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Macbeth- "Quote a day"

The Macbeth quote a day thread
*inspired by @entertainmyfaith's quote a day for Jekyll and Hyde which was inspired by @Lemur14's quote a day for Blood brothers*

I know there are so many people out there doing Macbeth in their GCSE English literature (paper 1 for aqa folk, I'm not sure about the other exam boards:colondollar:) so if you're reading this, feel free to post any interesting analysis of quotes. The aim here isn't for one quote a day, it's for at least one quote a day:lol:

Just a reminder, your English literature paper 1 exam (this is the one with Macbeth in it) is on 22nd May 2018 which is 41 days:eek3:(as of 11th April 2018).

So let's get posting, I'll start with quote number one, anyone can do quote number two (or three or four or five...etc).

day 1 11/04/18
"unnatural deeds do breed unnatural troubles" act 5, scene 1
This quote on the surface suggests how unnatural Lady Macbeth's condition is, but could also suggest that any acts going against the natural order (i.e the divine right of kings) will cause unnatural problems to the person creating this issue. It's letting the audience know how obvious it is now (to the characters in the play) that Macbeth is involved with supernatural beings (the witches). The repetition of 'unnatural' could reflect how Macbeth repeatedly visits the witches (well twice...) and shows the influence the supernatural hold over Macbeth.

please don't roast me for this analysis, also tagging some peeps that I think do Macbeth so this thread stays alive (if you don't then please ignore this tag)... @troubletracking @honeyofcourse @thekidwhogames @Ihatelife2 (i feel like you do?)

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day 1 11/04/18 quote 2
"what are these... that look not like th'inhabitants o'th'earth" act 1, scene 3
This description of the witches by Banquo suggests to the audience their inhuman appearance, which plays on the Jacobean peoples' suspicion of women as witches (followed by many witch hunts at the time). This was spurred on by the reigning monarch James I, who even wrote a book (the Daemonologie) opposing all things supernatural. The witches' already villainous standing from their supernatural links is further cemented by the fact that they're all women who have a lot of power over the highest ranking men in Scotland. In the Jacobean period, women were expected to be submissive to their husbands and fathers- essentially the men who 'owned' them- and the fact that the witches have more control than human women at the time would make them more intimidating and dislikable to the men in the audience. Banquo's interrogative/ questioning tone at the beginning of the quote shows his mistrust and doubt about the witches as opposed to Macbeth's instinct to take action on what they tell him, later going back to them for advice. Due to Banquo's supposed link through lineage to James I, who ruled Scotland as well as England (and Wales), this presents him- and subsequently James- in a good light, where they both have excellent instincts about the witches both in the play and in the Jacobean period itself. The consonance (repetition of the 'th' sound) in this quote makes the speech read slower due to its awkward sound, consequently making the line sound more thoughtful and hesitant, which reinforces the idea that Banquo is being cautious about what the witches are saying.There's also a similar use of this technique in Psalm 23 of the Bible, which is important because King James was highly religious and published his own version of the Bible (where this device is also found). Therefore this quote not only highlights the inhumanity and suspiciousness of the witches from Banquo (and the audience)'s point of view, it also foreshadows Macbeth's dive into tyranny as he never seemed to mistrust the witches as much as Banquo did.


(Also I'd like to say this is a great idea!! Thanks for starting it @Toastiekid) :grin:
Reply 2
Original post by honeyofcourse
day 1 11/04/18 quote 2
"what are these... that look not like th'inhabitants o'th'earth" act 1, scene 3
This description of the witches by Banquo suggests to the audience their inhuman appearance, which plays on the Jacobean peoples' suspicion of women as witches (followed by many witch hunts at the time). This was spurred on by the reigning monarch James I, who even wrote a book (the Daemonologie) opposing all things supernatural. The witches' already villainous standing from their supernatural links is further cemented by the fact that they're all women who have a lot of power over the highest ranking men in Scotland. In the Jacobean period, women were expected to be submissive to their husbands and fathers- essentially the men who 'owned' them- and the fact that the witches have more control than human women at the time would make them more intimidating and dislikable to the men in the audience. Banquo's interrogative/ questioning tone at the beginning of the quote shows his mistrust and doubt about the witches as opposed to Macbeth's instinct to take action on what they tell him, later going back to them for advice. Due to Banquo's supposed link through lineage to James I, who ruled Scotland as well as England (and Wales), this presents him- and subsequently James- in a good light, where they both have excellent instincts about the witches both in the play and in the Jacobean period itself. The consonance (repetition of the 'th' sound) in this quote makes the speech read slower due to its awkward sound, consequently making the line sound more thoughtful and hesitant, which reinforces the idea that Banquo is being cautious about what the witches are saying.There's also a similar use of this technique in Psalm 23 of the Bible, which is important because King James was highly religious and published his own version of the Bible (where this device is also found). Therefore this quote not only highlights the inhumanity and suspiciousness of the witches from Banquo (and the audience)'s point of view, it also foreshadows Macbeth's dive into tyranny as he never seemed to mistrust the witches as much as Banquo did.


