Macbeth by Ron https://padlet.com/ruzzier1963/r53efla7rz95cvu3 Toil and Trouble en-us 2021-06-01 03:16:43 UTC 2026-02-03 18:59:42 UTC hello@padlet.com https://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2015/09/yw-FilmMacbeth-e1443613346797.jpg William ruzzier1963 https://padlet.com/ruzzier1963/r53efla7rz95cvu3/wish/1575044784 Choose two of the minor characters in Macbeth and examine how they contribute to the play's action.

Fleance:
Fleance's part in the play makes him a considerably important character. Fleance presents a threat to Macbeth's rule over Scotland due to his blood and the potential for him to inherit the crown. After surviving the assassination attempt on Banquo and himself, Fleance escapes from Scotland. This causes Macbeth to become upset and paranoid over the potential restraints this puts on his plans. "I had else been perfect, whole as the marble, founded as the rock, as broad and general as the casing air: but now I am cabined, crippled, confined and bound to saucy doubts and fears".

Hecate:
Despite appearing for a short time, Hecate plays a considerably large part in the actions of Macbeth by the 3 witches. Being angry at the witches for not being involved in the plans for Macbeth, Hecate asks for them to give Macbeth a false sense of security. This false sense of security leads Macbeth to become overconfident in his power, leading to his death. ]]> 2021-06-01 03:19:36 UTC https://padlet.com/ruzzier1963/r53efla7rz95cvu3/wish/1575044784 Brian ruzzier1963 https://padlet.com/ruzzier1963/r53efla7rz95cvu3/wish/1575050425 Compare and contrast Macbeth, Macduff, and Banquo. How are they alike? How are they different? Is it possible to argue that Macbeth is the play’s villain and Macduff or Banquo its hero, or is the matter more complicated than that?

https://studymoose.com/similaritiesdifferences-of-macbeth-banquo-and-macduff-essay

https://prezi.com/yr-jyiyxz5cd/macbeth-comparisons-fun-times/

Macbeth, Macduff and Banquo are three major characters in the tragedy of Macbeth who are poised in a seemingly standard fashion within the story's narrative. While it is a common viewpoint to argue that Macbeth is the play’s villain and Macduff or Banquo its hero, this distinction between the roles of the characters is more complex when held under scrutiny.

All characters possess a fighting spirit or capacity to cause harm, some level of ambition to achieve what they desire and are uncertain about whether their ambition justifies their actions. Ultimately, it is the choices they make and the audiences' perception of justice which determines their roles in the story.

Macbeth- driven by toxic ambition (willing to do anything to achieve his goal),  believes in the idea of fate, lack of virtuosity. He has no regard for the people around him (conveyed by Shakespeare through Macbeth not having any children?) and wants power for his own gain. He is the only character to be directly influenced to do evil (through Lady Macbeth)- a distinction which may result in him being labelled more as a tragic hero and less of a villain. 

Banquo- shares Macbeth's ambition and belief in fate, however he is passive and does not directly attempt to fulfil his ambition/assert his concerns. Likewise, Banquo is loyal to the king and does not ever consider murdering the king, however he is also unwilling to involve himself in the affairs of Duncan's murder- in fears that his accusations will jeopardize the safety of those close to him.
Ergo, while Banquo is not willing to commit regicide against his king, he is more concerned about the wellbeing of his family and himself, which trumps/takes precedence over loyalty to the king/Scotland. 
In this way, Banquo can be viewed as a divisor between Macbeth and Macduff- he is by no means a villain, but neither does he have the qualities befitting of a leader.

Macduff- driven by a sense of duty and reverent respect for the king/his country ('every day a new gash is added to her wounds'). Unlike Banquo, he is willing to take action to achieve his goals but unlike Macbeth, he only uses force if provoked or threatened (not an aggressor). Initially, this was stifled by him needing to choose between his duty as a father and to protect his country. However, after the death of his family, he uses his desire for revenge, both for the king and his family, to fuel his ambition, and ultimately revolt against Macbeth and restore Scotland's rule to its rightful owner. While the methodology and ambition of his actions are both befitting of a villain, it is the intention and justification which prompt the audience to perceive Macduff with such esteem.

They all have admirable traits but also have flaws.

]]> 2021-06-01 03:22:24 UTC https://padlet.com/ruzzier1963/r53efla7rz95cvu3/wish/1575050425 Veton ruzzier1963 https://padlet.com/ruzzier1963/r53efla7rz95cvu3/wish/1575052858 -------------------------------------------------
Question
Discuss the role that blood plays in Macbeth, particularly immediately following Duncan’s murder and late in the play. What does it symbolize for Macbeth and his wife?
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Key Words
  • There are multiple key words in Macbeth, that can be used over and over again. The key words that was used to symbolizes blood in the role Macbeth is time, night and blood.
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  • In Macbeth, blood symbolizes murder and guilt, and Shakespeare uses this symbol to try and characterize Macbeth and Lady Macbeth.
  • You can also see Macbeth suffers guilt for the murdering of Duncan in act II, scene I and Banquo's death in act III, scene III.
  •  Shakespeare also used blood symbols for Macbeth because to illustrate acceptance of his guilt. 
  • Lady Macbeth is another character that symbolizes guilt. This starts  at the beginning of the play, she appears more ruthless than her husband, but by the end of the play, she finally feels the pressure coming to her with looming guilt for her crimes. 
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]]> 2021-06-01 03:23:39 UTC https://padlet.com/ruzzier1963/r53efla7rz95cvu3/wish/1575052858 Logan ruzzier1963 https://padlet.com/ruzzier1963/r53efla7rz95cvu3/wish/1575053933 The fantastical and grotesque witches are among the most memorable figures in the play. How does Shakespeare characterize the witches? What is their thematic significance?
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grotesque - deformed, comically ugly.

