Macbeth Coursework - Act 1 Scene 5
Alice Smyth U5MLC Macbeth Coursework Act 1 Scene 5 Today was the first time I have been scared of myself. I don't know what came over me. I know I was serving the king but too split a man in half it must be wrong. Mustn't it? But enough about that it seems so irrelevant compared too what else happened today! I was walking home with my good friend Banquo when we stumbled across some evils beings. They could see the future or so they believed. (Well I did not believe what they told me until later that day). I will tell you what they said. They said: - I would be thane of Glamis (which I was already) I would be Thane of Cawdor And that I would be king. I know it is very unbelievable but a short while after Angus and Ross came and told me I was going to be Thane of Cawdor. At first I didn't understand as I thought the thane was still alive but it turns out that the thane was killed as he was a traitor. Banquo doesn't seem as bothered as me about the news. Yet the prophecies he got were not as precise. I don't quite understand them. They were: - "Lesser than me (Macbeth), and greater" "Not so happy, yet much happier" "Thou shalt get kings, though thou be none" I thought about it all day its puzzled me how can he be less then me but greater? And if he's not happy yet happier then does that mean I will be sad? He shall get kings though never be king! It puzzles me
Macbeth by William Shakespeare tells the story of a tragic hero who loses everything because he is a victim of forces outside his control.
Macbeth Liam Mac Callum "Macbeth" by William Shakespeare tells the story of a tragic hero who loses everything because he is a victim of forces outside his control.As Macbeth begins, "two truths are told..." Macbeth is in the state of awe, and is ecstatic as he realizes that not one, but two of the witches prophecies have proven to be true. Macbeth seems to be puzzled of the outcome as he then continues to question these mystical predictions. Macbeth still is very bewildered at the accuracy, as he calls these predictions "supernatural", meaning that he thinks that finds these predictions to be very mysterious and out of this world. As he examines, he is confused as he realizes that they cannot be bad, yet they cannot be good. He also feels pleased and thrilled knowing that what has happed cannot be bad, but then his thoughts are a little dismayed knowing that it is neither good. At this point, we realize that his character is not the one that contains the milk of human kindness, as Lady Macbeth puts it, because he states that he has had thoughts of contemplation murdering the king. He feels afraid of these thoughts, as he says that these thoughts have unfixed his hair, and made his heart beat ravenously. He is also worried of these thoughts, for as the witches have predicted, he
Explore the role of the witches in the play and there influence over Macbeth
Macbeth coursework For my coursework I am going to explore the role of the witches in the play and there influence over Macbeth. I am going to look at the reactions of the audience when the witches appear. I am going to do this for Shakespeare's time and modern time and compare them. I am also going to watch polanski's film Macbeth and adapt this to the text. The witches appear in the play in... - Act 1 scene 1 - Act 1 scene 3 - Act 4 scene 1 Act 1 scene 1 The witches appear first in the first scene f the play. It opens with thunder +lightning, this is put there to get the audiences attention because in Shakespeare's time the audience were very noisy and it would be hard to get their attention on the stage otherwise. Not only rich people went to see his plays in Shakespeare's time poor people too and it would be them who were noisy. The scene is set on the moor. There are three strange people performing witchcraft and chanting a spell. These are the witches. The audience's reaction to this would be that they would be shocked at the appearance of the witches. The witches would be wearing strange clothes and maybe very ugly. In polanski's film of Macbeth the first scene is set on a beach. The witches have a mans hand, they bury the hand in the sand. Then they pour blood on top of the hand when it has been covered with sand. The witches then say a spell. The witches in
"This dead Butcher"... is this a fair assessment of Macbeth?
