Team Act Analysis of Macbeth
a) Identify a prominent symbol in the act and explain its
connotative effectiveness
b) Identify three other literary devices used by Shakespeare to
make his writing more effective
c) Explain how the act establishes ( or continues to establish) the
title character and his wife archetypally ( See reference materials
distributed in class)
d) Identify five words or phrases that are new to you and would
become an asset to your vocabularies. Use each effectively in a
sentence.
e) Paraphrase a soliloquy or an aside that is integral to some
aspect of the plays development
ACT 1
a) The Prominent symbol in the first scene is darkness the thunder lightning and
witches ugliness symbolizes the evil present in the scenes to come. As the
witch’s predictions come true Macbeth starts to change and have darker thoughts
to better himself. Any time the witches are present the surroundings turn dark
and you picture darkness enveloping the scene.
b) Identify three other literary devices used by Shakespeare to make his writing more
effective
Paradox-Shakespeare often used Paradox’s to get the reader to be more interested
and have to think to find the meaning of the words. Act 1 Scene 1 Line 4-When the
battle’s lost and won
Aside-Words spoken by an actor that is inside their head in writing but on
the stage the audience hears but the other characters do not hear.
Personification-Personification is a statement, which gives human
characteristics to something that is not human or is an abstract idea.
Image-An image is a word or a group of words which suggests a
sensation. Thus an object, a sound, a movement, a smell can all be
images. Imagery is figurative and involves associations.
c) At the start of Act 1 Macbeth and his wife are unknown to the readers and so are
assumed innocent. When Macbeth meets and interacts with the witches he starts to
change rapidly. He is very happy to hear that he will be king, and his wife is as
well. It is when he starts to plan how he will become king that changes his state of
mind and aspect of life. His goals from then on are to become powerful and his wife
feels the same, possible stronger. They become influential to each other, but also
rely on the witches more and more.
d) Identify five words or phrases that are new to you and would become an asset to
your vocabularies. Use each effectively in a sentence.
Hurlyburly: Uproar, turmoil, confusion, especially referring to battle or rebellion
But amidst all of this Hurlyburly I still found my parking spot.
Ere: before
We will go ere lunch.
Whence: from where; from what place
From Whence did the bird fly?
Quoth: said
I swear, that is what she quoth.
Errnest: a promise of greater reward to come
If you do your chores now there will be errnest money!
e) Act 1 scene 3 Lines 136-139
Thow truths are told,
As happy prologues to the swelling act
Of the imperial Theme.-I thank you gentlemen
In this aside Macbeth starts to see a connection between the two predictions
from the witches and the current events. This is extremely important to the entire
play because it is this connection that leads Macbeth to believe he must kill the King
and gain power. It also give Macbeth trust in the witches for the next times that they
meet.
ACT 2
a) - Act two scene one has a symbol at the beginning and that is darkness. The
symbol of darkness is actually carried out for almost half of the act. In many of
Shakespeare's plays darkness is a physical aspect of the scene but it is also
symbolic of evil. In the dark bad things happen and in this act lots of bad things take
place. “ Hold. take my sword. There’s husbandry in heaven, their candles are all
out.” pp 25 lines 5-6. In this line Banquo is describing the night but also his nervous
feelings that something bad is about to happen.
b)
1.
Personification - In Macbeth’s large dagger soliloquy he talks about murder
and personifies it as a ghost that quietly moves around, towards its victim as Tarquin
moved towards his own victims. And of course we know that murder is an action not
even a physical thing. “Alarum’d by his sentinel, the wolf,/ Whose howl’s his watch,
thus with his stealthy pace./ With Tarquin’s ravishing strides, towards his design/
Moves like a ghost. “ pp 71 lines 60-63.
2.
Foreshadowing- When Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are discussing the
murder Macbeth is telling her of the voices that he heard while he killed Duncan, and
how worried he was. Then Lady Macbeth states that the deeds that were done must
not be thought of badly otherwise it would drive him mad. “ These deeds must not be
thought, After these ways; so, it will make us mad. pp 81 lines 45-46. This is
foreshadowing because further along the play Macbeth continues to grow mad after
every single murder he commits whether he commits it physically or orders it.
3.
