Shakespeare Macbeth

• Middelbare school
• havo
• Leerjaar 1

Shakespeare Macbeth

Last week/today/next week

Last week we ended the lesson working on a forbidden love scene. 
Today you are going to work on another scene within a different theme.
Next week you will choose one of these performances to work on for a grade!

Today

• Take a closer look at the work of William Shakespeare through the play of Macbeth.
  
  
• Start the assignment of this week ' Betrayal vs Loyalty'
  

Macbeth

Sssshhh! Did you know that some actors won’t even say the name of this play? Superstition says that the play is cursed, and just saying the word ‘Macbeth’ inside a theatre will cause disaster!

What do you already know about Macbeth?

learnenglishteens.britishcouncil.org

Themes in Macbeth

Themes:

ambition

quilt
corruption
power (let power over morals)

betrayal

crime

violence and consequences

conflict of good and evil

loyalty

Loyalty and betrayal

Loyalty and betrayal are important themes in most of the scenes in Macbeth.  

A few examples.

Beginning of the play:

• Loyal to the King and the country (Macbeth --> King/Scotland)
• Loyal towards a friend (Banquo --> Macbeth)
• Loyal to a husband/wife (Macbeth <--> Lady Macbeth)

Throughout the play:

• Betrayal to the King and country (Macbeth kills King)
• Betrayal towards a friend (Macbeth had Banquo killed by assasins)
• Betrayal towards a husband/wife (Macbeth commits the crimes behind her back)
  

Loyal to the King and the country: at the beginning of the play, Macbeth is loyal to King Duncan. He supports the King and defends Scotland to opposing armies.

Loyal to a friend: Banquo was very loyal to Macbeth, in the first parts of the play up until his death. Even when he suspected Macbeth wanted to kill the king.

Loyal to husband/wife: Macbeth (in the beginning) is loyal to Lady Macbeth because he listens to her and everything she tells him to do. Lady Macbeth showed that she was supportive to Macbeth and encouraged him to kill Duncan in order to clear all obstacles that would get in the way of Macbeth becoming King. They were very close and loving at the beginning of the play. 

This weeks assignment:

'Betrayal vs loyalty scene'
Create a performance within this theme...
+/4 people in a group (I made them)

performance should last +/- 3 minutes

think of a creative ending (not everyone has to die all the time, 

even though it's Shakespeare...)

Think about the 5 w's and make them really clear:

Who: characters *again, use other names
What: conflict about betrayal/loyalty 

Why: why and how did this betrayal take place? 

Where: location

When: time  

End of the lesson

- Think about which theme your prefer for your test assignment
(forbidden love/betrayal vs loyalty)