Macbeth

1. Macbeth

2. Learning goals: • Try strategies for reading Shakespearean language • Get familiar with the characters and themes in Macbeth

3. Common Shakespearean Terms Ho – Hey “Lucius, ho!” Mark – Pay attention to “Mark my words.” Marry – Indeed “Marry, so it doth appear.” Pray/prithee– please “Pray answer the question.” Saucy – Cheeky; sassy “Hence, thou saucy boy!” Sirrah– A term used to address inferiors (opposite of “sir”) “Sirrah, bring that letter hither.”

4. Let’s read Act I

5. Act I Reading Questions

6. Act I Reading Questions Act 1, Scene 1 Why do you think the Witches are planning to meet Macbeth?

7. Act I Reading Questions Act 1, Scene 2 A bleeding Captain in King Duncan’s army tells Duncan about how Macbeth fought bravely against the traitor Macdonwald (Thane of Cawdor). If you were Duncan, how would you reward Macbeth?

8. Act I Reading Questions Act 1, Scene 3 Macbeth and his friend are met by the three witches. They predict that Macbeth will become the new Thane of Cawdor, and “king hereafter”. Considering that messengers from the king give Macbeth the title of Thane of Cawdor immediately after, do you imagine that the crown will also just fall into Macbeth’s lap?

9. Act I Reading Questions The witches also predict that Banquo’s children will become kings. What does this suggest about Macbeth’s potential reign as king?

10. Act I Reading Questions Act 1, Scene 4 After Duncan greets and congratulates Macbeth and Banquo on their success in battle, Duncan names his successor as king. Who does he say will be king after he dies?

11. Act I Reading Questions Macbeth then contemplates killing Duncan to take the crown. If you were Macbeth, what would you do about this?

12. Act I Reading Questions Act 1, Scene 5 Lady Macbeth gets a letter from her husband telling her about the witches, their predictions, and Macbeth’s new title. She then calls upon supernatural agents to fill her with cruelty, and pushes Macbeth towards the murder of Duncan. Is she being selfish, or is she looking out for her husband?

13. Act I Reading Questions Act 1, Scene 6 Lady Macbeth welcomes Duncan to the castle, and acts very hospitable, even though she plans to kill him. Is she scary or what?

14. Act I Reading Questions Act 1, Scene 7 Macbeth hesitates, but his wife pushes him more toward committing the murder. What arguments does she use? If you were Macbeth, would you do it?

15. Let’s watch Act I

16. “Look like the innocent flower, but be the serpent under’t” Murderer or upstanding citizen? 1

17. “Look like the innocent flower, but be the serpent under’t” Murderer or upstanding citizen? 2

18. “Look like the innocent flower, but be the serpent under’t” Murderer or upstanding citizen? 3

19. “Look like the innocent flower, but be the serpent under’t” Murderer or upstanding citizen? 4

20. “Look like the innocent flower, but be the serpent under’t” Murderer or upstanding citizen? 5

21. “Look like the innocent flower, but be the serpent under’t” Murderer or upstanding citizen? 6

22. 1 Katherine Knight The first Australian woman to be sentenced to a natural life term without parole, Katherine Knight had a history of violence in relationships. She mashed the dentures of one of her ex-husbands and slashed the throat of another husband’s eight-week-old puppy before his eyes. A heated relationship with John Charles Thomas Price ended with Knight stabbing Price to death with a butcher’s knife. He had been stabbed at least 37 times. She then skinned him and hung his “suit” from the door frame in the living room, cut off his head and put it in the soup pot, baked his buttocks, and prepared gravy and vegetables to accompany the ‘roast’. The meal and a vindictive note were set out for the children, luckily discovered by police before they arrived home. Murderer

23. 2 Margaret Atwood Margaret Atwood, (born November 18, 1939) is a Canadian poet, novelist, literary critic, essayist, and environmental activist. She is among the most-honoured authors of fiction in recent history. Not a murderer

24. 3 Irma Grese Another product of the Nazi’s final solution, Irma Gresewas a guard at concentration camps Ravensbrück, Auschwitz and Bergen-Belsen. In charge of over 30,000 Jewish female prisoners, she reveled in her work. Her work included; savaging of prisoners by her trained and half starved dogs, sexual excesses, arbitrary shootings, sadistic beatings with a plaited whip, and selecting prisoners for the gas chamber. She enjoyed both physical and emotional torture and habitually wore heavy boots and carried a pistol to facilitate both. Murderer

25. 4 Ilse Koch “Die Hexe von Buchenwald” the Witch of Buchenwald, was the wife of Karl Koch, commandant of the concentration camps Buchenwald from 1937 to 1943. Drunk on power, she reveled in torture and obscenity. Infamous for her souvenirs; tattoos taken from the murdered inmates, her reputation for debauchery was well earned. She committed suicide by hanging herself at Aichach women’s prison on September 1, 1967. Murderer

26. 5 Mary Spencer Mary Spencer (born December 12, 1984) is a Canadian boxer who currently competes as a 75 kilogram middleweight. She has won three World Championships, five Pan American Games gold medals, and eight Canadian Championships. Spencer began serious boxing training in 2002. As of July 26, 2011, her amateur record is 115 wins, 9 losses. Spencer was born in Wiarton, Ontario and currently lives in Windsor. Not a murderer

27. 6 Mahalia Jackson Mahalia Jackson was an American gospel singer. Possessing a powerful contralto voice, she was referred to as "The Queen of Gospel". Jackson became one of the most influential gospel singers in the world and was heralded internationally as a singer and civil rights activist. Not a murderer

28. Let’s read Act II