Macbeth

Ø  Shakespeare wrote during the reign of James I

Ø  Sources of the play: Daemonologie of King James, Holinshed, George Buchanan’s Rerum Scoticarum Historia

Ø  Akira Kurosawa used the Macbeth story as the basis Kumunosu-jo (in English known as Throne of Blood or Spiderweb Castle

Ø  Vishal Bhardwaj made Maqbool following Macbeth

Ø  Roman Polanski’s Macbeth

Ø  Macbeth is a tragedy of character who is also a victim of circumstances

Ø  Shakespeare drew freely on numerous biblical references in the play, mainly in metaphors

Ø  The name of the Globe supposedly alludes to the Latin tag totus mundus agit histrionem, in turn derived from quod fere totus mundus exerceat histrionem—”because all the world is a playground”. It represented the ‘Globe’ metaphorically as a microcosm of the larger world outside.

3. Out, damned spot! out, I say!
(5.1.32), Lady Macbeth

4. Something wicked this way comes.
(4.1.46), Second Weird Sister

5. The milk of human kindness.
(1.5.80), Lady Macbeth

6. It is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing.
(5.5.30), Macbeth

7. This is a sorry sight.
(2.2.26), Macbeth

8. When shall we three meet again
In thunder, lightning, or in rain?
(1.1.1), Weird Sisters

9. One fell swoop.
(4.3.259), Macduff

10. Come, you spirits
That tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here.
(1.5.46), Lady Macbeth

1. Simile (Lat. similis, like) is a comparison between two things.

“This is the sergeant
Who like a good and hardy soldier fought
‘Gainst my captivity.” I. ii. 3-5.

“Doubtful it stood;
As two spent swimmers, that do cling together
And choke their art.” I. ii. 7-9.

“As thick as hail came post with post.” I. iii. 97.

“But like a man he died.” V. viii. 43.

2. Metaphor (Gr. meta, change; phero, I carry) is a figure of substitution; one thing is put for, or said to be, another. Metaphor is a simile with the words like or as omitted.

“Kind gentlemen, your pains,
Are register’d, where every day I turn
The leaf to read them.” I. iii. 150, 151.

[Here Macbeth speaks of his memory as a book.]

“I have bought
Golden opinions from all sorts of people,
Which would be worn now in their newest gloss.” I. vii. 32-34.

[Here the golden opinions are spoken of as articles of apparel.]

“Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage.” V. v. 25, 26.

“They have tied me to a stake.” V. vii. 1.

[Macbeth here speaks of himself as a bear ready to be baited.]

3. Personification (Lat. persona, a mask, a person) is a figure in which lifeless things are spoken of as persons.

“My gashes cry for help.” I. ii. 41.

“I think our country sinks beneath the yoke;
It weeps, it bleeds. IV. iii 39-40.

“Our castle’s strength
Will laugh a siege to scorn.” V. v. 2, 3.

4. Apostrophe (Gr. apo, aside; strepho, I turn) is a figure in which a person or thing is addressed. The speaker ‘turns aside’ from his main theme to address some person or thing.

“Come, you spirits
That tend on mortal thoughts,” etc. I. v. 38-48.

“Come, thick night,
And pall thee in the dunnest smoke of hell,” etc. I. v. 48-52.

“Come, let me clutch thee.
I have thee not, and yet I see thee still,” etc. II. i. 34-47.

5. Hyperbole (Gr. hyper, over; batto, I throw) is a figure by which things are represented as being greater or less than they really are. Hyperbole is an exaggerated statement.

“What hands are here? ha! they pluck out mine eyes. Will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood Clean from my hand? No, this hand will rather. The multitudinous seas incarnadine, Making the green one red.” II. i. 123-127.

“Thy crown does scar mine eye-balls.” IV. i. 113.

“Let us seek out some desolate shade, and there,
Weep our sad bosoms empty.” IV. iii. 1, 2.

“This tyrant, whose sole name blisters our tongues.” IV. iii. 11.

6. Euphemism (Gr. eu well; phemi, I speak) is a figure by which a harsh or offensive idea is stated in an inoffensive manner.

“He that’s coming
Must be provided for: and you shall put
This night’s great business into my despatch.” I. v. 64-66.

(This is Lady Macbeth’s way of speaking of the intended murder.)

“Is he dispatch’d?” III. iv. 15.

