1. Macbeth Background
Mrs. Billet

2. Act I Vocabulary pg 305 Valor- Treason- Imperial- Liege- Sovereign-
marked courage or bravery
betrayals of one’s country or oath to loyalty
of an en empire; having supreme authority
lord or king
supreme in power, rank, or authority
Mrs. Billet

3. Elizabethan Drama
Playwrights turned away from religious subjects and began writing more sophisticated plays
Playwrights drew on models from ancient Greece and Rome
Mrs. Billet

4. Tragedies Plays in which disaster befalls a hero or heroine
A Shakespeare’s tragedy shows how a tragic hero’s bad choices can disturb the whole universe.
Soliloquy (solo)- is a long speech, usually made by a character who is alone - it reveals private thoughts and feelings to the audience, but not to other characters.
Mrs. Billet

5. Macbeth - Tragedy Tragic hero= main character
Tragic flaw= leads the hero to make a fatal mistake
Macbeth= is led astray by his “vaulting ambition, which o’erleaps itself/and falls on th’other—” page 293
Mrs. Billet

6. Background Raphael Holinshed’s Chronicles of England
The story of the 11th century Scottish king Macbeth was a mixture of fact and legend.
Play Setting: Scotland; England A camp near Forres, a town in northeast Scotland
Mrs. Billet

7. A Tribute to the King
Shakespeare wrote this play as a means to flatter King James of England
Shakespeare included things he thought the king would like:
Scotland theme,
included a relative of the king,
battles, history, and
witches
Unfortunately the king was horrified by the play, because the play includes a king being murdered, and another king was possessed by witches
Mrs. Billet

8. Play Background
King James was so upset and outraged by the play, that he banned the play from being performed for twenty years.
Because of this ban, many believe the play is cursed.
Actors never say the play’s name, because it superstitious
When an actor refers to the play, he or she will call it the Scottish play.
Mrs. Billet

9. Bad Luck Associated with the Play
Sweden- a dull prop (stage) knife is used during a production, and is replaced by a real knife, and an actor is accidentally killed on stage
1930’s sword fight at the end the play, a sword’s point of breaks off and flies into the audience, injuring an audience member
Thousands of bad-luck tales have piled up, including deaths, grisly sword fighting injuries, riots, fires, collapsing scenery, unexplained illnesses, bankruptcies and more.
Even the great Shakespearean actor Laurence Olivier narrowly avoided a crushed skull when a curtain weight nearly fell on his head in a 1937 production.
Mrs. Billet

10. Macbeth
Macbeth is a very physical play, jumping, fighting, and battles, it is a very good possibility someone can get injured.
My experience with Macbeth
Only 8-10 characters
Thane= nobleman
Mrs. Billet

11. Macbeth Heath- wide open place (wasteland)
Witches are trying to create chaos, discord
Ross and Angus are messengers, they provide updates and news throughout the play
Nine= magical number
The play was first performed in 1606
Mrs. Billet

12. Act I Background
The war hero Macbeth returns home and on the way, encounters three witches who prophesy that he will one day be king of Scotland.
Seized by ruthless ambition and spurred on by his wife, Macbeth plans to murder King Duncan, thus setting in motion a series of events that will lead to his eventual downfall.
Mrs. Billet

13. Act I Background
Macbeth is eager for the throne.
Mrs. Billet

14. Review Who is fighting at the beginning of the play?
After the war, what do the witches do?
Who is Ross?
Who is the traitor? What does the king do with traitor?
Mrs. Billet

15. Review As Macbeth and Banquo come from the war how are they addressed?
What does Banquo ask the witches?
Mrs. Billet

16. Act II Vocabulary Augment Palpable Stealthy Multitudinous Equivocate
Predominance
make greater; enlarge
capable of being touched or felt
sly
Existing in great numbers
To use terms that have two or more meanings to mislead purposely or deceive
superiority
Mrs. Billet

17. Act II Macbeth and his wife have “the perfect crime”.
They will get his guards drunk/drugged
Macbeth will kill Duncan
And then he will spread blood on the guards
And he will plant the knife on the guards
Macbeth and his wife do not consider how Duncan’s sons might react and how Macbeth and Lady Macbeth might deal with them
Mrs. Billet

18. Act II Background Macbeth and his wife will kill Duncan.
Duncan is a beloved king, but he is also weak.
Duncan’s kinsman will seek revenge.
Macduff discovers Duncan’s body.
Mrs. Billet

