Themes Flashcards

All 16 cards in this deck

Ambition: what does Macbeth name as his only spur to kill Duncan?

“Vaulting ambition” (Act 1 Scene 7).

Ambition: whose “Thriftless ambition” does Ross blame for Duncan’s death?

Malcolm and Donalbain’s: their flight makes them suspects (Act 2 Scene 4).

Guilt: which character hallucinates a dagger before the murder?

Macbeth (Act 2 Scene 1).

Guilt: which character sleepwalks and tries to wash her hands clean?

Lady Macbeth (Act 5 Scene 1).

Guilt: which word can Macbeth not say after murdering Duncan?

“Amen”.

What does blood symbolise in Macbeth?

Guilt.

Sleep: besides Duncan, what does Macbeth say he has murdered?

Sleep: “Macbeth does murder sleep”.

Appearance and reality: which character says “There’s no art / To find the mind’s construction in the face”?

Duncan, about the traitor Cawdor (Act 1 Scene 4).

Masculinity: who asks Macbeth “Are you a man?” at the banquet?

Lady Macbeth (Act 3 Scene 4).

Masculinity: whom does Macbeth compare to breeds of dog to goad them into killing Banquo?

The murderers (Act 3 Scene 1).

Kingship: which king heals the sick with his touch?

King Edward of England (Act 4 Scene 3).

Kingship: who lists the “king-becoming graces”, such as justice and mercy?

Malcolm (Act 4 Scene 3).

Natural order: which bird kills a falcon after Duncan’s murder?

A “mousing owl” (Act 2 Scene 4).

Natural order: what do Duncan’s horses do after his murder?

Break out of their stalls, and are said to eat each other.

Equivocation: what does Macbeth call the witches’ riddling promises in Act 5 Scene 5?

“th’ equivocation of the fiend / That lies like truth”.

Light and darkness: what must Lady Macbeth keep by her at all times in Act 5?

A light: “she has light by her continually”.