(Also I'd like to say this is a great idea!! Thanks for starting it @Toastiekid) :grin:


PRSOM
this is great:hugs:
Original post by Toastiekid
The Macbeth quote a day thread
*inspired by @entertainmyfaith's quote a day for Jekyll and Hyde which was inspired by @Lemur14's quote a day for Blood brothers*

I know there are so many people out there doing Macbeth in their GCSE English literature (paper 1 for aqa folk, I'm not sure about the other exam boards:colondollar:) so if you're reading this, feel free to post any interesting analysis of quotes. The aim here isn't for one quote a day, it's for at least one quote a day:lol:

Just a reminder, your English literature paper 1 exam (this is the one with Macbeth in it) is on 22nd May 2018 which is 41 days:eek3:(as of 11th April 2018).

So let's get posting, I'll start with quote number one, anyone can do quote number two (or three or four or five...etc).

day 1 11/04/18
"unnatural deeds do breed unnatural troubles" act 5, scene 1
This quote on the surface suggests how unnatural Lady Macbeth's condition is, but could also suggest that any acts going against the natural order (i.e the divine right of kings) will cause unnatural problems to the person creating this issue. It's letting the audience know how obvious it is now (to the characters in the play) that Macbeth is involved with supernatural beings (the witches). The repetition of 'unnatural' could reflect how Macbeth repeatedly visits the witches (well twice...) and shows the influence the supernatural hold over Macbeth.

please don't roast me for this analysis, also tagging some peeps that I think do Macbeth so this thread stays alive (if you don't then please ignore this tag)... @troubletracking @honeyofcourse @thekidwhogames @Ihatelife2 (i feel like you do?)


Yeah, I do Macbeth as well. This is actually a great idea and it's gonna help loads of people. I suck at English so this will probably help me a lot. Thanks from me and everyone who will see this. Most people do AQA English and Macbeth is a favourite of English teachers nationwide, so expect lots of contributions to this thread.
Reply 4
Original post by Ihatelife2
Yeah, I do Macbeth as well. This is actually a great idea and it's gonna help loads of people. I suck at English so this will probably help me a lot. Thanks from me and everyone who will see this. Most people do AQA English and Macbeth is a favourite of English teachers nationwide, so expect lots of contributions to this thread.

I hope it does:thumbsup:
Not a problem, hopefully the thread will get busier as the exams get closer:dontknow:
(edited 5 years ago)
:woo: Great that you've started this! Lovely to see people joining in already as well :yep:

Posted from TSR Mobile
yep I do thanks for the tag! :smile:
thank you for tagging me!:smile:
i just came back from a chemistry session so i'm a bit frazzled but i'll post a quote tonight hopefully:biggrin:
Reply 8
Original post by Lemur14
:woo: Great that you've started this! Lovely to see people joining in already as well :yep:

Posted from TSR Mobile


I figure that it’ll be a good way for me to revise and hopefully it’ll help others. And it’ll kinda make me revise English lit:colondollar:
Reply 9
Original post by thekidwhogames
yep I do thanks for the tag! :smile:


No problem:grin: you’re welcome to contribute or tag other people who you think it’ll help
Original post by entertainmyfaith
thank you for tagging me!:smile:
i just came back from a chemistry session so i'm a bit frazzled but i'll post a quote tonight hopefully:biggrin:


No problem:heart:
Hope the chemistry was good:lol:
Original post by Toastiekid
No problem:grin: you’re welcome to contribute or tag other people who you think it’ll help



Will do once I start revising Eng :colondollar:
Original post by Toastiekid
I figure that it’ll be a good way for me to revise and hopefully it’ll help others. And it’ll kinda make me revise English lit:colondollar:

I'm sure it will :smile: Always useful!
day 1; 11/04/18; quote 3
(i'm not as strong on macbeth so apologies if this is subpar!)
"i am afraid to think what i have done"
this shows the consequences of acting with your 'hand' instead of your heart, despite this being said prior to macbeth making the statement that he will no longer let his heart control him. he doesn't want to dwell on the consequences of the murderous crime he committed, thus we can see him as a weak character and one who refuses to take responsibility for his actions, or perhaps the impact of having a guilty conscience.
perhaps we could also link this to the great chain of being- he has just committed regicide, thus disrupting this order that audience believed at the time to be one chosen and set out by god for a reason- the king was also significant. macbeth may be terrified of what he's done knowing he's destroyed something that was once in order. as that's destroyed, he also breaks down as a character. perhaps this could serve as a warning to the audience that this chain should not be tampered with at all.
day 2 quote 4
40 days till the exam!
"Double, double toil and trouble, / Fire burn and cauldron bubble." act 4, scene 1
Here the witches speak in trochaic tetrameter which is different to how all the other characters in the play speak (iambic pentameter). This emphasises how different the witches are compared to the other characters in the play. Furthermore, they are going against the meter Shakespeare chose to use in the rest of the play, suggesting to the reader that their supernatural powers are able to influence Shakespeare's choices regarding meter in the play. This could draw some blame away from Macbeth for being so heavily influenced by the witches prophecies but the audience can't help but remember that Banquo also received a prophecy from the witches however did not act on it, showing Macbeth to be weak and easily influenced.

