An introduction to

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An introduction to
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Ask yourself the following and respond on your
handout

• Have you ever given in to temptation?
• Do you believe in prophecies?
• How do you personally decide what is good and
  what is evil?
• What is the difference between greed and
  ambition?
• Do you believe you reap what you sow?
• Do you believe our lives are lead by fate or our
  actions alone?

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Rate each statement on a scale of 1-5.1
disagree completely to 5 agree
wholeheartedlyBe prepared to explain your
reasoning.

• 1. People who are striving to get ahead often
  step on other people.
• 2. Being powerful usually is the same thing as
  being happy.
• 3. One mistake can often lead to another.
• 4. Everyone is capable of murder under the right
  circumstances.
• 5. People who are involved in criminal activities
  can still feel love, fear, and concern for other
  people.

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Macbeth A Shakespearean Tragedy
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What is a tragedy you ask?

• Definition a drama in which a character
  (usually a good and noble person of high rank) is
  brought to a disastrous end in his or her
  confrontation with a superior force (fortune,
  gods, social forces, universal values), but also
  comes to understand the meaning of his or her
  deeds and to accept an appropriate punishment.
• Macbeth is considered a tragedy.

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Tragic Hero

• By definition, the tragic hero is a man of noble
  stature. high position usually means a king,
  duke, prince, company owner, etc. that brings
  about his own destruction.
• He is not an ordinary man, but a man with
  outstanding quality and greatness about him.
• He is good but not too good so the audience
  can relate to him.
• His own destruction is for a greater cause or
  principle he proves a point.
• It should be noted that the heros downfall is
  his own fault as a result of his own free choice,
  but his misfortune is not wholly deserved.
• Usually his death is seen as a waste of human
  potential.

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The Tragic Flaw

• A tragic flaw is a literary term that refers to a
  personality trait of a main character that leads
  to his or her downfall. In other words, a
  character with a tragic flaw is in need of some
  kind of attitude adjustment The flaw in the
  character is a defect which keeps him/her from
  being aware of the situation around him/her. The
  character doesnt understand (for much of the
  story) his/her part of creating the situation.
• Examples of tragic flaws include
• - Pride - Greed - Obsession
• - Mistrust - Hesitation - Selfishness
• - Being overly ambitious (Macbeth)

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The Tragic Downfall

• Once the tragic hero has established his or her
  tragic flaw, it leads to the tragic downfall
  what it is that actually happens to the tragic
  hero it is usually the death of the main
  character.

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Feelings and Emotions

• Most tragedies cause an emotional response from
  the reader usually feelings of pity, sorrow, or
  terror. This is known as pathos.

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Shakespearean Tragic Plot

• Act I Exposition
• This is where the setting,
• characters, and conflicts are
• introduced.
• Act II Rising Action
• Act III Turning Point (Climax)
• This is where the reversal of fortune occurs and
  it all starts to go badly for the tragic hero.
• Act IV Falling Action
• Act V Catastrophe/Resolution
• The conflicts are resolved chaos returns to
  order.

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Macbeth The Quick Summary
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Macbeth is a dark, relentless tale of a good and
brave Scottish general who, encouraged by the
dark prophesies of three evil witches and by his
own wife, murders Duncan, king of Scotland.
Macbeth then becomes king and brings about his
own destruction. Shakespeare wrote the play for
James I, England's new king, who had been king of
Scotland. To please James, Shakespeare set the
play in Scotland, used many characters who were
James' ancestors, and included witches, a subject
that James had written about. The play is
Shakespeare's shortest tragedy, probably because
King James often fell asleep during performances.
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So what really happens?

• Good guy goes bad
• Guy wants power
• Married to a pushy control freak
• She wants power
• Kills people- LOTS of people
• Gets power
• Gets paranoid (a.k.a. goes crazy)
• Ticks off a lot of people
• Wants even more power! Kill! Kill!
• Gets whats coming to him in the end

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Macbeth The Historical Background
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The King of England in 1606 was James I, a
Stuart.

• Elizabeth I, the reigning Queen of England, had
  been instrumental in the death of her cousin,
  Mary Queen of Scots, who was beheaded.
• There was no Tudor successor to the throne of
  England. Therefore, Elizabeth I chose James VI
  of Scotland to succeed her. After her death in
  1603, James VI of Scotland became James I of
  England.

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• On her deathbed, Elizabeth wanted to ease her way
  into Heaven, so she chose Marys son James to
  become the next King of England. She thought this
  would ease her conscience based on her
  involvement in Marys death.
• The appointment of James I was a good political
  move, unifying England and Scotland under one
  King.

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Macbeth Before the Curtain Opens
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Macbeth an appeal to Elizabethan peoples
interests

• Shakespeare demonstrated the Elizabethan belief
  that the country is stable only if the King is
  good and virtuous.
• Elizabethans believed that evil occurs in
  darkness, which is a recurring theme in Macbeth.
• Shakespeare included a lot of blood and murder,
  which the Elizabethans expected to see in a play.
  
