Act 1

• Engels
• Middelbare school
• vwo
• Leerjaar 5,6

Lesson objectives 

Considering Act 1 

Opening scene of Macbeth staging 

scansion and rhythm in Macbeth 

Use of asides in the play and characterisation of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth

Act 1 scene i

How do we see the topics of deceit and equivocation in this opening scene?

Shakespeare often opens his plays with a commoner/commoners who give  the audience background information. He sets up the audience's understanding of Macbeth and Banquo's characters and informs us of the position of Duncan as king and the dangers that threaten Scotland. 

Act 1 scene ii

The Captain 

Answer these questions in your exercise book. Think about the imagery used in the Captain's description that show that

a) the battle was in the balance;

b) Macdonwald was wicked;

c) luck, or fortune is always changing;

The Captain 

The Captain 

Verse and Prose - understanding Shakespeare's structure 

VERSE is arranged rather like POETRY.

Has a regular, definite number of syllables per line. 

The language is often sophisticated or beautiful

It has a regular rhythm, but does not always rhyme.

Shakespeare uses a form of verse called BLANK VERSE.

Ten syllables per line in an unstressed/stressed pattern – five stressed syllables, five unstressed. This is IAMBIC PENTAMETER.

Most significantly, VERSE tends to be used by HIGH STATUS CHARACTERS

(lords, princes, queens, countesses, generals etc)

Scansion - the action of scanning a line of verse to determine its rhythm.

Blank verse - iambic pentameter unrhymed

iamb = a foot which is one unstressed and one stressed syllable

Pentameter = 5 feet in one line.

Verse and Prose - understanding Shakespeare's structure 

PROSE is NOT arranged like poetry.

Is usually not poetic

It stretches across the page

No IAMBIC PENTAMETER.

No set number of syllables per line

It is used to discuss more ordinary or inappropriate things

Humour is usually contained in prose

Most significantly, PROSE tends to be used by LOWER STATUS CHARACTERS

(servants, beggars, maids, fools etc.)

How characters use prose and verse 

• Some lower status characters might use verse to give the impression they are better than they really are i.e. Iago frequently uses verse when speaking to his social superiors even though he is a low ranking soldier
  
• High status characters might switch between verse and prose depending on who they are talking to or their situation. At moments of emotional crisis they will switch to prose.
  

Witch 1 

Witch 2 

Witch 3 

Macbeth 

Banquo 

Ross 

Angus 

Reading Act 1 scene iii

Scansion - the action of scanning a line of verse to determine its rhythm.

Blank verse - iambic pentameter unrhymed

iamb = a foot which is one unstressed and one stressed syllable

Pentameter = 5 feet in one line.

Digital Theatre plus log in 

Username: student_708 

Password: 

excitement@7978 

Note the username and password

Watch and read Act 1 Macbeth. 

Act 1 scene iii

I myself have all the other- 

And the very ports they blow, 

All the quarters that they know

I' the shipman's card.

I'll drain him dry as hay!

Sleep shall neither night nor day 

Hang upon his penthouse lid;

He shall live a man forbid. 

Weary sev'n-nights nine times nine, 

Shall he dwindle, peak and pine. 

Though his bark cannot be lost, 

Yet it shall be tempest -tossed! 

Look what I have. 

1. What does the Witches'  proposed spell against the sailor tell us abut how they might treat Macbeth? Why would you think that?

2. How would you describe the rhythm and rhyme scheme of the Witch's curse. 

3. Make your own curse in the same rhythm and rhyme scheme. Curse a person or thing that you felt had worked against you. 

Rhyming couplets 

not blank verse 

trochaic tetrameter.

stressed - unstressed - three per line 

Equivocation - 

Equivocation: way of speaking that is intentionally not clear and is confusing to other people, especially to hide the truth, or something said in this way

Cambridge online dictionary 

Find four quotes that highlight this topic in Act 1 scene iii

Lesson objectives 

Public and private Macbeth 

Motif of clothing and the topic 'what is a man?' 