(This is Macbeth’s way of speaking of Banquo’s murder.)

II. Figures of Contrast.

1. Antithesis (Gr. anti, against; tithemi, I place) is a figure by which words or sentences are placed in direct contrast.

“So foul and fair a day I have not seen.” I. iii. 38.

“Look like the innocent flower.
But be the serpent under ‘t.” I. v. 63, 64.

“False face must hide what the false heart doth know. I. vii. 82.

“It cannot
Be call’d our mother, but our grave.” IV. iii. 166.

2. Irony (Gr. eiron, a dissembler) is a figure of disguise: it is a mode of expression in which the meaning is contrary to the words.

“Was not that nobly done? Ay, and wisely too;
For ‘twould have angered any heart alive
To hear the men deny’t.” III. vi 14-16.

(All the first part of the speech of Lennox — III. vi. 1-20 — is ironical. )

Macd. “How does my wife?
Ross. Why, well.
Macd. And all my children?
Ross. Well too.
Macd. The tyrant has not batter’d at their peace?
Ross. No; they were well at peace when I did leave ’em.” IV. iii. 176-179.

Macbeth’s speech (III. iv. 40-43) is ironical, but the irony was soon turned against the speaker.

III. Figure of Association.

1. Metonymy (Gr. meta, change; onoma, a name) is a figure which substitutes the name of one thing for the name of another with which it is in some way connected.

“That trusted home
Might yet enkindle you unto the crown.” I. iii. 121.

(Here ‘the crown’ is used for the office it represents, namely that of king.)

“A little water clears us of this deed.” II. i. 130.

(Here ‘deed’ is substituted for blood, a result of the deed.)

“I drink to the general joy o’ the whole table.” III. iv. 89.

(Here ‘table’ is used for those seated at the table.)

Other examples are ‘the golden round’ for royalty, I. v. 26; ‘steel’ for the dagger or sword, III. ii. 24; ‘blood’ for murderous deeds, III. v. 136; ‘England’ for the King of England, IV. iii. 189.

IV. Alliteration is the frequent recurrence of the same initial letter or sound. The following are a few of the examples to be found in this play:

“Where the Norwegian banners flout the sky
And fan our people cold.” I. ii. 49.

“And yet wouldst wrongly win.” I. v. 20.

“After life’s fitful fever he sleeps well.” III. ii. 23.

“I am cabin’d, cribb’d, confined.” III. iv. 24.

“To doff their dire distresses.” IV. iii. 188.

“And so his knell is knoll’d.” V. viii. 60.

A.     Spain

B.     Denmark

C.     Scotland

D.    Canada

2.     At the beginning of the play, the Scots are at war with which country?

A.     Norway

B.     Prussia

C.    Iceland

D.    Poland

3.     Which location is the setting for Act 5 of Macbeth?

A.    Inverness

B.     Dunsinane

C.    Ely

D.    Forres

4.     Who tells Macbeth, “The queen, my lord, is dead.”?

A.     Seyton

B.     Siward

C.    The Doctor

D.    Caithness

5.     What kind of role do Ross and Angus play in Mabeth?

A.    Choric

6.     Did the historical Macbeth and his wife have children?

A.    Macbeth did not but Lady Macbeth had a son, Lulach, by her first husband, who was recognized as king but later defeated.

7.     How many days are represented on the stage in Macbeth?

A.     Nine days and intervals

8.     Why did Shakespeare report supernatural disturbances after the murder of the king?

A.    The king, as per the Elizabethan world-view, represented the divine representative of God and so violation of the order creates/forecasts supernatural disturbances in nature

ACT I SCENE I

9.     The witches in Shakespeare’s time was

A.     Real

10.   How can the Witches be presented faithfully in modern times?

A.     As embodiment of Macbeth’s own hidden desires

11.     “Fair is foul, and foul is fair:/Hover through the fog and filthy air.”What does the lines suggest?

A.    The ethical and moral universe of the play which is be put upside down

ACT I SCENE II

12.    “Alarum Within” means

A.    Call to arms with the sounding of the trumpet heard offstage [retiring room for the actors made with curtain]

13.    “kerns and gallowglasses” refers to

A.      Kerns were Irish or Scottish light-armed foot soldiersand the gallowglass were mercenary armored warriors with heavy axe, who served primarily as bodyguards to Celtic chieftains

14.   Showed like a rebel’s whore (1.2.18)

A.      Like a whore, who would grant her client any request, so too does Fortune seem to give Macdonwald all he desires (most significantly, troops from the Western Isles).

