Meet Macbeth

Macbeth is indirectly characterized by Sergeant in Act I Scene II. He parallels the "common war hero" seen in most literature works. Macbeth is characterized as "brave," which he accordingly deserves. Macbeth, unlike others, has (consciousness) self-reflection. The witches contribute marginally to the audience, foreshadowing clear in the text. They tell Macbeth about the trouble that Lady Macbeth will cause, warning him about her ambition and lack of self-reflection. They also allude to Lady Macbeth's shaming of his masculinity and her easy manipulation of his emotions. Unlike having scenes play out alongside the characters, Shakespeare uses the witches as "godlike figures" (yes, dichotomy is hard on that one). He gives the witches the power of seers, gives them the strength to act as puppeteers (all-knowing).  

MY MACBETH RESOURCES

Text Resources: 

Entire Macbeth text 

 Macbeth "Study Guide"

Macbeth website /

Macbeth Navigator

Visual Representations:

(Infographics)
Foul Facts and Fair Trade
Anatomy of a Scene

(Videos) 

Hamlet: Act III, Scene II

• Hamlet gives advice to the players → presumably to make the play seem more realistic; he tells them to act naturally, but not-overbearingly so as to create a natural flow, show realism
• “...let your own discretion be your tutor. Suit the action to the word, the word to the action;”
• don’t over exaggerate your words and your hand-gestures
• Hamlet tells Polonius to get the actors ready as the King and Queen settle unto their positions → tells Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to help Polonius on getting the actors ready
• he tells Horatio that he is a man that he trusts wholeheartedly, calls him a good man → Hamlet is proclaiming his friendship and trust to Horatio (sees Horatio as the only person that hasn’t required/needed something out of Hamlet)
• “Observe my uncle”  → Hamlet asks Horatio to watch Claudius closely
• Claudius asks Hamlet how he is doing which earns him a nonsensical reply (Hamlet is reaffirming his status to Claudius as that of a man who has grieved to the point of madness)
• Hamlet makes witty comments, particularly sexual remarks to Ophelia; he also remarks on his father’s death → primarily on how fast his mother has moved on
• Players enter in order to enact the plays
• they reenact the death of the old King as a different story (dumb show)
• the actual play is of the King and Queen → King tells the Queen of his nearing death and tells her to marry someone else
• Hamlet becomes impatient when Lucianus (apparent nephew to the King in the play) takes too long on coming to the actual point → tells everyone the plot (Lucianus pours poison on the Kings ear, thus killing him)
• Claudius is seen with guilt; tells them to stop the play
• Rosencrantz and Guildenstern tell Hamlet that Claudius is upset (and angry) and tell him that his mother wants to talk to him → Hamlet misinterprets it and gets angry at the two

“Why, look you now, how unworthy a thing you make of me! You would play upon me; you would seem to know my stops; you would pluck out the heart of my mystery; you would sound me from my lowest note to the top of my compass; and there is much music, excellent voice, in this little organ, yet cannot you make it speak. 'Sblood, do you think I am easier to be play'd on than a pipe? Call me what instrument you will, though you can fret me, you cannot play upon me.”  

- Hamlet

Hamlet: Act III, Scene I

• King Claudius sees Hamlet as a threat
• Rosencrantz and Guildenstern call his madness forth
• crafty; Hamlet hasn’t given any information away apart from the idea that he is a little off
• King Claudius → confesses to murdering King Hamlet
• Hamlet to Ophelia:
• It’s easier to bend beauty than honesty
• don’t have my kids because I am a sinner
• you’ll never have kids because that’s your best bet at innocence
• you literally paint yourself with makeup that make yourself look like someone else
• different identity
• foreshadow: someone’s going to die
• Ophelia tells Claudius and Polonius that Hamlet’s gone mad
• Claudius opposes, says Hamlet’s not crazy (only that there’s something bothering him) → he’s up to something, a threat to my throne and should therefore be imprisoned  

To be or Not to be Notes

“To be, or not to be: that is the question”

what is it that I’m being; is it truthful to be who I am

to act or not to act → to avenge my father’s death and change as a person as a result or to keep still and stay with the flow

“...slings and arrows…”

unbearable things he [Hamlet] has to deal with, or stand up and say to

“...to die, to sleep…”

not face it

“...’tis a consummation...”

ending; consider it attractive for a moment

“...ay, there’s the rub…”

dilemma, problem; envision good life

“yes. it’s attractive, but I don’t really know….”

“...the oppressor’s wrong...”

Claudius

“...the proud man’s contumely...”

Polonius; contumely → rude speech

“...pangs of despised love...”

love offered that’s despised

“...insolence of office…”

arrogance with a side of not so nice words

“...patient merit of the unworthy takes…”

dealing with these people requires lots of insults

“...bodkin…” → dagger

“I just want to kill myself” [in a joking matter; think modern, angsty teenager on the verge of a meltdown as he/she goes through the college application process]

“...to grunt and sweat under a weary life...the undiscovered country….”

should I shift gear or should I stay with the thorn stuck on my side?

“...thus conscience thus make cowards of us all…”

murder is justified BUT it’s still murder and our conscience reminds us of that → GUILT

(which is a good way to control people)

“...currents turn awry…”

juxtaposition on that end couplet → makes it more realistic, different when being observed

Hamlet: Act I Scene IV/V

[Hamlet] - rough interpretations

• → yes, it’s a custom but they should respect the old King and not celebrate it (his death)
• the drinking and partying makes us look bad; the other nations think us drunkards
• [Claudius] should be taking this seriously and should be mourning

“King, father, royal Dane: O, answer me!” - Hamlet

• Hamlet recognizes the ghost as his father; gives credibility to the ghost
• Remember: ghost is an omen (reinforces it) → unfinished business; shows something wrong with the balance of the kingdom

• Horatio and Marcellus warns Hamlet that the Ghost will trick him into doing something terrible

“Something is rotten in the state of Denmark.” - Marcellus

• moral and political corruption → foul play; Claudius’s misguidance as king

• Hamlet’s father (ghost) is in purgatory going to hell
• readers find out that he was murdered → king was sleeping in the garden when Claudius pours poison (snake venom) into his ear causing his blood to clot
• [rough interpretation]  Gertrude was seduced by Claudius even before the murder occurred
• giving over to lust
• (to Hamlet) “let God judge her and let her guilt consume her [Gertrude]”
• don’t let emotions rule you (act of revenge) → do it for your country and of your birth

“There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy.”

GREEN EGGS AND HAMLET

a) Hamlet, the Melancholy Dane, is a prince of Denmark. His father is King Hamlet, who is murdered by his uncle Claudius (does it remind you of a little Disney movie? Think LION).

b) William Shakespeare was born to Mary and John Shakespeare in England. He was both a playwright and an actor. Most often, Shakespeare wrote tragedies such as Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, and Macbeth.

c) Most students "frown upon" hearing the name "Shakespeare" because of the difficult dialect/language. Students might find his writing to be "too hard" to understand and are too lazy to actually try to interpret it themselves.

d) We can tie this in with the 5PH1NX project (have some sort of scavenger hunt with it). Another idea would be to connect it with a modern interpretation of it, like Disney's Lion King. Tying it in with something students are familiar with would allow them to better understand the subject.