Exploration of the witches and their representations

Watching Act 1 s.i - Act 1 s.iii

Insight into King Duncan's opinions Act 1 s iv

Exploration of Lady Macbeth and her relationship to Macbeth in Act 1 s v 

Root of the day

Sect: a Latin root word meaning 'cut'.  

Insect = a creature “cut” into three parts: the head, the thorax, and the abdomen. Hence, insects have three segments or “cuttings.”

'sect' can also be spelt 'seg' due to pronunciation issues. 

Rate the word 1 to 4

1. I do not know the word, and I have never seen it before. 

2. I've heard or seen the word before, but I'm not sure what it means. 

3. I know the word and can recognise and understand it while reading, but I probably wouldn't feel comfortable using it in writing or speech. 

4. I know the word well and can use it correctly in writing or speech. 

Transect 

Word of the day

Transect (v) – to cut across something; to divide something by cutting it

Can you think of a words with the same root, but spelt as 'seg' 

The surgeon accidentally transected the right renal artery during the procedure, said the family's lawyer.

segment, segmentation 

Equivocation and asides

"Lesser than Macbeth, and greater" 

"Not so happy, yet much happier" 

"Thou shalt het kings, though thou be none"

" imperfect speakers!" 

" that shalt be King hereafter!" 

"so foul and fair a day I have not seen" 

"cannot be ill - cannot be good" 

"and nothing is 

But what is not" 

Highlight Macbeth's asides from the moment he is given the news of his new title "Thane of Cawdor" 

Performance: 

Banquo 

Public Macbeth 

Private Macbeth 

Asides

Performance: 

Banquo 

Public Macbeth 

Private Macbeth 

Angus

Read, in your groups, from 1.3.108 - 1.3.158

Public Macbeth reads the lines that are spoken to other characters and private Macbeth speaks the asides. 

What is Macbeth really thinking and what is he saying to his friend and fellow countrymen? 

Clothing motif 

What is it to be a man? 

Keep a note, in your exercise books, of any references to clothes and attire. What idea are these references suggesting? 

Take a note, in your exercise book, of any discussions of what manliness should be. What does it mean to be a man and what attributes are necessary? 

Witches? Why witches 

James 1st was considered to be a descendent of Banquo's line. 

James was not particularly popular (Catholic upbringing)

 

He was obsessed with witches and had written a book called Daemonologie published in 1597

As Shakespeare's acting troupe, The King's Men,  needed protection and royal patronage. 

He described witches as having beards.

What did James 1st say about witches in his book Daemonologie ?

He believed they could control the weather and affect crops and livestock, but could not directly kill people. 

He believed they could fly.  

He believed they had supernatural power because they had traded their soul with the devil and got in exchange a familiar spirit or demon. This was usually in the form of an animal such as a cat, bird or reptile. 

He thought that water rejected witches. Therefore, witches were ducked on a ducking stool. If they sunk they were not witches, but would drown and if they floated, they would be hung. 

From the UK Parliament website 

Act 1 scene iii

Watch the three interpretations of the witches. Take notes. 

Notice how they are portrayed. Are they comedic, horrific, worrisome, sinister or another adjective? 

How would you design a staged interpretation of the witches so that it had relevance for a modern audience? 

Act 1 scene iv

1. Why was the former Thane of Cawdor executed?

2. What effect does Shakespeare create by having Macbeth and Banquo enter just as the King and Thanes are discussing the execution of the former Thane of Cawdor?

3. What announcement does the King make to everyone present and what is Macbeth’s reaction?

4. In his last speech in this scene, what does Macbeth reveal?

Performing and watching. Answer the questions in your exercise book. Always add quotes to support your answers

Duncan 

Malcolm

Macbeth 

Banquo 

Act 1 scene iv

Suggested answers 

1. The former Thane of Cawdor betrayed his King and country by assisting the attempted invasion. He was executed for treason; ' Franky he confessed his treasons.' 

2. The well-timed entrance of Macbeth and Banquo creates dramatic and visual irony. Macbeth-having already contemplated murdering Duncan—enters just as Duncan is lamenting the inability to read a man’s inner thoughts and see disloyalty before it is too late; There's no art/To find the mind's construction in the face.' 

