MacbethBy William Shakespeare

Shakespeare’s Theater

First public playhouse in England – 1576

The Globe – built 1599

Home to many of Shakespeare’s plays

Henry V – first play performed at the Globe

Nobility and middle class sat in the tiered galleries

Groundlings stood in courtyard for a penny

Theatrical Conventions

Characters speak in Blank Verse - unrhymed lines of iambic pentameter

Iambic pentameter - 10 syllables, unstressed / stressed( da Dum, da Dum, etc.)

Female roles were played by boys

Colorful and elaborate costumes

Barely any scenery

Most plays lasted only 2 hours

What happened to the Globe? Globe destroyed in 1613

- cannon to mark the entrance of Henry VIII during a performance set the roof on fire

Rebuilt in 1614

Torn down in 1644 for new housing

Replica now stands by the Thames River – opened in 1997

Source of “Macbeth” Shakespeare researched Holinshead’s “Chronicles

of England, Scotland, and Ireland”

Real-life Macbeth was king of Scotland from 1040-1057

Shakespeare drawn to story about King Duff

Murdered by a young couple

Story hit close to home

Gunpowder Plot of 1605 – supporters of Catholic Church planned to blow up King James and his Protestant Parliament

Shakespeare took both stories and twisted them to his liking

Macbeth became his tragic hero

Also included Banquo, one of King James’ ancestors

The Witches Widespread belief in

witches in 1500’s

King James wrote “Demonologie” about witchcraft being a threat to society

Some believe the play is cursed

Call it “The Scottish Play”

If you say “Macbeth” something bad may happen

Is it the witches?

The Tragic Hero Main character in a tragedy

“A man of high standard who falls from that high because of a flaw that has affected many.” – Aristotle

Hero discovers he is a result of his own actions

Macbeth’s major flaw – too ambitious

Other tragic heroes you’ve met:

Brutus from “Julius Caesar”

Romeo from “Romeo and Juliet”

The Plot

an ambitious general with a strong-willed wife tries to cope with guilt about his actions to further his power

Plot elements: superstition, ghosts, witchcraft

Themes

Things are not what they seem

Blind ambitionPower corruptsSuperstition affects human behavior

Literary Devices Allusions – an implied or indirect reference;

in Macbeth they are mythological and Biblical in nature

Figurative language –

Similes: comparison using like or as

Ex. Your face, my Thane, is as a book where men May read strange matters - image of Disguise

Metaphor – word or phrase used in place of another to suggest likeness

Ex. I have begun to plant thee, and will labor To make thee full of growing – Planting Imagery

Literary Devices

Personification – giving human-like qualities to a non-human thing or idea

Identify the personification: If chance will have me King, why, chance may crown me, Without my stir

“Chance” is given the quality of making someone a King

Identify the personification: Was hope drunk Wherein you dressed yourself? Hath it slept since?

“Hope” is given the quality of being drunk and sleeping

Literary Devices

Alliteration: Repeated consonant sounds at the beginning of words in a line.

Ex. But now I am cabined, cribbed, confined, bound in to saucy doubts and fears.

Symbol:

Birds – superstitions / omens

The Characters

Duncan – king of Scotland

Malcom – Duncan’s elder son

Donalbain – Duncan’s younger son

Macbeth – general in the army of King Duncan, Thane of Cawdor, Thane of Glamis, and later King of Scotland

Lady Macbeth – Macbeth’s wife and later queen of Scotland

Seyton – Macbeth’s servant and attendant

More characters

Banquo – Macbeth’s friend and a general in the army of King Duncan

Fleance – Banquo’s son

Macduff – the Thane of Fife

Lady Macduff – Macduff’s wife

Macduff’s son

Ross, Lennox, Angus, Mentieth, Caithness – Scottish lords

Hecate – chief witch

And now……Act I, scene I –

A barren, misty heath in Scotland. Thunder and lightening. Enter three witches

Quick Quiz!!!

1. How many syllables does a line of iambic pentameter contain?

2. What is Macbeth’s major flaw?

3. Who wrote “Chronicles of England, Scotland, and Ireland”?

 

4. Name King Duncan’s two sons:

5. What was the first play performed at the Globe?

6. What happened to the Globe Theater in 1644?

7. Name the plot to blow up King James I and his Protestant Parliament:

8. Who wrote “Demonologie”?

9. Which of the following is not a plot element of “Macbeth”:

a. superstitionb. mysteryc. witchcraft

10. Name two major themes of “Macbeth”: