Knowledge Organiser

Macbeth – William Shakespeare

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 One sentence summaries
Act 1 Act 2 Act 3 Act 4 Act 5

Scene 1 The witches gather on a

heath in a storm, plotting
Macbeth hallucinates a dagger on his way to
Duncan’s chamber, where he murders him
Macbeth becomes increasingly
power-hungry and paranoid
The witches prophesy to
Macbeth once again – that he
Lady Macbeth is seen sleepwalking and
hallucinating blood on her hands. She is
to meet Macbeth after the (off-stage). about Banquo, due to the cannot be killed by one of woman plagued by guilt and has gone mad.
battle against Norway witches’ prophesies. Macbeth born, that he cannot be killed
ends. hires murdered to kill Banquo until Dunsinane forest moves, and
and his son, Fleance that he should beware Macduff.
Macbeth feels confident,
believing he is undefeatable.

Scene 2 A sergeant tells Duncan of

Macbeth and Banquo’s
Macbeth returns from the murder and is
plagued by guilt, fearing he is damned. Lady
Macbeth expresses that his
mind is disturbed to Lady
Lady Macduff and her children
are murdered by Macbeth’s
We learn that the English army is
approaching Macbeth, and that some of his
bravery and masculine Macbeth feels no guilt. Macbeth, and tells her to keep assassins. thanes have deserted him.
violence in the battle. out of his dark business.

Scene 3 The witches prophesy

Macbeth and Banquo’s
The porter jokes that he is guarding the
gates of hell. Duncan’s body is discovered, and
Banquo is murdered by
assassins, while Fleance
In England, Macduff learns of
the murder of his wife and
Macbeth dismisses reports of the attack,
believing himself to be untouchable. In
powerful futures. Macbeth and Lady Macbeth pretend they are escapes. children, and plots to bring an private, he fears he is losing his power.
innocent. English army to defeat him.

Scene 4 Duncan makes Macbeth

Thane of Cawdor, and
Ross explains that nature has been
overturned since Duncan’s death, and explains
At a banquet, Macbeth
hallucinates the ghost of
The English army cut down trees from
Birnam Wood to disguise themselves as they
Macbeth’s ambition is how Malcolm has fled to England. Macbeth has Banquo after learning that walk towards Macbeth’s castle.
sparked. been made King of Scotland. Fleance was not murdered.

Scene 5 Lady Macbeth plots to

manipulate Macbeth into
Hecate plots with the witches
to confuse Macbeth further by
Macbeth learns that Lady Macbeth is dead.
He reflects on life, expressing that it is
killing Duncan to achieve delivering him more prophesies. pointless. Macbeth learns that the prophesy
her own ambition about Birnam Wood has come true.

Scene 6 Duncan visits the castle of

the Macbeths, and finds it
We learn from Lennox that
Macduff has fled to England
Malcolm’s army prepare to attack Macbeth.

pleasant, despite the and is helping Malcolm to

audience knowing he is overthrow Macbeth.
about to die.

Scene 7 Lady Macbeth manipulates

Macbeth into killing
Macbeth confidently declares he will fight
because he believes he cannot be killed. He
Duncan. kills Young Siward after he challenges him.

Scene 8 Macduff and Macbeth meet on the

battlefield, where Macduff reveals that he
was born by C-Section. The final prophesy
has come true, and Macbeth is killed.

Scene 9 Malcolm rides onto the battlefield and

restores order as he is declares the new
King of Scotland.
Top 25 quotes list
• Fair is foul and foul is fair, hover through the fog and filthy air. Witches Act 1 Scene 1
• For brave Macbeth (well he deserves that name) disdaining Fortune, with his brandished steel, which smoked with bloody
execution Captain Act 1 Scene 2
• Till he unseamed him from the nave to the chops and fixed his head upon the battlements. Captain Act 1 Scene 2
• As sparrows eagles or hare the lion Act 2 Scene 2
• So fair and foul a day I have not seen. Macbeth Act 1 Scene 3
• Why do I yield to the suggestion whose horrid image doth unfix my hair and make my seated heart knock at my ribs? Macbeth Act
1, Scene 3
• Stars, hide your fires; let not light see my black and deep desires. Macbeth Act 1 Scene 4
• I fear thy nature; it is too full o’ the milk of human-kindness Lady Macbeth, Act 1 Scene 5
• That I may pour my spirits in thine ear, and chastise with the valour of my tongue all that impedes thee from the golden round.
Lady Macbeth, Act 1 Scene 5
• Unsex me here, and fill me from the crown to the toe top-full of direst cruelty. Lady Macbeth, Act 1 Scene 5
• look like the innocent flower, But be the serpent under't. Lady Macbeth Act 1 Scene 5
• His virtues will plead like angels, trumpet-tongued, against the deep damnation of his taking-off Macbeth Act 1, Scene 7
• I have no spur to prick the sides of my intent, but only vaulting ambition which o’erleaps itself. Macbeth, Act 1 Scene 7
• When you durst do it, then you were a man Lady Macbeth Act 1 Scene 7
• Will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood clean from my hand? Macbeth, Act 2 Scene 2
• Upon my head they have placed a fruitless crown, and put a barren sceptre in my grip. Macbeth Act 3 Scene 1
• Be innocent in the knowledge, dearest chuck. Macbeth Act 3 scene 2
• Full of scorpions is my mind, dear wife Macbeth Act 3 scene 2
• I think our country sinks beneath the yoke; It weeps, it bleeds; and each new day a gash Is added to her wounds Malcolm Act 4
scene 3
• Here's the smell of the blood still: all the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand. Oh, oh, oh! Lady Macbeth Act 5
scene 1
• Bring me no more reports; let them fly all: Till Birnam wood remove to Dunsinane, I cannot taint with fear. What's the boy
Malcolm? Macbeth Act 5 scene 3
• Out, out, brief candle! Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player. That struts and frets his hour upon the stage And then is heard
no more Macbeth Act 5, scene 5
• I bear a charmed life Macbeth Act 5 Scene 8
• And be these juggling fiends no more believed, That palter with us in a double sense; Macbeth Act 5 Scene 8
• Dead butcher and his fiend-like Queen Act 5 scene 11

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Key extracts Pathetic fallacy: Thunder highlights the
potential danger and evilness of the witches.
ACT I

SCENE I. A desert place.

Thunder and lightning. Enter three Witches Trochaic meter: Shakespeare switches
between trochaic meter for the witches and
First Witch: When shall we three meet again iambic pentameter for higher status characters
like the Macbeths. In trochaic meter, the
In thunder, lightning, or in rain?
emphasis is placed on the first syllable followed
by unstressed. This creates an unusual rhythm
Second Witch:: When the hurlyburly's done, to the speech and coupled with the rhyming
When the battle's lost and won. couplets creates the impression of spells or
curses. Thus, Shakespeare sets the witches
Third Witch: That will be ere the set of sun. apart from other characters and creates the
impression they are evil and supernatural.
First Witch: Where the place?
The witches speech shifts between each other
Second Witch: Upon the heath. allowing the audience to see them as one entity
who work in unison. This makes the audience feel
Third Witch: There to meet with Macbeth. distanced and uneasy because of their unusual
behaviour.

First Witch: I come, Graymalkin!

Second Witch: Paddock calls. Here the witches mean whatever is fair (good)
for man is foul (horrid) t them and vice versa.
However, this quote also highlights a keep
Third Witch: Anon.
theme in the play that nothing is what it seems .
Things that on the surface seem good will
ALLFair is foul, and foul is fair: actually turn out to be evil (Macbeth). As an
Hover through the fog and filthy air. audience, we must prepare to be deceived.
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Key extracts Simile: This compares the two armies to
swimmers who are struggling and clinging on to
one another because they are so tired. It
emphasises how difficult and brutal the battle
was.

