1. Shakespeare’s Macbeth
Arguably one of Shakespeare’s darkest tragedies

2. Globe Theater Globe was most famous theater 3-story wooden structure
Wealthier patrons sat in covered galleries
Stage had trapdoor – designed so ghosts and witches could appear
Painted ceiling w/ similar trap door for angels
Enclosed tower for sound effects

3. Act It Out
Playwrights depended on audience imagination (pretending it’s night time when it’s actually light out)
Women couldn’t participate (young boys played the female roles)
Simplistic scenery – changes often announced in dialogue

4. It’s Witchcraft… Fear of witches/witchcraft was a real thing
Considered agents of the devil
King James believed in “witch-pricking”
Witch-finders would come into town and receive 20 shillings for a conviction

5. Isn’t that weird?
The witches (Weird Sisters) are visible to more than one character
They tempt and persuade the main character Macbeth
They brew potions, which is not an exaggeration by Shakespeare in terms of popular beliefs for the time period.

6. Wood block print of the Weird Sisters

7. Elizabethans and Fate Concerned about what controls/influences it
Many people believed witches sold their souls to the devil for supernatural powers
“Weird Sisters” – “weird” does not refer to their appearance but to original meaning: “having the power to control fate”

8. Macbeth’s Ambition Is ambition a good thing? Can it be bad?
At what point does ambition shift from a positive to a negative?
Macbeth has goals to ascend to the top
What are people willing to do to reach their ultimate goals?
What are they willing to give up?

9. Divine Right Various examples As God reigns in heaven,
so does the king on earth
Often viewed as kings
can do whatever they want

10. Aside? Aside from What?
a remark made by one character to the audience or another character
The other characters can’t hear it
Inside look at character’s thoughts
Shakespeare uses this technique often with Macbeth and his wife

12. Comic Relief Please
A humorous scene, incident, or speech included in a tragic literary work
Used to break tension after “heavy” scene
Drunken porter is used after murders
Not just a random scene – deals w/ central issues such as sin, hell, deceit, ambition, etc.

13. Tragic Hero Tragic flaw (fatal error in judgment
Characters engage in self-reflection
Characters play a major role in their downfall