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THINKING ABOUT MACBETH
An Interactive Study Guide
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© 2010, ShakespeareHelp.com
What’s in This Study Guide?
Introduction to Macbeth
Quizzes
Quotes
Characters
Recurring Images
Themes
YouTube Videos
Essay Topics
Home
Introduction to Macbeth
The Basics
The Text
The Great Chain of Being
Macbeth and King James
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Macbeth – The Basics
 Macbeth was written in 1606, the last of Shakespeare’s four
great tragedies (Hamlet, Othello, King Lear).
 Shakespeare was in his early 40’s, a mature playwright with an
established reputation.
 The source of Macbeth is Holinshed’s Chronicles of Ancient
British History, used frequently by Shakespeare as a plot
source.
 Macbeth is a more complex morality play, focusing on a man
who faces a choice between good and evil, and chooses evil.
 However, Macbeth is more than a one-dimensional villain. He
is a believable human being who gives in to the temptation of
ambition.
Introduction to Macbeth
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Macbeth – The Text
 There is only one definitive
version of Macbeth – the First
Folio.
 The First Folio is a collection of 36
of Shakespeare’s plays prepared
by two of his colleagues 7 years
after his death.
 It is considered the most reliable
text of many of the plays, which
also existed in “bad” quarto
versions.
Introduction to Macbeth
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Macbeth – The Text
 Macbeth is one of Shakespeare’s shortest
plays.
 Macbeth also contains several
unanswered plot questions:

Who was the 3rd murderer?

What happened to Fleance and
Donalbain?

Did the Macbeths have children?

Did Lady Macbeth commit suicide?
Three Witches, Henry Fuseli
 Some scholars theorize that there are missing scenes.
 The scenes with Hecate (III, 5 & IV, 1) were probably added after
Shakespeare’s death for the purpose of entertaining the audience.
Introduction to Macbeth
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The Great Chain of Being
God
Angels
Demons
Stars
Moons
Kings
Princes
Nobles
Men
Wild Animals
Domesticated Animals
Trees
Other Plants
Precious Stones
Precious Metals
Other minerals
Introduction to Macbeth
• Shakespeare’s audience believed in a
great Chain of Being that determined
the natural order of events.
• The chain was a series of hierarchical
links with God at the top.
• Each level of the chain had its own
hierarchy, with the king at the top of the
human level.
• Disruptions in the chain could also
disrupt the laws of nature and cause
bizarre events to occur.
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Macbeth and King James I
 Aspects of the play were calculated to
flatter King James, who ascended the
throne in 1603 after Queen Elizabeth
died.
 James had authored Demonology in
1597 and was intensely interested in
the supernatural.
 James was a descendant of the
historical Banquo.
 The line of kings in IV, 1 suggests that
the Stuart line will continue
indefinitely.
King James I, Paulus Van Somer
Introduction to Macbeth
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Macbeth Quizzes
Act I
Act II
Act III
Act IV
Act V
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Quiz: Act I
Click the hand  for an answer.
1. Why did King Duncan strip the Thane of Cawdor of his
title and give it to Macbeth?

2. What prophecies did the witches make regarding
Macbeth?
3. What prophecies did the witches make regarding
Banquo?
4. How does Lady Macbeth react to the witches' prophecies
and the idea of killing the king?
Macbeth Quizzes
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1. Why did King Duncan strip the Thane of Cawdor of
his title and give it to Macbeth? Click anywhere to show answer.
The Thane of Cawdor betrayed King Duncan and deserted to the
rebel army during the battle.
Macbeth fought heroically in the battle, killed the rebel leader,
MacDonwald, and helped win the day for Duncan's army.
Macbeth Quizzes
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Quotes from Macbeth
Act I Quotes
Act II Quotes
Act III Quotes
Act IV Quotes
Act V Quotes
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Act I Quotes
Who said it, and why is it important?
Click the hand  for an answer.
1. “Fair is foul and foul is fair.” 
2. “If you can look into the seeds of time,
And say which grain will grow and which will not,
Speak then to me.”
3. “The Thane of Cawdor lives: why do you dress me
In borrowed robes?”
4. “Look like th’ innocent flower,
But be the serpent under ’t.”
5. “Fair and noble hostess,
We are your guest tonight.”
6. “He’s here in double trust:
First, as I am his kinsman and his subject,
Strong both against the deed.”
Macbeth Quotes
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Who said it, and why is it important?
1. “Fair is foul and foul is fair.”
Click anywhere to show answer.
This is the witches’ chant in the opening scene and one of the main
themes of the play – the confusion between good and evil, or
between appearance and reality. Things that seem to be fair (good)
are sometimes foul (evil), and visa versa.
When Macbeth takes the witches predictions as fact, he is confusing
foul with fair (evil with good).
He and Lady Macbeth use the same technique on Duncan and their
other victims. They pretend to be good, while planning evil deeds.
Macbeth Quotes
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Characters in Macbeth
Macbeth
Lady Macduff
Lady Macbeth
Macduff’s Son
The Witches
Fleance
Banquo
Siward
Duncan
Young Siward
Malcolm
Donalbain
Macduff
Hecate
The Porter
Seyton
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Macbeth
 Macbeth is first portrayed in the play as a
courageous, loyal , though somewhat brutal,
warrior.
 When he meets the witches, his ambition to
be king is revealed.
 In spite of his ambition, Macbeth is consumed
by self-doubt:

He's here in double trust;
First, as I am his kinsman and his subject,
Strong both against the deed; then, as his host,
Who should against his murderer shut the door,
Not bear the knife myself. (I, 7)
Characters
Charles Kean as Macbeth, 1858
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Macbeth 2
 At the end of Act I, Macbeth is pulled in two directions:

The witches predictions, two of which have come true, tempt him to obtain
the kingship.

His conscience dictates that he must be loyal to the king as a subject and
kinsman.
 Macbeth needs Lady Macbeth to convince him to commit the
murder of the king.
But screw your courage to the sticking-place,
And we’ll not fail. (I, 7)
Characters
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Macbeth 3
 Later in the play, Macbeth acts ruthlessly on his
own, vowing to not let himself be distracted by
moral doubts:

…from this moment
The very firstlings of my heart shall be
The firstlings of my hand. (IV, 1)
 Lady Macbeth has no knowledge of the murders
of Banquo and the Macduff family.
 Macbeth feels secure after hearing the witches’
predictions:
Thomas Keene in
Macbeth, 1884

He will not be harmed until Birnam Wood marches
to Dunsinane Castle

He will not be harmed by any man “born of woman.”
Characters
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Macbeth’s Conscience
Though Macbeth acts more and more ruthlessly over the course of
the play, Shakespeare suggests that he is plagued by inner guilt.
?
Is the bleeding dagger a figment of Macbeth’s imagination?
?
Does Banquo’s ghost appear to Macbeth, or is it a product of
his guilty conscience? (Elizabethans believed that the ghost of a
murdered person could actually appear to the murderer.)
?
Some scholars suggest that Macbeth’s second meeting with
the witches in Act IV occurs in his imagination. What are the
implications of this theory?
Characters
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The Death of Macbeth
 At the end of the play, Macbeth is alone.

His wife has died.

His soldiers are deserting him.

He is surrounded by his enemies.
 He is ultimately tricked by the double
meanings in the witches’ prophecies.
 Although defeated, he vows to die on the
battlefield fighting, rather than surrender
or commit suicide.
 The final battle with Macduff is a reminder
of his Macbeth’s bravery on the battlefield
that began the play.
Characters
Macbeth and the Witches
Henry Fuseli
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Recurring Images in Macbeth
Animals
Birds
Blood
Children
Clothing
Light and Darkness
Sleep
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Animals - 1

Shakespeare uses animals to emphasize the disruption to the natural
order caused by the murder of the king.

The night of the murder is filled with the sounds of animals:


I heard the owl scream and the crickets cry. (II, 2)
The day after the murder, Ross and an old man discuss the events of the
night before:

A falcon, towering in her pride of place,
Was by a mousing owl hawk'd at and kill'd. (II, 4)

Because the falcon is usually the predator, this image reflects the king’s
murder in nature: A superior is attacked and killed by an inferior or
subordinate.