Sergeant: Metaphor: The idea that fortune smiled on

Doubtful it stood; Macbeth shows us he should have died in the
As two spent swimmers, that do cling together battle but didn’t. Here we see Macbeth defying
fate as he tries to do throughout the play by
And choke their art. The merciless Macdonwald-- taking fate into his own hands to secure his
Worthy to be a rebel, for to that kingship.
The multiplying villanies of nature Metaphor: the smoking sword could be the hot blood of
Do swarm upon him--from the western isles Macbeth’s opponents and creates a vivid and graphic
image of our hero. Another interpretation is that angel
Of kerns and gallowglasses is supplied; are often depicted with swords as they protect heaven.
And fortune, on his damned quarrel smiling, This similarity to the description of Macbeth might
Show'd like a rebel's whore: but all's too weak: make the audience see him as a protector and
therefore heroic.
For brave Macbeth--well he deserves that name--
Disdaining fortune, with his brandish'd steel, Simile: Valour means bravery and minion is like a
Which smoked with bloody execution, servant or slave. This implies Macbeth is
working for bravery and will do whatever it asks.
Like valour's minion carved out his passage IT further enforces how valiant and masculine
Till he faced the slave; Macbeth is in battle.
Which ne'er shook hands, nor bade farewell to him,
Till he unseam'd him from the nave to the chaps, Graphic imagery: The final image is a violent one
revealing how Macbeth has the potential to be
And fix'd his head upon our battlements dangerous. The cutting in half of his victims in this
. context is praised, but as the play progresses we see
DUNCAN: O valiant cousin! worthy gentleman! this capability for violence become evil.

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Key extracts Metaphor: Instrument is a tool and darkness
signals hell and he devil. Here Banquo asserts his
attitude towards the witches straight away. He
Act 1 Scene 3 thinks they are workers of evil and will only
cause harm. He also shows great awareness by
noting they tell us “truths”. This foreshadows
BANQUO: That trusted home
how the witches manipulate Macbeth.
Might yet enkindle you unto the crown,
Besides the thane of Cawdor. But 'tis strange: An aside is when the character is speaking to the
And oftentimes, to win us to our harm, audience rather than the other characters on stage.
The instruments of darkness tell us truths, It is different to a soliloquy because there are other
Win us with honest trifles, to betray's characters on stage whereas a soliloquy is a character
In deepest consequence. alone and speaking to the audience.
Cousins, a word, I pray you.
Simile: Macbeth is comparing the prophecies to
MACBETH: [Aside] Two truths are told, prologues implying they are the beginning of a
As happy prologues to the swelling act process which leads to him being king “imperial
Of the imperial theme.--I thank you, gentlemen. theme”. This shows the audience that Macbeth
is tempted by the prophecies and clearly enjoys
the thought of being king.
Aside
Cannot be ill, cannot be good: if ill, The word ‘ill’ means sickly or of poor health. But
Why hath it given me earnest of success, the word comes from the old Norse language
Commencing in a truth? I am thane of Cawdor: meaning wicked. Therefore, ill also means evil,
If good, why do I yield to that suggestion bad and wicked. Here we can see Macbeth is
already thinking the witches prophecies might
Whose horrid image doth unfix my hair
be good for him which is in complete contrast to
And make my seated heart knock at my ribs, Banquo who knew they were evil immediately.
Against the use of nature? Present fears Thus Banquo is Macbeth’s foil.
Are less than horrible imaginings:
My thought, whose murder yet is but fantastical, Macbeth explains that the thought of killing Duncan is a horrid
Shakes so my single state of man that function image that physically affects him. At this point we can see
Is smother'd in surmise, and nothing is that although tempted, Macbeth knows right from wrong and
has some level guilt or fear about committing such a crime.
But what is not.
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Key extracts Metaphor: Battlements are parts of wars and battles and as such
are often associated with men. Here Lady Macbeth clearly sets up
the idea of war and death by using this metaphor and also begins to
LADY MACBETH: The raven himself is hoarse show her more masculine and violent side.
That croaks the fatal entrance of Duncan
Under my battlements. Come, you spirits This section is some of the most famous lines said by Lady Macbeth. The
That tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here, fact she is calling on spirits would terrify a Jacobean audience because
And fill me from the crown to the toe top-full she is calling evil and wickedness into her life. It highlights how evil the
Of direst cruelty! make thick my blood; Macbeths will become in the play. The desire to be unsexed shows she
Stop up the access and passage to remorse, wants all female traits to leave her body. These traits are nurturing,
That no compunctious visitings of nature caring and gentle. She wants to be able to commit murder to fulfil her
Shake my fell purpose, nor keep peace between and her husbands ambition. .
The effect and it! Come to my woman's breasts,
And take my milk for gall, you murdering ministers, The request to make her blood thick is a graphic image and
Wherever in your sightless substances reinforces the gruesomeness and violence that the Macbeth’s
You wait on nature's mischief! Come, thick night, are about to commit. It also implies Lady Macbeth wants her
And pall thee in the dunnest smoke of hell, blood to stop flowing so that emotions like guild and shame
That my keen knife see not the wound it makes, cannot travel around her body making her able to commit
Nor heaven peep through the blanket of the dark, regicide.
To cry 'Hold, hold!’
Lady Macbeth chooses one of the most female parts of her body and asks
Motif: Darkness is for it to be turned to “gall”. This is a type of poison and reveals her desire
{…}
often linked with evil to be filled with vile and repulsive things so she can commit murder. It also
acts in the play. further enforces the idea that she wants her femininity removed. While it
LADY MACBETH: O, never
Shall sun that morrow see! might seem like Lady Macbeth is evil here, her requests are never granted
Your face, my thane, is as a book where men and therefore she still has her caring and nurturing side. This foreshadows
May read strange matters. To beguile the time, how Lady Macbeth will lose her mind because she cannot cope with what
Look like the time; bear welcome in your eye, she has been a part of.
Your hand, your tongue: look like the innocent flower,
But be the serpent under't. He that's coming
Must be provided for: and you shall put Simile: Lady Macbeth is telling Macbeth to be deceptive which is a key theme in
This night's great business into my dispatch; the play. It could be said that Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are the subconscious
Which shall to all our nights and days to come and the conscious. Lady Macbeth consciously says things that Macbeth won’t but
Give solely sovereign sway and masterdom. that we know he thinks. He is the opposite as he tries to bury his dark thoughts
whereas she is direct about them.
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Key extracts Metaphor: Here Macbeth is metaphorically describing jumping
into the next life – the afterlife. He says he would be prepared
to risk any consequences in the afterlife if it meant he faced no
MACBETH: If it were done when 'tis done, then
consequences in this life for his actions. However, he then goes
'twere well on to note how there are consequences in this life- judgement.
It were done quickly: if the assassination Macbeth does not want to lose his reputation and success so far
Could trammel up the consequence, and catch which is big factor in why he won’t kill the king.
With his surcease success; that but this blow
Macbeth recognises that doing evil to others or behaving in violent
Might be the be-all and the end-all here,
ways to others always come back to hurt the person who did them.
But here, upon this bank and shoal of time, They plague the inventor. Therefore, Macbeth seems to know that
We'ld jump the life to come. But in these cases killing the king will only end badly for him and he will get his
We still have judgment here; that we but teach comeuppance. So why does he do it anyway?
Bloody instructions, which, being taught, return
To plague the inventor: this even-handed justice The description of Duncan highlights what a kind and great
Commends the ingredients of our poison'd chalice king he was which only makes Macbeth’s crime even worse.
To our own lips. He's here in double trust;
First, as I am his kinsman and his subject, Simile: This again reinforces what a brilliant king Duncan is. If
Strong both against the deed; then, as his host, he was killed, then angels would plead loudly to let everyone know
Who should against his murderer shut the door, what crime had been committed. There is a lot of imagery of
innocence (cherubs and angels) which create the impression that
Not bear the knife myself. Besides, this Duncan
Duncan is Christ-like. There is also a lot of language conveying
Hath borne his faculties so meek, hath been anger and horror about his death (blast, horrid, trumpet-
So clear in his great office, that his virtues tongued)
Will plead like angels, trumpet-tongued, against
The deep damnation of his taking-off;
And pity, like a naked new-born babe, Metaphor: The metaphor here describes someone using a spur ( a
Striding the blast, or heaven's cherubim, horsed silver device attached to a boot) to hit the horse making it move
forward. The horse moves because of the spur. The implication here is
Upon the sightless couriers of the air,
that Macbeth has no spur/ no reason to move forward with the plan,
Shall blow the horrid deed in every eye, except his “vaulting ambition” which we know is his fatal flaw. Again
That tears shall drown the wind. I have no spur there is an idea here that Macbeth knows his ambition will lead to his
To prick the sides of my intent, but only ruin because he says that his ambition overleaps itself and falls on the
Vaulting ambition, which o'erleaps itself other side. This indicates his ambition will bring about his downfall.
And falls on the other. 10
Key extracts Metaphor: Macbeth comments on his new and glowing reputation by
MACBETH: We will proceed no further in this business: comparing them to golden opinions and new robes. He doesn’t want to
He hath honour'd me of late; and I have bought damage the reputation he has created and so wants to stop the plan
Golden opinions from all sorts of people, to kill the king. We can see that reputation and honour are important
Which would be worn now in their newest gloss, to Macbeth showing that he is self-serving.
Not cast aside so soon.

