though they never actually suggest direct action. Rather, they plant ideas in Macbeth's mind and let his ambition do the rest. Many of their predictions are ambiguous. thou shalt be king hereafter!”

Theme: Ambition • Macbeth has natural ambition but this is reinforced by his meeting with the Witches and by his wife's persuasive powers. • Lady Macbeth is ambitious for herself but also on her husband's behalf. • For Duncan's murder, most of the plan's details are created by Lady Macbeth carries out the actual murder but Lady Macbeth deals with the cover up. • The Macbeths act very much as a single unit, though their ambitious natures and their shared guilt eventually tear their marriage apart. Shakespeare leaves the audience to decide who is more ambitious. Key quotes Quote What does it mean? “Vaulting ambition, which o'erleaps itself” Macbeth convinces himself that he should kill Duncan because he is an obstacle between him and the throne. “The Prince of Cumberland! That is a step” When Duncan declares that Malcolm will be his heir, Macbeth decides that he too is an obstacle. “to make them kings, the seed of Banquo kings. ” Macbeth is still concerned that Banquo’s child will become king and therefore arranges for them to be killed

Key quotes Theme: Supernatural In Shakespeare's time, the powers of evil were thought to be absolutely real; to most people Hell was an actual place and the Devil a constant threat to their souls. In particular there was a fascination with witches and witchcraft. Hundreds of innocent people (mostly women) were executed as suspected witches. The interest came from the very top, led by King James I himself who published a book on the subject called Demonology. When Shakespeare came to write his play, he knew that his audience would find theme of evil and the supernatural very interesting indeed. Quote What does it mean? “Come you spirits that tend on mortal thoughts” Lady Macbeth is talking to evil spirits to help make her evil and capable of murder. “fair is foul” The oxymoron is repeated by Macbeth when he returns from battle. “I'll drain him dry as hay” One of the witches talks about a curse she put on someone who offended her - this links to what James I thought had happened to him

Theme: Appearance and reality In Macbeth, Shakespeare examines how appearances can be deceptive and that the reality behind them is often unpleasant. Some of the key aspects are: • seeing things • sleep and dreams • fake hospitality In Macbeth, things are never quite what they seem. Characters say one thing yet mean something else and use euphemisms to hide reality. Wicked and violent acts such as murder are covered up or the blame is shifted onto someone else. The Witches mislead Macbeth, or they at least make suggestions which allow him to mislead himself. Ghosts, visions and apparitions occur regularly. All of these things contribute to the many contrasts which exist in the play; almost nothing is as it should be. Key quotes Quote What does it mean? “Mine eyes are made the fools o'th'other senses, ” When Macbeth sees the dagger he knows that it is not real and that his mind is tricking him. “what, will these hands ne'er be clean? ” Lady Macbeth sleeps walks at the end of the play and sees blood on her hands. Her guilt is too much for her to handle. “Look like the innocent Lady Macbeth tells flower but be the Macbeth to act serpent under it” innocent even though his intentions towards Duncan are evil.