MACBETH

MACBETH

1. PLOT

   • 1. At the beginning of act one macbeth is presented as a hero and king duncan promises macbeth a reward. But problems arise when banquo and macbeth are on their way to meet king duncan. They meet 3 witches who greet macbeth with thane of glamis (he already has this title) another says thane of cawdor ( a title he is about to recieve) and one says king here after. Banquo after hearing this wants his own future told and the witches tell him he is less than macbeth but greater. they then add he is not as happy as macbeth but much happier and that although he will not be king he will be father of kings. The witches disappear leaving macbeth and banquo in awe and wondering if they had actually seen the witches. When they arrive at duncans camp macbeth and banquo find out that the thane of cawdor is being executed for being a traitor and messengers have been sent to grant macbeth thane of cawdor.
     • The king promises more rewards but at the same time announces that the air to the throne will be malcolm. Macbeth spots that this will be an obstacle to his throne. Duncan then suggests that he goes over to macbeth's to spend the night. Lady Macbeth then reads a letter written by macbeth on the subject of his meeting with the 3 witches. and she is delighted by these predections and vows to do everything in her power for all those predictions to come true. When macbeth arrives she tries to persuade him to kill duncan. At the beginning macbeth is against the idea but lady macbeth talks him into it and they plan the murder for that night
       • Lady macbeth gets the guards drunk so that they can murder duncan easier. Macbeth does the deed but is horrified by what he has done. The next morning Duncan is found dead and his sons Malcolm and Donalbain flee as they fear they will be next. This gives macbeth a scape goat and he blames them for the murder of their father. Macbeth is now crowned king. Macbeth now wants to kill Banquo as he remembers the witches saying that Banquo will be a father to kings. He employs murderers to go and kill Banquo and fleance while they were horse riding. However fleance manages to escape. Macbeth is holding a feast when the murderers report back to him and he sees Banquos ghost at the feast but Lady Macbeth covers for him saying he is not well and has suffered from fits such as these since childhood. Macbeth becomes obsessed with the witches and decides he needs to go and see them again. But at this point Macbeth and Lady Macbeths relationship is falling apart and Macbeth goes and sees the witches
         • The witches tell him to beware of macduff and that he is safe until birnham wood comes to dunsinane and that no man 'of woman born' can hurt him. Macbeth feels reassured but just to be safe he sends murderers to macduffs castle and orders them to kill his entire family. But Macduff is not there because he has gone to england to persuade malcolm to return and take back the throne. Here Macduff learns about the death of his family and malcolm urges him to seek revenge. Lady Macbeth at this point has been feeling isolated from her husband and is becoming mad with guilt. She constantly remembers the night and tries to wash her self clean of the blood and she finally kills herself. macbeth hears of her death as he is preparing to fight malcolms army. He is confident he is going to win the fight but is shocked to see birnham wood coming to dunsinane. Malcolm's army have cut down trees and are holding branches in front of them to hide their numbers from macbeth and his army.
           • Macbeth acts like the soldier he once was and calls for his armour. Macbeth comes face to face with macduff who is seeking revenge for his fmaily. Macbeth doesnt want to fight macduff. Macbeth tells macduff that no one of woman born can hurt him. Macduff surprises macbeth and says he was born by caesarian. The witches tricked macbeth

2. Background

   • Shakespeare wrote his plays where theater was popular and theater provided some welcomed entertainment
   • The Globe theater provided an event for some of sheakespeare's plays where as other touring companies had to setup temporry stages for their perfomances
   • Macbeth was written in 1606 for James the first who was on the throne at that time probably to entertain his brother in law Christian of Denmark
   • Macbeth is one of shakespeares greta tragedies (these were the type of plays he produced at this period in time)
   • Shakespeare was a succesful playwrite at the time of macbeth and he enjoyed the support of the king
   • Macbeth is about king james' the first ancestors meaning the story was probably very familliar to king james
   • Shakespeare got his information for the play from a book called 'The History of Scotland' written by Raphael Holinshed. Macbeth has some true parts to it
     • Shakespeare's Banquo was innocent where ias in the actual source Banquo was as equally guilty of all the crimes
   • Shakespeare added the supernatural element of the play most probaly due to the fact that it was well known that James the first had a vast interest in witch craft so much so that he wrote a book on the subject
   • The monarchy was seen as chosen by divine powers. Meaning that Macbeth's murder was destroying the natural order set by God. Macbeth's rule is not peaceful but full of blood shed and its not until the rightful heir to the throne claims it will this be set right

