Macbeth  Tragedy – a play in which a character’s actions have inevitable consequences. These deeds can never be forgiven or corrected.  Tragic Hero –  usually the title character of the play: Macbeth  Tragic Flaw –  the character defect that leads to a character’s downfall: TOO ambitious

Prophecies of the Witches:  Macbeth:  Thane of Cawdor  King  Banquo:  Lesser than Macbeth, yet greater  Not as lucky as Macbeth, yet much luckier  You won’t be a king, but your sons will be

Signs of Guilt  Macbeth:  Floating dagger  Voices  Ghost of Banquo  Lady Macbeth:  Sleepwalking  Washing her hands

Apparitions  1 st apparition:  Beware Macduff  Macduff kills Macbeth in the end  2 nd apparition:  No man born of woman can harm Macbeth  Macduff was not “born of woman.” He was born via c- section  3 rd apparition:  Macbeth will not be conquered until Birnam Woods moves to Dunsinane  Malcolm’s army uses branches from B.W. as camouflage when they approach Dunsinane

Death Summary  Macbeth kills Duncan (King)  Macbeth kills 2 guards  Macbeth has murderers kill Banquo  Macbeth has murderers kill Macduff’s family  Lady Macbeth kills herself  Macbeth kills Young Siward  Macduff kills Macbeth

THE Soliloquy of Macbeth  Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow 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.

Analysis  Repetition: Signifies the monotony of life  Personification  Metaphors: Life is a  Brief candle – life is short  Walking shadow – evanescent  Poor player – a brief, meaningless performance  Tale told by an idiot – meaningless  Alliteration  Stands alone for emphasis

Conflicts of Macbeth  Main Internal:  Should I kill Duncan?  Main External:  Lady Macbeth  Macduff

Themes:  Guilt  Guilt is inescapable and unavoidable.  Violence  “Blood will have blood” – Violence will only bring about more violence (on the instigator).  Ambition  A person has to maintain a balance concerning ambition. Too much ambition can lead to your downfall.  Evil  Evil is constantly tempting humans.  Deception  “Fair is foul and foul is fair” Things and people are not always what they seem. The world is deceptive.