1. English Literature: Day 23
English Lit – Period 3
Monologue practice: 5 minutes
Review first two acts and then end of Act II via summary slide
Typical 5-Act Play Structure (Act III will contain climax)
Review ideas: Characters and their development (foils), equivocation, emerging themes and motifs
We will have upcoming writings over equivocation, character change, and motifs, so make sure to complete motif and quote logs
Begin reading together Act III, scenes i-ii (p )
Moodle Writing Activity (Tuesday): Discuss Equivocation in Macbeth (find and analyze 3 quotes)
Homework: Read completion of Act III, through page 367 ; work on study guide and quote log; work on monologue memorization, lines 1-18.

2. Learning Targets
Students will apply an understanding of dramatic technique to Shakespeare’s Macbeth, including asides, soliloquys, monologues, and the typical plot structure for five act plays.

3. Macbeth Acts I-II Summarize Acts I-II so far? 1 minute or less…
Volunteers?

4. End of Act II
After their father’s murder has been discovered, Malcolm and Donalbain no longer feel safe, so they flee.
Malcolm: England (ME)
Donalbain: Ireland (DI)
The last scene has a 70 year old man recounting the craziness of the night and day (violations of nature)
A total eclipse of the sun
Duncan’s horses eating each other
A falcon attacked by an owl
During a conversation between Macduff and Ross, we find out that Macbeth _ _ _ because Duncan’s sons have fled.
Macduff reveals he will not go to Scone to see Macbeth crowned, but to Fife (home).

5. Typical Five-Act Play Structure
CONFLICT???

6. Character review:
Macduff: Swears to fight the treason (murder of King Duncan). Is he doomed? How does Macduff stand apart from the rest in Act II? Will this be popular with Macbeth? Could this foreshadow a future conflict/duel?
Banquo: Also swears to get to the bottom of the murder. Stands apart from Macbeth in what ways?
Macbeth: Crowned king at Scone. Current body count: 3 (King Duncan and two guards).
Lady Macbeth: Consistent character? Why or why not?
Malcolm and Donalbain: Fled for their own safety…better chances if they split up. Who went where?

7. Equivocation:
The use of ambiguous (unclear) language to conceal the truth or to avoid committing oneself
Discuss deceptive language…how has this played into the story so far?
Witches
Fair is foul and foul is fair
Macbeth
So foul and fair a day I have not seen
A friend
Masks
Lady Macbeth
All for you, king…

8. Theme vs. Motif:
Theme: The message of a story, either stated or implied.
This message can/must be delivered in a sentence
Example: Hard work pays off; honesty is the best policy
Theme possibilities:
Evil, deception, honor, ambition
Motif: ______

9. Act III, i: Pages (8:25)
Banquo, alone on stage [_____], begins to question Macbeth and the things that have happened to him so far
Macbeth wants to have a formal banquet that night, and invites Banquo.
Banquo has plans for the day, to go riding with his son, Fleance.
Macbeth presses to make sure Banquo will make it to the banquet.
Macbeth mentions that Malcolm and Donalbain have fled, and are suspects in the parricide of their father (does Banquo suspect regicide?)
Macbeth’s soliloquy on page 354… “To be thus is nothing, but to be safely thus”
Macbeth meets with some men…who are they and what business does he discuss with them?
P. 357: “Leave no rubs nor botches in the work--/ Fleance his son, that keeps him company,/ Whose absence is no less material to me/ Than is his father’s, must embrace the fate/Of that dark hour.”
Macbeth wraps up the scene in creepy rhyming: “Banquo, thy soul’s flight,/ If it find heaven, must find it tonight.”

10. Act III, ii: Pages (3:32)
LADY MACBETH Naught’s had, all’s spent,
Where our desire is got without content.
'Tis safer to be that which we destroy
Than by destruction dwell in doubtful joy.
LADY MACBETH If you get what you want and you’re still not happy, you’ve spent everything and gained nothing. It’s better to be the person who gets murdered than to be the killer and be tormented with anxiety.
Macbeth comes in and the Lady talks/rhymes to him. She says why do you look so glum? “What’s done is done” (line 12)
Macbeth disagrees…this is not over.
“We have scorched the snake, not killed it.”
“We will eat our meal in fear, and sleep/ In the affliction of these terrible dreams/ That shake us nightly”
Lady says “sleek o’er your rugged looks; / Be bright and jovial among your guests tonight.”

11. Act III, ii: Pages
Macbeth informs the lady that they need to be extra respectful to Banquo tonight because they are vulnerable where he is concerned. Why?
Macbeth says they should make their “faces vizards (masks) to our hearts, / Disguising what they are.”
Macbeth is worried about Banquo and Fleance, and his mind is “full of scorpions.” He insinuates something bad will happen, but doesn’t elaborate further, telling his wife she needs to “Be innocent of the knowledge, dearest chuck, / Till thou applaud the deed.”
Macbeth starts really rhyming now, like the witches do (evil?), with the last 8 lines written in rhymed couplets (Shakespeare had previously rhymed the last few lines, but this is different).
He says “Good things of day begin to droop and drowse, / While night’s black agents to their preys do rouse…/ Things bad begun make strong themselves by ill…”