What is the disease in Macbeth?
Syphilis would have been more common for a career soldier such as Macbeth, an occupation which carried a high risk for sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). War has long been associated with the spread of syphilis.
What was the major source text for Shakespeare’s Macbeth?
Shakespeare’s source for the story is the account of Macbeth, King of Scotland, Macduff, and Duncan in Holinshed’s Chronicles (1587), a history of England, Scotland, and Ireland familiar to Shakespeare and his contemporaries, although the events in the play differ extensively from the history of the real Macbeth.
What are the first words Macbeth says?
Macbeth, the tragic hero in William Shakespeare’s Macbeth, first speaks in act one, scene three. His first line, “So foul and fair a day I have not seen,” repeats the same paradox created by the witches in scene one of the same act: “Fair is foul, and foul is fair.”
Who cured tuberculosis Macbeth?
Macduff and Malcolm are in England, soliciting King Edward’s help in overthrowing Macbeth. Then a doctor enters, and Malcolm launches into this long explanation of how King Edward possesses this miraculous power to cure a particular disease.
Why does Macbeth call Scotland a disease?
As the Macbeths become more riddled with guilt, his mind is ‘full of scorpions’ and the doctor cannot treat Lady Macbeth’s ‘mind diseased’. Under the tyranny of Macbeth’s reign, Scotland becomes diseased too.
What were some of Shakespeare’s influences in writing Macbeth?
Shakespeare borrowed heavily from Raphael Holinshed’s Chronicles of England, Scotland and Ireland (1587), a popular history well known to Shakespeare and his contemporaries (Shakespeare had previously used Holinshed for his English History plays).
What is the significance of the word Hail used by the witches to greet Macbeth?
You are implying they are royal. By addressing Macbeth using this word, the witches are showing that they see Macbeth as royalty. It is another way of showing their prophecy about his future. By saying “hail” to him, they emphasize what they are going to say about Macbeth becoming king.
Why is Macbeth’s first line ironic?
The line is also laden with dramatic irony because, although Macbeth is unaware of it, his comment echoes the call of the witches, “Fair is foul and foul is fair,” from act 1 scene 1, when they declared their intention to meet with Macbeth. As they depart, they all say, “Fair is foul and foul is fair.”