Act 5

 At the end of this lesson we will have studied the ways Macbeth and Lady Macbeth have changed since the initial murder of Duncan.

 What type of woman is Lady Macbeth?  How did she feel about aiding in the murder of Duncan?  Compare and contrast the way Macbeth and Lady Macbeth reacted to the murder in Act 2, scene 2.

 For this scene the following roles need to be read:  Doctor  Gentlewoman  Lady Macbeth

 What does the Gentlewoman report seeing Lady Macbeth do in her sleep?  What could she be writing?  What does the gentlewoman say Lady Macbeth has with her ‘continually’? Why does she require this?

 What is Lady Macbeth caught doing, sometimes for a ‘quarter of an hour’?  Lady Macbeth appears to be having imagined conversations with her husband. What do they discuss?

 What does this scene tell us about Lady Macbeth?  Is she the same woman she was at the start of the play?

 The doctor ends the scene by saying Foul whisp’rings are abroad: unnatural deeds Do breed unnatural troubles; infected mind To their deaf pillows will discharge their secrets. How do these lines show he is suspicious of Lady Macbeth?

 Why include this scene in the play? What effect does it have on the audience?  How does it contribute to our understanding of Lady Macbeth? Consider the following clip. clip

 “Out, damned spot! Out, I say!”  “Here’s the smell of the blood still! All the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand.”  “The Thane of Fife had a wife: where is she now?”  These quotes show LM’s descent into madness because of the intense guilt she feels for the murders she and her husband have committed.

 In this scene, Malcolm, Macduff, Siward and the English army approach Macbeth’s castle.  We learn that many people ‘say he’s mad; other’s that lesser hate him/ Do valiant cry fury’ and that soldiers only obey him out of fear that they will be killed. What important information do we learn from this?

 Macbeth receives news that his army is deserting him.  He recalls the witches prediction, and says ‘let them fly all; till Birnam Wood remove to Dunsinane,/ I cannot taint with fear’.  He is not the face of calmness though, as he knows that the coming battle will either make or break him.  He says that he’ll ‘fight till from my bones my flesh be hacked’.

 Meanwhile, Malcolm orders the army to use branches from the trees to camouflage their approach to the castle. Why is this important, and what does it mean for Macbeth?

 The following roles need to be read for this scene:  Macbeth  Seyton  Messenger

 What quotes can we pick out from the first lines of the scene that show Macbeth has lost all sense of fear?

Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow. Creeps in this petty pace from day to day To the last syllable of recorded time; And all our yesterdays have lighted fools The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle, Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player That struts and frets his hour upon the stage And then is heard no more. It is a tale Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury Signifying nothing.

 Macbeth realises that one of the witches prediction has come true. How does he react?

 Malcolm and his army approach the castle. He orders them to throw down their branches and storm the castle. Siward: Fare you well. Do we but find the tyrant’s power tonight, Let us be beaten if we cannot fight.

 For this scene we will need the following roles read:  Macbeth  Young Siward  Macduff  Siward

 For this scene we will need the following roles read:  Macbeth  Macduff Macbeth’s ‘charmed life’ meets its end in this scene. How does Macbeth react to hearing that Macduff ‘was from his mother’s womb untimely ripped’?

 How can the apparitions be shown to have both lied and told Macbeth the truth?  Why does Macbeth choose to fight Macduff?  Does choosing to fight to the death affect your final thoughts of Macbeth?

 For this scene we will need the following roles read:  Malcolm  Siward  Ross  Macduff

 What do you make of Siward’s reaction to the death of his son?  How do you suppose the act of carrying Macbeth’s head onto the stage should be portrayed?

 What comments can we make about the play as a whole?  What were your thoughts and feelings?  What message did Shakespeare intend to leave the audience with?