Shakespeare

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Shakespeares Macbeth

• The Scottish Play

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Renaissance Theatre

• Plays evolved from church ceremonies
• Moved out of the churches and into the market
  places (put on by guilds)
• Miracle Mystery Plays taught people about the
  bible
• Morality plays taught people how to live and die
• Interludes one-act plays (usually rowdy)

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Theatres Continued

• Richard Burbage created the 1st theatre, called
  The Theatre
• The 2nd was called The Curtain
• Then The Rose, The Swan, The Globe (Shakespeares
  Company), the Red Bull and Hope Theatre

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The Globe

• AKA The Wooden O
• Three main parts
• - building proper
• - the stage
• -and the tiring house (backstage)
• An easy exit was created for evacuation in case
  of a fire
• General admission for groundlings was one penny
• The expensive seats were chairs right along side
  of the stage
• Since theatres were very crowded, they were often
  closed during times of plague

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Behind the Scenes

• Trapdoors allowed witches and demons to rise from
  hell
• The ceiling was painted with moons and stars to
  represent heaven
• The tiring house held machinery and dressing
  rooms often had a gallery for musicians or
  acting (as if on a balcony)
• Costuming was VERY elaborate though the scenery
  was kept to a minimum

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Shakespeare Himself

• Author of more than 36 plays and 150 poems
• Born in Stratford-on-Avon and was christened in
  1564 to a merchant who had married a his mother.
  (a member of a prominent family)
• He apprenticed to be a butcher
• Married Anne Hathaway _at_ 18, and had three
  children a daughter and a twin boy and girl
• His son died at age 11
• Left his family to move to London where he
  prospered in the the theatre industry

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Stratford on Avon
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Tragedies

• During the height of his career, Shakespeare
  wrote tragedies (plays preoccupied with evil,
  death and tragic twists
• There was never any evidence that Shakespeare
  wrote these due to depression or personal
  misfortune

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Dont say the M Word

• Macbeth is often referred to in theatres as The
  Scottish Play or The Bards Play
• Saying the word Macbeth in a theater is cursed
• There are a variety of traditional rituals used
  to ward off evil when the play is mentioned, such
  as turning three times, spitting over one's left
  shoulder, swearing, or reciting a line from
  another of Shakespeare's plays, often "Angels and
  ministers of grace defend us," (Hamlet 1.IV),
• Those who believe in the curse of Macbeth claim
  its origin to be in the three Witches, who in the
  play are said to be casting real spells

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Strange Occurrences

• During the first performance of Macbeth, William
  Shakespeare himself was forced to play Lady
  Macbeth when the boy designated to play her
  suddenly became overcome with sickness and died.
• King James was so displeased with the play that
  it was banned for five years.
• In Amsterdam in 1672, the actor playing Macbeth
  substituted the blunt stage dagger with a real
  one, and with killed his co-actor playing Duncan
  right in front of the live audience.
• There was even an incident in 1721 where the army
  had to be called in. Some hecklers were annoying
  some of the actors on the stage. The actors
  responded by attacking the hecklers with their
  swords.
• During its 1849 performance at New York's Astor
  Place, 31 people were trampled to death in a riot
  that had broken out.
• In 1934, British actor Malcolm Keen turned mute
  on stage, and his replacement developed a high
  fever and had to be hospitalized.
• In 1937, a 25 pound stage weight crashed within
  an inch of him Laurence Olivier (who was playing
  Macbeth). Not only that, but his sword broke on
  stage flew into the audience, hitting a man who
  later suffered a heart attack. Also, Both the
  director and the actress playing Lady Macduff
  were involved in a car accident on the way to the
  theater, and the proprietor of the theater died
  of a heart attack during the dress rehearsal.
• In the 1942, three actors in another production
  of Macbeth died, and the costume and set designer
  committed suicide.
• Diana Wynyard sleepwalked off the rostrum in 1948
  and feel down 15 feet.
• In Bermuda, 1953, Charlton Heston suffered severe
  burns in his groin and leg from tights that were
  accidentally soaked in kerosene. Rip Torn's
  seemed to be unable to get away from the curse

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MACBETH

• RULE FOR RENAISSANCE TRAGEDIES
• - About real people whose deeds are
  recorded in history
• Story of Macbeth, a noble, whose greed for the
  throne leads him to trecherous acts including his
  own doom
• THEMES
• Appearances can be deceptive
• Loyalty is often in conflict
• When ambition is an end itself, it can run out of
  control
• Guilt is a powerful emotion, immune to reason
• Our natures are fixed, and we suffer the
  consequences
• Fear affects judgment and makes people dangerous.
• There exists a natural order to behave
  unnaturally is to invite disaster.
• Lust for power can lead to loss of humanity.

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Characters

• Macbeth Lady Macbeth
• Duncan, Malcolm Donalbain
• Banquo
• Macduff (also Lady Macduff Son)
• Lennox, Ross, Menteith, Angus Caithness
• Fleance
• Siward Young Siward
• Seyton
• English Dr., Scottish Dr., Old man, porter,
• The three murderers
• Hecate and the 3 witches
• The ghosts (apparitions)
• Lords, officers, soldiers, attendants and
  messengers

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The Tragic Hero

• Usually male
• Often discovers his fate at the last minute
• He sees and understands his doom
• Usually a respected person (ie. king or nobility)
• He makes a fatal error or has a tragic flaw
• Suffers an ultimate downfall, usually death when
  it is too late to reverse his prior actions

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Literary Terms

• Paradox
• Tragedy
• Imagery
• Foreshadowing
• Figurative Language
• Aside, Soliloquy
• Archaic Language
• Iambic Pentameter
• Blank Verse
• Conflict Resolution