3. King Duncan announces that his son Malcolm is Prince of Cumberland, which means that he is heir to the Scottish throne. Macbeth feels cheated. He thought, given the witches’ prediction, the promise of ‘something greater’ that he would be named heir to the throne. Now he must somehow ‘o’erleap’ being the legitimately named heir-or give up his ambition to be king. 

Act 1 scene iv

Suggested answers 

4. In his last speech, which is an aside, Macbeth is again entertaining some evil thought; ‘my black and deep desires. Presumably this is murdering Duncan. Yet he again decides against it; ‘let that be, which the eye fears, when it is done, to see’. 

Lesson objectives 

Lady Macbeth's soliloquies 

Performance choices 

Exploration of Lady Macbeth and her relationship to Macbeth in Act 1 s v 

Rate the word 1 to 4

1. I do not know the word, and I have never seen it before. 

2. I've heard or seen the word before, but I'm not sure what it means. 

3. I know the word and can recognise and understand it while reading, but I probably wouldn't feel comfortable using it in writing or speech. 

4. I know the word well and can use it correctly in writing or speech. 

Sectarian 

Word of the day

Sectarian(adj) – caused by or feeling very strong support for the religious or political group that you are a member of, in a way that can cause problems with other groups:

Can you think of a words with the same root, but spelt as 'seg' 

The country is plagued by sectarian movements and groups defined by ethnicity pitted against one another.

Often collocated with the word 'violance' or 'group' 

Act 1 scene v

1.What is the purpose of the letter? (in the construction of the play).

2. What do we learn about Macbeth from his letter to his wife?

3. What do we learn about Lady Macbeth from her reaction to the letter?

4. What does Lady Macbeth fear about her husband's character? Is this justified? 

5. How does the news about King Duncan’s expected arrival affect her? 

6. Why does Lady Macbeth pray to be unsexed?

7. What does Shakespeare establish in Macbeth and Lady Macbeth’s first exchange when Macbeth arrives home?

 

Performing and watching. Answer the questions in your exercise book. Always add quotes to support your answers

Duncan 

Malcolm

Macbeth 

Banquo 

Lady Macbeth's soliloquies

Look at Lady Macbeth's two soliloquies.  

Which phrases in Lady Macbeth's two soliloquies in lines 14-29 and 37-53 suggest that she has already decided that they have to kill Duncan? 

Find examples of language that is connected to the idea of darkness and night in lines 36 - 53, and in Macbeth's speech in Act 1 s. iv lines 48 - 53. What does it tell us about the Macbeths? 

Duncan 

Malcolm

Macbeth 

Banquo 

Lesson objectives 

Lady Macbeth's soliloquies 

Performance choices 

The use of dramatic irony 

Macbeth's soliloquy Act 1 s vii

Lady Macbeth's persuasive skills 

Read Act 2 for Wednesday 

Act 1 scene v

Watch two examples of Lady Macbeth's soliloquies in 

1. Which do you prefer and why? 

Performing and watching. Answer the questions in your exercise book. Always add quotes to support your answers

Act 1 scene v

"My dearest partner of greatness"

" greatness is promised thee" 

Macbeth: " My dearest love"

1. What does Lady Macbeth fear about her husband's character? Do you think that this fear is justified, from what you have seen so far? 

Performing and watching. Answer the questions in your exercise book. Always add quotes to support your answers

Dramatic Irony 

What is dramatic irony? What does it mean? Why is it used? 

Reading Act 1 scene 6 

King Duncan 

Banquo 

Lady Macbeth 

Dramatic Irony 

1. How does Lady Macbeth greet King Duncan? Is she sincere? 

2. What does King Duncan say of Macbeth? 

Dramatic Irony 

At the beginning of scene 6 King Duncan says: 

" The castle hath a pleasant seat. The air

Nimbly and sweetly recommends itself

Unto our gentle senses" 

How is this an example of dramatic irony? Explain

Macbeth's soliloquy 

Make a T-table in your exercise book.  

Read Macbeth's soliloquy in scene 7. 

List all the reasons that Macbeth gives for killing the King and those he gives against killing the King.

It seems that he is not 100% behind the idea of killing the King. 

What will change his mind? 

