| Macbeth, a dark and depressing tale of a Scottish king. Imagery and environment bring the play to life. You feel as crazy as Lady Macbeth, as evil as Macbeth, and as cannabalistic as Macbeth's horses. So curl up in a corner and read the scary tale of witches' prophesy. |
Cast: [top] Duncan - King of Scotland. Malcolm - His eldest son, Prince of Scotland. Donalbain - Duncan's youngest son. Macbeth - Thane of Glamis, Commander. Lady Macbeth - His loving wife. Sayton - Attendant. Three Murderers Doctor Gentlewoman Porter Banquo - Commander of Duncan's army. Fleance - His son. Macduff - A Scottish noble. Lady Macduff - His loving wife. Their son Lennox - Noble. Ross - Noble. Angus - Noble. Manteith - Noble. Caithness - Noble. Siward - Commander of the English Army. Young Siward - His son. Captain Old Man A Doctor Hecate - Witches' liason to the underworld. (If you wish..) Apparitions Three messangers, three servants, Lord, soldier. In my own words... [top] 1 : 1 The play starts with the foreboding scene of the witches' gathering. We learn the overall mood of the play, and are first scared by a loss of control over the elements of existence. 1 : 2 Next, we meet King Duncan and his entourage of sons and Lennox. They are surveying the site of a most bloody battle with the Norwegians. An injured captain tells Duncan all about the battle. The Thane of Cawdor conspired with Norway to battle Duncan, thus becoming a traitor. Macbeth is the hero of the day, most vengefully crushing the opposition. Duncan, upon hearing this, gives Macbeth the title of the traitor. He was promptly sentenced to be executed. Although Macbeth does not know it, he is now the Thane of Cawdor. He sends Ross and Angus to tell Macbeth. 1 : 3 We now see the three Weird sisters, talking about what they do in their spare time. They mainly torture things, people and swine mostly. Then Macbeth and his fellow commander Banquo come upon the witches. They are amazed at their appearance, which seems to be quite revolting. The witches, in turn, pass along four truths. First, they correctly guess Macbeth's title: Thane of Glamis. Then, they forecast that he will become Thane of Cawdor, and later, king. The witches also predict that Banquo's sons will be kings, seven of them in a dynasty. They then mystically vanish. Macbeth is really happy that these prophecies are told, but Banquo is more skeptical. In fact, he thinks they are crazy. Then, Ross and Angus catch up to them and tell Macbeth that he is Thane of Cawdor. He then realizes that two of the four truths have come true, and the others will too. He realizes that to become king, Duncan must die. The seeds of murder are planted. 1 : 4 The two groups finally meet, and Duncan gives Macbeth his felicitations. Duncan then invites himself to Macbeth's castle for the night to celebrate. Macbeth now realizes that to become king if Duncan dies, he will have to kill Duncan's sons, Malcolm and Donalbain. Macbeth sends a letter to his beloved wife and tells her of the witches, his new title, and that Duncan is coming to dinner. It may also be implied that talk of murder is in the letter. 1 : 5 We now see Lady Macbeth reading part of this letter her beloved husband sent her. She dreams of their greatness, but wishes she were cold enough to commit murder. She thinks her husband is too kind to do it, but wants to convince him anyway. Macbeth comes and they talk of Duncan's murder. Never the light of day will Duncan see again. 1 : 6 Duncan arrives at Macbeth's castle and is greeted pleasantly by Lady Macbeth, and knows nothing of her cold purpose. 1 : 7 Macbeth has second thoughts, and fails to see why he should kill his king for the sake of ambition. Lady Macbeth spurs him onto his purpose with chilling commitment. (She could kill a child, she were so determined). Macbeth agrees to the act. 2 : 1 Banquo is uneasy about the prophecies, but Macbeth acts as if he doesn't remember them. Then, Macbeth sees a dagger leading to Duncan's room, and is quite mystified. He then exists to kill the king. 2 : 2 Lady Macbeth is there waiting in her room for Macbeth to return from the murder. Macbeth returns in a very guilty state, incredibly amazed at what has just happened. He has forgotten to leave the daggers with Duncan's servants, so Lady Macbeth goes to place them there. (The servants are made to be drunk and to take the blame). She returns to her wife and lovingly helps him into bed. 2 : 3 A drunken porter opens the gate for Lennox and MacDuff, who has been made to wake Duncan. Macduff goes to wake Duncan as Macbeth and Lennox wait, but comes back speaking of the horror of the scene. Everyone learns of the deed as Macbeth kills the servants, supposedly out of grief. Malcolm and Donalbain are dismayed and suspect fouler foul play. They plan to leave Scotland, Malcolm to England and Donalbain to Ireland. 