Macbeth is determined to hold onto his crown and to defy the witches’ prophecy that Banquo’s children will become kings. Macbeth’s hamartia is his ambition which prompts him to commit dreadful acts. Shakespeare uses the Greek tragedy convention of a tragic and noble hero who has a fatal flaw (weakness), a hamartia which leads to his downfall. It is his ambition that sets the tragedy into motion. Macbeth already knows that his ambition could lead to disaster as it loses control and ‘o’er leaps itself’ yet he still chooses to murder his king. Later, he admits ‘I have no spur… but only vaulting ambition… which o’er leaps itself’ and the horse metaphor shows his ambition to be incredibly powerful. And soon enough, Macbeth does begin to consider action as his ambition starts to motivate him. This awareness contributes to the dramatic tension of the scene. Yet even as he says this, Banquo comments on how ‘rapt’ (absorbed) Macbeth is, leaving the audience aware that he may well change his mind and ‘stir’ himself to action. Macbeth ends his musings by deciding to let fate control events, saying ‘if chance will have me king, why, chance may crown me, without my stir’. They would have believed that the spell controlled Macbeth and his actions, allowing him no free will. The Jacobean audience was superstitious, firmly believing in the presence and power of witches. The repetition of the ‘f’ sounds emphasises a sense of forceful power and the monosyllabic words enhance the sense of the chanting of a spell. Their words ‘fair is foul and foul is fair’ use paradox to create a sense of confusion they will give him ‘fair’ prophecies yet these will end up with ‘foul’ consequences. He is uncertain and with that uncertainty comes indecision should he act on the prophecies or not? This uncertainty is deliberately created by the witches, whose power to blur appearance and reality is formidable. ![]() There is already great uncertainty the repetitive sentence structure of the phrase ‘cannot be ill, cannot be good’ show the ambiguity with which he receives the predictions. Through Macbeth’s private asides, Shakespeare allows the audience to see the inner workings of his mind. ![]() This is the first point in the play that we hear Macbeth’s honest responses to the witches’ predictions and as such it is dramatically tense. Romeo and Juliet – Extract Question Lesson.
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