t"This dead Butcher"... is this a fair assessment of Macbeth? I believe that, "this dead butcher" is not a fair assessment of Macbeth because throughout the book after all the murders which he either does himself or hires murderers to kill someone for him he argues on why he shouldn't kill him or her and then after the person is killed he feels guilty for killing someone. This shows even though he has done something wrong, he feels bad for doing it. At the beginning Macbeth meets three witches which tell him that he will become King. This is what brings out his ambition and what makes him kill people to follow his ambition of being King, not that he is just "a dead butcher". You see that he is a loyal soldier fighting for his king and country. You can also see that he is a weak husband the way he will do as he is told by Lady Macbeth. We can see this when she tells him to kill King Duncan so he can be King. Through the book you see him slowly downhill and turn into "a dead butcher" but at the end of the book it does look like he becomes the soldier he was at the beginning of the book willing to go down fighting. At the beginning of the book you see Macbeth just coming out of a battle fighting for his King against the Thane of Cawdor. You can see he is a good and loyal soldier the way the King and Malcolm talk about him after the battle is over. They talk to him about "his
MacBeth Oral - Murderer Monolouge
Macbeth Oral Introduction: The murderer has just returned from a meeting with MacBeth. Macbeth has demanded that he sees him tomorrow to eradicate him since he did not complete his task to kill Fleance and is a witness to Macbeth's immorality. The murderer returns to his small neglected house and is explaining what has just occurred along with his inner sorrows. Murderer: O the look on King Macbeth's face... the fire in his dark and evil eyes... the suffering he suffers only reassures his enraged anger. 'Get thee gone', he commands, 'tomorrow we'll hear ourselves again.' This meeting can only mean one thing... the meeting with the cold steel of his bloody dagger. How was I meant to foretell or control neither the escape of Fleance... nor the sinful role I have been assigned... the murder of Banquo and his son. No choice I was allowed to make; I owed this to my family. Now I have come to my realisation... I realise what that manipulative serpent has done! Played me like a fool, tricked me he did. 'Twas therefore the noble Banquo's last words that have played my mind, ever since I committed the evil deed. Etched in my mind... staring up at me from his bruised and battered knees. His innocent eyes locked with mine and through his feeble mouth, he stuttered with trembling lips, blood bubbling, as he spat out his final cry. 'The serpent that did sting you has also bitten me...
Comparing The Downfall of Man in Macbeth and Moby Dick.
Daniel Cunningham ENG 4U 8 January 2004 Miss Bairos The Downfall of Man It can be stated that mans greatest downfall is his greed. No matter how much a person has, they will always want more. In Melville's Moby Dick and Shakespeare's Macbeth, the character traits of the tragic heroes, and many similar outside factors combine to create a spiral downfall effect which essentially leads each character to his demise. Each of these character's downfalls are brought upon as a result of their predetermined fates, their ambitions to reach an unattainable goal, and their foolish choices. From fortune cookies to Miss Cleo, many people around the world today believe in the ability to see into the future and determine ones fate. Both Macbeth and Captain Ahab have predetermined fates which conflict with their goals, thereby causing them to be unachievable. Moby Dick is riddled with evidence foreshadowing that the Pequod, Captain Ahab, and his crew are doomed from the moment it sets sail. "Ishmael's narrative contains many references to fate, creating the impression that the Pequod's doom is inevitable" (Chong). When Ishmael first arrives in New Bedford, he stays at a very dark and gloomy inn decorated with clubs and spears, and other whaling equipment. The appearance of the Spouter-Inn develops the atmosphere of tragedy, and even the owner's name, Peter Coffin, hints that in due
What is the role of the witches and what extent are responsible for Macbeth's Tragic End.
