William Shakespeares Macbeth

1
William Shakespeares Macbeth

• The Five Act Structure of the Play
• Summary of the Story So Far

2
Five Acts

• Shakespeares plays were divided up into five
  sections, called Acts.
• Each Act is divided up into scenes.
• Each Act covers a major part of the plot.

3
ROMAN NUMERALS

• ACT NUMBERS
• I 1
• II 2
• III 3
• IV 4
• V 5

• SCENE NUMBERS
• i 1
• ii 2
• iii 3
• iv 4
• v 5
• vi 6
• vii 7

4
Five Acts and the Elements of Plot

• Act I Exposition Introduces setting,
  characters, conflict
• Act II Rising Action
• Act III Climax/Turning Point
• Act IV Falling Action
• Act V Resolution / Denouement

5
The Weird Sisters as the Three Fates

• The three Fates/Witches are
• Witch 1 The spinner The youngest witch.
  She spins the thread.
• Witch 2 The allotter" A middle aged woman.
  She decides the length of the thread.
• Witch 3 The cutter The oldest witch. She
  cuts the thread of life. She decides how
  someone dies.

6
(No Transcript)
7
(No Transcript)
8
(No Transcript)
9
Act I, sc. i

• Three witches meet and decide to meet up with
  Macbeth later that day on the heath (field).

10
Act I, sc. ii

• Duncan and his sons, Malcolm and Donalbain meet
  with a captain of the Scottish army during
  battle.
• The Scots are at war with the Norwegians, who are
  attacking Scotland with the help of a Scottish
  traitor the Thane of Cawdor.
• We learn in this scene that Macbeth and Banquo
  fought bravely for King Duncan.
• Finally, we learn that the Thane of Cawdor will
  be executed for rebelling, and that Macbeth will
  be given his title.

11
Act 1, sc. iii

• The witches make the prophecy that Macbeth will
  be Thane of Cawdor and King.
• The witches then tell Banquo that although he
  will not be king, his children will be.
• When the witches are gone Ross and Angus come to
  Macbeth to tell him that the king has granted him
  the title of the Thane of Cawdor.
• Macbeth and Banquo are both surprised and excited
  to see that there is some truth in what the
  witches told them. But this prophecy also makes
  them a little nervous because they are afraid
  that they will be tricked into betraying Duncan
  to achieve the throne.

12
Act 1, sc. iv

• Duncan hears of Cawdor's execution. Cawdor died
  without begging for mercy, and Duncan is shocked
  by his own misplaced trust. Such a deep betrayal
  makes him feel foolish.
• Macbeth and Banquo arrive at the palace. Duncan
  thanks Macbeth for his loyalty and tells him that
  there is no way to repay him for his service.
• Duncan then announces that his son, Malcolm, is
  to be the Prince of Cumberland and heir to the
  Scottish throne.
• Macbeth at once sees that Malcolm is blocking his
  path to the throne and preventing the witches'
  prophecy from coming true. Macbeth begins to
  desire the Scottish throne and realizes that in
  order to get it he will have to be devious. He
  leaves ahead of the other lords and the king in
  order to prepare his castle for Duncan's arrival.

13
Act 1, sc. v

• At Macbeth's castle his wife, Lady Macbeth, reads
  a letter from her husband.
• His letter tells of the three witches and their
  predictions of his rise to power.
• Lady Macbeth resolves to make the prophecies true
  because she thinks that her husband lacks the
  wickedness or guts to do what will be necessary
  to take the throne.
• An attendant comes in as she is scheming and
  tells her that the king is on his way to
  Inverness and that Macbeth is riding ahead of
  them.