Shakespeare

IntroductionPlot

CharactersThemes

Key Scenes/Lines

ShakespeareIntroduction

•Shakespeare’s shortest tragedy• Written in early 15th century•Play believed to be cursed•Covers regicide and the natural order of the world•Play focuses on “blind ambition”•Shakespeare uses madness of character and emotions to propel plot

ShakespearePlot

•Scotland is in middle of a war•Macbeth and Banquo are war heroes•Macbeth meets spiritual forces that both predict his future and make him ambitious, (three prophecies: Thane of Glamis, Thane of Cawdor, King of Scotland)•Macbeth and his wife both become ambitious to the point where they will stop at nothing to meet their goals•Macbeth goes on a killing spree to maintain his lies

PLOT OUTLINE

ShakespearePlot

•Ghosts and spirits become intermingled with guilt and angst for both Macbeth and his wife•Macbeth given three more prophecies: Beware MacDuff, none of woman born shall harm Macbeth and never vanquish’d be until Great Birnam Wood to high Dunsinane Hill shall come against him.•Macbeth murders wives and children to make statements

ShakespearePlot

•Lady Macbeth wracked with guilt and eventually dies. Suicide is suspected but never confirmed•Noblemen in Scotland defect from the king and begin to stage a revolt•Army forms to fight Macbeth using branches from Birnam Wood as a disguise•Macbeth fights but is cocky because of the witch’s prophecy about not being able to be killed by a child born from a woman•Macbeth killed•New rightful king seated

ShakespearePlot

...STRUCTURE OF SHAKESPEAREAN TRAGEDY...

ACT I: Exposition, Exciting Force, Rising ActionACT II: Rising ActionACT III: Rising Action, Climax, Falling ActionACT IV: Falling ActionACT V: Falling Action, Catastrophe

ShakespeareCharacters

...CAST OF CHARACTERS...

Three Witches – The “Weird Sisters”Duncan, King of Scotland – The true kingMalcolm – Elder son of DuncanRoss – Nobleman and friend of DuncanMacbeth – Scottish Lord and later, KingBanquo – Scottish Lord and friend of MacbethLady Macbeth – Wife of MacbethFleance – Son of BanquoMacDuff – Scottish Lord and friend of DuncanOther characters, children and castle people

ShakespeareThemes

TRAGEDY OF CHARACTERFollowing ambition, guilt, motives, outside of the order of things

TRAGEDY OF MORAL ORDERChanges to moral order by death of king, Great Chain of Being, Lady Macbeth calling the shots,

WITCHCRAFT AND EVILThree witches, darkness, chaos, conflict, ghosts

ShakespeareKey

Scenes/LinesAct/Scene Line Importance

I.i “Fair is foul” -The first scene, foreboding

I.iii “All hail, Macbeth...” -First prophecies

I.iii “Two truths are told” -Macbeth’s first soliloquy

I.vii “Vaulting ambition” -Macbeth’s second soliloquy

I.vii “screw your courage”

-Lady Macbeth swasys Macbeth

II.i “Is this a dagger...” -Macbeth’s third soliloquy

III.i “To be thus is nothing”

-Macbeth’s fourth soliloquy

III.iii “Fly, good Fleance” -Murder of Banquo

IV.i “something wicked” -Second set of prophecies

V.i “hell is murky” -Madness of Lady Macbeth

V.v “a tale told by an idiot”

-Macbeth’s final soliloquy