LADY MACBETH: Was the hope drunk Metaphor: Here Lady Macbeth begins her assault on Macbeth’s
Wherein you dress'd yourself? hath it slept since? manhood, implying he is a coward and lacks decisiveness. She asks was
And wakes it now, to look so green and pale the hope drunk which insinuates Macbeth’s courage is ill and
At what it did so freely? From this time therefore looks pale. She is attacking his sense of masculinity and
Such I account thy love. Art thou afeard manhood.
To be the same in thine own act and valour
As thou art in desire? Wouldst thou have that
Which thou esteem'st the ornament of life, Simile: The adage is a story told by women so comparing Macbeth to
And live a coward in thine own esteem, stories told by women further insults his manhood. In the story, the
Letting 'I dare not' wait upon 'I would,' cat wants the fish but won’t get its paws wet. This is like Macbeth
Like the poor cat i' the adage? because he wants to be king but won’t go through with the murder.

MACBETH: Prithee, peace:

I dare do all that may become a man;
Who dares do more is none.
Lady Macbeth again subverts the gender
LADY MACBETH: What beast was't, then,
stereotype by claiming she would kill her child if
That made you break this enterprise to me?
she had promised it. The graphic image of a
When you durst do it, then you were a man;
child being dashed while its was breastfeeding is
And, to be more than what you were, you would
horrific and volatile. It presents Lady Macbeth
Be so much more the man. Nor time nor place
as cold-blooded and evil. However, it also shows
Did then adhere, and yet you would make both:
her powers of manipulation as she convinces
They have made themselves, and that their fitness now
Macbeth to go through the murder by showing
Does unmake you. I have given suck, and know
him she is more man, more brave, more powerful
How tender 'tis to love the babe that milks me:
than him. This is enough to put Macbeth back on
I would, while it was smiling in my face,
course.
Have pluck'd my nipple from his boneless gums,
And dash'd the brains out, had I so sworn as you
Have done to this. 11
 Key extracts Macbeth’s hallucinations reveal the increasing unstable mind
of the protagonist. The dagger is the weapon used to murder
MACBETH: Go bid thy mistress, when my drink is ready, the king and by seeing this weapon lead him to the king, it is
She strike upon the bell. Get thee to bed. clear Macbeth deep down wants to kill the king so he can
take his place. The repeated question marks throughout this
Exit Servant soliloquy demonstrate Macbeth’s confusion and instability.
Is this a dagger which I see before me,
The handle toward my hand? Come, let me clutch thee. Metaphor: The description of his brain as heat oppressed bring a
I have thee not, and yet I see thee still. few images to mind. Firstly, heat is often associated with a fever
Art thou not, fatal vision, sensible and therefore illness. It shows us that Macbeth is mentally unwell
To feeling as to sight? or art thou but because of the guilt he feels. Secondly, the idea of being oppressed
A dagger of the mind, a false creation, implies pressure and reveals that Macbeth is under great strain in
Proceeding from the heat-oppressed brain? making this decision. It might also reeval that this thought has
I see thee yet, in form as palpable consumed him, like an obsession showing that he is extremely
As this which now I draw. tempted by the idea of killing the king.
Thou marshall'st me the way that I was going;
And such an instrument I was to use. Motif: Blood becomes a symbol in the play for guilt- hence why
Mine eyes are made the fools o' the other senses, Lady Macbeth and Macbeth become obsessed with the blood on
Or else worth all the rest; I see thee still, their hands. IT is also a symbol for the increasing violence that
And on thy blade and dudgeon gouts of blood, Macbeth enlists to keep the throne.
Which was not so before. There's no such thing:
It is the bloody business which informs Motif: Darkness is mention again as the murder happens at night. Again
Thus to mine eyes. Now o'er the one halfworld implying the Macbeth’s link with evil and their desire to keep it secret from the
Nature seems dead, and wicked dreams abuse rest of the characters.
The curtain'd sleep; witchcraft celebrates
Pale Hecate's offerings, and wither'd murder,
Allusion: Tarquin is a character that snuck into Lucrece’s room and
Alarum'd by his sentinel, the wolf,
raped her. Here we see Macbeth comparing himself to Tarquin and
Whose howl's his watch, thus with his stealthy pace.
therefore acknowledging the violation he is about to commit on
With Tarquin's ravishing strides, towards his design
Duncan.
Moves like a ghost. Thou sure and firm-set earth,
Hear not my steps, which way they walk, for fear
Thy very stones prate of my whereabout, Personification: The earth cannot hear or see Macbeth but in this
And take the present horror from the time, metaphor it is clear Macbeth wants to conceal what he is doing. Again,
Which now suits with it. Whiles I threat, he lives: this highlights the deception of the Macbeth’s but also the great fear
Words to the heat of deeds too cold breath gives. they feel about being caught.
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Key extracts Here Macbeth notes that being king is nothing if
MACBETH: Bring them before us. you don’t feel secure. .

Metaphor: This reveals why Macbeth has Banquo murdered.

Exit Attendant He ultimately fears Banquo and the fear is deep down and
To be thus is nothing; unmovable. He later explain why he fears Banquo so much.
But to be safely thus.--Our fears in Banquo
Stick deep; and in his royalty of nature
Macbeth admits that he is scared of no one other than
Reigns that which would be fear'd: 'tis much he
Banquo because he has royalty of nature. This implies
dares; Banquo always acts honourably which would be terrible for
And, to that dauntless temper of his mind, Macbeth because Macbeth has done wrong and Banquo would
He hath a wisdom that doth guide his valour not accept it. This further highlights how contrasting the
To act in safety. There is none but he character of Banquo and Macbeth are.
Whose being I do fear: and, under him,
My Genius is rebuked; as, it is said, Again we see very clearly here why Banquo and Macbeth
are foils for each other. Banquo reacted in the opposite
Mark Antony's was by Caesar. He chid the sisters
way to Macbeth when they were both confronted with
When first they put the name of king upon me, prophecies. Banquo “chid” the sisters which means to
And bade them speak to him: then prophet-like rebuke or tell off.
They hail'd him father to a line of kings:
Upon my head they placed a fruitless crown, Metaphor: The words “barren” and “fruitless” both have
And put a barren sceptre in my gripe, connotations being unable to produce life. Macbeth’s main concern
is that he will bear no children to continue the throne. He argues
Thence to be wrench'd with an unlineal hand, that it is for Banquo’s children that he has committed all these
No son of mine succeeding. If 't be so, crimes and ruined his reputation because the witches prophesised
For Banquo's issue have I filed my mind; that Banquo’s children would be future kings. This is the reason he
For them the gracious Duncan have I murder'd; wants Banquo and his children killed- this is why he fears Banquo so
Put rancours in the vessel of my peace much.
Only for them; and mine eternal jewel
Finally, Macbeth challenges fate to a battle. He wants to overcome
Given to the common enemy of man,
what the witches have fated (Banquo’s children becoming kings) and
To make them kings, the seed of Banquo kings! keep the throne. Some argue that it was fate for Macbeth to kill
Rather than so, come fate into the list. the king and to commit all these other crimes, however, here
And champion me to the utterance! Who's there! Macbeth is clearly acting of his own free will.
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 Key extracts Lady Macbeth is hallucinating which we know is a sign
Doctor: What is it she does now? Look, how she rubs her hands. of the unstable mind caused by guilt and remorse. The
spot she is referring to is blood. Again we know blood
Gentlewoman: It is an accustomed action with her, to seem thus I a motif in the play for guilt and violence. This
washing her hands: I have known her continue in hallucination proves Lady Macbeth’s guilt.
this a quarter of an hour.

LADY MACBETH: Yet here's a spot. The use of punctuation here emphasises Lady
Macbeth’s traumatic state and reveals her
Doctor: Hark! she speaks: I will set down what comes from unstable mind. The use of hyphens (-) creates
her, to satisfy my remembrance the more strongly. the impression that her speech is rambled and
disjointed showing she is delusional and sick.
LADY MACBETH: Out, damned spot! out, I say!--One: two: why,
then, 'tis time to do't.--Hell is murky!--Fie, my The image of dead Duncan is coming back to haunt Lady
lord, fie! a soldier, and afeard? What need we Macbeth. The mention of blood shows she is fixated on the
fear who knows it, when none can call our power to crime she committed.
account?--Yet who would have thought the old man
to have had so much blood in him.

Doctor: Do you mark that? Lady Macbeth is referring to the death of Lady
Macduff. Although Macbeth acted alone in this
LADY MACBETH: The thane of Fife had a wife: where is she now?-- murder, Lady Macbeth accepts responsibility
What, will these hands ne'er be clean?--No more o' and guilt.
that, my lord, no more o' that: you mar all with
this starting.

Doctor: Go to, go to; you have known what you should not.
Metaphor: Lady Macbeth wants to hide the
Gentlewoman: She has spoke what she should not, I am sure of smell of blood that she is hallucinating on her
that: heaven knows what she has known. hand. This metaphor demonstrates that no
matter what the Macbeths now do to redeem
LADY MACBETH: Here's the smell of the blood still: all the themselves or to hide their guilt will never work.
perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little These characters are doomed to downfall
hand. Oh, oh, oh! because they allowed their ambition to corrupt.

Doctor: What a sigh is there! The heart is sorely charged.

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 Macbeth here is talking about the death of his wife and saying she should have
Key extracts died at another time. Some critics think this is because he is about to go into
battle and this is his priority. Others think he is saying he doesn’t have time to
mourn her because he has to fight the English army and he wishes this wasn’t the
case. Either way, this live is shocking because of the lack of emotion in response to
his wife’s death. This highlights how their relationship has declined as how the
guilt has put distance between these characters.

Personification: The repetition of tomorrow seems endless and

SEYTON: The queen, my lord, is dead. monotonous much like Macbeth’s opinion of life at this point. This
is supported by the verb “creeps” and the “petty pace” which
MACBETH: She should have died hereafter; creates an atmosphere of stagnation and boredom.
There would have been a time for such a word.
To-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow, Metaphor: The candle is actually Lady Macbeth’s life which
has finally blown out. The word brief shows how quickly their
Creeps in this petty pace from day to day
downfall came and potentially shows some remorse by Macbeth
To the last syllable of recorded time, that his wife’s life was cut short.
And all our yesterdays have lighted fools
The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle!
Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage Metaphor: The metaphor of a poor player is describing an actor who
And then is heard no more: it is a tale comes on stage for an hour and then leaves the stage to be heard no more.
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, Macbeth implies life is the same. We live our life thinking it is important
and we “strut” and “fret”- full of emotion but actually it is pointless
Signifying nothing.
because when we die we are heard no more.

Enter a Messenger
Macbeth’s attitude here is nihilistic (believing life is meaningless). He thinks life
“Signify[s] nothing” . At this point it seems Macbeth has realised all his efforts
are only bringing about pointless destruction and it wasn’t worth all the struggle he
has gone through. Some critics think that it is this point in the play when Macbeth
has his moment of realisation (anagnorisis) and realises he shouldn’t have taken the
path he did. However, others believe this moment happens just before his death
when he calls the itches “juggling fiends” implying he now realises he had been
tricked,
15
Character of Macbeth Key vocabulary (AO1)

Key points (AO1) Tragic hero, supernatural, evil, formidable, noble, loyal,
violent, toxic masculinity, ambitious, secretive,
1. His character journey is that of the tragic hero found in Aristotle’s duplicitous, dominated, weak-minded, conflicted,
classical drama. confused, frenzied, guilt-ridden, unstable, paranoid,
2. First mention of his name is by the witches in Act 1 scene 1, which tyrannical, power-hungry, corrupt, tainted, arrogant,
foreshadows his link with the supernatural and his evil character prideful, subhuman
3. Starts the play in Act 1 scene 2 as a formidable, noble, loyal warrior
who uses violence for good to protect his King and country. His extreme
violence and toxic masculinity is also foreshadowed here as we hear of Jacobean audience’s response (AO3)
his bloody and stereotypically masculine actions in battle
4. His fatal flaw of ambition is sparked after hearing the witches’ prophies • The audience admire him at the start of the play due
in Act 1 scene 3 to his bravery and heroism. He is a stereotypical
5. He becomes increasingly secretive and duplicitous as his ambition grows, Jacobean man
starting with his private confession of evil ambition in Act 1 scene 4 • The audience suspect his downfall and evil nature from
6. He is dominated by his wife, Lady Macbeth, who expresses that he has a the start of the play as the witches reference his
weak and kind character in Act 1 scene 5 name first
7. He is manipulated by his wife into committing regicide in Act 1 scene 7, • The audience become suspicious of him as they see him
highlighting his increasingly weak mind trust the witches. Jacobeans were highly
8. His murder of Duncan and subsequent ascension to the throne break the superstitious of the supernatural, so would have
natural order, leading to nature becoming overturned in Act 2 scene 4 believed this to be evil
9. His mind becomes increasingly confused and frenzied as his ambition • The audience grow to dislike him as he becomes
grows. He hallucinates in Act 2 scene 1 and Act 3 scene 4, highlighting increasingly dishonest, weak-minded and evil.
his growing instability • When he commits regicide, the audience feel deeply
10. His paranoia, tyranny and hunger for power grow as he is corrupted by angry and shocked by his actions. Just 1 year
ambition. For example, he becomes paranoid of Banquo in Act 3 scene 1 before, King James I was the attempted victim of
and becomes desperate for security when he revisits the witches in Act assassination. The audience would have known, due to
4 scene 1 this, how wrong regicide was.
11. After the witches’ second prophesies, he becomes arrogant and • The audience would be deeply shocked by his murder
demonstrates hubris as he believes he is invincible due to the witches’ of the innocent King Duncan. Kings were believed to
prophesies, for example in Act 5 scene 3 be the stewards of God on earth, so killing Duncan
12. His confidence wanes and he reaches peripeteia as he realises that he was the same as killing the King.
has been tricked by the witches’ half-truths in Act 5 scene 8 • The audience pity him as he becomes increasingly mad
13. His journey ends cyclically as he dies fighting in Act 5 scene 8, just as and unhinged – they see him as a good man who made a
we first met him. foolish error, and now has no way back.
14. He transitions from a superhuman, almost angelic being at the start of • The audience are relieved when he is killed at the end,
the play to a subhuman, evil tyrant by the end of the play, who is as the natural order is restored.
punished in hell for subverting the natural order.
16
Character of Macbeth Key evidence – Acts 1-3
Brave Macbeth – His brandish’d steel which
Sergeant Act 1 scene 2 smoked with bloody
execution – Sergeant Act 1
scene 2

So foul and fair a day I

have not seen – Macbeth
Act 1 scene 3

If chance will have me king,

why, chance may crown me, Visual irony used at the start
Without my stir. – Macbeth of Act 1 scene 4 – Macbeth
Act 1 scene 3 enters after Duncan has spoken
about the old Thane of Cawdor’s
betrayal

False face must hide

what the false heart
doth know.– Macbeth
Act 1 scene 7

Soliloquy - art thou but

A dagger of the mind, a false
creation, Proceeding from the heat-
oppressed brain?– Macbeth Act 2
scene 1

make our faces vizards to our

come fate into the list.
hearts,
And champion me to the
Disguising what they are -
utterance! - Macbeth Act 3
Macbeth Act 3 scene 2
scene 1

17
Character of Macbeth Key evidence – Acts 3-5

Then comes my fit again: I had else been perfect,

Whole as the marble, founded as the rock,
As broad and general as the casing air:
But now I am cabin'd, cribb'd, confined, bound in
To saucy doubts and fears.– Macbeth Act 3 scene 4

I am in blood
Stepp'd in so far that, Who can impress the forest,
bid the tree The very firstlings of my each new morn
should I wade no more –
Unfix his earth-bound root? heart shall be New widows howl, new
Macbeth Act 3 scene 4
Sweet bodements! good!– The firstlings of my hand. – orphans cry, new sorrows
Macbeth Act 4 scene 1 Macbeth Act 4 scene 1 Strike heaven on the face. –
Macduff Act 4 scene 3

And be these juggling fiends

no more believed,
Dead butcher – Malcolm Act 5
That palter with us in a double Hell-hound – scene 9
sense – Macbeth Act 5 scene Macduff Act 5 scene 8
8