19. Act II Background Setting: Inverness, Court of Macbeth’s castle.
Equivocate= pg 332 means to use terms that two or more meanings to mislead purposely or deceive
Voc (Latin word root)- means voice or calling
Mrs. Billet

20. Act II Background
Sometimes Shakespeare interrupts his blank verse (High- Ranking Characters) writing with prose.
Prose is usually reserved low-ranking characters.
Only low-ranking characters were bawdy or vulgar.
They often have humorous speeches that help to break up the dramatic narrative. (Porter= drunk)
Comic Relief is common in Elizabethan drama.
Mrs. Billet

21. Act II Background Prose is usually reserved low-ranking characters
Blank verse is appropriate for the high-ranking Macduff and Lennox
Mrs. Billet

22. Act II Background Monarch was appointed by God
Elizabethan- universal order
The monarch was God’s representative on Earth
“The Lord’s anointed” is used to describe the king
It was not just and of political assassination, it was a horrifying desecration of religious values
Mrs. Billet

23. Act III- Vocabulary Not able to be dissolved or undone Indissoluble
Dauntless
Jocund
Infirmity
Malevolence
Fearless; cannot be intimidated
Cheerful; jovial
Physical or mental defect; illness
Ill will; spitefulness
Mrs. Billet

24. Act III- Background
Conflict—the struggle between two forces—is what creates drama
External conflict- is a struggle between two characters or groups
Internal conflict- is a struggle within a character
Mrs. Billet

25. Act III- Background
Dramatic irony- occurs when the words or actions of a character takes on a meaning for the audience or readers different from the one the character intends,
Mrs. Billet

26. Act III- Background
In Act II, Lady Macbeth drugs Duncan’s guards, enabling Macbeth to kill the king.
Macbeth then kills the guards, too, so that he can more easily blame them for the king’s murder.
Duncan’s sons, Malcolm and Donalbain, flee, afraid they will be assassinated. They flee, and are suspects.
Mrs. Billet

27. Act III- Background
As the act closes, it seems that Macbeth will be named king.
Act III begins with Macbeth on the throne—as the witches had predicted.
All seems to be going well for Macbeth, but he feels threatened by Banquo.
Mrs. Billet

28. Act III- Background Act III marks a turning point in the action.
Up until now, things have gone very much the way Macbeth had planned.
However, his sense of insecurity leads him to fear Banquo and his offspring.
When his plan to murder Banquo and his son is only partially successful, a series of events is set in motion, leading to Macbeth’s downfall.
Mrs. Billet

29. Act IV- Vocabulary fatal; deadly Pernicious – Judicious-
Sundry-
Intemperance-
Avarice-
Credulous-
showing good judgment
various, miscellaneous
lack of restraint
greed
tending to believe too readily
Mrs. Billet

30. Act IV- Background
Imagery- language used to re-create sensory experiences
Blood
Ill-fitting clothes
Babies and children
Archetypal- ideas and emotions expressed by people in many cultures.
Mrs. Billet

31. Act IV- Background
Macbeth hires murderers to kill Banquo and Banquo’s son, Fleance.
Fleance escapes
At the state banquet, Macbeth is shocked to see the ghost of Banquo sitting in the king’s chair.
Macbeth decides to visit the witches again, determined to know “the worst.”
Mrs. Billet

32. Act IV- Background Turning point in the play
Macbeth seeks help from the witches to secure his power
The forces of good, however, are beginning to gather against him.
Mrs. Billet

33. Act V- Vocabulary Perturbation- Pristine- Clamorous- Harbingers-
Disturbance
Original; unspoiled
Noisy
Forerunners/ Omen
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34. Act V- Background
In Act IV, Macbeth learns from the witches that he must “Beware Macduff” but that he need not fear any man “of woman born.”
However, he sees a vision indicating that Banquo will indeed father a long line of kings.
He also learns that he will never be conquered until the forest itself marches against him.
Mrs. Billet

35. Act V- Background
Armed with his new knowledge, Macbeth orders the murder of Macduff’s wife and son.
Macduff himself is in England to join forces with Malcolm and is overcome when he hears the news.
Nevertheless, Macduff and Malcolm will lead an army against Macbeth.
Mrs. Billet

36. Act V- Background
Act V will determine the outcome as Macbeth, grown reckless in evil, battles against Malcolm and his men.
Mrs. Billet