2 : 4 Ross and an old man talk about the death, discussing the unnatural flavor. Macduff is told that Macbeth is being crowned king. Macduff is weary of the coronation, but Ross attends. 3 : 1 Banquo is fearful that Macbeth committed the murders. Macbeth invites him to dinner. Because three truths have become true, Macbeth fears the Banquo's children will take power. He hires three murderers to kill Banquo and his son as they come to dinner. 3 : 2 Lady Macbeth and her husband discuss their situation, as both are fairly dismal. Macbeth fears Banquo. Lady Macbeth is starting to fall apart. 3 : 3 The three murders kill Banuo, but Fleance, his son, escapes. 3 : 4 As Macbeth's celebration begins, one of the murderers appears to report on the act, saying that Banquo was killed but Fleance escaped. When Macbeth goes to sit down at the table, there seem to be no seats left. Others point to what they see as an empty seat, but Macbeth discovers the owner of the seat to be Banquo's ghost. He is appalled by the gory sight, and the guests wonder what is wrong. Lady Macbeth explains that he is having a fit of some sort that will end soon. The ghost disappears, and things return to normal for a few moments. When the ghost reappears, and further frightens Macbeth, Lady Macbeth orders all of the guests out of the room. Macbeth, not knowing what the ghost seeks to do, vows to return to the witches. 3 : 5 This scene is a meeting between Hecate and the witches. It appears to explain the inner working of the witches' connection to the neither realm. (It is disputed that this scene was not written by Shakespeare. I have no idea what this scene does for the play other than make the witches seem more so [like witches]. It might be a good idea to skip this scene. I think even the movie skipped this.) 3 : 6 Lennox and a lord comment on the recent acts (Banuo's death), with a fair amount of sarcasm. Macduff flees to England to raise help to destroy Macbeth. 4 : 1 The witches are preparing for Macbeth's arrival by creating a brew, in a cauldron. (The ingredients are like any pot of soup. Baby's finger.. Scale of Dragon.. Turks' nose... Yum.)(Again, Hecate appears. I urge you to forget her, as she adds little to the play and may not have been written by Shakespeare.). Macbeth enters their witching ground, and demands them to answer his questions. They add various ingredients to the cauldron and Macbeth is asked to ask his questions. An apparition appears, of a head with a helmet on. It warns to beware of Macduff. The second apparition, a bloody child, gives pivotal information. "None of woman born shall harm Macbeth". Macbeth now considers himself immortal. The third apparition, a crowned child with a tree, tells Macbeth that he will be in no danger until "Birnam Wood comes to high Dunsinane Hill". Birnam wood is a forest near Macbeth's castle, Dunsinane. Another impossibility, saying that Macbeth is immortal. Then, Macbeth sees seven kings, descendants of Banquo. (One of these kings is James I, who Shakespeare wrote the play. Interesting guy.). The witches vanish, and Lennox finds Macbeth. He tells the king that Macduff has fled to England. Macbeth then resolves to kill Macduff's family. 4 : 2 Ross is seen telling Lady Macduff that her husbands flight to England was for a just cause. We see what a nice lady she is, and how her children are (building as much sympathy for them a few lines allow). Then, a messenger informs her to flee for her life. She does not escape in time, and is killed, along with her children. 4 : 3 Macduff arrives at the English court with Malcolm, and begs him to attack Macbeth. Malcolm suspects Macduff to be a spy, but dismisses it. They plan their attack, and vow themselves against Macbeth. Ross arrives with the news of Macduff's families' slaughter. Naturally, he is grief stricken, but converts his woe into rage. 5 : 1 Lady Macbeth is seen sleepwalking, and washing her hands as her gentlewoman and doctor look on. She is trying to clean her hands of blood, of the recent deaths, and of her role in them. The doctor determines what we can see, that she has lost it. 5 : 2 Macbeth and his entourage are discussing the English army the Macduff and Malcolm raised, and plan to attack them near Birnam Wood. Macbeth is unafraid. 