18
Character of Lady Macbeth Key vocabulary (AO1)

Key points (AO1) Ambitious, dominant, ruthless, cunning, power-hungry,

lacking humanity, determined, strong-willed, naturally
1. Her character journey is, similar to Macbeth, in that she also has a fatal weaker, feminine, supernatural, duplicitous, deceitful,
flaw of ambition and suffers a downfall due to her own actions hides her reality, manipulative, remorseless, guilt-less,
2. We first meet her in Act 1 scene 5, where, standing alone on stage, we see stereotypical, deranged, conscience-stricken, mad,
her dominance and ruthless nature. She is cunning, power-hungry, deeply corrupt
ambitious and lacks humanity,
3. At the start of the play, she is more dominant, more ambitious and more
determined than Macbeth, who she believes has a weak mind in comparison to Jacobean audience’s response (AO3)
her strength of will
4. As a woman, she believes she is naturally weaker than Macbeth, so knows • The audience fear her at the start of the play due to
that she cannot go through with the murder herself due to her own her dominance, cruelty and ruthlessness. She
weakness. She wishes that she could be made masculine in order to commit shockingly breaks Jacobean gender norms and
the deed, in Act 1 scene 5 • The audience suspect her eventual madness from the
5. Her evil and almost supernatural nature is emphasised as she calls on the start of the play as she makes clear that she cannot
spirits in Act 1 scene 5, connecting her to the witches that we have break free from her feminine weakness
previously seen • The audience become suspicious of her as they see her
6. She is duplicitous and deceitful in Act 1 scene 6, when Duncan visits the call on the spirits. Jacobeans were highly
castle, she is able to hide the reality of her nature by appearing to be a good superstitious of the supernatural, so would have
and innocent hostess believed this to be evil
7. She uses manipulation tactics to influence the weak-minded Macbeth into • The audience grow to dislike him as she plays a part in
committing murder in Act 1 scene 7, showing her dominance and strength of the corruption of the play’s hero, Macbeth. Partly due
will to her manipulation, the hero of the play is made evil.
8. She is unable to commit the murder herself, because of her feminine • When she convinces Macbeth to commits regicide, the
weakness. In Act 2 scene 2 she confesses that she could not kill Duncan as audience feel deeply angry and shocked by her actions.
he resembled her father, which hints at her weakness
Just 1 year before, King James I was the
9. In Act 2 scene 2, she shows no remorse or guilt for the death of Duncan, in
attempted victim of assassination. The audience
comparison to Macbeth
would have known, due to this, how wrong regicide was.
10. As Macbeth’s power grows, her power decreases and the power dynamic
between them shifts, until she becomes a more stereotypical woman. In Act • The audience would be deeply shocked by her part in
3 scene 2, Macbeth tells her to be innocent of the knowledge of Banquo’s the murder of the innocent King Duncan. Kings were
murder believed to be the stewards of God on earth, so
11. She begins a slow slide into madness towards the end of the play, caused by killing Duncan was the same as killing the King.
the corrupting influences of guilt and ambition on her mind • The audience pity her as she becomes increasingly mad
12. By Act 5 scene 1, she is reduced to madness, and her sensitivity becomes a and unhinged
weakness, leaving her unable to cope and conscience-stricken. • The audience realise that she cannot break free from
13. In Act 5 scene 5, she kills herself as she is unable to deal with the legacy her gender norms, suggesting the idea that gender
of their crimes norms are fixed and cannot be broken out of
19
Character of Lady Macbeth Key evidence – Acts 1-5

yet do I fear thy nature;

It is too full o' the milk of human
kindness – Lady Macbeth Act 1 scene 5
I may pour my spirits in
thine ear – Lady
Macbeth Act 1 scene 5

My dearest love -
Macbeth Act 1 scene 5
look like the innocent flower,
But be the serpent under't.-
Lady Macbeth Act 1 scene 5

When you durst do it,

then you were a man –
Lady Macbeth Act 1
scene 7 I would, while it was smiling in my
face,
Have pluck'd my nipple from his
boneless gums,
And dash'd the brains out– Lady
Macbeth Act 1 scene 7

she has light by her

continually; 'tis her
Be innocent of the command.- Gentlewoman Out, damned spot! out, I
You must leave this..- knowledge, dearest Act 5 scene 1 say! – Lady Macbeth Act
Lady Macbeth Act 3 chuck - Macbeth Act 3 5 scene 1
scene 2 scene 2 More needs she the
divine than the
physician. – Doctor
Act 5 scene 1 The queen, my lord, Fiend-like queen.
Here's the smell of the blood still: all the is dead. – Seyton Act – Malcolm Act 5
perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little 5 scene 5 scene 9
hand. Oh, oh, oh!– Lady Macbeth Act 5 scene 1

20
Character of The Witches/Weird Sisters Key vocabulary (AO1)

Key points (AO1) Fates, controlling, powerful, dominant, evil, meddlesome,

vindictive, chaotic, violent, prideful, boasting,
1. Their alternative name weird sisters comes from the word “wyrd” meaning frightening, subtle, paradoxical, equivocators,
“fate”. Some readers think that the witches are influenced by the 3 fates of mysterious, strange, outsiders, ambiguous, interlopers,
ancient Greek mythology. The fates were incarnations of destiny who controlled threatening, juxtaposed, unholy, tricksters
the fate of every living human. Therefore, the witches could be said to control
Macbeth’s fate throughout the play. Jacobean audience’s response (AO3)
2. The witches start the play in Act 1 scene 1, which highlights their importance
and power. In this scene they name Macbeth for the first time, which
• The audience are deeply frightened and suspicious of
foreshadows his link with the supernatural and his evil character
the witches at the start of the play. Shakespeare
3. Their famous line fair is foul and foul is fair sets the tone for the play,
wrote Macbeth at a time when interest in
foreshadowing that the play will be about moral confusion.
4. They are portrayed as meddlesome, vindictive creatures who cause chaos, witchcraft bordered on hysteria, and his portrayal
violence and confusion in the human world. In Act 1 scene 3 they boast of how of the witches draws directly on many of the
they have hurt and tortured people, which hints that they will do the same to beliefs about witchcraft that his audience would
Macbeth in the play. have held. Witches were blamed for causing illness,
5. They spark the fatal flaw of ambition in Macbeth after they prophesy his death and disaster, and were thought to punish
future in Act 1 scene 3. Though they do not tell Macbeth to commit regicide, their enemies by giving them nightmares, making
they use a frightening and subtle form of temptation, guiding Macbeth on the their crops fail and their animals sicken.
path to his own destruction. This follows the pattern of temptation associated • Those who were convicted of witchcraft were often
with the devil. Macbeth gives in to this temptation while Banquo does not. tortured, their trials reported in grisly detail in
6. They tell half-truths and speak in paradox throughout the play, using pamphlets that circulated in their hundreds. Often,
equivocatory language that can be interpreted in different ways. This creates those accused of witchcraft lived on the edges of
moral confusion in Macbeth. society: they were old, poor and unprotected, and
7. The witches are strange, mysterious outsiders who contrast the human were therefore easy to blame.
characters in the play. They live in a desert place on the edge of humanity and • Shakespeare’s patron, King James VI of Scotland
their ambiguous, undefinable appearances that do not conform to expected was deeply concerned about the threat posed by
standards of human appearance mark them as threatening interlopers in the witches. He believed that a group of witches had
human world. tried to kill him by drowning him while he was at
8. Their patterns of speech also sets them apart as outsiders. They speak in sea When Shakespeare wrote Macbeth in 1606,
rhyme and trochaic meter, with stressed syllables followed by unstressed. in
then, he knew that his audience would have felt a
opposition to the prose and iambic pentameter that the human characters speak
mixture of fear and fascination for the three
in. These heavy stresses give the Witches’ speech a sense of foreboding that
‘weird sisters’, their imaginations captivated by the
emphasises their malevolence and unearthliness
9. They also speak in numbers, and they are importantly three witches. The mysterious meeting on the desolate heath with
number 3 is associated with the holy trinity (God, father and holy ghost). which the play begins.
Shakespeare may be suggesting that the witches are an unholy trinity.
10. Too late, in Act 5 scene 8, Macbeth realises that he has been tricked by the
witches, which results in his death and downfall
21
Character of The Witches/Weird Sisters Key evidence – Acts 1-5

Fair is foul, and

foul is fair:
There to meet with Macbeth. Hover through the
– Third Witch Act 1 scene 1 fog and filthy air.–
The witches Act 1
scene 1

