| ‘for brave Macbeth, well he deserves that name’ (Act 1, Scene 2, Captain) | At the beginning of the play, Macbeth is a warrior for his country and fights in the name of the King, he is who another soldier would aspire to be, audience have a sense of DRAMATIC IRONY as they know things are going to change- it’s a tragic play! |
| ‘like Valour’s minion’ (Act 1, Scene 2, Captain) | he does the work of Valour, honour, SIMILE, PERSONIFICATION of an idealic warrior |
| ‘what he hath lost, noble Macbeth hath won’ (Act 1, Scene 2, Duncan) | Duncan trusts Macbeth and sees him as being loyal and noble, so the death of Duncan EMPHASISES how Macbeth’s ambition has gotten in the way of his ambition |
| ‘the service and the loyalty I owe’ (Act 1, Scene 4, Macbeth) | Macbeth is telling Duncan it is his duty! Brings a sense of loyalty but also perhaps disloyalty because Macbeth is in collaboration with witches who are persuading him to commit regicide CONTEXT: regicide was the biggest crime in Jacobean times, shows that Macbeth is truly disloyal and dishonourable |
| ‘had I but died an hour before this chance, I had liv’d a blessed time, for from this instant, there’s nothing serious in mortality’ (Act 2, Scene 3, Macbeth) | Is he faking his loyalty towards Duncan (seen as he just killed him) or did he really feel loyal to him? There is a sense of truth here because he did feel loyal to his King and this is perhaps where we begin to see he regrets his decision- EMPATHY for the audience |
| Banquo came to the banquet even though he is dead (in ghost form) | True loyalty in comparison to Macbeth, audience EMPATHISES because he didn’t deserve to die |
| Macduff is only going to kill Macbeth (Act 5, Scene 7) | Macduff is not letting revenge get the better of him as Macbeth was doing, but stays loyal to what Malcom (the future King) says- a sense that the play has a CYCLICAL NATURE, gone full circle, as the idea of loyalty has been brought back in |
| ‘hail King of Scotland’ (Act 5, Scene 9) | Said to Malcom. CYCLICAL NATURE. Is this the beginning of loyalty or the continuation of disloyalty? Audience is left in a state of AMBIGUITY |
Macbeth Theme: Loyalty
October 1, 2019