AC+Lynn

= ACT 5 SCENE 8 Macbeth =

** SCENE ANALYSIS **
The basic things that happen in my scene are : **What do you think are the key purposes of your scene?** I think that the key purpose of this scene is to bring the play to a conclusion. If both Macbeth and Macduff keep living on, then there would be no end to the story. In order for the play to conclude, Macduff and Malcom, the good characters, need to attempt at least once to oust Macbeth from his position, even if they fail. This scene is important since Macbeth finally dies and his death is very significant to the message of this play. His death in this concluding scene show how what comes around goes around. Macbeth, who murdered people in order to get what he wanted, was a man who needed some thorough punishment. Just when he thought he was on top of the world with no one who could kill him, we see how he is swept off his throne. Macbeth's death also shows how excessive pride is harmful to oneself. My reactions to this play are of relief and disgust. Before he dies, Macbeth argues with Macduff, and during this conversation, we can sense how much Macbeth has changed. This change is sort of revolting. Macbeth shows how power can corrupt a good man thoroughly and it's scary to think about what greed and ambition can do to people. Macbeth is also just so cocky and just so unreasonably stupid that he gets annoying. I felt really relieved and satisfied though when Macduff walks back on the stage with Macbeth's head. Macbeth had unfairly murdered Macduff's whole family and deserved what he got.
 * In the beginning of this scene, Macbeth and Macduff finally meet face to face.
 * They have a conversation which basically talks about how although Macbeth cannot be killed by a man who's been born from a woman, Macduff can because he was "untimely ripped" from his mother's womb. Macbeth gets scared, but he gets mad when Macduff taunts him and tells him to surrender. So Macbeth summons his courage and challenge Macduff to a fight.
 * They exit the stage to go fight.
 * While these two are somewhere else fighting, Malcom is with Siward and Ross. The three talk about how Siward's son has died a noble death and the other two try to cheer up Siward. Siward is proud of the way his son died.
 * Macduff reenters with Macbeth's head. He gives a little speech for Malcom and everyone hails the new king.
 * The scene and play ends with Malcom's speech.
 * What are your reactions to this scene?**

CHARACTER REPORT
First of all, my character wants to survive. Obviously, no one wants to die, and Macbeth is no exception. He wants to survive in order to keep his position as king. He wants to remain in power and in order to do so, he needs to stay alive. Also, Macbeth does not want to surrender and have to submit under Malcom; he does not wish to be humiliated before everyone. He needs to kill Macduff in this situation and try to win the battle in order to avoid humiliation and death.
 * What does the character want in this scene?**

He is motivated and powered up by greed, ambition, and his want to live and survive. He is also motivated by other factors like his own pride and his unreasonable belief in the witches' most recent prophecy. Greed and ambition makes him want him to remain in his position as king, and his want to live and survive is what motivates him into trying to kill Macduff in this scene. His pride also motivates him into fighting because he does not want to be embarrassed and displayed as a freak show.
 * What is your character's motivation for doing what he or she does?**

Some of the obstacles that stand in his way are Macduff and his own pride, stubbornness, and stupidity in believing the witches' most recent prophecy. Macduff is a physical obstacle; he is something that Macbeth must actually destroy if he wants to keep on living and remain on the throne. His pride, stubbornness, and gullibility are mental obstacles that sort of cloud Macbeth's reason.
 * What obstacles stand in his or her way?**

Macbeth does not confront his mental obstacles since he is completely oblivious of them. He has become a man who sees only what can physically be seen and seeks for only the physical things. However, when my character confronts Macduff, his physical obstacle, Macbeth is killed.
 * What happens when your character confronts these obstacles?**

I think that there are some distinctive elements in the way Macbeth speaks. Macbeth does not speak plainly; his speech uses some good metaphors and he also uses interesting words like "intrenchant." Although his speech is not musical, Macbeth speaks in a way that sounds pretty high class. Also, the way Macbeth talks gives off a sort of cocky attitude; when he's talking to Macduff, he sounds extremely sure of himself and speaks in a way that shows no concern about what his speech may result to.
 * Are there any distinctive elements in your character's way of speaking(Is his or her language elaborate, plain, musical, or what)?**

My character is thinking about a lot of things during the scene. In this scene, Macbeth is faced with information that knocks him off his feet and scares him. He entered the war with extreme confidence, believing himself incapable of being beaten by any other man born from a woman. At the beginning, he talked to Macduff in a mocking tone. However, Macduff barges on him with news that he was not born, but taken from his mother's womb. This really scares Macbeth, and Macbeth quickly loses the cocky attitude he had with Macduff. He begins to blame the witches, but does not think about his faults. He reacts in a immature way; the truth has finally dawned on him, and Macbeth wants to run away. However, after Macduff taunts him, Macbeth, refusing to have his pride hurt, fights Macduff.
 * What is your character thinking during the scene (this is the subtext)? How does he or she react to the other characters and events.**

I think that our group performed pretty well, considering the circumstances. One of the people in our group was missing, but we still pulled it off. Many people told me that our group did really well in the fight scene. I think our costume were also creative and may have helped make our scene performance more realistic and interesting. However, not everything was perfect. The fight scene could have been smoother and we all could have tried to put in some more emotion. Also, I was sort of sick so my voice gave out during my part. I contributed by providing for some of the costumes. I feel as if I sort of acted as the director. With the fight scene, I research a little bit and then I planned out our own fight scene. Then I explained to Angie how we could act the fight scene out. As we practiced, I also suggested what emotions Stella and Bo should express when they act. I also came up with most of the basic ideas of what we should wear for our costumes. I think I performed quite well as an individual. I had memorized most of my lines and so I think that my parts went quite smoothly. I didn't stumble over my words. I think I tried really hard and tried to really get into character. I tried to show emotions that Macbeth may have really felt at that moment. I could have improved my scene performance by practicing more I guess and memorizing my lines with even more emotion. Although I had memorized my lines, I wasn't truly confident so I did read off the script a lot and that made the fight scene not as exciting as it could have been. This scene performance helped me to better understand the play because as I was practicing for my part, I had to research in order to understand my lines and understand how to act them out. I had to get a clear comprehension of the situation and by the end of this project, I understood the scene better than I had before when I just simply read the play.
 * Student Reflection: **
 * 1. Evaluate the performance of your group. What went well? What didn’t go well?**
 * 2. How well did you contribute to your group?**
 * 3. How well did you perform as an individual?**
 * 4. What could have improved your scene perfor****mance?**
 * 5. How did the scene performance help you better understand the play.**