My Perspectives: British and World Literature Grade 12, Volume One-page 396-Answers

Review and Clarify

Kermode writes about how the witches’ chants p>
He also examines what the sisters mean when they say “Fair is foul, and foul is fair (391)”. He takes this to be a dark statement regarding how what some might find fair, others might find foul.

Kermode ties up this paragraph by arguing that Macbeth is ultimately about the interim between the present and the future. Once Macbeth has heard the prophecy, he can only focus on making it true; he wants the future to happen immediately. According to Kermode, the beginning of the play, when the witches give this prophecy, is the time during which the gap between the present and the prophesized future is the greatest. The dark language of the witches, with frequently alludes to what WILL be, emphasizes this large gap.

Practice

Percep>
Unambiguous: Since the waitress was uncertain whether the dish contained p>
Idiosyncratic: The director’s idiosyncratic use of colors and framing made his films instantly recognizable as his own.

Patterns of Word Changes

Irrational (change of meaning)- Brooks uses the word “irrational” in p>
Undoubted (change of meaning)- Kermode uses this word in p>
Ironical (change of p>
Antithetical (change of part of speech)- Kermode discusses “false antitheses” in the early parts of his essay, then uses the adjective form of “antithesis” (antithetical) later in his essay.