• Act 4 Scene 1

Thunder – pathetic fallacy

“something wicked this way comes” – then Macbeth enters. Confirming his evil nature.

The ingredients of the cauldron (“finger of birth strangled babe” highlights  the grotesque, murderous nature of the witches and we are reminded of the evil that Macbeth has conspired with. The alliteration of the plosive b not only highlights the ingredients and so repulses the reader, but it also shows their murderous nature. Macbeth is conspiring with evil.

A03 – Shakespeare wrote this play for Queen Elizabeth – therefore he is not ever going to condone regicide. When Macbeth sees the 8 kings, this is referring to real royal history and the previous 8 kings. Act 4 Scene 1 delves back into royal history.

Macbeth: “Seize upon Fife, give to the edge o the sword his wife, his babes…”

Act 4 Scene 2:

Bird imagery ‘flies’ once again : Lady MacDuff compares herself to a “wren” and the incoming danger an “owl”. AO2

Ross compares life under MacBeth’s rule as a “wild and violent sea”.

Irony is that Lady MacDuff calls her husband a traitor for leaving – she is totally innocent and has no doubts regarding Macbeth. This highlights how barbaric Macbeth’s actions are.

The conversation between Lady MacDuff and her son (repetition of the word “traitor” four times in a few lines) not only highlights her innocence and allegiance to the King, but also provides a stark warning to the Jacobean audience of the consequences of being a traitor.