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Personification: "Thou marshall'st me the way that I was going;" "Mine eyes are made
the fools o' the other senses,"; "wicked dreams abuse the curtain'd sleep"
(c) In the first 7 lines of his soliloquy, Macbeth asks himself three questions that clearly
reveal his ever so lasting doubt on his deliberate murder. Macbeth not only murders the
King of Scotland to satisfy his ambition (for he was an ambitious person), but also to
prove his manliness to Lady Macbeth (lady Macbeth treated him of a coward and
claimed he wasn't manly enough to commit the murder himself). Following the intended
crime, the audience finally discovers Macbeth's true features: he is ambitious, cruel and
pitiless. As to Banquo, he shows loyalty and honesty.
(c) Macbeth had eventually chosen loyalty over ambition, only to be manipulated by his
persuasive wife into reconsidering the murder. This plainly denotes one of his few
weaknesses, his insecurity. He feels the need to controvert his wife and prove his
manliness by killing the King. His series of thoughts and actions also prove how
persuadable he is.
(p) This passage represents a small section of the rising action leading to Macbeth's
downfall. In this scene, M finally musters up the courage to kill King Duncan in order to
steal his throne. This scene allows the story to move forward because Macbeth must
take the necessary measures to stay in rank. (killing Banquo, Macduff & his family)
(p&c) (aftermath of the murder) This scene is also pertinent upon the progression of the
plot because it is in that specific scene that Macbeth's actions lead him to holding the
Throne. As soon as he was named the King of Scotland, Macbeth was under the
impression that the Witches' prophecies would never be a lie and would always come
true. He was so blinded by their first predictions (that eventually came true) that he
never thought the witches could be indelicately lying to him. He started becoming very
arrogant and confident and that cost him his life.
Hamartia: is the fatal flaw which brings a character into his doom, in Macbeths case, it
is ambition which later turns into greed.
Rising action
Act 2 scene 1
Allusions
Sighs
We can see what is happening in the mind.
Dramatic irony