Download Macbeth

Be careful what you
wish for…
 Macbeth
is among the best-known of
William Shakespeare’s plays.
• Next to Hamlet and Romeo and Juliet, anyway
 Shakespeare’s
shortest tragedy.
 Believed to have been written between 1603
and 1606.
 Often
regarded as archetypal, the play tells of
the dangers of the lust for power and the
betrayal of friends.
As The Tragedy of Macbeth opens, the Scottish army is
battling invading forces
Norwegian
forces
Scotland
and King Duncan wants a victory.
Macbeth fights ferociously
killing the traitor
Macdonwald and planting
Macdonwald’s head on the
castle battlements.
King Duncan is impressed.
While crossing the stormy countryside after the battle,
Macbeth and Banquo encounter a trio of witches.
“Double, double, toil and trouble,
Fire burn and cauldron bubble”
All Macbeth
can think
about is the
sisters’ final
prophecy …
…And the thought that he might become king.
His wife, the ambitious Lady
Macbeth longs for
•high position
•power
•wealth
•prestige
She’ll do anything to
make her husband
king.
 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)
 In
1040, Macbeth killed
Duncan in battle and seized the
throne.
 Possibly of royal descent
himself,
• acquired a direct claim to the throne
through his wife, Gruoch;
• Grandfather was overthrown by an
ancestor of Duncan
(Right: portrait of Duncan I)
William Shakespeare's version of the story
comes from the accounts of Raphael
Holinshed and Hector Boece.
 Raphael
Holinshed (d. 1580
• English chronicler
 Chronicled
British history
from the time of the Great
Flood
• (approx. 4000-3000BC) to Queen
Elizabeth (reigning 1558-1603).
 Lived
1465-1536
 A Scottish philosopher
 Wrote Historia Gentis
Scotorum (1527)
 Shakespeare used this text as
a basis for the character of
Macbeth
There are many superstitions centred on the
belief that the play is somehow “cursed”.
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.
 Struggling
Explanation #2
theatres 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 theatre
shut down was often Macbeth, and thus the growth
of the idea that it was an 'unlucky' 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".
Superstition of Characters’ Names
 MacBee
 Macker’s
 Mr.
and Mrs. M.
 The Scottish King
 MacWhat’s-his-face
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)
 They
tell Macbeth that he is destined to
be king, and urge him to do bloody
things.
 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 were also modeled after the
Three Fates of Greek and Roman mythology
 control
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.
(Greek Clotho);
• Decima - measured the thread of life with her rod. (Greek
Lachesis);
• Morta - cut 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. (Greek Atropos).
 Represent
darkness, chaos and
confusion.
 “Fair is foul and foul is fair”- a
contradiction.
• Evil is good, while good is evil.
 “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?

A historical thriller
• a fast-moving, action-packed
murder mystery
demonstrating that crime
doesn’t pay



• the effect of the mysterious or
supernatural on humans

A psychological study
of a murderer’s mind
A play of political and
social realism
• how oppressive and
hierarchical society can
corrupt individuals
A play of illusions
A play of ideas or
themes
• Ex: corruptive nature of
unchecked ambition

A play about gender

A tragedy
• the fall of a great person
brought about by a fatal flaw
in their character
 Set
in Scotland
 Written for King James
I (formerly of Scotland,
now England)
 Queen of Denmark
(James’s sister) was
visiting
 Shakespeare
researched The
Chronicles - Banquo is
an ancestor of King
James I
King
Duncan of Scotland
• Honest and good
Malcolm
& Donalbain
• Sons of the King
• Malcolm is the eldest son
Macbeth
• Duncan’s most courageous general
• Ambition to become king corrupts
him
Banquo
• General and Macbeth’s best friend
• Suspicious of Macbeth
• An actual ancestor of King James I
Lady
Macbeth
• As ambitious as her husband
• A dark force behind his evil deeds
Macduff
• Scottish general, also suspicious of
Macbeth
• Swears vengeance
Creation Theatre CompanySummer 2006 production,
Oxford, England
Poster advertising a performance
at The University of Texas at
Austin
What are your thoughts on the
mood of this poster? What
techniques are used to evoke this
mood?
Born
April 23rd, 1564
Started out
performing with “The
Lord Chamberlain’s
Men”
Gave him a chance to
write a play
Henry IV, Pt. 1- It
stunk but they gave
him another shot
 Many
playwrights
with nowhere to
“play”
 Barn turned into
theatre (Yeah!)
 Puritans burn it down
(Evil theatre! Boo!)
 Globe built! (Yeah!)
 Globe burns (sniff,
darn cannon!)
 Globe rebuilt! (Yeah!)
Reconstructed in the 1990’s
 Globe burns (Dang
that Fire of London!)
o Aristocrats
o The Queen/King
o The Groundlings!
 Only
men were
permitted to perform
 Boys or effeminate
men were used to play
the women
 Costumes were often
the company’s most
valuable asset
 Costumes were made
by the company,
bought in London, or
donated by courtiers
1
shilling to stand
2 shillings to sit in
the balcony
1 shilling was 10%
of their weekly
income
Broadway Today:
• $85 Orchestra
• $60 Balcony
• 10% of a teacher’s
weekly salary