Round about the

cauldron go;
In the poison'd entrails
throw.– First witch Act
4 scene 1
Character of Banquo Key vocabulary (AO1)

tyrant, ambitious, superhuman, deranged, conflicted,

Key points (AO1) paranoid, tyrannical, hubristic, weak, loyal, noble, victim,
foolish, tragic, masculine, toxic, mad, corrupt, unnatural,
1. Banquo is Macbeth’s foil – he juxtaposes Macbeth, choosing the path of usurper, supernatural, duplicitous, tainted
goodness and honesty in contrast to Macbeth, who falls victim to the
witches’ prophesies and his own ruthless ambition.
2. We first hear of Banquo’s bravery and courage in Act 1 scene 2 when the Jacobean audience’s response (AO3)
sergeant reports to Duncan of his valiant actions in battle. He is Macbeth’s
loyal friend from the start of the play. • The audience admire him at the start of the play due
3. Duncan praises Banquo’s bravery in Act 1 scene 2, emphasising his loyalty to his bravery and heroism. He is a stereotypical
and faithfulness to the King. Jacobean man
4. In Act 1 scene 3, when Macbeth and Banquo meet the witches, we see that • The audience trust Banquo from the start of the play
Banquo also has ambition. However, unlike Macbeth, he is sceptical of the in contrast to their growing suspicion of Macbeth,
supernatural prophesies. He warns Macbeth about the dangers of trusting because Banquo rejects witchcraft, which the
evil, suggesting that evil will offer men a small, hopeful truth only to catch Jacobean audience also felt deeply superstitious of.
them in a deadly trap • The audience become sympathetic towards him as he is
5. The witches prophesy that Banquo’s children will be Kings, and that he will murdered by Macbeth. This intensifies their hatred
be greater than Macbeth. for Macbeth, as Banquo becomes an innocent victim.
6. In Act 3 scene 1, when Macbeth kills the king and takes the throne, • When he returns as a spirit, the audience fear hi, but
Banquo becomes suspicious of Macbeth’s actions, as he is the only one aware also see him as a force of goodness
of this encounter with the witches—reserves judgment for God • When Shakespeare wrote Macbeth, he based the play
7. When Macbeth becomes King, Macbeth becomes increasingly paranoid of on a story that he found in Holinshed’s Chronicles, a
Banquo and the prophesies and considers his friend a threat to his newly collection of historical tales from England, Ireland and
acquired throne; thus, he has him murdered by assassins. While Banquo dies, Scotland. In the original text, Banquo assists Macbeth
his son Fleance lives on. in the murder of Duncan. King James I,
8. In Act 3 scene 4, Banquo appears as a ghost to haunt Macbeth, which Shakespeare’s patron, was believed to be a
signifies Macbeth’s growing guilt and madness. In this scene, Banquo plagues descendent of Banquo. Therefore, Shakespeare did
Macbeth to remind him of his evil actions and intensifies his guilty not want James to be associated with a murderer.
conscience. He is a reminder of goodness in the play. So, when he wrote the play, he made Banquo a
9. While Banquo dies, he lives on through his reappearance as a ghost, as well good character who defies the powers of evil and
as through his son, Fleance. Despite being dead, Banquo continues as an remains innocent. This would have pleased James
oppositional force of good to contrast Macbeth’s evil. and flattered him, which Shakespeare intended to
10. When Macbeth returns to the witches in Act 4 scene 1, he sees an do as he was a supporter of his plays.
apparition of the murdered Banquo, along with eight of his descendants.
This again deeply unsettles Macbeth

23
Character of Banquo Key evidence – Acts 1-5

Banquo and There's

Macbeth, all hail!, husbandry in
– Witches, Act 1 heaven;
scene 3 Their candles are
all out.
Act 1 scene 3

New horrors come upon

him, Our fears in Banquo
What, can the devil oftentimes, to win us to our Like our strange Stick deep; and in his
speak true?–, Act 1 harm, garments, cleave not to royalty of nature
scene 3 The instruments of their mould Reigns that which
darkness tell us truths, But with the aid of use.– would be fear’d:
Win us with honest trifles, , Act 2 scene 1 Macbeth Act 3 scene 1
to betray's
In deepest consequence.–,
Act 1 scene 3 yet it was said
There the grown serpent
….that myself should be the
lies; the worm that's
MACBETH root and father Of many
fled
If you shall cleave to my kings. If there come truth
Hath nature that in time
consent, when 'tis, from them-- As upon thee,
will venom breed,
It shall make honour for you. Thou hast it now: king, Macbeth,… May they not be
No teeth for the
Cawdor, Glamis, all, my oracles as well, And set me
present.
BANQUO As the weird women up in hope? But hush! no more.
Act 3 scene 1
So I lose none promised, and, I fear, Act 3 scene 1
In seeking to augment it, but Thou play'dst most foully
still keep for't: Act 3 scene 1
My bosom franchised and A show of Eight Kings, the last with a glass
There the grown
allegiance clear, in his hand; GHOST OF BANQUO following
serpent lies; the worm
I shall be counsell’d .
that's fled
Act 2 scene 1 MACBETH
Hath nature that in
then prophet-like time will venom breed, Thou art too like the spirit of Banquo: down!
They hail'd him father to a line of kings: No teeth for the Thy crown does sear mine eye-balls.! Now, I
Upon my head they placed a fruitless crown, present. Macbeth, Act see, 'tis true;
And put a barren sceptre in my gripe, 3 scene 4 For the blood-bolter'd Banquo smiles upon
Thence to be wrench'd with an unlineal hand, me,
No son of mine succeeding. :Act 3 scene 1 And points at them for his. Act 4 scene 1
Character of Duncan Key vocabulary (AO1)

Great, noble, wise, generous, honourable,, warm, kind,

Key points (AO1) trusting, Christ-like, unperceptive, unaware.

1. Duncan is the king of Scotland at the beginning of the play.

2. Duncan has two sons, Malcom and Donalbain. In Act 1 Scene 4,
Duncan states that Malcom will be next in line to take the throne.
3. In Act 1 Scene 2 Duncan is impressed with Macbeth’s skills on the
battle field and rewards him by making him Thane of Cawdor showing
he is a kind and generous king.
4. Duncan wisely comments that deceptive people are hard to spot Jacobean audience’s response (AO3)
because you cannot see their lies on the face. Even though Duncan is
often deceived by characters such as Macbeth and the thane of • The audience would respect and admire the power and
Cawdor this shows why it is so difficult.. authority that a king held in the Jacobean times.
5. Duncan then visits Macbeth’s home and comments on how welcoming • The audience would believe that King Duncan was
and sweet the air is; the irony here is glaring because in reality the chosen by God to act as his representative on earth.
Macbeth’s are plotting his murder and this homestead will be his • They would see Duncan as a just and fair ruler.
place of death. • The audience would be horrified the Macbeth
6. In Act 1 Scene 7, Macbeth is unsure whether he should kill Duncan committed regicide because they believed this was an
and says it is because he is so noble, and good. He also compares King act against God himself.
Duncan to Christ and claims the angels will grieve loudly when Duncan • The audience would expect to see the natural order be
is murdered. Shakespeare is clearly highlighting the horror of disrupted in the play to show that a great crime had
Macbeth’s act of regicide by showing what a great king Duncan is. been committed.
7. Duncan is brutally murdered in Act 2 Scene 2 by Macbeth who • When the rightful king takes the throne in the final
stabbed him while he slept. Lady Macbeth had drugged the guards so act of the play, the audience would expect to see
they were asleep when Macbeth arrived to complete the plan or order restored.
murder.
8. Lady Macbeth returns to Duncan’s room in Act 2 Scene 2 after he
has been killed to replace the daggers on the sleeping guards as
Macbeth had brought them with him to their room. Before the
king’s death Lady Macbeth claimed she herself would have killed him
but he looked like her father as he slept. This shows us Lady
Macbeth is not as masculine and cold-blooded as she would have us
believe.
9. At the end of the play, the rightful king is placed on the throne as
Duncan’s son Malcom becomes the new king of Scotland.