15.    O valiant cousin! Worthy gentleman!—This is an instance of

A.    Dramatic irony

16.   Or memorize another Golgotha (1.2.42)–A reference to Christ’s death upon Mount Calvary, as reported in Matthew 27.33: “And when they were come unto a place called Golgotha, that is to say, a place of a skull.”

17.    Bellona’s bridegroom…self-comparisons (1.2.62-3)

A.      Bellona was the Roman goddess of war.

18.   Saint Colme’s inch (1.2.71)–Inchcolm, an island in the Firth of Forth.

19.   No more that thane of Cawdor shall deceive

our bosom interest: go pronounce his present death,

And with his former title greet Macbeth. (1.2.74)

—instance of dramatic irony

20.   What he hath lost noble Macbeth hath won —dramatic irony

ACT I SCENE III

21.    Aleppo (1.3.9). Location

A.      Aleppo is the second largest city in modern day Syria.

22.   “Her husband’s to Aleppo gone, master o’ the Tiger” Tiger is

A.    The name of the sailor’s ship.

23.   “Though his bark cannot be lost,

Yet it shall be tempest-tost…” These lines allegorically refer to

A.    Macbeth

24.  “The weird sisters, hand in hand” What did “weird sisters” mean during Shakespeare’s time?

A.    “goddesses of destine”

25.   So foul and fair a day I have not seen (1.3.40)—What would the audience understand by this?

A.      That Macbeth echoes the words of the witches and he is involved in a kind of moral inversion of the present order

26.  If you can look into the seeds of time,

And say which grain will grow and which will not,

Speak then to me, who neither beg nor fear”—What is the speaker’s perspective?

A.    That of goodness and natural growth as suggested by the imagery

27.   “By … death I know I am thane of Glamis”

A.    Sinel’s

28.  As happy prologues to the swelling act/Of imperial theme.”

A.    The witches’ first two truths are insignificant preliminary events leading to the most important truth that Macbeth will be king. [Note: the metaphor in the comparison of the possibility of his becoming the king to the action of a drama]

29.  My thought, whose murder yet is but fantastical”…Whose murder?

A.    Duncan

30.  function

Is smother’d in surmise, and nothing is         

 But what is not.

A.    Macbeth’s ability to function normally is crippled or smothered by his fantastic imagination, and now the only things real to Macbeth are his thoughts of murdering Duncan and usurping the crown (i.e., “nothing is/But what is not.”).

31.    How far is’t call’d to Forres?—Forres was

A.    A town north east of Inverness.

ACT I SCENE IV

32.   “Flourish. Enter DUNCAN, MALCOLM, DONALBAIN, LENNOX, and Attendants.” ‘Flourish’ means

A.    Sounding  of trumpets reserved for the entrance of the king

33.   There’s no art

To find the mind’s construction in the face:

He was a gentleman on whom I built

An absolute trust…………………………………………………….Instance of dramatic irony

34.   There if I grow,

The harvest is your own.” Here Banquo is speaking in terms of

A.    Organic growth as opposed to Macbeth’s ambition

35.   Stars, hide your fires;

Let not light see my black and deep desires” What is the belief expressed here?

A.    The Elizabethans inherited the medieval world-view in which the King was a divine representative. The stars represent the presence of the divine

ACT I SCENE

36.  Can Lady Macbeth be called the Fourth Witch in this scene?

A.    Yes [but in the Sleep walking scene she becomes a human being]

37.   unsex me here” means

A.      reduce my womanly feelings of compassion and fear and make me a warrior.

38.   This ignorant present, and I feel now

The future in the instant……………………….Dramatic irony

39.  This ignorant present, and I feel now

The future in the instant.” What is the contemporary even that some critics note here?

A.    The Gun Powder Plot

ACT I SCENE VI

40.  DUNCAN        This castle hath a pleasant seat; the air

Nimbly and sweetly recommends itself

Unto our gentle senses.

