1. A Bloody Tragedy by William Shakespeare

2.  Has there ever been a time in your life when someone told you that something improbable would happen and it did?  Did the fact that the event was “predicted” cause you to behave differently than you would have otherwise and make it more likely for the event to occur?  Or did the event simply seem to occur without any assistance from you?

3.  Following a fierce battle, Macbeth, a Scottish nobleman, meets three “weird sisters” who tell him that he will be “king hereafter.”  Macbeth becomes convinced that he can only become king of Scotland by killing Duncan, the present king.  Macbeth tells his wife about his meeting with the witches, and Lady Macbeth tells him that she will take charge of the preparations for Duncan’s murder.  Macbeth kills the king, and he and Lady Macbeth become king and queen of Scotland, after Duncan’s sons flee the scene.  Macbeth arranges other murders to secure his hold on the throne, including the murder of Banquo and unsuccessful attempt on Banquo’s son, Fleance, as well as the slaughter of the innocent Lady Macduff and her children.  Enraged by his family’s murder, the nobleman Macduff unites with Duncan’s son Malcolm and other Scottish nobles to raise a rebellion.  Macduff confronts and kills Macbeth. Malcolm, Duncan’s son, becomes king.

4.  Applying the Ideals of the Warrior/ Knight  Supernatural forces and Visions Witches vs. Ghosts and Daggers and Blood  Close Reading of the Character: Macbeth vs. Lady Macbeth  Theme Word Study Recurring motifs (fair/foul; fate(chance) vs. action; masculine/feminine) set up key themes of the play

5.  The Opening Settings create the mood/atmosphere of the play 1.1  Fair/Foul—reversals  The Three Witches—as “characters” (antagonists) 1.2  Macbeth described by Others before we meet him. How does the description reflect Anglo-Saxon values for the warrior/knight  Connection of similes to epic similes in Iliad  Rules of War—treatment of traitors  Thane of Cawdor named a traitor and title given to Macbeth—are all Thanes of Cawdor destined to become traitors?

6.  The Witches—“the charm’s wound up”/gender confusion (bearded ladies)  Macbeth—repetition of foul/fair (said by witches in 1.1)  Prophesy: Past, Present and Future for Macbeth and Banquo  Reflections on the Event: Drugged/Hallucination  Macbeth’s Internal Questioning—the use of the Aside to show his thoughts of murder—“nothing is but what is not”/”unfix my hair”/”if chance will have me king, why, chance may crown me, without my stir”

7. 1.3 Connotation/Denotation  Create a list of synonyms for foul and fair  Now replace them in the following sentence: “So foul and fair a day I have not seen” Paradoxical Lines:  Banquo’s Paradox: “lesser than Macbeth and greater; not so happy, yet much happier; thou shalt get kings, though thou be none”  Macbeth’s Dilemma: “borrow’d robes” vs. “the greatest is behind” vs. “the instruments of darkness tell us truths 1.4 Inflection  “Is execution done on Cawdor?”  How does the answer reflect the tales of death that we saw in “The Death of Hector” (acceptance of his punishment and his asking for forgiveness)  Macbeth—two-faced—showing proper respect to the king and the rewards received, yet, still has thoughts of the prophesy: “the prince of Cumberland that is a step on which I must fall down, or else o’erleap for in my way it lies”

8. Text: What is said  “You’ve made me very happy, dear.” Subtext: The thoughts we imagine a character has as he or she speaks the words The background thought  “You’ve just promoted me to a better job.”  “You just told me I won the lottery.”  “You just wrecked my new car.”  “It’s not Janie I care about; you are my hero.” Shakespeare Subtext Young Siward: What is thy name? Macbeth: Thoul’t be afraid to hear it? Subtexts: Siward-Bored; Macbeth-Determine to Scare him Siward-Scared; Macbeth-Violent Threat Siward-Hate-filled; Macbeth-Resigned to Lose

9. L ady Macbeth’s Reaction to Macbeth’s letter (1.5)  Introduction to Lady Macbeth—reflections on the letter and assessment of her husband “I fear thy nature; it is too full o’ the milk of human kindness to catch the nearest way; thous wouldst be great; are not without ambition, but without the illness should attend it”  Plan: “hie thee hither, that I may pour my spirits in thine ear; and chastise with the valour of my tounge all that impedes thee from the golden round”  Masculine/Feminine: “unsex me here and fill me from the crown to the toe top-full of direst cruelty”/”that my keen knife see not the wound it makes, nor heave peep through the blanket of the dark, to cry, ‘hold, hold!”  Advice to her husband: “look like the innocent flower, but be the serpent under’t”/”leave all the rest to me”

10.  Duncan’s arrival and Lady Macbeth’s acting (1.6) Flower vs. Serpent—Duncan and Lady Macbeth  Macbeth’s inner arguments—reasons for and reasons against (1.7.1-28) Macbeth’s crisis soliloquy—duty of kinsman and host vs. murderer; “this even-handed justice commends the ingredients of our poison’d chalice to our own lips”—karma  Lady Macbeth and Macbeth discussion (1.7.29-96) At the beginning of the conversation, What does Macbeth want? What obstacles lie in his way? What does Lady Macbeth want? What obstacles lie in her way?  Lady Macbeth’s Arguments-How does she get her way (convince Macbeth)?  Macbeth’s attempt to back out; Lady Macbeth’s harsh words and Pep talk—violence in her images— moving her away from the maternal/feminine  Lady Macbeth—details of the murder plot  Macbeth’s final lines: “mock the time with fairest show; false face must hide what the false heart doth know”—Two-faced approach