1. Recurring Images in Macbeth
Animals
Birds
Blood
Children
Clothing
Light and Darkness
Sleep
Disease
Weather

2. Animals - 1
Shakespeare uses animals to emphasize the disruption to the natural order caused by the murder of the king.
The night of the murder is filled with the sounds of animals:
I heard the owl scream and the crickets cry. (II, 2)
The day after the murder, Ross and an old man discuss the events of the night before:
A falcon, towering in her pride of place, Was by a mousing owl hawk'd at and kill'd. (II, 4)
Because the falcon is usually the predator, this image reflects the king’s murder in nature: A superior is attacked and killed by an inferior or subordinate.
And Duncan's horses… …Turn'd wild in nature, broke their stalls, flung out, Contending 'gainst obedience, as they would make War with mankind. (II, 4)
Recurring Images in Macbeth
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3. Animals - 2 The witches are associated with animals:
Their “familiars” are animal companions – Graymalkin (cat) and Paddock (toad).
The brew they concoct in IV, 1 has several animal references:
Fillet of a fenny snake… …Eye of newt and toe of frog, Wool of bat and tongue of dog, Adder's fork and blind-worm's sting, Lizard's leg and owlet's wing. (IV, 1)
Animal references related to Macbeth increase in the play as he becomes more vicious and animalistic, associating himself more closely with the supernatural, and perhaps evil, realm of the witches.
Recurring Images in Macbeth
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4. Animals - 3
After learning that Fleance has escaped from the murderers, Macbeth tells Lady Macbeth:
O, full of scorpions is my mind, dear wife! (III, 2)
At the end of the play, Macbeth compares himself to a bear in a bear-baiting contest :
They have tied me to a stake; I cannot fly, But, bear-like, I must fight the course. (V, 7)
When Macduff confronts Macbeth in the final battle, he refers to him in animalistic terms:
Turn, hell-hound, turn! (V, 8)
Recurring Images in Macbeth
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5. Group activity
In groups of 3 complete a 2-3 slide powerpoint presentation on your assigned image. Answer the following:
Why does Shakespeare employ this imagery in the play?
Identify 5 moments in the play when this imagery occurs
Include a quotation and explanation

6. The Great Chain of Being
God
Angels
Demons
Stars
Moons
Kings
Princes
Nobles
Men
Wild Animals
Domesticated Animals
Trees
Other Plants
Precious Stones
Precious Metals
Other minerals
Shakespeare’s audience believed in a great Chain of Being that determined the natural order of events.
The chain was a series of hierarchical links with God at the top.
Each level of the chain had its own hierarchy, with the king at the top of the human level.
Disruptions in the chain could also disrupt the laws of nature and cause bizarre events to occur.
Introduction to Macbeth
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