All 5 Uses of
grave
in
Macbeth
- We should have else desired your good advice,
(Which still hath been both grave and prosperous)
In this day's council, but we'll take tomorrow.p. 83.2 *grave = respected or important
Uses with a meaning too common or too rare to warrant foucs:
- Are you so gospelled,
To pray for this good man and for his issue,
Whose heavy hand hath bowed you to the grave,
And beggared yours forever?p. 87.7grave = burial spoteditor's notes: This could be paraphrased as "Are you so devoted to the teachings of the gospel that you pray for this good man and his descendants, even though his harsh rule has driven you to the brink of the grave and left your family in ruin forever?"
- Duncan is in his grave.
p. 93.5 *grave = burial spot
- Alas, poor country,
Almost afraid to know itself. It cannot
Be called our mother, but our grave,p. 151.3grave = burial spoteditor's notes: This could be paraphrased as: "Alas, poor country, nearly too fearful to recognize itself. It can no longer be called our nurturing mother, but instead our grave."
- I tell you yet again, Banquo's buried; he cannot come out on's grave.
p. 165.3grave = burial spot
Definitions:
-
(1)
(grave as in: Her manner was grave.) serious and/or solemnThe exact meaning of this sense of grave can depend upon its context. For example:
- "This is a grave problem," or "a situation of the utmost gravity." -- important, dangerous, or causing worry
- "She was in a grave mood upon returning from the funeral." -- sad or solemn
- "She looked me in the eye and gravely promised." -- in a sincere and serious manner
-
(2)
(meaning too common or rare to warrant focus) Better known meanings of grave and gravity:Less common meanings of grave:
- grave -- a place where a dead body is buried
- gravity -- in the sense of physics to refer to the force of attraction between all masses in the universe--especially the force that causes things to fall toward the earth
- death -- as in "A message from beyond the grave."
- describing a color as dark
- to sculpt with a chisel
- to clean and coat the bottom of a wooden ship with pitch
- grave accent -- a punctuation mark (`) that is used in some non-English languages, and that is placed over some letters of the alphabet to tell how they are pronounced.
- grave musical direction -- in a slow and solemn manner