Dear Macbeth,
Can't you tell that you're wife is going crazy? You need to stop murdering people or else she is really going to lose it. Here is proof of her madness; a soliloquy she recited in Act 5.
Tuesday, March 26, 2013
Recap: Acts 1-3
Dear Macbeth,
You're starring in my cartoon made on Toontastic!
Watch the video for a recap of Acts 1 through 3.
In case you didn't catch all that, here is a short summary for each scene in Acts 1-3.
The play Macbeth takes place in Scotland while it is at war with both Ireland and Norway.
Act 1 Scene 1: Three witches, who have the ability to predict the future meet up to discuss their devious plans concerning Macbeth, the Scottish thane of Glamis.
Act 1 Scene 2: A wounded sergeant brings the news of Scotland's victory to King Duncan. The king decides to promote Macbeth because he slew the leader of the invading army. Since the thane of Cawdor was discovered to be a traitor in the war against Norway, Macbeth was to take his ranking. The thane of Ross is sent to deliver the good news.
Act 1 Scene 3: On their way back from the battle, Macbeth and Banquo encounter the three witches who give them prophecies.
Act 1 Scene 4: King Duncan names his son Malcolm his heir and decides to spend the night at Macbeth's castle.
Act 1 Scene 5: Lady Macbeth reads a letter about her husband's encounter with the witches through and formulates a plan to murder King Duncan.
Act 1 Scenes 6: The king and his men arrive at Macbeth's castle and are welcomed by Lady Macbeth.
Act 1 Scene 7: Recounts the moral struggles Macbeth deals with as he tries to come to terms with murder. In the end Lady Macbeth manages to get him to agree to her plan by challenging his manhood.
Act 2 Scene 1: Macbeth meets Banquo and Fleance in the halls. He hallucinates of a dagger as he prepares to kill the king.
Act 2 Scene 2: Lady Macbeth and her husband commit the murder.
Act 2 Scene 3: Macduff and Lennox arrive at the castle to discover the king is dead! Malcolm and Donalbain, the king’s sons, flee the country in fear of their own lives. They are blamed for their father's death.
Act 2 Scene 4: Ross discusses the events that have just transpired with an old man. A suspicious Macduff returns home as Macbeth leaves for Scone for his coronation.
Act 3 Scene 1: Banquo muses on the recent happenings. Macbeth grows increasingly paranoid of Banquo and hires two murderers to kill him.
Act 3 Scene 2: Macbeth talks to his distraught wife about Banquo.
Act 3 Scene 3: A third murderer joins the other two and ambush Banquo and his son, Fleance. Banquo is killed but Fleance manages to escape.
Act 3 Scene 4: Macbeth receives news of Banquo's death in the midst of his feast. A guilty conscience causes Macbeth to hallucinate of Banquo's ghost in front of all of his guests. Lady Macbeth tells everyone to leave.
Act 3 Scene 5: The witches have a quick meeting with the goddess of witch craft, Hecate. Their meeting promises more mischief for Macbeth.
Act 3 Scene 6: Lennox and Macduff both grow increasingly suspicious. Macduff leaves for England to convince Malcolm to take back his throne. After hearing of this news, Macbeth begins preparing for battle. He plans to pay the witches another visit.
You're starring in my cartoon made on Toontastic!
Watch the video for a recap of Acts 1 through 3.
In case you didn't catch all that, here is a short summary for each scene in Acts 1-3.
The play Macbeth takes place in Scotland while it is at war with both Ireland and Norway.
Act 1 Scene 1: Three witches, who have the ability to predict the future meet up to discuss their devious plans concerning Macbeth, the Scottish thane of Glamis.
Act 1 Scene 2: A wounded sergeant brings the news of Scotland's victory to King Duncan. The king decides to promote Macbeth because he slew the leader of the invading army. Since the thane of Cawdor was discovered to be a traitor in the war against Norway, Macbeth was to take his ranking. The thane of Ross is sent to deliver the good news.
Act 1 Scene 3: On their way back from the battle, Macbeth and Banquo encounter the three witches who give them prophecies.
Act 1 Scene 4: King Duncan names his son Malcolm his heir and decides to spend the night at Macbeth's castle.
Act 1 Scene 5: Lady Macbeth reads a letter about her husband's encounter with the witches through and formulates a plan to murder King Duncan.
