Shakespeare: Plays & Sonnets Macbeth

Macbeth

• First Things First
• This lesson will teach you how to read and understand a play by William Shakespeare, one of the greatest playwrights in the history of the English language (and the man who invented quite a lot of it).
• These videos are not a substitute for reading Shakespeare, listening to Shakespeare, or watching Shakespeare performed.
• Seriously. Don’t be that guy.
• Public Service Announcement
• A lot of people (actors, especially) think this play is cursed. So if lightning strikes your computer while you’re watching, don’t blame me! (I’m kidding, of course. But as a favor to me, don’t make fun of theatre people who believe in the curse. It’s just mean.)
• Background
• Written 1603—1607, after James’ accession to the throne.
• Taken from Holinshed, and perhaps a bit from Antony and Cleopatra
• Shakespeare removed Banquo’s guilt in the death of Duncan
• Extra witch scenes added later?
• First published in 1623
• Setting
• Medieval Scotland
• Ireland and Norway recently defeated
• Macbeth’s and Banquo’s stars on the rise
• Witches abroad
• Major Characters
• Macbeth—Thane of Glamis, later Thane of Cawdor and eventually King of Scotland
• Lady Macbeth—Terrifying and ambitious wife of Macbeth
• Duncan—good king of Scotland
• Malcolm and Donalblain—sons of Duncan
• Banquo—Friend of Macbeth, general, and putative ancestor of James I of England
• Fleance—Son of Banquo
• Macduff—Thane of Fife, friend of Macbeth (at first)
• Lady Macduff—Wife of Macduff
• Witches—Three witches
• Siward—English general
• Hecate—Queen of witches, goddess of witchcraft (not in the original, we think)
• Ross, Lennox, Angus, Menteith, Caithness – Scottish Thanes
• Plot
• Macbeth’s and Banquo’s victories
• The witches’ prophecy: Thane of Cawdor, King of Scotland, father of kings
• The prophecy fulfilled
• Lady Macbeth’s encouragement
• The murder of Duncan
• Malcolm and Donalblain flee
• Banquo killed, Fleance escapes
• The feast
• Banquo’s ghost
• Macbeth’s meltdown
• The natives grow restless
• Witches redux
• New prophecies: Macduff, unnatural birth, Birnam Wood to Dunsinane
• Move against Macduff
• Family killed
• Macduff and Malcolm
• Lady Macbeth’s madness and suicide
• Birnam Wood comes to Dunsinane
• Macbeth vs. Macduff
• Prophecies fulfilled
• Macbeth dies, Duncan becomes king
• Themes
• Ambition → Corruption
• Cruelty and Gender
• King vs. Tyrant
• Predicting the Future (Don’t)
• Yay for the Stuarts!
• Major Passages
• “The raven himself is hoarse
  That croaks the fatal entrance of Duncan
  Under my battlements. Come, you spirits
  That tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here …”

  -Act I, Scene 5, 36-52

• “If it were done when ’tis done, then ’twere well
  It were done quickly …”

  -Act I, Scene 7, 1-28

• “… What hands are here! Ha, they pluck out mine eyes.
  Will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood
  Clean from my hand? …”

  -Act II, Scene 2, 55-61

• “Out, damned spot; out, I say..…”

  -Act V, Scene 1, 30-34

• “I think it be thine indeed, for thou liest in it.”

  -Act V, Scene 1, 122

• “She should have died hereafter.
  There would have been a time for such a word.
  Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow
  Creeps in this petty pace from day to day
  To the last syllable of recorded time. …”

  -Act V, Scene 5, 16-27

• Jumping-Off Points
• How does the idea of prophecy play out in this story? Can the witches be trusted? Whose side are they on?
• This play contains five kings or kinglike figures—Duncan, Macbeth, Banquo, Macduff, and Malcolm. How are they alike? How are they different?
• Who is the hero of this play? Who is the villain? Do they change roles at any point? Do they change back?
• Is Macbeth a villainous figure, a tragic one, or some combination of the two?
• Some critics believe Macbethis a misogynistic play for its portrayal of gender, especially women. Do you agree or disagree? (Either will work.)
• What role does blood play in the story? How does it move the plot? How does it reveal character?
• Why do some key events take place offstage? Is Shakespeare trying to limit the violence (including the use of drawn swords in front of a paranoid king), or accomplish something else?
• People have argued over the morality of Macbethpractically since it premiered. Is Macbetha moral play? Does it have a good or just conclusion? Does it celebrate evil? Examine the moral interpretation of this story.
• The Secret of Understanding Shakespeare
• Watch it performed (or on film if you can’t get to a theatrical production). All of Shakespeare makes more sense when it’s spoken by actors who have lived his words and know, bone-deep, what he’s talking about. Never underestimate the power of performance. Remember that this is how Shakespeare meant his work to be seen …