1. Is ambition a good thing or a bad thing? What are you willing to do to get what you want?

3. ** So this is a comedy… right? ● Macbeth is one of Shakespeare’s most famous tragedies (it is also his shortest) ● Aside from the violent nature of the plot Shakespeare uses several literary devices to enhance the feeling of evil ● He creates a serious and sinister mood by having most of the play take place at night ● There is a heavy emphasis on the supernatural (witches, dreams, spells, and ghosts)

4. ** Will the real Macbeth please stand up? ● Macbeth was a real king of Scotland ● He did kill King Duncan ● Reigned from 1040-1057 ● Unlike the Macbeth in Shakespeare’s play ● The real Macbeth had a legitimate claim to the throne ● The real Macbeth was a strong leader ● The real Macbeth’s reign was successful ● The real Macbeth was killed at Lumphanan as opposed to Dunsinane

5. Introduction to Macbeth Literary terms to know ● Renaissance Drama- Focused mainly on religious themes teaching moral lessons. ● Most of the plays in this time periods fell into two categories: comedies and tragedies. ● Tragic Hero- The main character who experiences an unhappy ending. ● Tragic Flaw- A fatal error in judgment or weakness of a character. ● Paradox- a statement or proposition that seems self- contradictory or absurd but in reality expresses a possible truth.

6. Introduction to Macbeth Literary terms to know ● Soliloquy- A speech a character makes on stage that reveals his or her inner persona thoughts. ● Aside- A remark a character makes in an undertone to the audience or another character, but characters onstage do not hear the remark. ● pathetic fallacy-the fallacy of attributing human feelings to inanimate objects; 'the friendly sun' is an example of the pathetic fallacy ● Foreshadowing-the act of providing vague advance indications; representing beforehand ● Hyperbole- A deliberate exaggeration. ● Euphemism-A gentler way of saying something, when stating the truth is difficult.

7. Introduction to Macbeth Literary terms to know ● Imagery-As in poetry, imagery paints vivid pictures with words. ● Rhyming Couplets-This is another technique borrowed from poetry, where two lines rhyme with each other. ● Comic Relief-A device used in tragedy to diffuse some of the tension after major scenes.

8. Themes of Macbeth ● Ambition ● Marriage ● Fate and our efforts to control fate ● Appearance vs. loyalty ● The supernatural ● Reason and mental stability ● Greed and power

9. Unlocking Themes in Macbeth ● Appearances do not always reflect reality. ● Despite prophecies of the future, people are responsible for their own actions. ● Attempts to control the future by overturning the natural order of society are futile.

10. Unlocking Themes in Macbeth ● Ambition can subvert reason. ● When supernatural powers represent evil, they should be ignored. ● The natural order is disrupted by any upset in the proper order of human society.

11. Theme: Visions and Hallucinations of Guilt ● “Dagger of the mind” ● The dagger is a physical manifestation of the guilt Macbeth feels about killing Duncan ● All of the ghostly occurrences are psychological ● Macbeth cannot pray or sleep

12. Theme: Be a man ● When Macbeth asks the murderers if they had the courage to kill Banquo they reply: ● “We are men my liege” (III.1.102) ● This answer is less than acceptable to Macbeth ● Lady Macbeth and Macbeth have opposing viewpoints on this issue: ● Lady says a man: ● Uses whatever means necessary (I.7 55-60) ● Must cast away kindness, tenderness and affection (I.5 45- 60) ● Even Duncan rewards tasks like Macbeth’s slaying from “stern to chops” in Act 1 ● Macbeth is therefore confronted with a paradox: ● As his ability to shed more blood grows to please his wife, his men desert him

13. * Mirroring: Macbeth and Lady ● Mirroring heightens the differences between the characters ● Macbeth is the double for Duncan: ● Macbeth is violent and cruel ● Duncan is peaceable and rewarding ● Lady Macbeth is the double of Lady Macduff: ● Lady Macbeth casts off her femininity and has no problem killing even her own child ● Lady Macduff is the model of a good mother and would die to save her child

14. * Characterization of Macbeth ● Very ambiguous ● Unlike any other Shakespearean character ● Knows his acts are wrong but swears to do them anyway ● He is not entirely committed to evil ● He lacks motivation to carry out his deeds ● Unlike Hamlet or other characters, Macbeth does not have a good reason to kill ● The audience still sympathizes with him because of his soliloquies of agony

15. Characterization of Macbeth ● When Macbeth kills Duncan he: ● Eliminates the only sane nurturer left in his life ● He cuts the very root that feeds him ● He disrupts the natural course of history

16. Characterization of Lady Macbeth ● Lady Macbeth provides all of the drive that Macbeth lacks ● She casts off her femininity to help ● Remorse and peace are weak and feminine to her ● She even calls Macbeth womanish ● Not a man, she is devoid of all sentimentality

17. * Symbols/Motifs ● Blood-This is a blood-soaked play. ● Hallucinations/Dreams

18. * Audience Relations ● The audience relates to Macbeth ● Macbeth’s dying is less of a release than Romeo’s or Brutus’s ● Audiences identify with Macbeth’s imagination ● We are Macbeth: ● People who know that they are doing wrong but sometimes do it anyway ● The play works because audiences have all thought about committing a crime and becoming him, this frightens and grips the attention

19. * Basic Information* Dramatis Personae ● Duncan: King of Scotland ● Macbeth: Decorated General ● Lady Macbeth: Macbeth’s wife ● Banquo: Macbeth’s best friend; general in army ● Macduff: Friend of Macbeth; Nobleman ● Fleance: Banquo’s son ● Malcolm: Duncan’s son ● Donalbain: Duncan’s son ● Witches: Foreseers of future