Act 1 Scenes 6: The king and his men arrive at Macbeth's castle and are welcomed by Lady Macbeth.
Act 1 Scene 7: Recounts the moral struggles Macbeth deals with as he tries to come to terms with murder. In the end Lady Macbeth manages to get him to agree to her plan by challenging his manhood.
Act 2 Scene 1: Macbeth meets Banquo and Fleance in the halls. He hallucinates of a dagger as he prepares to kill the king.
Act 2 Scene 2: Lady Macbeth and her husband commit the murder.
Act 2 Scene 3: Macduff and Lennox arrive at the castle to discover the king is dead! Malcolm and Donalbain, the king’s sons, flee the country in fear of their own lives. They are blamed for their father's death.
Act 2 Scene 4: Ross discusses the events that have just transpired with an old man. A suspicious Macduff returns home as Macbeth leaves for Scone for his coronation.
Act 3 Scene 1: Banquo muses on the recent happenings. Macbeth grows increasingly paranoid of Banquo and hires two murderers to kill him.
Act 3 Scene 2: Macbeth talks to his distraught wife about Banquo.
Act 3 Scene 3: A third murderer joins the other two and ambush Banquo and his son, Fleance. Banquo is killed but Fleance manages to escape.
Act 3 Scene 4: Macbeth receives news of Banquo's death in the midst of his feast. A guilty conscience causes Macbeth to hallucinate of Banquo's ghost in front of all of his guests. Lady Macbeth tells everyone to leave.
Act 3 Scene 5: The witches have a quick meeting with the goddess of witch craft, Hecate. Their meeting promises more mischief for Macbeth.
Act 3 Scene 6: Lennox and Macduff both grow increasingly suspicious. Macduff leaves for England to convince Malcolm to take back his throne. After hearing of this news, Macbeth begins preparing for battle. He plans to pay the witches another visit.
Sunday, March 24, 2013
Picture this Prophecy
Dear Macbeth,
Visiting the witches again might not be such a good idea. In Act 4, I overheard the them conspiring your downfall with their master, Hecate. They are definitely going to be there to mess with you. Don't say I didn't warn you!
The first omen is delivered by an apparition in the form of a helmeted baby head. It tells Macbeth;
“Macbeth! Macbeth! Macbeth! beware Macduff;
Beware the thane of Fife. Dismiss me. Enough.” (IV.i.71-72)
Macbeth takes this warning with stride. He was already suspicious of Macduff and this riddle just confirmed what he already knew. I drew an image of a wanted poster because Macbeth will surely want Macduff's head now that he has heard the witches' prophecies. The image beside it depicts a locked castle door and many signs warning Macduff away. I wanted to draw images that showed Macbeth being extremely paranoid. I think that if there was a way for him to put up wanted posters of Macduff without seeming suspicious, he would have. He would have probably also stayed locked in his castle if Macduff had come knocking (self-perseverance and all). The witches were very straightforward with this prediction. It doesn't reveal any unknown information. I think that the simplicity of this prophecy must be part of their sneaky plot to get Macbeth off his game. For one, it does cause Macbeth to kill all of Macduff's family (maybe the witches wanted to cause more chaos?). This move was very badly misjudged. It gave Macduff all the more reason to want to utterly destroy him.
The next omen is delivered by an apparition in the form of a bloody baby. It tells Macbeth;
“Be bloody, bold, and resolute; laugh to scorn
The power of man, for none of woman born
Shall harm Macbeth.” (IV.i.79-81)
As we were able to see the witches plotting before Macbeth arrives, we know that they and their master, Hecate, wish to trick Macbeth into becoming overconfident, arrogant, and reckless. This riddle manages to do exactly that. Macbeth interprets the prophecy as having invincibility. He believes that he will live a long life and die a natural death because no man born of women shall harm him (hard to believe considering the number of enemies he's made). Every single person on this Earth was carried to term by women, which means that no one should be able to kill him; but there's a catch. The witches are misleading him. The true meaning of the riddle is that no one born naturally will harm him (wouldn't it be cool if the twist was that Macduff was a test tube baby or a clone?)
The comic I made using Pixton (which is such a cool program!) shows an arrogant Macbeth walking in the woods. He thinks that he's all that because some witches told him a riddle. He heard exactly what he wanted to hear; he will not be harmed by anyone. In the comic, I tried to show that he is in fact very vulnerable, especially now that he has become reckless.
I found it interesting that the form in which the apparition appeared gave us a hint as to the loophole that will be used. The baby is covered in blood because it was delivered by caesarean section. (Tricky witches, I never would have guessed that)
The last omen is delivered by an apparition of a crowned baby holding a tree. It tells Macbeth;
“Be lion-mettled, proud; and take no care
Who chafes, who frets, or where conspirers are:
Macbeth shall never vanquish'd be until
Great Birnam wood to high Dunsinane hill
Shall come against him.” (IV.i.90-94)
This last apparition also serves to manipulate Macbeth into dropping his guard. The witches make it seem as if Birnam wood would suddenly sprout legs and walk to Dunsinane Hill. I drew a picture of exactly that (see they're even holding a map :D). Macbeth grows more confident because any sane person would realize that it is impossible for trees to walk (unless the witches cast a spell). Once again, I found it interesting that the apparition that gave this omen was giving clues as to what would happen. Malcolm, the future king, and his army would march against Dunsinane Hill carrying bits and pieces of Birnam wood to conceal his numbers; similar to how the baby was wearing a crown and holding a tree. Although, to be fair, the way the witches phrase the riddles make it very difficult to discern what they really mean (who would have guessed that carrying branches was a good battle tactic?). To me, this omen seems ridiculous and vague, although in the end, it does turn about to be true.
Visiting the witches again might not be such a good idea. In Act 4, I overheard the them conspiring your downfall with their master, Hecate. They are definitely going to be there to mess with you. Don't say I didn't warn you!
The first omen is delivered by an apparition in the form of a helmeted baby head. It tells Macbeth;
“Macbeth! Macbeth! Macbeth! beware Macduff;
Beware the thane of Fife. Dismiss me. Enough.” (IV.i.71-72)
Macbeth takes this warning with stride. He was already suspicious of Macduff and this riddle just confirmed what he already knew. I drew an image of a wanted poster because Macbeth will surely want Macduff's head now that he has heard the witches' prophecies. The image beside it depicts a locked castle door and many signs warning Macduff away. I wanted to draw images that showed Macbeth being extremely paranoid. I think that if there was a way for him to put up wanted posters of Macduff without seeming suspicious, he would have. He would have probably also stayed locked in his castle if Macduff had come knocking (self-perseverance and all). The witches were very straightforward with this prediction. It doesn't reveal any unknown information. I think that the simplicity of this prophecy must be part of their sneaky plot to get Macbeth off his game. For one, it does cause Macbeth to kill all of Macduff's family (maybe the witches wanted to cause more chaos?). This move was very badly misjudged. It gave Macduff all the more reason to want to utterly destroy him.
The next omen is delivered by an apparition in the form of a bloody baby. It tells Macbeth;
“Be bloody, bold, and resolute; laugh to scorn
The power of man, for none of woman born
Shall harm Macbeth.” (IV.i.79-81)
As we were able to see the witches plotting before Macbeth arrives, we know that they and their master, Hecate, wish to trick Macbeth into becoming overconfident, arrogant, and reckless. This riddle manages to do exactly that. Macbeth interprets the prophecy as having invincibility. He believes that he will live a long life and die a natural death because no man born of women shall harm him (hard to believe considering the number of enemies he's made). Every single person on this Earth was carried to term by women, which means that no one should be able to kill him; but there's a catch. The witches are misleading him. The true meaning of the riddle is that no one born naturally will harm him (wouldn't it be cool if the twist was that Macduff was a test tube baby or a clone?)
The comic I made using Pixton (which is such a cool program!) shows an arrogant Macbeth walking in the woods. He thinks that he's all that because some witches told him a riddle. He heard exactly what he wanted to hear; he will not be harmed by anyone. In the comic, I tried to show that he is in fact very vulnerable, especially now that he has become reckless.
I found it interesting that the form in which the apparition appeared gave us a hint as to the loophole that will be used. The baby is covered in blood because it was delivered by caesarean section. (Tricky witches, I never would have guessed that)
The last omen is delivered by an apparition of a crowned baby holding a tree. It tells Macbeth;
“Be lion-mettled, proud; and take no care
Who chafes, who frets, or where conspirers are:
Macbeth shall never vanquish'd be until
Great Birnam wood to high Dunsinane hill
Shall come against him.” (IV.i.90-94)
This last apparition also serves to manipulate Macbeth into dropping his guard. The witches make it seem as if Birnam wood would suddenly sprout legs and walk to Dunsinane Hill. I drew a picture of exactly that (see they're even holding a map :D). Macbeth grows more confident because any sane person would realize that it is impossible for trees to walk (unless the witches cast a spell). Once again, I found it interesting that the apparition that gave this omen was giving clues as to what would happen. Malcolm, the future king, and his army would march against Dunsinane Hill carrying bits and pieces of Birnam wood to conceal his numbers; similar to how the baby was wearing a crown and holding a tree. Although, to be fair, the way the witches phrase the riddles make it very difficult to discern what they really mean (who would have guessed that carrying branches was a good battle tactic?). To me, this omen seems ridiculous and vague, although in the end, it does turn about to be true.
Friday, March 22, 2013
Tweeting with Macbeth
Dear Macbeth,
What could have possibly been going through your mind the night you and your wife killed King Duncan? I guess that we'll never know (since you're a fictional character and all). So I did the next best thing, I impersonated you and your wife and tweeted your thoughts throughout the entire evening.
Tweets are short and sweet which made them the perfect thing with which to explore the thoughts and feelings of these characters. The progression of events throughout Act 2 is all very emotionally challenging. Emotions range from nervousness and anticipation to fear, regret, and guilty relief. The brevity of the tweets helps make sense of the jumble of thoughts that must have been swirling through their heads.
In the beginning of the first scene, I imagined that Lady Macbeth must have felt some cold feet at what was about to transpire. But what I determined from her character is that she would have cast these betraying thoughts out of her head and set her mind on her task. It was a challenging and interesting experience to try to recreate what Lady Macbeth would have been feeling.
What I found very entertaining was the fact that Lady Macbeth was drunk during most of the night from the same wine she gave Duncan's guards (I'm pretty sure that if you need to be drunk to do something then you probably shouldn't be doing it) I imagined that in her drunken stupor, she wouldn't have been feeling much of the fear and hesitation that would have been going through Macbeth's mind. After the murder, in my tweets, she sounded as if she was incredibly giddy, bold, and joyous of her new position as the queen of Scotland. I imagine that later in the play, the events that transpired this night will come back to haunt her full force.
Macbeth was basically pushed into committing murder by his ambitious wife. He wasn't sure about it in the first place. I imagine that a lot of the thoughts going through his mind would be doubtful and disbelieving. He would be second guessing everything but in the end he goes through with the act.
All in all, I found that tweeting was an awesome way to integrate social networking and Shakespeare. It was fun to step into a character's shoes for brief moments. Imagining Macbeth and Lady Macbeth speaking in current slang was also pretty hilarious. Since the tweets were so short, some of them were a bit vague; but I kind of liked that. You had to really know what was happening in the story to understand all of the quotes. I hope you guys enjoy my tweets ;)
To see Lady Macbeth's Twitter page; click on the link
What could have possibly been going through your mind the night you and your wife killed King Duncan? I guess that we'll never know (since you're a fictional character and all). So I did the next best thing, I impersonated you and your wife and tweeted your thoughts throughout the entire evening.
Tweets are short and sweet which made them the perfect thing with which to explore the thoughts and feelings of these characters. The progression of events throughout Act 2 is all very emotionally challenging. Emotions range from nervousness and anticipation to fear, regret, and guilty relief. The brevity of the tweets helps make sense of the jumble of thoughts that must have been swirling through their heads.
In the beginning of the first scene, I imagined that Lady Macbeth must have felt some cold feet at what was about to transpire. But what I determined from her character is that she would have cast these betraying thoughts out of her head and set her mind on her task. It was a challenging and interesting experience to try to recreate what Lady Macbeth would have been feeling.
What I found very entertaining was the fact that Lady Macbeth was drunk during most of the night from the same wine she gave Duncan's guards (I'm pretty sure that if you need to be drunk to do something then you probably shouldn't be doing it) I imagined that in her drunken stupor, she wouldn't have been feeling much of the fear and hesitation that would have been going through Macbeth's mind. After the murder, in my tweets, she sounded as if she was incredibly giddy, bold, and joyous of her new position as the queen of Scotland. I imagine that later in the play, the events that transpired this night will come back to haunt her full force.
Macbeth was basically pushed into committing murder by his ambitious wife. He wasn't sure about it in the first place. I imagine that a lot of the thoughts going through his mind would be doubtful and disbelieving. He would be second guessing everything but in the end he goes through with the act.
All in all, I found that tweeting was an awesome way to integrate social networking and Shakespeare. It was fun to step into a character's shoes for brief moments. Imagining Macbeth and Lady Macbeth speaking in current slang was also pretty hilarious. Since the tweets were so short, some of them were a bit vague; but I kind of liked that. You had to really know what was happening in the story to understand all of the quotes. I hope you guys enjoy my tweets ;)
To see Lady Macbeth's Twitter page; click on the link
To see Macbeth's Twitter page; click on the link
Thursday, March 21, 2013
Character Profile: Lady Macbeth
Lady Macbeth
In this post, I am going to introduce you to a very special character, Lady Macbeth. Lady Macbeth is Macbeth's husband (the thaness of Glamis?). If I were to describe her in two words I would call her evil incarnate. She possesses the traits that every super-villain wishes they had. Lady Macbeth is ambitious, ruthless, manipulative, and insane. In the play, her husband describes her as having a masculine soul (which is totally sexist). I don't identify with Lady Macbeth but the reason I like her character so much is because she demonstrates incredible strength. Even though her motives are impure, she defies the status quo and goes for what she wants.
We first meet her character as she is reading a letter from Macbeth. The letter details the prophecies of the witches. After learning that her husband will one day become king she immediately concocts a plan to kill the current king (and when I say immediately, I mean immediately). The timing's perfect because King Duncan is staying as a guest in their castle. Lady Macbeth's plans involve getting the king's servants drunk and then getting her lovely husband to murder Duncan in his sleep. She would do it herself but since she's not a man she cannot (because in Shakespeare's time, men were supposedly all violent and women were not). Lady Macbeth convinces Macbeth to follow through with her plan by challenging his manhood and telling him that he is a chicken (because taunting guys always works). She then proceeds to say this quote which left me absolutely flabbergasted;
"How tender 'tis to love the babe that milks me:
I would, while it was smiling in my face,
Have pluck'd my nipple from his boneless gums,
And dash'd the brains out, had I so sworn as you
Have done to this." (I.vii.55-59)
Macbeth tells Lady Macbeth that she must only bear male-children because of her ruthlessness (romantic <3) but I personally don't think she should ever have children if that quote is any indication. I look forward to seeing how Lady Macbeth handles the repercussions of what she has caused. Will she break under the guilt (I do believe that she has a conscience because she said she needed to act fast before remorse stops her from committing the murder)? Will being queen satisfy her thirst for power?
Lady Macbeth is the serpent in the Garden of Eden.
Lady Macbeth is the voice of temptation to Banquo's voice of reason.
All hail Queen Macbeth, the true power behind Macbeth's ambitions.
Lady Macbeth as she reads her husband's letter
Is it Fate? Is it Destiny? Or is it Just Plain Old Manipulation?
Dear Macbeth,
I really do hope that you will listen to your dear friend Banquo. You should definitely be wary of those tricky witches. They are bad news. As they said in the beginning of the play, "Fair is foul, and foul is fair" (I.i.12). These ugly witches bring tidings of what seems to be great news, but take caution, because what may seem fair could easily turn foul.
If the witches never told Macbeth that he will one day be king, would he still have become king? Ahh, destiny, fate, and influence, what strange things art thou. My personal opinion is that predicting the future is impossible. The future is undecided and unforeseeable. I imagine that the witches saw a web of different possibilities in their little glass balls (do olden day witches use those?), picked the one most favourable to them (which would probably be the one filled with the most chaos and destruction), and manipulated people into choosing that path. Poor Macbeth would have never seen it coming.
The witches are the puppeteers of the play. They influence each move of every character with their riddles full of contradiction. After all, they are the ones who set Macbeth on this collision course for disaster. The first two predictions the witches made weren't really predictions at all. They had already happened. Macbeth just wasn't aware that they had. By telling Macbeth two pieces of information that is sure to come true, the witches make him think that the future is set in stone. This (and Lady Macbeth) solidifies his resolve to kill the king. I believe that Macbeth always had choices. Each choice he would have set him on a slightly different path. His future was not predetermined and it would have been entirely possible to avoid the horrible things that are to happen later in the story. I think that throughout the play, the witches will continue telling fortunes and manipulating people to make bad choices. Mistakes will pile upon mistakes and soon we'll have a snowball of mistakes rolling down a steep mountain of regret.
I really do hope that you will listen to your dear friend Banquo. You should definitely be wary of those tricky witches. They are bad news. As they said in the beginning of the play, "Fair is foul, and foul is fair" (I.i.12). These ugly witches bring tidings of what seems to be great news, but take caution, because what may seem fair could easily turn foul.
If the witches never told Macbeth that he will one day be king, would he still have become king? Ahh, destiny, fate, and influence, what strange things art thou. My personal opinion is that predicting the future is impossible. The future is undecided and unforeseeable. I imagine that the witches saw a web of different possibilities in their little glass balls (do olden day witches use those?), picked the one most favourable to them (which would probably be the one filled with the most chaos and destruction), and manipulated people into choosing that path. Poor Macbeth would have never seen it coming.
The witches are the puppeteers of the play. They influence each move of every character with their riddles full of contradiction. After all, they are the ones who set Macbeth on this collision course for disaster. The first two predictions the witches made weren't really predictions at all. They had already happened. Macbeth just wasn't aware that they had. By telling Macbeth two pieces of information that is sure to come true, the witches make him think that the future is set in stone. This (and Lady Macbeth) solidifies his resolve to kill the king. I believe that Macbeth always had choices. Each choice he would have set him on a slightly different path. His future was not predetermined and it would have been entirely possible to avoid the horrible things that are to happen later in the story. I think that throughout the play, the witches will continue telling fortunes and manipulating people to make bad choices. Mistakes will pile upon mistakes and soon we'll have a snowball of mistakes rolling down a steep mountain of regret.
Wednesday, March 20, 2013
My Thoughts on Act 1 of Macbeth
Dear Macbeth,
What have you gotten yourself into? You're headed down a slippery, slippery slope. Thus far in the play, I can only predict a tragic ending for both you and your crazy wife. But alas, that is what should be expected of a Shakespearean play. From what I know of Shakespeare, I anticipate lots of tragedy, bloodshed, and comedy in the upcoming scenes (and let’s not forget the hours spent deciphering his incredibly confusing writing). First, let me catch everyone up as to what's happening.
We start off the play with a trio witches chanting in trochaic pentameter (yikes do they give me the creeps!) These witches have ability to predict the future and they use their power to seriously mess it up.
What we know so far is that the setting of the story is in Scotland. King Duncan, the Scottish King, is at war with both Ireland and Norway. Macbeth and Banquo are victorious generals who each defeated one of these armies. On their way back from the battle, they encounter the three witches who use their powers to predict their futures. They say to Macbeth:
"All hail, Macbeth! hail to thee, thane of Glamis!
All hail, Macbeth, hail to thee, thane of Cawdor!
All hail, Macbeth, thou shalt be king hereafter!" (I.iii.48-50)
The first two prophecies come true which prompts Macbeth to think that the third one will too. They also give Banquo a nice little prophecy. The witches claim that his children will one day be king. At this point, I can see a bit of an issue developing. First of all, Macbeth, a well-trusted and loyal servant, is now having evil thoughts about murdering the king. And what happens to Macbeth's children? How do Banquo's family become king if Macbeth is king? I'm eagerly awaiting the answers to those questions, but for now we'll just have to wait.
At this point in the story, we get to meet my all time favourite character, Lady Macbeth (I'll tell you all about her in a later post) After having read her conversation with Macbeth; I was seriously feeling sorry for the dude. Macbeth sounded like a decent guy. He was a good general who was set up by a bunch of prophetic witches and his lunatic wife (and yes, I do believe that the witches set him up, but more on that in my next post: Is it Fate? Is it Destiny? Or is it Just Plain Old Manipulation?)
As of now, I am finding the story quite enjoyable and am looking forward to reading more (just kidding, I'm way more excited to watch more videos, not read more) to find out how the story all plays out.
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