HowheispresentedintheplayisJacobeanpropagandaandshowstheDivineRightofKings.He’sshownasinnocentandpure,inherentlythebestking,divinelyappointed.James1stbelievedintheDivineRightofKingssowould’veapproved. On a heath in Scotland, three witches, the Weird Sisters, wait to meet Macbeth amidst thunder and lightning. Their conversation is filled with paradox and equivocation: they say that they will meet Macbeth "when the battle's lost and won" and when "fair is foul and foul is fair" (10). Act 1, Scene 2 These examples show the use of rhetorical questions mostly posed by the character of Lady Macbeth. They also show Shakespeare’s expertise in using rhetorical devices and couple them with other literary devices. Ross: He is Macduff’s cousin and a loyal noble of the Scottish Kingdom. Ross delivers Macbeth’s and Banquo’s victory of the war again, the King of Norway. After the witches’ first prophecy, Ross delivers the news of Macbeth’s new title. He is one of the thanes who leave Macbeth when Malcolm and Macduff arrive with the army.

Macbeth Study Guide Macbeth is Shakespeare's shortest tragedy, and very likely, the most reworked of all Shakespeare's plays. It is now assumed that some of the play was actually written by a contemporary of Shakespeare, Thomas Middleton, and modern editors have found it necessary to rearranged lines they feel are otherwise disjointed and confusing. Statecrafts: It means government or control. The deaths of King Duncan, Banquo, guards, Macduff’s family were perfectly planned murders by power-hungry Macbeth and his wife. This shows that statecraft is an important theme of the play. Macbeth did not know the statecraft though he becomes a king. Hence he faced a rebellion by Lennox at the end. At the same time, Macduff and Malcolm, with the help of the King of England, defeat Macbeth and take over the kingdom.Foreshadowing: The first example of foreshadowing occurs in the very first action where the bloody battle continues. It shows that another somber murder is going to take place. Another example is when Macbeth hears some voices about losing his sleep when stabbing Duncan. It shows that he and his wife are going to face psychological issues. Lady Macbeth is one of the most famous female characters in all of literature. Macbeth's wife is smart, ambitious, and brave. She is undone, however, by her ambition, and by her utter ruthlessness.

Useasentencelike,'Whiletheextractisextremelyimportant/pivotalwhenexploring(whateverthequestionhasaskedyou),thereareotherequallyimportantmoments/characters.' This definition as simple verbal ambiguity is the one that audiences are most familiar with—and one that plays an important role in the play. The Porter’s speech on equivocation in Act 2, however, refers to a more active type of equivocation. The second definition in the OED: reads:

Major Themes in Macbeth

Narrator: This is a spooky horror! It’s got witches telling this dude that he’s gonna be king, so he chops his way to the top. The Witches make him think he’s invincible! He like so isn’t. On the other side, Malcolm asks the soldiers to cut the branch from the Birnam Wood to hide themselves. Later, Macbeth comes to know that the forest is moving towards his fort. Despite the growing tension, Macbeth remains arrogant and unmoved. Lady Macbeth commits suicide (which is shown off-stage). Theexactchainofeventsdependsonthecharacterinthepassage.Ifit’saMacbethrelatedquestionthenyoucouldsayittriggershisambition,orshowsaresultofhisambition.

Crime: The witches’ prophecies manipulate Macbeth and his wife and turn them to criminals. Though they are bestowed with luxury and royalty, they commit heinous crimes because of their never-ending greed. Macbeth commits the first crime by killing his guest, King Duncan. Then he betrays his friend, Banquo, gets him killed and later target’s Macduff’s family. Hence, the play shows the world of crime until justice is done at the end, and Macbeth is beheaded. At the king’s palace, Duncan hears reports of Cawdor’s execution from his son Malcolm, who says that Cawdor died nobly, confessing freely and repenting of his crimes. Macbeth and Banquo enter with Ross and Angus. Duncan thanks the two generals profusely for their heroism in the battle, and they profess their loyalty and gratitude toward Duncan. Duncan announces his intention to name Malcolm the heir to his throne. Macbeth declares his joy but notes to himself that Malcolm now stands between him and the crown. Plans are made for Duncan to dine at Macbeth’s castle that evening, and Macbeth goes on ahead of the royal party to inform his wife of the king’s impending arrival. who’s been born from a woman can harm you, and you’ll never be beaten until a wood walks up a hill. So Macbeth’s like, well, that’s never gonna happen! But watch out for Macduff. Macbeth to be sure, sends some guys to kill Macduff’s family, so he’s like ‘cool’. LikeDuncan,Banquoistoogoodtocomprehendevil.Hesays ‘Theairisdelicate’whenhearrivesatMacbeth’scastle.