25
Character of Duncan Key evidence – Acts 1-5

This castle hath a pleasant Oh valiant cousin,

No more the thane of worthy gentlemen
seat; the air nimbly and
Cawdor shall deceive our
sweetly recommends itself
bosom interest Act 1 scene 2
unto our gentle senses
Macbeth: Besides, this
Act 1 scene 2 Duncan
Act 1 scene 6
Hath borne his faculties
so meek, hath been
So clear in his great
He was a gentleman office, that his virtues
on whom I built an Will plead like angels,
There’s no art to absolute trust trumpet-tongued, against
find the minds The deep damnation of his
construction in the Act 1 scene 4 taking-off;
face Macbeth: Whose horrid image doth
unfix my hair and make my seated Act 1 scene 7
heart knock at my ribs
Act 1 scene 4
Act 1 scene 3

What he hath lost noble

Macbeth hath won

Act 1 scene 2
Lady Macbeth: Had he not resembled my father as
he slept, I had done’t

Act 2 scene 2
Character of Malcolm
Key vocabulary (AO1)
Key points (AO1)
Order, rightful place, descendent of a king, noble, brave,
1. Malcom is the son of King Duncan and is next in line to take the restores.
throne.
2. Like Duncan, Malcom represents order and he is first present in the
play in Act 1 Scene 2 when he hears about Macbeth’s exploits on
the battlefield from the Sargeant.
3. Malcolm also represents King James I as both Malcom and King James
are the rightful king on the throne.
4. In Act 1 Scene 4, Malcom is confirmed as next in line to the throne
by King Duncan. Jacobean audience’s response (AO3)
5. In Act 2 Scene 3 both Malcolm and Donalbain are informed of their
father’s death in Macbeth’s castle while they all stayed their as • A Jacobean audience would see Malcom as the rightful
Macbeth’s guests. Suspicion falls on the brothers because Malcom king and successor to Duncan.
was next inline to the throne. • When Malcom fled after his father’s death, the
6. Malcom flees to Scotland because he is worried that whoever killed audience would understand his fear as many attempts
his father might pose a danger to him. Donalbain flees to Ireland. were made on the lives of kings and queens during this
7. In Act 4 Scene 3, Macduff visits Malcom in Scotland because he time.
wants to help raise and army against the tyrant Macbeth. Malcom was • The audience would support Malcom’s attempt to
already preparing for battle against Macbeth and suspects Macduff battle against Macbeth so he can restore order at the
might be playing false and actually helping Macbeth. end of the play.
8. Malcom tests Macduff’s loyalty by pretending he, like Macbeth, isn’t
fit to be king because he too would become greedy for power.
Macduff agrees that he too would be similar and they both settle
that no one is fit to rule a land such as Scotland.
9. Malcom now trusts Macduff and informs him that Macbeth has
murdered his family. They both become adamant that they will bring
the tyrant Macbeth down.
10. In Act 5 Scene 4, Malcom’s army cut down trees and disguise
themselves as they move towards Macbeth’s castle.
11. In Act 5 Scene 8, takes his place as king of Scotland because
Macbeth has been killed. At this point order is restored in the play.

27
Character of Malcolm Key evidence – Acts 1-5

Angels are bright still though the

brightest fell

It weeps, it bleeds and each new day Act 4 scene 3

a gash is added to her wounds

Act 4 scene 3
Character of Macduff Key vocabulary (AO1)

Noble, brave, warrior, just, powerful, causes Macbeth’s

demise, helps to restore order, duty, loyalty.
Key points (AO1)

1. Macduff is a loyal and noble warrior in Duncan’s army.

2. Macduff acts as a foil to Macbeth, directly contrasting Macbeth’s corrupt
and evil nature with Macduff’s sense of duty and loyalty. Jacobean audience’s response (AO3)
3. Macduff finds King Duncan’s body and raises the alarm
4. In Act 2 Scene 3, Macduff refuses to go to Macbeth’s coronation because • The audience would understand Macduff’s suspicion of
he doesn’t believe Macbeth’s reasons for killing the guards. Macduff thinks Macbeth.
Macbeth is hiding something and may have killed the king. • The would admire Macduff’s patriotism and love of
5. Instead of going to the coronation, Macduff goes to England to see Malcom Scotland.
(Duncan’s eldest son). Together, Malcom and Macduff plan to battle Macbeth • The audience would recognise and praise Macduff’s
and return the throne to the rightful king. sense of goodness and see that he is a ray of light in
6. In Act 4 Scene 2, Macbeth, who feels threatened by Macduff takes the the darkness that is Macbeth.
warning from the witches second prophecy and decide to kills Macduff’s
family.
7. Macduff returns in the play in Act 5 Scene 8, where he kills Macbeth by
decapitation. Macduff was able to do this because he was born through
caesarean so he was “Untimely ripped” making him someone “not born of
woman” as the witches implied.

29
Character of Macduff Key evidence – Acts 1-5

Was from his mother’s Confusion now hath made

womb/Untimely ripped his masterpiece

Act 5 scene 8 Act 2 scene 3

Beware Macduff!
Bleed, bleed poor
country! Act 4 scene 3
Act 4 scene 3
Character of Lady Macduff Key vocabulary (AO1)

Caring, feminine, mother, traditional female role,

innocent, stereotype.
Key points (AO1)

1. Lady Macduff is the wife of Macduff and she is brutally murdered in Act 4
Scene 2 on orders from Macbeth.
2. Lady Macduff acts as a foil to Lady Macbeth as these women directly Jacobean audience’s response (AO3)
contrast in their roles and attitudes. Lady Macbeth’s desires to become cold-
blooded and ruthless, adopting more traditionally masculine traits to achieve • A Jacobean audience would see Lady Macduff as a
this. However, Lady Macduff demonstrates her caring and nurturing role as traditional female figure
the predominant figure in her children’s lives and therefore represents the • The audience would feel great sympathy and pity for
female stereotype in the Jacobean era. the fate or her and her children.
3. In Act 4 Scene 2, The Macduff family are murdered highlighting the • The audience would be horrified and shocked that
tyrannical nature of Macbeth. The Macduff children and wife are completely Macbeth had them murdered.
innocent of any crime and do not pose a threat to Macbeth. Therefore,
Macbeth shows the ultimate ruthlessness in killing these characters.

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Self-Quizzing Questions – Page 1
Act 1 Act 2

1. Who are the first characters we meet in the play? 1. What does Macbeth see before he murders the king?
2. Why does Shakespeare have these character open the play? 2. What is Macbeth’s state of mind like at this point in the play?
3. What is pathetic fallacy? 3. How do we know Lady Macbeth is not as cold-blooded as she
4. How does Shakespeare use pathetic fallacy in the opening of would like to be?
the play and what effect does it have? 4. Why does Macbeth want to clean his hands in this act?
5. What did the witches do to the sailor whose wife didn’t give 5. How do the Macbeths react when they hear about Duncan’s
them nuts? death?
6. Who are battling in Act 1 Scene 2? 6. What does Ross say will happen to the natural world now
7. How is Macbeth described in battle? that the king has been killed?
8. How does Duncan feel about Macbeth?
9. What three prophecies do the witches give Macbeth?
10. How does Lady Macbeth react when she hears about the
witches prophecies?
11. What does Duncan think of the Macbeth’s home when he
first arrives?
12. How does Lady Macbeth convince Macbeth to commit
regicide?
13. Who is more dominant in the relationship between Lady
Macbeth and Macbeth?

Act 3 Act 4

1. How has Macbeth changed in Act 3? 1. Why does Macbeth return to the witches?
2. Why does Macbeth have Banquo killed? 2. What prophecies do the witches give Macbeth the second time?
3. What is beginning to happen to Macbeth and Lady Macbeth’s 3. How does Macbeth feel after hearing these prophecies?
relationship? 4. What do Macduff and Malcom think of Macbeth in this act?
4. What does Macbeth hallucinate in Act 3 and what does this 5. What do Malcom and Macduff decide to do next?
reveal?
5. Where has Macduff gone at the end of this Act?

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Self-Quizzing Questions – Page 2
Act 5 Key messages in the play

1. What is Lady Macbeth doing at the beginning of this 1. What is Shakespeare’s message about ambition?
act? 2. What is Shakespeare warning the audience about
2. What does this reveal about her state of mind? killing kings?
3. How do Malcom’s army overcome the prophecies? 3. What does Shakespeare suggests happens to the
4. How does Macbeth react when he hears about his natural order when a king or queen is killed?
wife’s death? 4. What does ambition lead to in the play?
5. What is Macbeth’s main priority at the end of the 5. What is Shakespeare’s message about the
play? supernatural?
6. How has Macbeth changed over the course of the
play?
7. How is Macduff able to kill Macbeth?
8. Who takes the throne when Macbeth is killed?

