Day I
Simple play
-no big themes
-very straightforward plot
-Acts I-III all chronicle
Macbeth's rise to glory & IV, V follow his fall
-character driven play; less
psychology & intricate relationships
-Macbeth
doesn't confide in the audience (like Hamlet) he doesn't show any sign of humor
or
humanity,
just painstaking character development
Macbeth as a tragic hero
-Beginning of play: indirect characterization telling
us he is well thought of, noble, honorable, etc.
-end of the play: stands alone to be killed by an
entire army
-Every thing that happens in the play is the function
of Macbeth's own decisions
-not influenced or compelled by
any outside force
Murder of Duncan
-Why?
-Act I, scene vii, lines
25-28…glimpse of an idea but too early to take for truth
-Macbeth seems to be in the grips
of something bigger
-his first
reaction to the witches was weariness; it seemed unjust to him at first
-tension
between immorality (consequences?!) & his ambition to be/stay king
-he knows that he will have to violate his morals…he knows the consequences…he
doesn't
convo (Hamlet)
-he struggles
with knowing that to act on his desires will lead to his own destruction (he
then
decides not
to kill the king(
-swayed, however, by his imagination of the prospects
Macbeth & Lady Macbeth
-She is the agent of evil in the beginning
-tells him to man up and keep the
prospect of being king alive
-total animus (masculine personality) influence
-lacks regard for emotions,
scruples, values, nurturing, etc.
-urges him to be more manly when
he comes to her with things
-Both characters experience a surreal feeling
-Macbeth is fearful & horrified,
but he hallucinates and it's as if he is compelled to or drawn to do it
-Lady Macbeth is sleepwalking
-With help of Lady Macbeth allowed evil to infiltrate
his imagination. He knows what's going on.
Courage & Fear
-Courage is abundant when it comes to outward enemies
but can't handle the inner fears. Becomes fearful as soon as he kills the
king
-deals with it by continued
killing to allow himself to plow through and come to a solution
-Lady Macbeth can't handle the inner strains….Macbeth
goes off without her.
-guilt for lack of inner will
destroy her
-feels like
Duncan looks liker her father
-she decays
into craziness (for lack of a better word) until she commits suicide
Day 2
Lady Macbeth
-A representation of pure force
-After the banquet, Macbeth & Lady Macbeth's
relationship becomes strained
-They used to have a healthy
relationship/marriage but now they have their own plans
-Macbeth's throne is safe, no one suspects him, but he
has a guilty conscience
-Act III, Scene iii shows Macbeth still knows the
difference between right and wrong
-Now he's murdering his way to peace of mind
-is becoming less & less human
-Loss of physical relationships --> loss of feeling
-Makes Macbeth care less &
less for what life has to offer
-Act V, scene iii explains why Macbeth accepts the
news of his wife's death with a horrifying calm
-exemplifies the empty mockery his
world has become
The 3 Witches
-Macbeth's driving force
-Plant the ideas in Macbeth's mind
-he is then unable to control
himself
-a symbol of fate
-It inevitably would have happened
-Exist to tempt & torment people
-After becoming thane of Cawdor, Macbeth believes the
witches prophesy to be ture
-The 3 Witches seem to be the heroes of the entire
piece
-outcasts
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