3. SETTING

   • Set mostly in scotland where the actual Macbeth had his bloody reign. macbeth is thane ( a scottish nobleman) of glamis at the begining of the play. Glamis and Cawdor are actual place sin scotland adding authenticity to the play. The play begins in a desolate place on the moor ; this isolated setting is given a more supernatural tinge by the thunder and lightning. The witches, who are introduced in this setting aswell, make reference to the weather (fog) and the "filthy air". In fact in all the witch scenes the weather seems to be dark and thunder always accompanies their entrance. This adds to the eery nature of the play and links the witches with darkness and unpleasantness. The final time the witches appear (when macbeth seeks them out to ask them about his destiny) the setting is in a cave. The image of them stirring their 'cauldron' is dramatic and represents evil at work.
     • The fact that macbeth voluntarily becomes part of this setting is evidence for him being completely taken over by evil. The witches also chant as they go "round about the cauldron" making noise. This suggests disorder and chaos. Macbeth is so desperate to know what lies in store for him he challenges the witches to do their worst no matter what the consequences. This is further evidence to show that he is taken over by evil. Duncan's murder takes place in inverness at Macbeths castle. Duncan's description of the castle is ironic as he describes is as 'sweetly recommending itself' little does he know his hosts plan to murder him. The outward appearance of the castle is good, but there is evil isnide. Themes of night and dark play a huge role in the play. Noises such as the knocking in the night during the porters interlude disturb the peace of the night making an allusion to the chaos macbeth has caused
       • The point where Macduff tries to persuade malcolm to come back to scotland and take back the throne is set in england and poses as a contrast. This is because England is so peaceful being ruled by a holy king who has been appointed by god. But scotland cant be peaceful until gods natural order has been restored

4. ACT ONE QUOTES

   • Act one introduces characters and sets the tone allowing for the play to develop
   • Act 1 begins on the moor with the witches planning to meet macbeth with thunder and lighning in the background. We are immediately given an impression of evil
     • Witches comment of 'fair is foul and foul is fair' adds to the supernatural element, as this is an allusion to things not being as they seem
   • In Scene 2 we are introduced to macbeth who is described as 'brave and noble' after his victory in the battle. He also states the words 'so foul and fair a day I have not seen' this is because the weather is foul (lightning associated with the witches) and it is a fair day because they have won a great battle
   • Banquou's description of the witches adds to the supernatural. he says they 'wild' and 'withered' in their attire. He goes on to say they look like 'inhabitants' of the earth but their 'beards' do not let him make this presumption.
     • Immediately after this Ross and Angus enter and enunciate that Macbeth is now Thane of Cawdor (The audience would have already known this), Banquo responds to this by sauing 'What can the devil speak true?' impying that he is immediately associated the witches with evil. Macbeth howevrer reacts more pisitively stating that 'the greatest' is behind meaning that the idea of becoming king is starting to appeal to him
   • Macbeth when he meets Duncan begins with an atitude of loyalty and talks about how much he owes the king for all his kindness he has shown to him. But the attitudes turn when the King names Malcolm, his son, the successor to the throne. Macbeth shows this attitude by exclaiming 'The Prince of Cumberland!' in surprise as he thought he was going to be named the heir. At this point we can clearly see he wants to be King. He starts at t hi spoint to have evil thoughts by asking that the heavenly beings hide and take away his 'black' and 'deep desires'. Angels are referenced to as 'Stars' in the bible forming a possible contrast between his desires and what he knows is good
   • Macbeth, in scene five, references his wife as his 'dearest partner of greatness' showing his affection towards her in his letter. Lady macbeth is greatly pleased and vows to make sure he does become king. However she does have her doubts as she believes Macbeth's nature is 'too full o' the milk of human kindness to catch the nearest way' implying she does not believe he has the will power to do what needs to be done. So she believes it is up to her to make this happen so she calls on the spirits to come and ';unsex' her. This is a contextual point as in that time women were merely property of their husband and had no real affair in modern affairs. They were also linked with a compassionate attitude. This therefore could be seen as her asking the 'murdering ministers' to remove her sex and give her the stereotypical male attitude. This also links with the supernatural element of the play as Lady macbeth wants to become unnatural.
   • When Macbeth meets his wife, he lacks the mentality of the murder again. His wife attempts to encourage him but he wants to 'proceed no further in this business'. At the hearing of this sentence :Lady Macbeth becomes furious and taunts him by saying are you 'afeared' and mocks his manhood by saying when you were going to do it you were a 'man' but now you are not a man. She tries to manipulate him and he eventually does give in

5. ACT TWO QUOTES

   • "A dagger of the mind" shows that Macbeth is still struggling with the murder of King Duncan and is debating whether he should still go ahead with it. There as an allusion that Macbeth is losing touch with reality and this adds to the suprtnatural element of the play
   • 'That which hath made them drunk hath made me bold' shows that she is the opposite of macbeth while he is apprehensive she is in fact confident. But shakespeare sows us a glimpse of a more human side of of Lady Macbeth when she said that if Duncan had not 'resembled my father' she would have killed him herself.
   • Macbeth after returning from the murder is very distraught. Lady Macbeth tries to calm him down and distract him with 'Consider it not so deeply' or it will make them 'mad'. This is ironic because Lady Macbeth later commits suicide bcause she cannot stop thinking about the murder.
   • Lady Macbeth says 'A little water clears us of this deed' which is ironic as she later can not follow her own advice and is always washing her hands because she can not forget about king Duncan