The Tragedy of Macbeth

1. The Tragedy of Macbeth William Shakespeare

2. MURDER!

3. PARANOIA!

4. GUILT!

5. INSANITY!

6. BLOOD!

7. THREE WITCHES

8. KING DUNCAN

9. SCOTLAND

10. ASSASINATION

11. GHOSTS

12. WAR

13. CARNAGE

14. DEATH

15. SLEEPWALKING!

16. SOUND AND FURY!

17. ANGER

18. HORROR

19. NOBLEMEN

20. THUNDER AND LIGHTNING!

21. SUICIDE!

22. DECAPITATION!

23. LIFE IS MEANINGLESS!

24. LIFE HAS NO PURPOSE!

25. LIFE IS A SHORT STORY TOLD BY AN IDIOT

26. Background • In 1603, about the middle of Shakespeare’s career as a playwright, a new king ascended the throne of England. • He was James VI of Scotland, who then also became James I of England. • As a result, Shakespeare’s London became deeply interested in things that were Scottish. • In Scottish history of the eleventh century, Shakespeare found a spectacle of violence. The slaughter of whole armies and of innocent families, the assassination of kings, the ambush of nobles by murderers, and the brutal execution of rebels. • He also came upon stories of witches and wizards providing advice to traitors. • The new king, James I, already believed that there was a connection between treason and witchcraft. • James had already executed women as witches. • It is possible, then, that in writing Macbeth, Shakespeare was mainly intent upon appealing to the new interests in Scotland brought about by James’s kingship. • Essentially, Macbeth has its roots in actual Scottish history and in the trends of Shakespeare’s time. Many argue that the play was written for James I.

27. Background Macbeth is a story about a man who murders his king and kingsmen in order to gain the power of the crown. He, however, has to deal with the psychological consequences of his actions.

28. The Main Characters • Three Witches—Evil prophets that guide Macbeth’s destiny with incomplete information regarding his future • Macbeth—Thane of Glamis, later King of Scotland • Lady Macbeth—Macbeth’s wife and supporter of her husband’s quest for power • Duncan—King of Scotland • Malcolm—Duncan’s older son • Donalbain—Duncan’s younger son • Banquo—General in the Scottish Army and Macbeth’s friend • Fleance—Banquo’s son who is seen as a threat by Macbeth • Macduff—Nobleman of Scotland and rival of Macbeth • Lady Macduff—Macduff’s wife • Son—Macduff’s son

29. Minor Characters • Lennox and Ross—Noblemen of Scotland that support Malcolm’s fight against Macbeth • Angus—Nobleman of Scotland and supporter against Macbeth • Menteith and Caithness—Noblemen of Scotland in Malcolm’s English Army • Porter—servant at Macbeth’s castle • Murderers—Macbeth’s hired killers • Hecate—Goddess of the Witches • Apparitions—Visions conjured up by the Witches to inform Macbeth of what he should fear for the future • Doctor and Gentlewoman—Servants that witness Lady Macbeth’s sleepwalking • Seyton—An Officer in Macbeth’s Army • Siward—General in the English army fighting with Malcolm • Young Siward—Siward’s son in the English army with Malcolm • Captain—Soldier in Duncan’s military that reports on Macbeth’s success in the battle against Macdonwald

30. Questions • Why do people do evil knowing that it is evil? • What is a conscience? • Can guilt destroy us? • Does life have a purpose? • Does evil change a person?

31. Elizabethan Drama • Elizabethan drama refers to the plays produced while Queen Elizabeth reigned in England, from 1558 until 1603. • It was during this time that the public began attending plays in large numbers. The opening of several good-sized playhouses was responsible for this increased patronage, the largest and most famous of which was the Globe theater (1599), home to many of Shakespeare’s works. • The most popular types of Elizabethan plays were histories of England’s rulers, but revenge dramas and bawdy comedies also drew significant crowds. • Although Shakespeare was the most prolific and certainly the most famous of the Elizabethan dramatists, other popular playwrights of the period included Christopher Marlowe (Dr. Faustus) and Ben Johnson (The Alchemist). • Before the age of Elizabethan drama, plays tended to be based on religious themes. Elizabethan dramas, however, focused on more secular issues.

32. Reading Shakespeare • Shakespeare’s language can create a strong pang of intimidation, even fear, in a large number of modern-day readers. • Fortunately, however, this need not be the case. All that is needed to master the art of reading Shakespeare is to practice the techniques of unraveling uncommonly-structured sentences and to become familiar with the poetic use of uncommon words. • We must realize that during the 400-year span between Shakespeare’s time and our own, both the way we live and speak has changed. • Although most of his vocabulary is in use today, some of it is obsolete, and what may be most confusing is that some of his words are used today, but with slightly different or totally different meanings.

33. Source of Inspiration • Shakespeare drew from many sources when he wrote—the Holingshed Chronicles of England was one of these. • From this source he drew much of his historical knowledge, as Holingshed was the definitive historical source of that time. • The story of Macbeth comes from this source. However, Shakespeare changed several characters to meet the theatrical purpose of the play. In Holing¬shed’s account Macbeth is older than Duncan, but Shakespeare reverses their ages and Duncan is portrayed as the older of the two.

34. Themes • GUILT • In Macbeth, ambition conspires with unholy forces to commit evil deeds which, in their turn, generate fear, guilt and still more horrible crimes. • Above all, Macbeth is a character study in which not one, but two protagonists (the title character and Lady Macbeth) respond individually and jointly to the psychological burden of their sins. • In the course of the play, Macbeth repeatedly misinterprets the guilt that he suffers as being simply a matter of fear. • His characteristic way of dealing with his guilt is to face it directly by committing still more misdeeds, and this, of course, only generates further madness.

35. Themes • AMBITION FOR POWER • Macbeth is ambitious, but it is Lady Macbeth who is the driving force behind their blood-stained rise to the throne(s) of Scotland. Lady Macbeth is awesome in her ambition and possesses a capacity for deceit that Shakespeare often uses as a trait of his evil female characters.

36. Themes • CONSEQUENCES OF GUILT AND SHAME