BRITISH LITERATURE E402

November 30th, 2010

WELCOME LADIES AND GENTLEMEN!

Today we will do the following:

1. Characters and overview

2. Lenses3. Act 1, sc. 1-2

Preview4. Here we go! Hint: Shakespeare wrote

Macbeth to impress this person.

Who? What? Where? When?Who will you meet?- Navigate the room to find the main

characters and descriptions of those peeps.

What’s this all about?- Navigate the room to find out the topics we’ll discover while reading…your lens!

Whooooo are you?- Ugly looking women- Women with beards- Prophesize the

future- Only found in 4

scenes of the play- Typically illustrate

the idea of fate vs freewill because of their ability to tell the future.

Witches

Whooooo are you?- King of Scotland- Model of virtue and

benevolence to his people and followers.

- Gets in the way of Macbeth’s “fate”

Duncan

Whooooo are you?- Son of Duncan- Initially appears

weak and fearful.- Then, challenges

Macbeth with the help of Macduff

Malcom

Whooooo are you?- The tragic hero of the

play.- Brave soldier,

powerful man, and successful general of Scotland

- Thane of Glamis, then named Thane of Cawdor

- Tempted to overthrow the King because of a prophesy

Macbeth

Whooooo are you?- Deeply ambitious

and lustful for power

- Seems quite powerful over her husband from the beginning of the play

- She uses her sexuality to control Macbeth

Lady Macbeth

Whooooo are you?- Told that his sons

will become kings- He chooses to take

the opposite path to Macbeth

Banquo

Whooooo are you?- Scottish noblemen

who stands up to Macbeth’s rule

- Seeks vengeance for the death of loved ones….

Macduff

Gender RolesRachelVirginiaDana

Discover the different roles women and men take in the play. How have they changed from then until now? How do gender roles affect the

action of the play?

The Deception of Appearance (appearance vs. reality)

VictorBriannaBrittany

How are things only as they appear? Do characters put on acts in order to achieve

what they want? Do some actions only appear to be cowardly when they are really strategic?

Fate vs. FreewillEricJoey

Marissa

Do the characters’ decisions create their future, or is their future decided by some sort of fate? Does the prediction of fate impact a

character’s decisions?

The Burden of Guilt/Conscience

BelaLaurenPatricia

Can a person’s guilt change their beliefs of a prior action? Can the weight of a guilty

conscience destroy a person both physically and mentally?

The Line Between Being a Leader and a Tyrant

EmilyJake

Sandy

At what point does an influential leader’s control turn them into a tyrant?

Light and Dark ImageryDeanAdamNikkiLucas

How does Shakespeare use light and dark imagery to depict the tone of the play? Who

does he assign dark imagery to? Who does he assign light imagery to?

HOMEWORK!Read Act I, scenes 1-2, pp. 7-13