And Duncan's horses…
…Turn'd wild in nature, broke their stalls, flung out,
Contending 'gainst obedience, as they would make
War with mankind. (II, 4)
Recurring Images in Macbeth
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Animals - 2
 The witches are associated with animals:

Their “familiars” are animal companions – Graymalkin (cat) and Paddock
(toad).
 The brew they concoct in IV, 1 has several animal references:

Fillet of a fenny snake…
…Eye of newt and toe of frog,
Wool of bat and tongue of dog,
Adder's fork and blind-worm's sting,
Lizard's leg and owlet's wing. (IV, 1)
 Animal references related to Macbeth increase in the play as he
becomes more vicious and animalistic, associating himself more
closely with the supernatural, and perhaps evil, realm of the witches.
Recurring Images in Macbeth
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Animals - 3
 After learning that Fleance has escaped from the murderers,
Macbeth tells Lady Macbeth:
 O, full of scorpions is my mind, dear wife! (III, 2)
 At the end of the play, Macbeth compares himself to a bear
in a bear-baiting contest :
 They have tied me to a stake; I cannot fly,
But, bear-like, I must fight the course. (V, 7)
 When Macduff confronts Macbeth in the final battle, he
refers to him in animalistic terms:
 Turn, hell-hound, turn! (V, 8)
Recurring Images in Macbeth
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Bear Baiting

Bear-baiting was popular in England
until the nineteenth century.

Arenas for this purpose were called
bear-gardens, consisting of a circular
high fenced area, the "pit", and raised
seating for spectators.

A post would be set in the ground
towards the edge of the pit and the
bear chained to it, either by the leg or
neck.

A number of well-trained hunting dogs
would then be set on it, being replaced
as they tired or were wounded or killed.
Recurring Images in Macbeth
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Themes in Macbeth
Appearance vs. Reality
Fate vs. Free Will
Guilt
Disruption in the Natural Order
Time
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Appearance vs. Reality - 1
 Fair is foul, and foul is fair. (I, 1)

The witches end the first scene of the play by sounding one of the play's major
themes – ambiguity (doubtfulness or uncertainty; having more than one
meaning.)

Macbeth’s first words in the play: So fair and foul a day I have not seen. (I, 3)

This play takes place in an ambiguous world where things are not what they
seem, where everything is doubtful, a world in which one might easily mistake
foul (evil) for fair (good).

…nothing is but what is not. (III, 1)

The witches themselves may be interpreted in two ways. Are they evil, or do
they represent Fate by predicting the future?

The inability to distinguish fair from foul, or good from evil, will affect all the
major characters in the play.
Themes in Macbeth
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Appearance vs. Reality - 2
 Macbeth and Lady Macbeth cover their evil thoughts and deeds with
a “fair” appearance:

“Look like the innocent flower, but be the serpent under ‘t.”
(I, 5)
 “False face doth hide what false heart doth know.” (I, 7)
 When Duncan arrives at Macbeth’s castle, he remarks that it “hath a
fair and pleasant seat.” Ironically, it will be the place of his death.
 In III, 4, Malcolm tests Macduff’s loyalty by pretending that he would
be a worse king that Macbeth. Unlike Macbeth, he uses a false
appearance for a good purpose.
Themes in Macbeth
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Appearance vs. Reality - 3
 Appearance vs. reality is used against Macbeth by the witches when
they show him the apparitions in IV, 1:

The bloody child tells him he can be harmed by “none of woman
borne.” Since all men are born of women, Macbeth concludes that he is
invincible, but there is a hidden meaning in the apparition’s words.

The child crowned holding a tree branch tells Macbeth that he will not be
defeated until “Great Birnam wood to high Dunsinane hill shall come
against him.” Again Macbeth assumes his life is charmed, since he is
sure this will never happen. Again, he is tricked by a hidden meaning.

Both apparitions instill in Macbeth a false sense of security that is turned
against him when the real meaning of their words became apparent.
Themes in Macbeth
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Appearance vs. Reality - 4
 The characters who represent the next generation all seem to see
through the false appearances of Macbeth.
 Immediately after the murder, Malcolm and Donalbain flee because they
see the “daggers in men’s smiles.” (II, 3)
 When a murderer calls Macduff a traitor in IV, 2, Macduff’s son says, “Thou
liest…”
 “Young” Siward uses the same phrase to Macbeth in V, 7.
“Thou liest…”
 The generation that replaces Macbeth is better able to distinguish
appearances from reality.
Themes in Macbeth
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YouTube Videos - Macbeth
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Essay Topics
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The End
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