Characterization
Shakespeare characterizes the three witches as dark, malevolent, and duplicitous beings with the power to harness forces of the supernatural. To prove this, he describes them as ugly, evident when Banquo says that they 'look not like th' inhabitants o' th' Earth'. Thus, it is clear from their unnatural, and unattractive appearance, that they are no ordinary women.  Shakespeare's characterization of the witches being malevolent, is detectable through the opening scene when they curse a 'sailor's wife' for simply not sharing chestnuts with them. Finally, the duplicitous nature of the witches is clear as while all of their predictions spoken to Macbeth, do become true, they all also harm him in some way. Take 'no man born of women will harm Macbeth,' as an example. While this was true, it was Macduff who ultimately killed him as Macduff was born of caesarean.

Thematic Significance
Shakespeare thematically grounds the weird sisters in fate, as it is ultimately their predictions which catalyse Macbeth's actions to tempt and challenge fate. ]]> 2021-06-01 03:24:14 UTC https://padlet.com/ruzzier1963/r53efla7rz95cvu3/wish/1575053933 Dion S ruzzier1963 https://padlet.com/ruzzier1963/r53efla7rz95cvu3/wish/1575055100 Is Macbeth a moral play? Is justice served at the end of the play? Defend your answer.
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Moral: concerned with the principles of right and wrong behaviour.
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Contention: Macbeth is a moral play.
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A1: Macbeth
contemplates murdering Duncan, therefore suggesting Macbeth acknowledges morality.
"Two truths are told, as happy prologues to the swelling act."
- If Macbeth needed to contemplate whether or not he should kill Duncan, then it is proven that Macbeth can distinguish the difference between right and wrong.
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A2: Lady Macbeth is drowned in guilt due to the murders, eventually causing her to go insane.
- It could be argued that as Lady Macbeth manipulated Macbeth into killing Duncan; an unethical and dishonourable act, that karma; the sum of a person's actions in this and previous states of existence, viewed as deciding their fate in future existences, came back to get her. While karma is debated to exist, there is no question that there is a relationship between Lady Macbeth's guilt/insanity and the murders that had occurred in the play, more specifically the murder of Duncan, Banquo, and Macduff's family.

https://www.psychologytoday.com/au/blog/pop-psych/201506/the-morality-guilt#:~:text=In%20the%20most%20common%20sense,of%20the%20individual%20experiencing%20guilt.&text=While%20they%20acknowledge%20guilt%20is,in%20certain%20types%20of%20situations.


]]> 2021-06-01 03:24:51 UTC https://padlet.com/ruzzier1963/r53efla7rz95cvu3/wish/1575055100 Dion M ruzzier1963 https://padlet.com/ruzzier1963/r53efla7rz95cvu3/wish/1575056148 Discuss Macbeth’s visions and hallucinations. What role do they play in the development of his character?

The hallucinations seen by Macbeth throughout Shakespeare's tragedy symbolizes guilt for engaging in bloodshed to further their personal ambitions 

Macbeth sees these visions as supernatural signs of his guilt as the action progresses.

Some of Macbeths visions and hallucinations include:

Dagger
"Art thou but
A dagger of the mind, a false creation, proceeding from the heat-oppressed brain"

Banquo's ghost
"Thou canst not say I did it: never shake
Thy gory locks at me"]]> 2021-06-01 03:25:24 UTC https://padlet.com/ruzzier1963/r53efla7rz95cvu3/wish/1575056148 Thomas ruzzier1963 https://padlet.com/ruzzier1963/r53efla7rz95cvu3/wish/1575057287 Discuss Shakespeare’s use of the technique of elision, in which certain key events take place offstage. Why do you think he uses this technique?
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Elision - omission of parts

Examples of this stuff 

Lady Macbeth suicide
Duncan murder
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Shakespeare kills people offstage so that the audience is left to imagine how they died and can enable the audience to envision the deaths in a more brutal manner than what could have been performed on stage. At the same time, by keeping the murders of Duncan and Macduff's children offstage, Shakespeare keeps the play from being too appalling for his audience at the time the play was written. The murder of a king who would have been considered holy at the time and killing children was probably just as horrific then as it is today.