Key context – Supernatural Key context- King James I

1. Which characters represent the supernatural? 1. What religion did James I follow?
2. How did King James I feel about witches? 2. Why did people want James I assassinated?
3. How did Jacobeans feel about witches? 3. What big event happened in 1605?
4. What is Shakespeare teaching us about the 4. Who was punished for the assassination attempt on
supernatural? James I?
5. What happened to James I when he was younger that 5. What was the relationship between Shakespeare and
made him feel this way about witches? James I?
6. What happened if you were accused of being a witch in 6. Why does Shakespeare want to flatter King James I?
the Jacobean era? 7. How does Shakespeare show support for King James I?

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Self-Quizzing Questions – Page 3
Key context- Divine right of kings Setting

1. What is the divine right of kings? 1. Why does Shakespeare have the witches appear in
2. What did Jacobeans believe about who made a king a terrible weather and on barren hills?
king? 2. Why does Shakespeare set Duncan’s death in the
3. What powers did Jacobeans believe kings held? Macbeths home?
4. How would Jacobeans react to an attempt on a kings 3. What is significant about the time Duncan is
life? murdered?
5. What happens to the natural order when a king is 4. Why does Macbeth have Banquo murdered away from
killed? the castle?
6. How can the natural order be put back into its right
place?
Dramatic irony Top 25 quotes

1. What is dramatic irony? 1. Give a quote to show the Macbeths plan to be deceptive
2. How is dramatic irony used when Duncan goes 2. Give two quotes to show that Macbeth is a great
Macbeth’s house in Act 1? warrior in Act 1
3. What do the audience know that characters don’t at 3. Finish the quote “Stars hide…”
the banquet Macbeth has in Act 3? 4. Which quote best shows Macbeth’s ambition?
5. Give a quote to show Lady Macbeth thinks Macbeth is
too good to commit murder
6. Which quote shows how far Macbeth and Lady
Macbeth have fallen at the end of the play?
7. Which quote shows Macbeth is mentally suffering?
8. Give a quote to show how Lady Macbeth manipulates
Macbeth.
9. Give a quote to show Macbeth is an evil leader/king
10. Give a quote to show Macbeth thinks he is invincible.

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Self-Quizzing Questions – Page 4
Macbeth – use quotes in your answers Lady Macbeth- use quotes in your answers

1. How does Macbeth change in the play? 1. What motivates Lady Macbeth to convince Macbeth to
2. What is Macbeth’s mental state like as the play commit regicide?
progresses? 2. What does Lady Macbeth ask the dark spirits to do so
3. What is Macbeth’s fatal flaw or hamartia? she can become more cold-blooded?
4. How does Shakespeare use Macbeth to send a 3. How is Lady Macbeth more dominant in her
message to the audience? relationship with Macbeth?
5. How is Macbeth a Jacobean stereotype? 4. Why does Lady Macbeth not believe Macbeth will be
6. Why does Macbeth think he bears a “charmed life”? able to kill the king?
7. Why does Macbeth hallucinate? 5. What does Lady Macbeth say to Macbeth about the
8. How would a Jacobean audience respond to blood on his hands in Act 2 Scene 2?
Macbeth? 6. How does her relationship with Macbeth change over
9. Why does Macbeth not want to kill King Duncan? the course of the play?
10. Why does Macbeth want Macduff killed? 7. How do we know Lady Macbeth is not as cold-blooded
11. What does Macbeth become obsessed with as the as she would like to be?
play develops? 8. What happens to Lady Macbeth in Act 5?
12. How does Macbeth react when his wife dies? 9. What does Lady Macbeth see on her hands in Act 5
13. How does Macbeth have a high status at the opening and why is this ironic?
of the play? 10. How did Lady Macbeth begin the play with a high
14. How does Macbeth die? status?
15. Of all the people Macbeth kills, which is the most 11. How is Lady Macduff a foil for Lady Macbeth?
shocking and why?

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Self-Quizzing Questions – Page 5
Banquo- Use quotes in your answer The witches- Use quotes in your answer

1. Who is Banquo to Macbeth? 1. What is significant about the setting the witches are
2. How are both Banquo and Macbeth similar at the depicted in?
opening of the play? 2. What intentions do the witches have towards humans?
3. How does Banquo respond to the witches? 3. What prophecies do the witches give to Macbeth in Act
4. What prophecy do the witches give to Banquo? 1?
5. Give three adjectives to describe Banquo 4. What prophecies do the witches give to Macbeth in Act
6. Why does Macbeth have Banquo killed? 4?
7. Why does Banquo’s ghost appear at the banquet? 5. How are the witches equivocators?
8. How is Banquo a foil for Macbeth? 6. How are the witches able to manipulate Macbeth?
9. Why would an audience admire Banquo more than 7. How would a Jacobean audience react to the witches?
Macbeth? 8. What did King James I think about witches?
10. Give a quote to show Macbeth fears Banquo 9. Which quote said by Banquo describes the witches as
tools used by the devil?
10. Why did the witches target Macbeth?

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Self-Quizzing Questions – Page 6
Macduff- use quotes in your answer Duncan – use quotes in your answer

1. Who is Macduff? 1. What type of king is Duncan?

2. Give three adjective to describe this character 2. How does Duncan show he is easily fooled in Act 1?
3. Why is Macduff suspicious of Macbeth in Act 2? 3. What is ironic about the line “The castle has a
4. Where does Macduff go when he should have gone to pleasant air”?
Macbeth’s coronation? 4. Why does the image of Duncan dead upset Macbeth?
5. How is Macduff a foil for Macbeth? 5. How would the angels react after Duncan’s death and
6. What happens to Macduff’s family and why? why?
7. How would an audience feel about the character of 6. What reason did Macbeth have for killing king
Macduff? Duncan?
8. Why is Macduff able to kill Macbeth?

Malcolm – use quotes in your answer Theme of ambition

1. Who is Malcom? 1. What is Shakespeare’s message about ambition in the

2. Where does Malcom go in Act 2? play?
3. Why does Malcom flee to this place? 2. Which characters show they have too much ambition?
4. Who does Malcom represent in real life? 3. What does ambition bring about in the play?
5. How would an audience react to Malcom? 4. Why is Shakespeare warning the audience against
6. How does Malcolm manage to get his army so near being to ambitious?
Macbeth’s castle? 5. What does ambition cause for Macbeth and his wife?

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Self-Quizzing Questions – Page 7
Theme of kingship Theme of the supernatural

1. What happens when a king is killed? 1. What was James I’s attitude towards witches?
2. Why does this happen? 2. Why does Shakespeare present the witches negatively?
3. What examples of a good king do we see in the play? 3. What are the witches intentions throughout the play?
4. What examples of a bad king do we see in the play? 4. How do the witches treat behave at the beginning of
5. What is the divine right of kings? the plat that warns the audience they are evil?
6. How do we see Duncan being described in a Godly 5. What message is Shakespeare sending about the
way? supernatural?
7. How is the natural order disrupted in the play? 6. What is significant about the setting when the witches
8. Who was the king in real life during the Jacobean are on stage?
era? 7. What is revealed about Lady Macbeth when she calls
9. Why does Shakespeare want to show support for this on spirits to help her kill Duncan?
person? 8. What is revealed about Macbeth when he returns to
10. How does Shakespeare warn the audience that the witches a second time?
regicide is not a good idea? 9. How does Shakespeare present the witches as
untrustworthy?
10. Which character behaves correctly when they meet the
witches?

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Self-Quizzing Questions – Page 8
Theme of fate and free will Theme of deception

1. What is fate? 1. Which characters deceive others?

2. What is free will? 2. What does King Duncan say about those who are
3. Which characters seem to control fate? deceptive?
4. Which characters have complete free will? 3. Which quote shows how the Macbeths will deceive
5. Do the witches control the future or do they simply others?
predict what Macbeth will do in the future? 4. How do the witches deceive Macbeth?
6. What is Shakespeare’s message and fate and free 5. How does Malcolm trick or deceive Macduff in Act 4?
will?
7. Does Macbeth act on his own accord or is he fated to
do the things he does?
The theme of masculinity and femininity
1. What would a Jacobean person believe about
masculinity?
2. What would a Jacobean person think is feminine?
3. Who is the Jacobean male stereotype in the play?
4. Who is the Jacobean female stereotype in the play?
5. How does Lady Macbeth subvert her gender?
6. How would an audience react to Lady Macbeth’s
soliloquy about becoming more masculine?
7. What is Shakespeare’s message about masculinity
and femininity?

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