Zusammenfassung der Ressource
how is villainy presented in macbeth?
- Murders
- progressively develop
in the play - more
violence
- Macduff's Family
- Kills the entire house for no
reason other than to warn
Macduff - revenge for planning
to overthrow him
- He feels
threatened
- The
witches
prophecies
- On stage to
present
Macbeth's
villainous
character - they
are defenceless
which implies
Macbeth is very
villainous -
included women
and children
- Banquo
- Not villainous because he didn't commit
the murder himself - can be presented
as cowardly because he couldnt do the
deed himself he hired murders to do his
work for him
- Took place on stage as Banquo doesn't
require the respect that the king does.
- Although Macbeth and Banquo were good friends at the start
of the play, he orders the murders of Banquo and Fleance his
son. A villainous as the friendship no longer matters and had
to kill him because he felt a threat to Macbeth's claim to be
king. No persuasion off Lady Macbeth which suggests that it
was more villanious becuase he didn't stop and consider the
consequences as he did before he murdered Duncan.
- Duncan
- Offstage which implies
Shakespeare's respect for the King
- King is sleeping which shows he was
defenseless. He isn't shown defeated and
weak.
- Shown as cowardly as he comitted the
murder in his sleep, too weak to
commit the murder whilst he was
awake.
- James I would
have watched
the play who
believed in the
divine right of
kings which
leaves Duncan
perfect and
powerful.The
death needed
to be tragic, not
a fake gore on
stage.
- Lady Macbeth has to persuade
Macbeth to finalise his decision to
kill the King. However he made the
initial idea after the witches'
prophecies.
- Not villainous as he hesitated for a while
- Villainous
- "a dagger of the mind"
suggests the evil of
Macbeth's mind.
- Soliloquy
suggests that
he thought he
would get
away with it
when it was
clean.
However, it
then turns
blodody which
suggests he
thought about
the
consequences.
- Dripping blood
implies the evil
thoughts inside
Macbeth's mind
- Comitted the murder himseld. He didn't
rely on other people
- Characters
- Macbeth
- At first he is shown as a
noble and brave warrior
who is noble and
respectful to his king.
- After the witches
prophecies he is ambitious
and get's more and more
villainy.
- When he becomes king he
become more villainous and
therefore kills even more people in
order to maintain his position ion
the throne.
- He is also presented as having a
conscience and thinks guilty of what
he does and plans to do
- Lady Macbeth
- She kills
herself due to
the guilt of her
role in killing
Duncan. This
suggests that
he is not
villainy
- She had a very persuasive role in
murdering duncan which suggests
that she is slightly more villainous.
However she only worked on an
idea that was originally Macbeth's
- Original thane of cawdor
- Traitor at the start - Villain
- Villainy was a
theme from
the start
- Execution shows that
disrespect towards the king is
not tolerated.
- Supernatural
- Visions or actual supernatural
- Witches at the route of Macbeth's ambitions. Supernatural would suggest villainy.
- Act 1 Scene 3
- James I was keen on demonology
- Visions could suggest guilt or villainy
- Bnaquo's ghost represents guilt
- Dagger represents Villainy
- Nature
- "i heard the owl scream and the crickets cry" going
against natural order (killing Duncan)
- "Nature seems dead" Night is
when murder happens, the
darkness is causing death
- Sleep
- "wicked dreams" he cannot escape his actions
- Less villainy (conscience)
- Soliloquy
- "if it were done, when it were done"
- Debating whether to kill the king, knowing there will
be consequences. Arguments For and Against
- Haunted afterwards
- judged by god and fellow thanes
- Macbeth is his
subject - should
be loyal
- "if we should
fall" childlike
and innocent
not villainous
- persuaded
by lady
macbeth
- "blow the horrid deed
in every eye" makes
everyone sad
- kind and
gentle king
"meek"
- macbeth is his
kinsman - family
- "is this a dagger i see before me?"
- Tries to persuade himself to kill the king, shows he has
a conscience as he hesitates.
- Physically and Mentally alone - can't
confide anybody as Lady Macbeth called
him a coward etc. This shows the
change from noble to villainy
- stresses every other syllable in a ten syllable line