(@entertainmyfaith me too agh it's only day 2 and I'm struggling!)
(edited 5 years ago)
day 3 quote 5
"what's done is done"
lady macbeth says this following duncan's murder, indicating strength of character particularly against macbeth's uneasiness and regret. the short sharp statement may indicate either that she's not bothered about murdering a king or she's trying to control her emotions, thus she talks in short sentences as to not let anything out. we'll never know whether her strength was a facade or that was how she genuinely felt.
this also goes against how women were viewed in the jacobean era- man's property and weaker than man. she's going against the stereotype, as well as assisting with regicide- perhaps this was shakespeare's intention.
Original post by Toastiekid

day 1 11/04/18
"unnatural deeds do breed unnatural troubles" act 5, scene 1
This quote on the surface suggests how unnatural Lady Macbeth's condition is, but could also suggest that any acts going against the natural order (i.e the divine right of kings) will cause unnatural problems to the person creating this issue. It's letting the audience know how obvious it is now (to the characters in the play) that Macbeth is involved with supernatural beings (the witches). The repetition of 'unnatural' could reflect how Macbeth repeatedly visits the witches (well twice...) and shows the influence the supernatural hold over Macbeth.
At "the natural order" that's a direct connection to fate there. You can go so much deeper into the word unnatural here too, what exactly does unnatural mean? Sinful? Supernatural (as you've alluded to)? How is the audience going to react to the idea of the lead character being unnatural? Which side will they take?

Original post by entertainmyfaith
"i am afraid to think what i have done"
this shows the consequences of acting with your 'hand' instead of your heart, despite this being said prior to macbeth making the statement that he will no longer let his heart control him. he doesn't want to dwell on the consequences of the murderous crime he committed, thus we can see him as a weak character and one who refuses to take responsibility for his actions, or perhaps the impact of having a guilty conscience.
perhaps we could also link this to the great chain of being- he has just committed regicide, thus disrupting this order that audience believed at the time to be one chosen and set out by god for a reason- the king was also significant. macbeth may be terrified of what he's done knowing he's destroyed something that was once in order. as that's destroyed, he also breaks down as a character. perhaps this could serve as a warning to the audience that this chain should not be tampered with at all.
Two words in particular I'd pick up on here, afraid and think.

Just consider this for a moment, Shakespeare has presented us with a hero, who's afraid. Is that a quality of heroism? Are heroes in a tragedy typically more afraid? Or regretful? Play about with the two.

Now let me cut the phrase to: "i am afraid to think" Macbeth is a gothic text, and this is a genre which explores the darker side of man's psyche. Is Shakespeare suggesting here that Macbeth himself is afraid of his own mind? The horror of his own actions makes him question his own sanity.

Straight away you jumped in by provided a separate quote.

Loving where you talk about weak character, responsibility and guilt - you can play on guilt more. Is guilt Macbeth's downfall.

In connection with Great change of being, there's a thing called a Todorovian narrative, which means that the play starts with a natural order (an equilibrium) and then an event (Duncan's death) occurs to bring about disorder (or disequilibirum). The play ends with a new sense if order being found, "order restored" or "new equilibrium".










-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Two takeaways...

Pick up on specific key words in your quotes and drill down into them. Quality analysis comes from exploring different avenues which might be what the quote conveys. Not a criticism, but the phrase "this shows" is often overused in quote analysis.

To find a way in, don't go for what Shakespeare's intended meaning is. Start by thinking about what the quote says about a character, or how it links to a theme, and the overarching plot from that theme, and then to Shakespeare's possible intentions. The other thing to think about is audience and the effect that these words might have on them, and that's how to draw tentative suggestions about what Shakespeare is trying to do.
Original post by 04MR17
At "the natural order" that's a direct connection to fate there. You can go so much deeper into the word unnatural here too, what exactly does unnatural mean? Sinful? Supernatural (as you've alluded to)? How is the audience going to react to the idea of the lead character being unnatural? Which side will they take?

Two words in particular I'd pick up on here, afraid and think.

