Monday April 20th

Ask yourself the following: Have you ever given in to temptation? Give an example. How do you personally decide what is good and what is evil? What is the difference between greed and ambition? Explain. Do you believe “you reap what you sow”?

Rate each statement on a scale of 1-10 Rate each statement on a scale of 1-10. 1 =disagree completely to 10 = agree wholeheartedly Be prepared to explain your reasoning. 1. People who are striving to get ahead often step on other people. 2. Being powerful usually is the same thing as being happy. 3. One mistake can often lead to another. 4. Everyone is capable of murder under the right circumstances. 5. People who are involved in criminal activities can still feel love, fear, and concern for other people.

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 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 Scottish Play” There are many superstitions centred 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 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.

“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 theatre 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: Beginning with its first performance, in 1606, Dear Will himself was forced to play Lady Macbeth when Hal Berridge, the boy designated to play the lady with a peculiar notion of hospitality, became inexplicably feverish and died. Moreover, the bloody play so displeased King James I that he banned it for five years.

“The Scottish Play”: A Chronology of Misfortunes When performed in Amsterdam in 1672, the actor playing Macbeth substituted a real dagger for the blunted stage one and with it killed Duncan in full view of the entranced audience.

“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 1937, when Laurence Olivier took on the role of Macbeth, a 25 pound stage weight crashed within an inch of him, and his sword which broke onstage flew into the audience and hit a man who later suffered a heart attack.

“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”: A Chronology of Misfortunes Even brave and talented actors like Glenda Jackson to Ian McKellen don’t refer to this haunted play by name, but instead call it “That Scottish Play” or simply “That Play”; everyone, it seems, will get the message, in a flash.

“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 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

Three Fates of Greek and Roman mythology 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.