1_Macbeth: Controlled Assessment Plan

1_Macbeth: Controlled Assessment Plan

1. Introduction

   • Overall Idea -- Macbeth is not a villain but obtains villainous qualities that are brought out by many factors; mainly Lady Macbeths manipulation.
     • Briefly mention how Banquo/Macduff is a hero, Lady Macbeth is the most villainous character
     • Briefly mention which poems I am using as links; Education for Leisure, Medusa, Stealing, Laboratory, Porphyria's Lover...
     • Brief context incorporated; Jacobean Era, C.1605, William Shakespeare, high focus on kingship and the qualities of a good kind (portrayed through Macbeths mistakes). This was done to impress King James I, witnessed Macbeth in 1603.

2. Paragraph 1 -- Hero

   • First few scenes, he is portrayed as a courageous, loyal hero. --e.g "Well he deserves that name" and "Carved out his passage"-analysis of this quote
     • The fact that he 'carves' his own passage shows how he is relentless and foreshadows how he manipulates aspects of his life in order to alter it to suit him. "Carved"- related to Christmas turkey which connotes happiness, excitement - he gets joy out of killing.
     • " with his brandished steel which smoked with bloody execution"-- execution -- hierarchy, worthy cause, it has been commanded and Macbeth is not only a soldier, he is the best-most regarded. Brandished -- Fearless, courageous, proud, sounds like branding which implies putting your mark on something, making it unique, he is special. "Smoked"-- (metaphor) perfectly cooked, satisfying, he can even kill in a perfect manner
   • contrasts to ed. for leisure as the persona in this poem is angry at the world for his genius not being recognised and even the cat "has hidden itself" because of this. though the persona may be slightly deluded in this extremely high opinion of himself, he feels as if he hasnt got the opportunities to show this off and this could most definitely be because of his low class which we can identify by the fact that he "once a fortnight" walks "two miles for signing on." in which they "don't appreciate my autograph" in his eyes. the fact that he calls it an autograph as opposed to a signature shows how he believes that he completely believes in himself and that other people should not ignore it, therefore he takes this day to "kill something. Anything" in order to wreak his revenge on the world. contrasting to this, Macbeth seems to have been given his opportunity very easily to show off his skills in being a warrior. Macbeth is also King Duncans cousin as proven in Act 1 scene 7 in which
     • he states that "First, as I am his kinsman..." therefore, this can be shown to be a strong bond between the two that would have allowed Macbeth to be trusted and regarded higher than others without doing much at all, which i think is one of the main frustrations of the persona in Ed. for leisure. In addition, Macbeth and Duncan have another strong bond, Macbeth is at Duncans' service and will of course then do whatever he needs to in order to please his King, giving yet another reason why Macbeth is highly unlikely to be removed from the high position he is in, especially the ones in which he finds himself in after this battle....

3. Paragraph 2 -- Reaction to Prophecies

   • "Stay, you imperfect speakers, tell me more." - He knows that who they are and the fact that he is communicating with them is wrong, but because they're telling him what he wants to hear, he lets his selfishness take over and asks for more. Did he know that this was to go wrong all along? - This shows a villainous/careless/negative side of him.
     • The audience would have immediately identified them as witches as well as the characters, they would have instantly known that they were a sign of danger and bad things to come
   • At first he is not that interested in the witches' appearance and in fact states that "so foul and fair a day I have not seen" . However, he suddenly askes them to stay once they have planted the seed in his mind of wonderous things to come
     • He begins to have scary murderous thoughts that make him uncomfortable, he does not know why he's getting them and is becoming frightened at the image he has in his mind
       • Paragraph 4 -- Banquos Suspition
         • Banquo and his actions can be linked to Those Bastards In Their Mansions. the persona fights for their country, against the authority who are discriminating and treating their citizens in a terrible manner. Macbeth is doing the same, notice that Banquo does not confront Macbeth but simply thinks these thoughts and discusses them with others without telling Macbeth his suspitions, despite their friendship, because he knows that he will either get punished or nothing will change.
           • I fear Thou play'dst most foully for't
           • context -- Banquo would have taken this extremely seriously (the prospect of treason being committed) not only in the circumstance that their king was so loyal, honest and kind but for the fact that committing treason is worthy of being killed yourself in the most gruesome way, especially considering the current thane of Cawdor at the beginning was sentenced to be killed for betraying their kingdom in battle. Example, guy fawkes- 1605, year before the play was written, gun powder plot on the current King James I -- this adds to the influence Shakespeare would have had to base the play around this and have Macbeth punished in the end.
         • Banquo is a friend of Macbeths who we were introduced to at the very beginning of the play alongside Macbeth. When they are given the prophecies by the witches, Banquo seems to be the sensible one who sticks to not trusting them and not taking what they say too seriously, opposite to Macbeth, he is very intelligent and mindful of his actions which means that when Macbeth begins to act suspicious after the death of Duncan after Banquo witnessed how "rapt" Macbeth was after the prophecies were given to them both. Banquo guesses correctly that Macbeth is the one to blame for the high treason committed
     • King Duncan is highly thought of by everyone and Macbeth is fully aware of this. After his death, Macduff states "The wine of life is drawn". He thought so highly of the king that he feels as if there's nothing else to live for without his King.
   • his selfishness in this paragraph relates to the poem Stealing. he is completely aware of their presence being bad and probably deep down is intelligent enough to realise that he shouldn't pay too much attention, however he continues to become wrapped up in their words which he later finds that they were in fact lies. the persona is stealing is also too selfish to care about who she hurts or what her actions cause as it is all a method of trying to gain some attention from anybody that she possibly can. She sexualises the items she steals such as the snowman and i think this is because she wants to be loved and cannot achieve this from any human being, so she seeks this love and affection from a snowman who she in facts decided to boot and destroy.

