MR+AlexL

toc =Assignment 1=

Characters

-Witches: These witches are quite strange women and seem to have magical powers. They also meet the qualifications for typical "English" witch. Firstly, their beards are extraordinary because after all they are women. Secondly, another distinguishing trait that these witches possess are that they have something called a familiar. Now these familiars are like pets for the witches and can be animals like cats, toads, and other creatures associated with supposed evil in the medieval ages. The witches first demonstrate their power by prophesying about Macbeth and Banquo's future. However, this leads me to wander whether the witch's prophecy is truly magical or self-fulfilling.

-Macbeth: The main character of the play Macbeth is undoubtedly Macbeth himself. At the beginning he was only a mere "Thane of" then soon after he is promoted to also become the Thane of Cawdor as well for being brave in battle and the original Thane of Cawdor being executed for treason against King Banquo by aiding the rebels. This seems to provide firm support for the witches' prophesy of how Macbeth will become the king.

-Banquo: From this part, I beleive that Banquo seems to be the purest and the most innocent character so far. This mostly supported by the fact he remains quite gullible to the witches and is only slightly suspicious of them after Macbeth really becomes the Thane of Cawdor. All in all, I believe that Baquo's role is to be the opposite of Macbeth who is already getting ideas about killing the king.

-Ross: Ross is one of the side characters in my opinion in the play. This is due to the fact that Ross is a simple messenger that comes to deliver the news of Macbeth's promotion. Otherwise, then that he is no major role within the play or at the moment the scene.

-Angus: What Angus has is a minor role that at the same time foreshadows a major point in the plot line of the play. This is when he talks about how dear life is and how treason is just plain giving up one's life. This strange fact will most likely be elucidated in the coming acts.

Major Plot 1. Banquo and Macbeth meet the witches. 2. Witches tell prophesies to Macbeth then Banquo. 3. Banquo is very confused by his uncertain fate. 4. Macbeth becomes Thane of Cawdor

Conflict - Macbeth and Banquo become quite distanced after they hear the phropesy since if both of them are true, Banquo's sons kill Macbeth and little bit more conflict stemming from Banquo's jeolousness of Macbeth becoming King.

Assignment 2 • What do we learn about Lady Macbeth in these scenes? What we learn from Lady Macbeth is that she is quite evil and much more fanatic about Macbeth becoming King. This does not seem to stem from her love of Macbeth and rather comes from her ambition to become queen of Scotland. What Lady Macbeth does in order to provoke Macbeth into action is by calling him not a "man" since he fails to keep his promises. (1.5.72)

=Assignment II= When we are first introduced to Lady Macbeth she seems even viler a person than Macbeth himself. This is proven when she says that that she is actually eager to kill King Banquo and is setting about preparing herself for this task after she has read the letter from Macbeth. Lady Macbeth would say that the meaning of life is to overcome difficulties that appear in your path in any manner and that her definition of morals of human life would be to make sure nothing obstructs her actions and goals.
 * What do we learn about Lady Macbeth in these scenes?
 * How might Lady Macbeth answer the question “What is the meaning of life?” Explain your answer.

"Yet do I fear thy nature: It is too full o'th'milk of human kindness" (Act 1 Scene 5 Line 16) this best exemplifies Lady Macbeth's behaviour due to the fact that she seems to think that the world in general is far too peaceful.
 * Identify and write out two of Lady Macbeth’s lines that are particularly striking. Explain why you selected the lines.

"Come, you spirits that tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here," (Act 1 Scene 5 Line 40) I believe that this is one of the most famous quotes of Macbeth and this is due to the fact that here Lady Macbeth is asking spirits to strip any morals of kindness she has and essentially turn her into a heartless murderer.

=Assignment III=

1. Your answer before the discussion Well, my answer before the discussion is that the it should be at some degree accredited to Macbeth himself for plotting and actually killing King Banquo. It may be true that his wife helped him achieve this feat, but before he even told Lady Macbeth about him becoming King he was already having dark thoughts. As a result, I place the blame of the death upon Macbeth by first coming up with this heinous plot.

=Assignment IV=
 * How does Macbeth react to the killing of Duncan? Why does he react this way?
 * How does Lady Macbeth react to the killing of Duncan? Why does she react this way?

1. He seems to be deeply conflicted before and after he kills King Duncan. This can be explained by utilizing the example of the sword that becomes covered in blood as Macbeth prepares to kill the King. Also, after the murder he seems to be quite shocked that he actually carried out his plot when the King was so kind to him and his wife.

2. Lady Macbeth seems to be much more "cool" about the murder and even precedes to wiped the guard's clothes with the King's blood and lay the daggers at their feet to make them seem responsible. Her quote "A little water washes us of this deed" truly shows that she is a heartless soul. =Assignment V=
 * Write a one sentence summary of each scene. (post on your MR wiki page)
 * In 3.6, what suspicions does the Lord have about Macbeth? (post on your MR wiki page)

Scene 5: Hecate, the head of the witches comes to convene with the weird sisters and carries out some rituals. Scene 6: After the death it seems that most if not all believe that Malcolm and Donalbain are responsible for the murder of King Banquo.

After failing to kill of the king's sons Macbeth is preparing for war to maintain his kingship over the land. The lord is quite aware of this and takes severe disliking after conversing with Macduff about Macbeth. In the end he also decides to ramp up his armed forces for extra security.


 * What does Macbeth want in this scene?
 * What stands in his way?
 * How does Macbeth attempt overcome the obstacles in his way?
 * What do the Witches want in this scene?
 * (Post responses to all of the above questions to your MR wiki page.)

1. Macbeth has gone to the witches to get more advice and prophecies of both himself and Banquo. 2. Macbeth has learned that a man not born of a woman will kill him in the end that Banquo's children will become Kings, and his castle will not fall until the forest of Birminham approaches him. 3. He attempts to overcome his obstacles by sending out some murderers to kill Banquo and his son Fleace, then he tries to kill all of Macduff's family. 4. The witches are just simply toying around Macbeth and leading him to his downfall by twisting facts so that he seems much better off than he really is.

=**Assignment VI**= //How has Macbeth transformed by the end of the play?// By the end of the play Macbeth has transformed from a person of virtue and courage to a power-hungry tyrant who has no end of want and continues to kill in order to stay as the King. His bloodlust is easy to see when we hear the line "Hang those that talk of fear. Give me mine armor." (Line 5.3.37) which shows how he is even going to a hopeless battle so that he can remain King.

=Assignment VII=
 * What can we learn from these characters? Select one or two characters and explain your answer.
 * Do you see recurring images, words, deeds, situations, consequences, mistakes? Select two items from the preceding list and give examples from the play.

1. The main idea of the story is of humanity's greed for all that is to be achieved. This is clearly illustrated when Macbeth who should have been just content with becoming the Thane of Cawdor proceeds to kill the King himself. Also, by killing King Banquo Macbeth has been led into killing much more people to cover up his murder and alllow him to maintain rule over his kingdom.

2. From Lady Macbeth we can see how that although she seems to believe at first that murder is nothing serious but as we can see from her later actions and eventual death, murder has a way of eating away at a person's morals and mind. However, in the case of Macbeth he seems to actually embrace murder as he continues to massacre his closest friend and families.