5 : 3 Reports of the advancing army come to Macbeth, that it is ten thousand strong and able to crush Macbeth. He is still unafraid, knowing his immortality. He tells the doctor to try harder to cure his wife, who is still hopeless. More news comes, that the defensive army was slaughtered, and the castle's downfall is eminent. He dons his armor and prepares for battle, still unafraid. 5 : 4 Rebel forces have joined Macduff's army, which is now situated in Birnam Wood. As a strategic maneuver, each man in the army is instructed to cut down a piece of tree and carry it as they advance on the castle to hide their numbers. Tension grows. 5 : 5 (This is where the 'fit hits the shan' for Macbeth. I like to think of it as a downward spiral.). First, Lady Macbeth kills herself. Then, the forest of Birnam Wood is seen moving. Macbeth gets scared, but still wants to fight. 5 : 6 The army advances, mighty and furious. 5 : 7 Macbeth kills the commander's son, who found Macbeth first. A valiant effort was made to kill Macbeth, but the son was born of woman. Macduff starts searching for Macbeth, thirsty for blood. 5 : 8 Macbeth is found, and Macduff starts to fight him. Macbeth tells of his immortality to be killed by anyone born of woman. It is then learned that Macduff was delivered into the world in what seems to be a medieval caesarian section. Macbeth is slain. Macbeth is decapitated. Malcolm is crowned king. Exeunt. In my humble opinion... [top] This play, for me, is like an itch that you scratch, and it feels god to scratch, but you still wish you never had to lift a finger in the first place. In other words, I liked it, but it wasen't fantastic and could have been better. First of all, I had no sympathy for anyone in the play, save for Macduff, Duncan, and his sons. I suppose this is how I am supposed to feel, but isn't the main character (Macbeth) susposed to be someone I can identify with? I dunno.. I wound up hating the bastard. In the persuit for power, he killed anyone in the way and held little remorse. He loved his wife, but not in a head over heels way, and barely flinched whan she died. My only solice in this character is knowing that he was probably a little crazy. Lady Macbeth was just a stone cold ice princess. Nuff said. I liked the witches though. Scary and unknown hags from the underworld. Seemingly feeble in appearance, they hold emmense power. (This reminds me of my Shining Complex, which is as follows: Seen the movie The Shining? Well, see it. The most paralyzing fear I have is in this movie. Look for the apparition of the two twins, supposedly dead, that come back to haunt Jack. They are small, dressed for church, and DEMONIC AS HELL! That freaked me out! Anyway, thats my Shining Complex.) The witches could have contributed more.. Like watch unseen as the battles are taking place, as evidence of a higher power or something. That would be cool. I gotta talk about the Macbeth movie by Roman Polanski, from Hugh Heiffner and Playboy Productions (No joke!). This movie is dismal, quite gory, and most definately a little scary. But it fantasticly portrays the mood I get from the play. Its got some nudity, but it just adds to the overall scariness of the film. Don't rent it.. Just read the play twice. Trust me. Music: Well, I listened to Reel Big Fish while reading it. I don't recommend doing that. Its kinda distracting. So, I changed my cd to Adore, from the Smashing Pumpkins. That fit nicely, especially the first track. Some others that might work are: Luscious Jackson, Letters to Cleo, and (maybe) Silverchair. Jeff ; - ) (Addendum: My english class is reading this now (12-98), and today we skipped a scene. A whole scene! What a travesty! An utter shame and insult to all who read for enlightenment and a personal slap on the face to the man himself.. So we read The Death of a Salesman nonstop but the lowly Macbeth deserves two pages to be totally forgotten?!?!?! THIS is what is wrong with modern study of Shakespeare.) More... [top] Macbeth - Kenneth Branagh's book on Macbeth. (Kenny da man!) Birnam Wood - Thurough site. I stole their picture, so they deserve my highest recommendation. Jan's Page - A much better links page than this one. Go here if you need more Macbeth. Lots of stuff. Cool. I stole their pic! Macbeth - The Polanski flick I was talking about. Don't see it. Don't click here either. Macbeth in Manhatten - Looks like a remake. Modern adaption. Check it out if you like Macbeth.
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