4. Paragraph 5 -- Macbeths Suspition of Banquo

   • Act 3, Scene 1, "To be thus is nothing, but to be safely thus." This shows his initial worries that he had before Lady Macbeths input arising again and also shows his anxieties about how he is unsafe due to the enemies he is making through the bad choices he's been making throughout his short reign.
     • This quote in particular relates to the whole story line of the poem "Porphyrias Lover" by Robert Browining. The persona in the poem realises his partners love for him. At first, appears happy when he states that the "surprise made my heart swell" but the next sentence contrasts this and sets the eerie tone for what's to come "and still it grew whilst I decided what to do" It implies that of course he is still extremely happy but has doubts and queries about it still - these prove to be fatal. The persona decides to kil his lover by strangling her with her own hair in order to keep her. She cannot leave or sto loving him anymore and therefore him and his relationship is safe. It links to Macbeth and Banquo because he decides to kil his closest friend off before his suspicions are passed on as it could hinder Macbeths position and therefore life.

5. Paragraph 6 -- Macduffs family murdered

   • Links to Medusa. At first, he has no confidence anybody in his own kingdom and is in fact scared of that prospect. After his wife pushes him over the edge and he commits the high treason, his anxieties act as a substitute for confidence to kill and he has his closest friend murdered. At this point, the ball is already rolling and Macbeth cannot help himself, it is this part in the play in which he is his most villainous and allows himself to have Macduffs family as a method of revenge on Macduff. Medusa is almost exactly the same, she realises her power and is scared of it and doesnt like what she has become - a monster. As she kills more, the things that she kills grow in importance and size allowing her confidence to grow with her power. At the end of the poem she has enough confidence to kill her ex lover for revenge by turning to stone and telling him to "Look at me now." The only differences are that Medusa is angry and evil enough to look him in the eye and seems like she has
     • pre-meditated the murder and is happy with herself and her new-found power to kill. I believe that she will continue to seek her revenge and new found list to kill on others whereas i feel that Macbeth has only killed to save himself from what he has already done because of Lady Macbeths manipulation.
   • "give to th' edge o' th' sword His wife, his babes, and all unfortunate souls That trace him in his line."

6. Paragraph 7 -- Final 'Show down', Macbeth v Macduff

   • Macbeth finally comes to acceptance of many different things; of his fate, of his sins, of his death and therefore how he is not invincible-the witches lied, he should have seen this coming.
     • This relates to "I am very bothered". the poem has a theme of emotional distance throughout such that Macbeth has been portrayed throughout the play when he is making the murderous decisions he does and the only form of remorse that he has afterwards is when he gets anxious that somebody will find out what he has done that time.. However, when he is confronted by Macduff and is told that "Macduff was from his mothers womb, untimely ripped" Macbeth is angry at this fact and states how he will not fight Macduff, after realising that the witches had lied to watch him crumble.

7. Paragraph 3- Lady Macbeths Manipulation

   • LM links to The Laboratory; how she is desperate, impatient and manipulative of her Husband in order to feed her greedy hunger for power. "grind...powder". "quick...finished" "you may...kings"
     • links - ambition, no fear, pre meditated, doing it out of selfishness, both quickly become frantic and anxious at the realisation of their actions and what it could lead to, both are extremely descriptive and therefore passionate.
       • "I would while...out"
       • context- women were easily reached by the devil and manipulated, they were the weaker sex and would have been to blame where possible.