• The play was considered a thriller a threat to
  an anointed King and the perceived evil behind
  the threat

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You Should Know

• When the play begins, there are two wars in
  progress
• The Civil War - King Duncan vs. Macdonwalds
  rebels. Macdonwald committed treason against the
  King and Scotland.
• The National War - Scotland, led by King Duncan,
  against invading Norway, led by King Sweno

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Setting

• King Duncan is the King of Scotland.
• Edward the Confessor is the King of England.
• The play is set in Scotland during the eleventh
  century (1000-1099).
• Shakespeare used poetic license to bend some of
  the historical information with his fictional
  play.

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Some context

• When the play opens Macbeth is the Thane of
  Glamis a noble title given by the king or
  passed down generation to generation.
• He and his friend Banquo meet the 3 weird sisters
  (witches) as the play begins.
• The witches greet Macbeth as the Thane of Cawdor
  and the King of Scotland two titles he has not
  yet received.
• They then give each men their prophesies
• They tell Macbeth he will be the Thane of Cawdor
  and the King of Scotland but to beware his
  ambitions.
• They tell Banquo that he will not be the king,
  but his son will be king one day.

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Macbeth The Characters
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Macbeth brave general under Duncan who
becomes too ambitious after three witches
prophesy that he will be King of Scotland. Lady
Macbeth vicious wife of Macbeth, even more
ambitious than Macbeth. She convinces Macbeth to
murder the King. Macduff general, suspicious of
Macbeth and his quick rise to power.
Macbeth Characters
Banquo Macbeths friend and general, who meets
the 3 witches with Macbeth and later suspects
Macbeth of killing the King. King Duncan King
of Scotland, murdered by Macbeth who was one of
his generals whom he had just promoted.
Malcolm Duncans eldest son, runs away to
England after he learns of his fathers murder in
order to escape the same fate.
Donalbain Duncans youngest son, runs away to
Ireland after he learns of his fathers murder in
order to escape the same fate.
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The three witches They tell Macbeth that he is
to become King, leading him to evil. They also
tell him that he will be defeated, but they
disguise it in a way as to give him false
confidence.
Hecate moon goddess and goddess of the witches,
directs supernatural occurrences. Makes plan to
give Macbeth false security.
Fleance Banquos son who is able to escape
Macbeths attempt to murder him.
Ross Macduffs cousin, messenger who carries
news to people like Macbeth and Macduff
throughout the play. Lennox nobleman,
suspicious of the murder of the king.
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• Seyton Macbeths lieutenant and assistant.
• Porter watches Macbeths castle when drunk,
  thought that he was the keeper of Hells Gates
  and that sinners were knocking at the door to be
  admitted. Used to insert some comedy into the
  tragic events.
• Lady Macduff Macduffs wife. She and her home
  serve as a contrast to Lady Macbeth and the
  hellish acts at Iverness (Macbeths castle).

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Motifs

• Motifs are recurrent patterns in literature.
  While you read the play find examples of the
  following motifs
• 1. Loss of sleep and its effect
• 2. Clothing used metaphorically as to walk in
  someone elses shoes
• 3. Images of light and dark representing truth
  and deception
• 4. Images that convey deception and betrayal

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Macbeth The CURSE!! Is it real!?!?
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You Decide

• 1606 First production. The boy playing Lady
  Macbeth became feverish and died backstage.
  Rumor has it that Shakespeare himself played the
  role.
• 1672 Amsterdam. The actor playing Macbeth
  substituted a real dagger for the stage dagger
  and killed the actor playing Duncan, in full view
  of the audience.
• 1703 Opening day. England was hit with one of
  the most violent storms in its history. 500
  seamen died.
• 1849 a riot in which more than 30 people died
  at the Astor Place Opera House
• April 9, 1865 Abraham Lincoln was reading
  passages from Macbeth (scenes following Duncans
  assassination) aloud to some friends. Within a
  week, Lincoln was himself assassinated

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During a wartime production

• The third witch fell ill and died of a heart
  attack during the final rehearsal.
• The actor playing King Duncan died of angina.
• A witch was dancing around the cauldron, but
  would not maintain the tempo of the music. She
  collapsed and died on stage.
• The set designer committed suicide

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1937 London Production

• The director was nearly killed in a car crash.
  Lady M was badly bruised as well.
• Laurence Olivier lost his voice and almost died
  when a weight from the stage lights came tumbling
  down.
• The founder of the theater had a heart attack and
  died on opening night.
• A member of the audience was hit by a fragment of
  Oliviers sword and then died of a heart attack.

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Is it really true today?

• http//www.youtube.com/watch?v2LKMktAN4hc
• History of the Curse (2 minutes)
• http//www.youtube.com/watch?vDaz_OpMfBmg
• One mans story (1 minute)

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Witches Scene opening of play

• http//www.youtube.com/watch?vclG8ha2D26g
• http//www.youtube.com/watch?vZ1_I36qHDts
• https//www.youtube.com/watch?vclG8ha2D26g
• As you watch the video clips, make notes about
  what is going on in each of the scenes and decide
  which version is your favorite (the best). Be
  able to explain WHY