If it were done when ’tis done, then ’twere well 

It were done quickly. If the assassination 

Could trammel up the consequence, and catch 

With his surcease success; that but this blow

Might be the be-all and the end-all here,

But here, upon this bank and shoal of time, 

We’d jump the life to come – But in these cases 

We still have judgment here – that we but teach 

Bloody instructions, which, being taught, return

To plague th' inventor. This  even-handed justice 

Commends th' ingredients of our poisoned chalice 

To our own lips. He’s here in double trust:

First, as I am his kinsman and his subject,

Strong both against the deed – then, as his host,

Who should against his murderer shut the door, 

Not bear the knife myself! Besides, this Duncan 

Macbeth's soliloquy 

Hath borne his faculties so meek, hath been

So clear in his great office, that his virtues

Will plead like angels, trumpet-tongued, against

The deep damnation of his taking-off.

And pity, like a naked newborn babe,

Striding the blast, or heaven’s cherubim, horsed 

Upon the sightless couriers of the air,

Shall blow the horrid deed in every eye,

That tears shall drown the wind – I have no spur 

To prick the sides of my intent, but only 

Vaulting ambition, which o'erleaps itself

And falls on th' other – 

Lady Macbeth's persuasion - discuss

In your groups read together Act 1 scene 7 

discuss these questions:  

1. What is Lady Macbeth saying? 

2. Why is she saying it? What effect does she think her words will have on Macbeth?

3. If Lady Macbeth was speaking in modern English, what would she be saying? 

4. What is she trying to make Macbeth feel? 

5. Why would her words have an impact on Macbeth? 

6. What actions might go with the words? 

7. What are the most important words? 

Lady Macbeth's persuasion 

Write your answers in your exercise book during the music : 

1. What is Lady Macbeth saying? 

2. Why is she saying it? What effect does she think her words will have on Macbeth?

3. If Lady Macbeth was speaking in modern English, what would she be saying? 

4. What is she trying to make Macbeth feel? 

5. Why would her words have an impact on Macbeth? 

6. What actions might go with the words? 

7. What are the most important words? 

Music: bensound.com

License code: XT4DNAQWMFGMYGWX

Lady Macbeth's persuasion 

In your groups of 3 one is Macbeth. The person playing Macbeth sits on a chair the other two stand. Those standing label themselves A and B. Their job is to persuade Macbeth to do the deed. A will speak Shakespeare's words and B will speak the modern equivalent. They may persuade with their actions, but cannot touch Macbeth. Macbeth can only answer " I dare to do all the may become a man." He can say this whenever he feels the need to. If Macbeth is fully persuaded, he will stand up. His response is influenced by Lady Macbeth's attitude, he may feel angry, nervous, sulky, frightened or something else in response to her behaviour. 

Persuasion 

Did any Macbeths stand up?

What persuaded you? 

How would you recommend Lady Macbeth to deliver these lines in order to get maximum compliance? 

Lesson objectives 

Lady Macbeth's persuasive skills 

Read 

Lady Macbeth's persuasion 

Tactic	Example	Effectiveness
Flattery
Accusing Macbeth of cowardice	"And live like a coward in thine own esteem,/ Letting I dare not wait upon 'I would,'/ Like the poor cat i'the adage?"	Here Lady Macbeth is referring to a proverb in which a cat wanted to catch fish but didn't want to get its paw wet. It is effective because Lady Macbeth is suggesting Macbeth won't be able to have self-respect if he doesn't commit the murder.
Questioning Macbeth's Manhood
Reassurance
Emphasising her own determination

Complete this table in your exercise book. 

Equivocation 

• Look again at Act 1 scene 7. 
  
• Write down all the equivocal references to the murder of Duncan. Give the line numbers. 
  
• "it were done" l.1
  
• "against the deed" l.14
  
• "taking off" l.20
  
• "horrid deed" l.24
  
• "in this business" l.31
  
• "this enterprise" l.48
  
• "durst do it" l.49
  
• "this terrible feat." l.80
  

Watch Act 2 and read the play 

Watch and read Act 2 

Watch in digital theatre plus a production of Macbeth act 2. Read the text.