Download Macbeth

Agenda 1/19
• Journal
• Quarter 3 Overview
• Intro to Macbeth
Journal 1/19/16
“Fair is foul and foul is fair.”
No, this quote doesn’t have anything
to do with baseball. But it IS a line
from the first pages of Macbeth.
1.What do you think it means?
2. If you were to translate it so that you and
your friends understand—what would it say?
1/2 page MINIMUM
Use complete sentences
Quarter 3 Overview
• Macbeth
• FSA prep
• Literary Analysis VLT #3 (LAST ONE!)
Take Cornell Notes
• Split paper into 2 sides (draw a line)
• Left side heading: use for topics being
discussed.
• Right side heading: use for notes.
Macbeth
Macbeth: An Introduction
Macbeth is among the best-known of William
Shakespeare’s plays.
Shakespeare’s shortest tragedy.
Believed to have been written between 1603
and 1606.
Macbeth: An Introduction
It is frequently performed at both amateur and
professional levels, and has been adapted for
opera, film, books, stage and screen.
Often regarded as archetypal, the play tells of
the dangers of the lust for power and the
betrayal of friends.
The Real Macbeth
king of Scotland (1040–57).
He succeeded his father as
governor of the province
of Moray c.1031
was a military commander
for Duncan I.
(Right: portrait of Macbeth)
The Real Macbeth
In 1040, Macbeth killed Duncan in battle
and seized the throne.
Possibly of royal descent himself, he
acquired a direct claim to the throne
through his wife, Gruoch; she was a
granddaughter of Kenneth III, who had
been overthrown by Duncan's ancestor
Malcolm II.
(Right: portrait of Duncan I)
The Real Macbeth
Macbeth represented northern elements in the population
who were opposed to the ties with the Saxons advocated
by Duncan.
Macbeth was defeated in 1054 by Siward, earl of
Northumbria, who regained the southern part of Scotland
on behalf of Malcolm Canmore, Duncan's son.
Malcolm himself regained the rest of the kingdom after
defeating and killing Macbeth in the battle of
Lumphanan. He then succeeded to the throne as Malcolm
III.
The Real Macbeth
William Shakespeare's version of the
story comes from the accounts of Raphael
Holinshed and Hector Boece.
Holinshed’s Chronicles
Raphael Holinshed (d. 1580) was
an English chronicler.
He was given the ambitious
project of chronicling British
history from the time of the
Great Flood (approx. 40003000BC) to Queen Elizabeth
(reigning 1558-1603).
Hector Boece
Lived 1465-1536
A Scottish philosopher
Wrote Historia Gentis Scotorum
(1527)
Shakespeare used this text as a
basis for the character of
Macbeth
“The Scottish Play”
There are many superstitions centerd on
the belief that the play is somehow “cursed”.
“The Scottish Play”
Explanation #1
Shakespeare is said to have used the spells of
real witches in his text, purportedly angering
the witches and causing them to curse the
play.
“The Scottish Play”
Explanation #2
Struggling theaters or companies would often put on this
popular 'blockbuster' in an effort to save their flagging
fortunes.
However, it is a tall order for any single production to
reverse a long-running trend of poor business.
Therefore, the last play performed before a theater shut
down was often Macbeth, and thus the growth of the idea
that it was an 'unlucky' play.
“The Scottish Play”
Explanation #3
Theatre companies may have used Macbeth as a back-up play if
they were to lose an actor and were not able to perform the
production originally planned for the performance.
Macbeth requires fewer actors (when doubling of characters for
actors occurs) and has the least amount of text for the actors to
memorize.
Macbeth may have been the play kept in theater companies'
back pockets, just in case some bad luck were to occur prior to
any planning of a performance.
“The Scottish Play”
A large mythology has built up surrounding this
superstition, with countless stories of accidents,
misfortunes and even deaths, all mysteriously
taking place during runs of Macbeth (or by actors
who had uttered the name).
Many actors will not mention the name of the
play aloud, referring to it instead as "The Scottish
play".
“The Scottish Play”:
A Chronology of Misfortunes
Here are some of the gory particulars:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2LKMktAN4hc
“The Scottish Play”:
A Chronology of Misfortunes
During its 1849 performance at New York's
Astor Place, a riot broke out in which 31 people
were trampled to death.
“The Scottish Play”:
A Chronology of Misfortunes
In 1934, British actor Malcolm Keen turned
mute onstage, and his replacement, Alister Sim,
like Hal Berridge before him, developed a high
fever and had to be hospitalized.
“The Scottish Play”:
A Chronology of Misfortunes
In the 1942 Macbeth production headed
by John Gielgud, three actors -- Duncan and two
witches -- died, and the costume and set
designer committed suicide amidst his devilish
Macbeth creations.
“The Scottish Play”:
A Chronology of Misfortunes
The indestructible Charlton Heston, in an
outdoor production in Bermuda in 1953,
suffered severe burns in his groin and leg area
from tights that were accidentally soaked in
kerosene.
“The Scottish Play”
Several methods exist to dispel the curse, depending on the
actor.
One is to immediately leave the building the stage is in with
the person who uttered the name, walk around it three
times, spit over their left shoulders, say an obscenity then
wait to be invited back into the building.
Another popular "ritual" is to leave the room, knock three
times, be invited in, and then quote a line from Hamlet.
Yet another is to recite one of Shylock's monologues from
The Merchant of Venice.
“The Scottish Play”
Superstition of Characters’ Names
MacBee
Macker’s
Mr. and Mrs. M.
The Scottish King
MacWhat’s-his-face
The Witches
AKA the Weird
Sisters
Macbeth and Banquo meet the witches
(Act I, scene iii) by Johann Heinrich
Fussli
Portrayal in the 2006 film version
of Macbeth
Painting by William
Rimmer depicting the
witches’ conjuration of
an apparition
(Act IV, scene i)
The Witches
They tell Macbeth that he is destined to be king,
and urge him to do bloody things.
The Witches
Their character is modeled
after Norse mythology- the
Norns (three Fates)
the name Urðr (Wyrd,
Weird) means "fate" or
simply "future",
The norns- by Arthur Rackham
The Witches
The witches were also modeled after the
Three Fates of Greek and Roman mythology
They controlled the metaphorical thread of life of every mortal and immortal from
birth to death .
The names of the three Parcae (Roman Fates) were:
Nona - spun the thread of life from her distaff onto her spindle. Her Greek
equivalent was Clotho;
Decima - measured the thread of life with her rod. Her Greek equivalent was
Lachesis;
Morta - was the cutter of the thread of life. She chose the manner of a person's
death. When she cut the thread with "her abhorrèd shears", someone on Earth
died. Her Greek equivalent was Atropos.
The Witches
Represent darkness, chaos and confusion.
“Fair is foul and foul is fair”- a contradiction.
Evil is good, while good is evil.
The Witches
“Double, double toil and trouble” – they cause
more grief for the mortals around them.
The witches never actually tell Macbeth to kill
Duncan, but merely tempt him with the idea of
becoming king.
What theme of temptation might
Shakespeare be representing here?