BANQUO        This guest of summer,

The temple-haunting martlet does approve,

By his loved mansionry, that the heaven’s breath

Smells wooingly here: no jutty, frieze,

Buttress, nor coign of vantage, but this bird

Hath made his pendent bed and procreant cradle:

Where they most breed and haunt, I have observed,

The air is delicate…. A number of dramatic irony here. Nature is present in perfect order, which Macbeth intends to invert

41.   We rest your hermits” ‘Hermits’ meant

A.      Almsmen [a kind of medieval practice]

ACT I SCENE VII

42.  If it were done when ‘tis done, then ‘twere well” ‘Done’ means

A.    Finished

43.   Vaulting ambition: “I have no spur to stimulate my guilty intention except ambition – ambition which is like a too eager rider, who in vaulting into the saddle o’erleaps himself and falls on the other side of the horse” (Muir 41).

ACT II SCENE I

44.  Being unprepared
Our will became the servant to defect
Which else should free have wrought….an instance of extreme hypocrisy

45.  In which scene does the Dagger Scene occur?

A.     Act II, Sc. 1

46.  Is the Dagger real?

B.     More psychological than real

ACT II SCENE II

47.  In which scene does Macbeth commit the murder of the king?

A.     Act II, Scene 2

48.  “Had he not resembled my father as he slept, I had done it,” What does this imply?

A.    It implies a very weak or soft human spot in Lady Macbeth’s heart. [it also conveys the gravity of the crime]

ACT II SCENE III

49.  Where does the Porter Scene staged?

A.     Act II Scene 3

50.  “Here’s a farmer…expectation of plenty” This indirectly refers to

A.      Macbeth

51.    Who says, “There’s daggers in men’s smiles: the near in blood

The nearer bloody.” (in 2.3)?

A.     Donalbain

ACT II SCENE IV

52.   On which day is the King murdered?

A.    Tuesday [as reported by the Old Man]

53.   A falcon, towering in her pride of place,

Was by a mousing owl hawk’d at and kill’d.” Where did Shakespeare borrow the story of the falcon and owl?

A.     Holinshed

54.  What role does the Old Man play

A.     Choric role

ACT III SCENE I

55.   My Genius is rebuked; as, it is said,

Mark Antony’s was by Caesar. …Mabeth about Banquo proving that Banquo is his foil

56.  Why did Shakespeare allow the murderers a considerable amount of space?

A.     The audience loved it because the times were full of such intrigues

ACT III SCENE II

57.   Duncan is in his grave;

After life’s fitful fever he sleeps well;

Treason has done his worst: nor steel, nor poison,

Malice domestic, foreign levy, nothing,

Can touch him further.”…. What is the attitude of the speaker?

A.     Tormented

ACT III SCENE IV

58.  Where does the Banquet Scene take place?

A.     At III, Scene 4

59.  “It will have blood; they say, blood will have blood” When does Mabeth say so?

A.    After the appearance of Banquo’s bloody ghost in the Banquet scene.

ACT IV SCENE I

Cauldron Scene

60.  Which apparition tells Macbeth “none of woman born/Shall harm Macbeth”

A.     Second Appatition [a bloody child]

61.   Macbeth shall never vanquish’d be until

Great Birnam wood to high Dunsinane hill

Shall come against him….” Which apparition tells this?

A.     Third Apparition [a Child crowned, with a tree in his hand]

62.  Why was the “show of Eight Kings” planned?

A.      To show the lineage of the Stuarts [Eight King, the eight sovereigns of the Scottish house of Stuart, from Robert II to James VI, inclusive. According to Holinshed, this house traced its descent back to Banquo]

63.  The two-fold balls and treble cepters (4.1) is a reference to

A.     the double coronation of James, at Scone and Westminster

ACT V SCENE I

Sleep Walking Scene

64.  “all the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand” Figure of Speech?

A.     Hyperbole

65.  What is the disease she suffers from?

A.     Somnambulism

66.  What is the disease indicated by her washing of hands?

A.     Obsessive compulsive neurotic disorder

ACT V SCENE II

ACT V SCENE III

ACT V SCENE V

67.  She should have died hereafter” This line can be interpreted in

A.     More than one sense

68.  “it is a tale

Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,

Signifying nothing…” Here we have an echo of the philosophy of

A.     Existentialism

ACT V SCENE VI

ACT V SCENE VII

ACT V SCENE VIII

69.  “Of this dead butcher and his fiend-like queen” who says this?

A.     Malcolm

70.  With whose speech does the play end?

A.     Malcolm

71.    What does the death of Macbeth suggest?

A.     The return of the natural order to its normal condition