MACBETH NOTES
THEME
Ambition
Fate
Order vs
Chaos
Guilt
SECTION LINES
OF PLAY
CONFLICT
Internal/
external
IMAGERY –
animals/
growth/blood
/ weather/
darkness/
sleep/ nature
PURPOSE
Atmosphere/ character/ theme/
tension
TECHNIQUE
Soliloquy/ aside/
dramatic irony/ off
stage/ juxtaposition/
verbal paradox/
symbolism/ metaphor/
rhythm
Act I,
Scene I
The play begins with disorder
as a battle is raging between
the Scots and the Norwegians,
assisted by some traitors.
The "thunder and lightning"
of the stage direction
symbolises this "hurly-burly",
as the witches flippantly refer
to the fighting.
external
weather
Order is restored by the "captains,
Macbeth and Banquo" who are
victorious. And Macbeth’s character is
established as loyal and brave. The
atmosphere of the play is also indicated.
The order restored is soon seen to be an
illusion as Macbeth says, ‘So foul and fair
a day I have not seen.’
juxtaposition
Act I,
Scene III
Banquo shows his surprise at
Macbeth's reaction to
the witches' promises: "Why
do you start and seem to fear,
/Things that do sound so
fair?"
Demonstra
tes
Macbeth’s
internal
conflict
The word 'start', connotes a level of shock,
and invites the audience to see Macbeth’s
guilty reaction. Later, Macbeth's guilt
takes visual form when he hallucinates that
a blood-covered dagger is leading him to
murder Duncan. - CHARACTER
Irony – he has just
demonstrated how
brave he is fighting the
war, yet here he is
showing ‘fear’
2 [Type text]
False
appearance
Gender
construction
Act I,
Scene I
"Fair is foul and foul is fair".
There are frequent
verbal paradoxes in the play
emphasising this duality, such
as "when the battle's lost and
won".
External
and
internal
weather
Introduce conflict between good
and evil that exists in all of us and
within society
Verbal paradox