When Duncan is murdered it is done offstage partly because of the reason mentioned above and also because it would distract the audience from the main point of the scene, Macbeth's decline in mental health and morals. By not showing the murder itself, but instead describing it through words, the audience can see the impact it has on Macbeth far more clearly than if the murder had happened on stage as they would be looking at the murder itself. 
https://www.enotes.com/homework-help/why-did-shakespear-use-technique-elision-drama-346998




]]> 2021-06-01 03:26:03 UTC https://padlet.com/ruzzier1963/r53efla7rz95cvu3/wish/1575057287 Declan ruzzier1963 https://padlet.com/ruzzier1963/r53efla7rz95cvu3/wish/1575058629 Agree or disagree with the following statement: "Macbeth is a play about courage, which asserts the triumph of good over evil." In answering this question, you should remember that courageous acts are not always motivated by virtue.

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Evidence and such:
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Courageous Definition:
[Meriam-Webster]

- Mental or moral strength to venture, persevere, and withstand danger, fear, or difficulty

Not all courageous acts are fuelled by virtue, so technically Macbeth's killing of Duncan would be courageous, given he was uncertain of going through with it, but still got the guts to go through with it. That act was motivated by Lady Macbeth's influence on him, and that action (while not courageous) was motivated by ambition, not by virtue.

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The Tragedy of Macbeth, while commonly commentating on concerns regarding courage, it doesn't always justify said courageous concerns as being those of virtue. Not all actions show that of being ones in good faith.

According to Meriam-Webster, the definition of courage is defined as that of possessing the strength to venture, persevere, and withstand danger, fear, or difficulty. An argument can therefore be made that Macbeth was indeed venturing into difficult situations, when he decided to kill Duncan. Whether it was under the influence of Lady Macbeth, it was he that did it, even though beforehand he said "we will proceed no further in this business". This alone shows his act in killing King Duncan, was an act of bravery in the face of a difficult situation, while not an act of virtue nor of goodwill.

Coincidently, Macbeth is also perseveres in a difficult situation when he is made King of Scotland, in trying to preserve his power. When he was crowned as King of Scotland, he had constant threats around him trying to plot his death. Such examples of this are MacDuff, who was one of the few who saw him as the murderer, and Malcom who's Duncan's eldest son who flees to England. This would be a very difficult situation to be in, and Macbeth makes that clear, when he murders MacDuff's entire family, somewhat out of fear, but mainly out of his courage to get out of this difficult situation. On the same topic, Macbeth withstood danger, by allowing Duncan to run free from his rule, only to return with 10,000 English soldiers.
]]> 2021-06-01 03:26:48 UTC https://padlet.com/ruzzier1963/r53efla7rz95cvu3/wish/1575058629 Bashar ruzzier1963 https://padlet.com/ruzzier1963/r53efla7rz95cvu3/wish/1575061210 From your reading, explain what Shakespeare imagined to be the qualities of a good king. How do Duncan and Macbeth fit this role? How might Malcolm do so?
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In the play Macbeth, the King roles the nature and land. Shakespeare introduces the idea which a good king shall serve it's country and people rather than ruin it, therefore a king must always put the country forward rather than instead of his own good. Elizabethan time, to be a good king, one must remain just and impartial in order to deliver justice. A king must seek advice from noble, family and from his people. A good king must also display human qualities, he must not be blinded and not show frailties like greed and arrogance. King Duncan fits the role as a king because he wants the best for his kingdom, although he lacks distrust of those around him. it appears that kind Duncan was linked by any means to god, after Macbeth kills Duncan, the natural order collapses. '' Duncan beautiful and fast houses, the best of their breed, went wild and broke out of their stalls.'' 
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In chess the king is the most important peace, let that sink in.
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- I do not agree that the porter scene is included only so that the actor playing Macbeth has time to wash the blood off his hands. I think the scene serves a slightly different purpose. I think the scene is there because it calms the audience and lessens the tension in the audience straight after the murder of Duncan. Shakespeare needs the situation to be less intensified and calmed down so that he can raise the intensity again when the body is discovered.


- The Porter also serves a thematic function, indicating that the gates to Macbeth's home are synonymous with the gates of hell. The Porter is the devil who opens the gates of hell.
- His dark humour also serves to reinforce the feeling of corruption and foreboding that spreads throughout the play. 

- The scenes humorous parts have in a way widened and enriched the tragic significance of Duncan rather than weakened it.


https://prezi.com/o6cibrsuhl4x/macbeth-the-porter-scene/
]]> 2021-06-01 03:29:07 UTC https://padlet.com/ruzzier1963/r53efla7rz95cvu3/wish/1575062847 Mr Ruzzier ruzzier1963 https://padlet.com/ruzzier1963/r53efla7rz95cvu3/wish/1575108402 Of all the women in the play Lady Macbeth is the strongest. Discuss.

Strongest: 

  • able to withstand force, pressure or wear

  • mentally powerful or vigorous


Witches: (women?) Look not like the inhabitants of the earth but yet are on 't. - 'Your beards forbid me to interpret it so.

Lady Macduff: murdered while husband is away, Shakespeare gives her interesting voice when bantering with her son.

Lady Macbeth





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