Hyperbole- After Macbeth has murdered Duncan he feels very guilty and he
walks in to talk to his wife still covered in Duncans blood, she then tells him to go
and wash it off. However Macbeth argues that it would take the whole sea to wash
the blood from his hands which is an exaggeration because physically it would only
take a small amount of water. “Will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood/ Clean
from my hand? No. This my hand will rather/ the multitudinous seas incarnadine,/
Making the green one red,”pp 83 lines 77-70 .
c)
In this act Macbeth and Lady Macbeth's characters are really established. In
act one Macbeth is seen as a noble warrior for Scotland but his personal character is
not fully revealed. In this act Macbeth had the choice to remain a dutiful and loyal
subject to Duncan or to be a villainous murderer. Macbeth chose the role of the
murderer. Macbeth became the antagonist, and the villain of this tragedy. Lady
Macbeth is first introduced in detail in this act. Lady Macbeth is immediately drawn to
the idea of power and persuades Macbeth into killing Duncan. However Lady
Macbeth is also shown in this act to have hesitations when it came to the actual
murder. This example of hesitation shows that the character of Lady Macbeth is not
as murderous as we first assumed. In conclusion we find that the character of
Macbeth is villainous and Lady Macbeth's character is greedy but not completely
cruel.
d)
1. Palpable - The three dimensional movie looked palpable, but when I reached out
to grab it, I realized it was just a mischievous illusion.
2. Carousing- At midnight on New Year's eve my uncle and father are often
carousing.
3. Predominance - In my family my mother usually has predominance over
everyone else.
4. Lamentings - The lamentings of the children in the third world country were
unbearable to hear.
5. Suborned- In todays world it is not hard to find people who are suborned.
e)
Is this a dagger which I see before me,/ The handle toward my hand? Come,
let me clutch thee./ I have thee not, and yet I see thee still./ Art thou not, fatal vision,
sensible/ To feeling as to sight? or art thou but/ A dagger of the mind, a false
creation,/ Proceeding from the heat-oppressed brain?/ I see thee yet, in form as
palpable/ As this which now I draw./ Thou marshall’st me the way that I was going;/
And such an instrument I was to use./ Mine eyes are made the fools o’ the other
senses,/ Or else worth all the rest; I see thee still,/ And on thy blade and dudgeon
gouts of blood,/ Which was not so before. There’s no such thing:/ It is the bloody
business which informs/ Thus to mine eyes. Now o’er the one half world/ Nature
seems dead, and wicked dreams abuse/ The curtain’d sleep; witchcraft celebrates/
Pale Hecate’s offerings, and wither’d murder,/ Alarum’d by his sentinel, the wolf,/
Whose howl’s his watch, thus with his stealthy pace./ With Tarquin’s ravishing
strides, towards his design/ 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,/ And take the present horror from the time,/ Which now suits with it./
Whiles I threat, he lives:/ Words to the heat of deeds too cold breath gives./ Go, and
it is done. The bell invites me./ Hear it not, Duncan, for it is a knell/ That summons
thee to heaven or to hell.
My paraphrase of the soliloquy
Is that a dagger in front of me, the handle turned towards my hand? Come here
dagger and let me grab you.I can't grab you but yet I still see you. Are you a fatal
vision? If I can see you can't I grab you as well? Or are you a vision of my mind, a
false creation, a result from my hot and feverish brain. Yet I see you as real as the
dagger that I take out now. You point me in the direction that I fear I was already
going, and I was going to use a tool much the same as you. My eyes must not be
working or all my other senses are dull and my eyes the only ones that are working
because I still see you. On your blade there are now stains of blood that were not
there before. There is not a dagger in front of me there is no such thing. It is the
bloody deed that I am about to do that makes me see the dagger. Now half of the
world seems dead but is in sleep, and nightmares abuse the sleeping. Witches are
offering sacrifices to their goddess hecate. Murder awakened by the howls of his
wolf moves towards his victim with Tarquin's ravishing strides towards his destination
like a ghost. Firm and hard ground, don't hear my steps, or where I am going
because I fear you very stones will tell of my whereabouts. Don’t make a sound
because silence is appropriate for the deed I am going to do. While I fret and stand
here talking Duncan lives! The words come out of my breath bold, but if I continue to
speak I will lose courage and grow cold to the deed. As I go it is as good as done. I
hear a bell and it awakens me. Don't hear it Duncan because it is the call that
summons you to Heaven or to Hell.
The reason why this soliloquy is integral to the play's development is that this is the
last instant that Macbeth has of indecision before killing Duncan. He thinks about it
and eventually convinces himself to go through with it. This part in the novel is
extremely important for the rest of the storey because Macbeths killing of Duncan is
the start of the rising action and without it the play would have a completely different
outcome.