Introduction to Macbeth

Imagery: Imagery means to use vivid and descriptive language so that the reader can visualize the depth of the text. For example, Lotsofproseandfragmentedsyntaxusedwhichshowsthedeteriorationofhermind.Reinforcesthedidacticmessageoftheplay,theconsequencesofcommittingregicide(killingaking).Closestwecometofeelingpathosforher. Paradox means to use contradictory ideas in the same statement. For example, the first statement shows it in the second line as lightning and rain, and the second statement shows in using lost and won simultaneously. Before he kills Duncan, Macbeth is plagued by worry and almost aborts the crime. It takes Lady Macbeth’s steely sense of purpose to push him into the deed. After the murder, however, her powerful personality begins to disintegrate, leaving Macbeth increasingly alone. He fluctuates between fits of fevered action, in which he plots a series of murders to secure his throne, and moments of terrible guilt (as when Banquo’s ghost appears) and absolute pessimism (after his wife’s death, when he seems to succumb to despair). These fluctuations reflect the tragic tension within Macbeth: he is at once too ambitious to allow his conscience to stop him from murdering his way to the top and too conscientious to be happy with himself as a murderer. Our initial impression of Macbeth, based on the captain’s report of his valor and prowess in battle, is immediately complicated by Macbeth’s obvious fixation upon the witches’ prophecy. Macbeth is a noble and courageous warrior but his reaction to the witches’ pronouncements emphasizes his great desire for power and prestige. Macbeth immediately realizes that the fulfillment of the prophecy may require conspiracy and murder on his part. He clearly allows himself to consider taking such actions, although he is by no means resolved to do so. His reaction to the prophecy displays a fundamental confusion and inactivity: instead of resolving to act on the witches’ claims, or simply dismissing them, Macbeth talks himself into a kind of thoughtful stupor as he tries to work out the situation for himself. In the following scene, Lady Macbeth will emerge and drive the hesitant Macbeth to act; she is the will propelling his achievements. Once Lady Macbeth hears of the witches’ prophecy, Duncan’s life is doomed.

Shakespeare has the witches speak in language of contradiction. Their famous line “Fair is foul, and foul is fair” is a prominent example (1.1.10), but there are many others, such as their characterization of Banquo as “lesser than Macbeth, and greater” (1.3.63). Such speech adds to the play’s sense of moral confusion by implying that nothing is quite what it seems. Interestingly, Macbeth’s first line in the play is “So foul and fair a day I have not seen” (1.3.36). This line echoes the witches’ words and establishes a connection between them and Macbeth. It also suggests that Macbeth is the focus of the drama’s moral confusion. Lady Macbeth is one of Shakespeare’s most famous and frightening female characters. When we first see her, she is already plotting Duncan’s murder, and she is stronger, more ruthless, and more ambitious than her husband. She seems fully aware of this and knows that she will have to push Macbeth into committing murder. At one point, she wishes that she were not a woman so that she could do it herself. Banquosaystothewitches ‘Ayefantasticalorthatindeedwhichoutwardlyyoushow’. Questioningtheirreality,instantlyrecognisedtheymaybemisleading.NotcaptivatedorcorruptedlikeMacbeth. The next morning, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are composed and come to greet the others as if nothing happened. Macduff goes to the king’s chamber first and tells the others. Macbeth kills the guards before they can speak to maintain his innocence and push the blame on them. However, King Duncan’s sons Malcolm and Donalbain, know that their lives are in danger and run away from Scotland. Later, Malcolm goes to England and Donalbain goes to Ireland. Surprisingly the others believe that King Duncan’s sons were behind the murders as they have fled the crime scene. At the end of Act 2, Macbeth is crowned as the king. The ambiguity of the Weird Sisters reflects a greater theme of doubling, mirrors, and schism between inner and outer worlds that permeates the work as a whole. Throughout the play, characters, scenes, and ideas are doubled. As Duncan muses about the treachery of the Thane of Cawdor at the beginning of the play, for example, Macbeth enters the scene:They get Duncan’s guards drunk! And then Macbeth kills Duncan! He then plants the dagger on the drunk guards, then kills ‘em all and says they did it! Yeah, so never get drunk at a party kids! never! Macbeth is made king! Wow! Macbeth must think those witches are the business! Everything they’ve said so far, has come true! dashedthebrainsout’[of a baby].Veryhauntingandvisceralimage.Sheisfurther‘unsexed’asthisisagainstfemalenormsandmaternalnature.EspeciallypotenttoShakespeareanaudienceastheyhadentrenchedviewsonfemininity. In Macbeth, William Shakespeare's tragedy about power, ambition, deceit, and murder, the Three Witches foretell Macbeth's rise to King of Scotland but also prophesy that future kings will descend from Banquo, a fellow army captain. Prodded by his ambitious wife, Lady Macbeth, he murders King Duncan, becomes king, and sends mercenaries to kill Banquo and his sons. His attempts to defy the prophesy fail, however; Macduff kills Macbeth, and Duncan's son Malcolm becomes king. The using (a word) in more than one sense; ambiguity or uncertainty of meaning in words; also . . . misapprehension arising from the ambiguity of terms.”