Just consider this for a moment, Shakespeare has presented us with a hero, who's afraid. Is that a quality of heroism? Are heroes in a tragedy typically more afraid? Or regretful? Play about with the two.

Now let me cut the phrase to: "i am afraid to think" Macbeth is a gothic text, and this is a genre which explores the darker side of man's psyche. Is Shakespeare suggesting here that Macbeth himself is afraid of his own mind? The horror of his own actions makes him question his own sanity.

Straight away you jumped in by provided a separate quote.

Loving where you talk about weak character, responsibility and guilt - you can play on guilt more. Is guilt Macbeth's downfall.

In connection with Great change of being, there's a thing called a Todorovian narrative, which means that the play starts with a natural order (an equilibrium) and then an event (Duncan's death) occurs to bring about disorder (or disequilibirum). The play ends with a new sense if order being found, "order restored" or "new equilibrium".










-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Two takeaways...

Pick up on specific key words in your quotes and drill down into them. Quality analysis comes from exploring different avenues which might be what the quote conveys. Not a criticism, but the phrase "this shows" is often overused in quote analysis.

To find a way in, don't go for what Shakespeare's intended meaning is. Start by thinking about what the quote says about a character, or how it links to a theme, and the overarching plot from that theme, and then to Shakespeare's possible intentions. The other thing to think about is audience and the effect that these words might have on them, and that's how to draw tentative suggestions about what Shakespeare is trying to do.


thank you so much, this is so helpful!!
Original post by 04MR17
At "the natural order" that's a direct connection to fate there. You can go so much deeper into the word unnatural here too, what exactly does unnatural mean? Sinful? Supernatural (as you've alluded to)? How is the audience going to react to the idea of the lead character being unnatural? Which side will they take?

Two words in particular I'd pick up on here, afraid and think.

Just consider this for a moment, Shakespeare has presented us with a hero, who's afraid. Is that a quality of heroism? Are heroes in a tragedy typically more afraid? Or regretful? Play about with the two.

Now let me cut the phrase to: "i am afraid to think" Macbeth is a gothic text, and this is a genre which explores the darker side of man's psyche. Is Shakespeare suggesting here that Macbeth himself is afraid of his own mind? The horror of his own actions makes him question his own sanity.

Straight away you jumped in by provided a separate quote.

Loving where you talk about weak character, responsibility and guilt - you can play on guilt more. Is guilt Macbeth's downfall.

In connection with Great change of being, there's a thing called a Todorovian narrative, which means that the play starts with a natural order (an equilibrium) and then an event (Duncan's death) occurs to bring about disorder (or disequilibirum). The play ends with a new sense if order being found, "order restored" or "new equilibrium".










-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Two takeaways...

Pick up on specific key words in your quotes and drill down into them. Quality analysis comes from exploring different avenues which might be what the quote conveys. Not a criticism, but the phrase "this shows" is often overused in quote analysis.

To find a way in, don't go for what Shakespeare's intended meaning is. Start by thinking about what the quote says about a character, or how it links to a theme, and the overarching plot from that theme, and then to Shakespeare's possible intentions. The other thing to think about is audience and the effect that these words might have on them, and that's how to draw tentative suggestions about what Shakespeare is trying to do.



gosh this has made me think:colondollar:
Macbeth as a hero ought to be brave but he's scared, perhaps this could also link to 'unnatural' as a hero should not have fear as his/her hamartia. But then again as a tragic hero he has to have something to cause his downfall (though isn't it argued that it's his selfishness/hubris if I've remembered the term correctly).
Does he really regret his actions? I feel like Lady Macbeth regrets her actions more than Macbeth does...
Thank you for this:hugs:
Out of interest (as I know I overuse it), what would you suggest we used instead of 'this shows'? This connotes, suggests, implies, creates a [xyz] effect...?
Original post by Toastiekid
gosh this has made me think:colondollar:

Macbeth as a hero ought to be brave but he's scared, perhaps this could also link to 'unnatural' as a hero should not have fear as his/her hamartia. But then again as a tragic hero he has to have something to cause his downfall (though isn't it argued that it's his selfishness/hubris if I've remembered the term correctly).

Does he really regret his actions? I feel like Lady Macbeth regrets her actions more than Macbeth does...
Thank you for this:hugs:
Out of interest (as I know I overuse it), what would you suggest we used instead of 'this shows'? This connotes, suggests, implies, creates a [xyz] effect...?
Macbeth is brave initially, his ambition is evidence of that. He becomes scared, but you could but that down to supernatural causes which Shakespeare uses (i.e. ghosts)

All those synonyms are great.:smile: Also remember that it is the audience that finds meaning. So "an audience might interpret this as...."

Also explore the difference between regret and guilt. An audience can put guilt on a character, but an audience can't make a character regretful - only a writer can do so. This about that when exploring meaning.:wink:

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