What is the role of the witches and what extent are responsible for Macbeth's Tragic End I they days when Macbeth was made there was great deal of fear of witches because they were linked to things like bad crops, bad weather and anything that was considered evil. Therefore it caused a lot of controversy for the reason that they thought witches were real due to their lack of knowledge. When the play was produced in the 17th century it was as popular as anything today but Shakespeare created it with an intentional political background which would have not been included if it was in today's market. The message Shakespeare tried to portray in Macbeth was more of an attack of the self-righteousness of king James 1. This sub-textual message was meant to illustrate the fact that the king of his time was, as Macbeth, paranoid and unable to prevent his kingdom from falling apart. On another aspect of the king's connection to Macbeth were his, what would be today, controversial views on the existence of witches. His thoughts and notions of witchcraft were thoroughly established when he published a book in 1597. The witches play a significant role in the deterioration Macbeth but are in no way responsible. What they suggest is that he will be king but not how. It is Macbeth that associates what they said to mean killing Ducan, which suggests that subconsciously it was his desire to
How does Shakespeare’s presentation of the witches in Macbeth fit in with the expectations of the time?
Theme: The Witches in Macbeth. Matthew Pitt 11w Text: Macbeth. 2/2/02 Task: Analysis of the three Witches. How does Shakespeare's presentation of the witches in Macbeth fit in with the expectations of the time? The play begins with thunder and lightning, on the moor (or heath). This immediately sets up an atmosphere of darkness and evil. In Shakespeare's day people thought the moor was a wild, lonely and frightening place - especially in foul weather. This is the first time the witches are seen in the play, and because they meet on the moor it makes them seem more evil than they really are. Witches are linked to darkness and evil and with the atmosphere already set like that; it makes it a lot more frightening to see the witches on the moor. They discuss when they will meet again, where they will meet again which is normal, but then they say whom they will meet with - which is Macbeth in this case. This shows a sort of psychic power because they know when he will be on the moor. People of that time believed witches to possess supernatural powers, so by saying that they will meet Macbeth on the moor, shows that they know what will happen in the future. This makes it even more frightening for the audience. The next time the witches are seen is in scene three. They are on the moor and the weather is just as they said it would be. And Macbeth is on the moor
The importance of the Witches in Macbeth
Literature Coursework-The importance of the Witches in Macbeth The witches in the play Macbeth have an important part in the story line of the play, and therefore are important to it as a whole. The witches are the people who first reveal to Macbeth his future, and they are argued to be the reason to why Macbeth is driven to kill King Duncan. Macbeth broke the chain of being, which was believed in, and this caused (in the view of contemporary Jacobean audiences) the strange events later in the play. A noble men and peasants alike feared witches in the era Macbeth was written is. At this time, people were starting to read and to talk about new ideas of witchcraft, and Witches were hunted. The play Macbeth was made in order to be seen by King James IV. King James had a keen interest in witchcraft since 1589, where his ship was said to be in a storm, concocted by witches to kill the King. The saga of witchcraft appears in the early 13th century. Before then, there are said to be no reports of anything similar, and there is even no report of a devil-like character being in existence! The earliest devils are seen to be horned, with a tail and hooves. This is a copy of the god Pan, which followers of Paganism worshiped. New ideas of Christian worship were being spread at the time, and the theory that God has licensed the Devil to do evil things, as a test to humanity, was one
The Porter's Speech
THE PORTER'S SPEECH At the beginning of act two, scene three, we are introduced to a drunken Porter, who gives a speech to the audience. Shakespeare used the convention of the Fool or Court Jester to great effect, especially in his Tragedies where the Fools are less identifiable and can have major parts. Like more modern versions, the continuity person on TV, the Fool offers relief from unbearable tension and keeps us busy and amused during scene changes. Unlike the modern circus clown, pantomime or stand-up comedian, as Shakespeare tells us clearly, he is not a buffoon and has a serious job to do. His is an essential and fast moving part in Macbeth. There are many reasons as to how the Porter's speech can contribute to a production of Macbeth. The first one we may think of is that by letting the audience laugh, having just seen Macbeth's blood spattered hands, they should be more able to accept further bloodshed and revulsion in the following scenes. The humour of having a drunken Porter in the middle of the play can be thought of as a 'laugh conductor' and would prevent the audience from doing this later on in the scene. "Here's a farmer that hung himself on the expectation of plenty". This links with the theme of nature in the play and how Lennox describes the strange happenings and the brutality of the night when nature seemed to have been in key with the
