Act 5: Out Damn Spot!

As the last part of my Macbeth Assignments I had to do a monologue from Act 5. This is Lady Macbeth's famous "Out Damn Spot" monologue. She speaks this monologue when she is sleepwalking, and she verbalizes her guilt. She keeps seeing blood on her hands which she can't seem to clean off. After Duncan's murder she tells her husband: "A little water clears us of this deed. How easy is it then!" (II.ii.70-71). Obviously her guilt is harder to clear than she thought. 

Act 4: Riddles and Rhymes

"Be lion-mettl'd, proud, and take no care who chafes, who frets, or where conspirers are. Macbeth shall never vanquish'd be until Great Birnam Wood to high Dunsinane Hill shall come against him." (IV.i.89-93)

I created all the images using a website called Polyvore which lets you cut, combine, and edit images. This is one of the three riddles the witches tell Macbeth in Act 4. What this riddle means is that Macbeth doesn't need to pay attention to his enemies, or people who conspire against him, because he won't be defeated until the forest comes to Dunsinane hill (where his castle is). Macbeth, who doesn't pay close attention to meanings or symbolism, takes it as a sign that he will never be defeated. How can a wood move? He thinks very logistically not creatively, and this leads him to be overconfident and egotistical, believing he can never lose. I wanted to show how the riddle actually plays out in the story, and used tarot cards to represent Macbeth (as the fool who believes he is invincible), and the army (which is the force). Tarot cards are used in fortune telling and predictions, and seeing as this riddle was a prophecy I though they would be a good thing to include. 

"Be bloody, bold, and resolute; laugh to scorn the power of man, for none of woman born shall harm Macbeth." (IV.i.78-80)

This riddle is quite simple, again saying that Macbeth has nothing to fear and can laugh at his enemies, because no one born from a woman can harm Macbeth. Again, Macbeth really hears what he wants to hear, and thinks he's invincible. Who isn't born from a woman? At that time, there were no other options, no technology or test tube babies. However Macbeth doesn't think outside the box or examine the riddle too closely, which as you'll see later leads to a problem for him. Because it's a simple riddle I stuck with a simple image, no baby born from a woman, and Macbeth looking powerful because of his supposed "invincibility". 

"Macbeth, Macbeth, Macbeth: beware Macduff, beware the Thane of Fife. Dismiss me. Enough."  (IV.i. 70-71)

All of these riddles are quite simple but can be interpreted different ways. This is probably the simplest prophecy of all- The apparition (spirit, ghost, image) is warned Macbeth that he should be wary of Macduff, who is his strongest enemy. Macbeth ends up arranging the murder of Macduff's family, which only fuels his hatred of Macbeth, and his wish to defeat him. I decided to do a simple image of Macduff with a sword, and Macbeth looking wary. 

I also decided to do an image of Lady Macbeth. She has a desperate ambition to be Queen, and will go to any lengths to get what she wants.  Her relationship with her husband, while being close is very controlling (hence the puppet strings) and she talks him into murdering Duncan, though he is against it. She has an interesting line in Act 2: "My hands are of your colour, but I shame to wear a heart so white.". Like Macbeth she also has bloody hands, but she accuses him of having a innocent heart (white, pure, bloodless). I found that interesting because when I think of a bloodless heart, I think of someone who has no feelings or reactions, someone who has no heart is emotionless. So I gave her a heart without substance, a heart without feeling.  

Act 3: Let's Review!

With any Shakespeare play it's really important to understand the story, and figure out exactly what's going on. If you have experience with Shakespeare this is a bit easier, but if you've never heard of the play it can be difficult and even *gasp* boring to follow. I have created a Prezi presentation (if you don't know what prezi is go to this website to create a free account. trust me it's a life saver) which outlines every scene and major character from Act 1-3. This is an assignment for a class I'm involved in, so I only did Act 1-3 but I tried to be as detailed as possible and added little notes on character development, the audience, and writing style. You can go to this page to see the prezi. 

Now you can sound really smart. 

Act 2: Lady M's Weapon of Choice: Twitter

I had to create a fake twitter account for a main character in Macbeth, and tweet what I think they would have tweeted about, regarding their reactions, emotions and events in Act 2. I have used twitter before so I'm no stranger to how it works. I found this little assignment really fun, and it was cool to get inside Lady Macbeth's head, and give her a bit of a modern twist. I enjoyed playing with hashtags for her posts, but controlled myself from going too 12 year old girl and using twenty of them.  Posting as someone else ( a fictional character for that matter) took some of the pressure off. Posting on sites like twitter and facebook, where people can see a profile of you and what you post, it's easy to feel like you are being judged based on what people see. That's one downside, but even the best things have cons I can assure you. It took work to set up an account, but twitter is really easy to use and is a fun way to express thoughts. Twitter doesn't give you the ability to post huge amounts of text- in fact it gives you a limit. This means that you write and read quick observations and emotions which are often easier to take in and absorb than huge long expressive passages that can be really interesting, but perhaps could have been summed up in a simple sentence. Personally, I have a twitter account, but I find I don't use it as much as I use Facebook or Tumblr. I enjoy following my friends on twitter, as usually they post very witty and interesting comments on topics, however it can occasionally be very dull to read about what someone ate for breakfast. Something like Tumblr which is mostly pictures and gifs (moving images) is designed as a mostly visual blog, which is different. Then Facebook (for me anyways) is mostly used for keeping in touch with friends around the globe.  Please check out my Lady Macbeth twitter account at this website. Tweet on, twitter out. 

Act I: Lady Macbeth the Bold

Lady Macbeth is one of my favorite characters in the play Macbeth. The depth of her character is fascinating to watch onstage, and her power and ruthlessness make her extremely dynamic. To understand her role in the play, picture the cliche scene of someone taking advice from the angel on one side and the devil on the other. Lady Macbeth is the little devil, tempting Macbeth, and urging him to do want he can't fathom doing to take what she thinks is rightfully his. Without her action, Macbeth probably wouldn't take the drastic course of murdering Duncan to claim the throne. 

We don't know much about Lady Macbeth's background- her actual name is never mentioned in the play, she is known only as Lady Macbeth. I would predict that she is in her late 30's to 40's, as she speaks and acts with the experience of an older woman. She mentions that she has suckled a child, which insinuates that they had a baby, but it is presumed that it died or fell sick, as they do not currently have a child in the play. Macbeth is a thane, very much like a lord, so she is a woman of nobility which gives her power and status. Like many of Shakespeare's female characters (Kate, Beatrice, Cordelia as some examples of feisty women), Lady Macbeth is very confident and not afraid to challenge her husband. She questions his masculinity and ambition when he refuses to go through with killing Duncan: "When you durst do it, then you were a man. And to be more than what you were, you would be so much more the man." (I.VII. 49, 50). At the time women were supposed to serve their husbands, not scorn their manhood. Lady Macbeth is not afraid to stand up to her husband, and her skill with words convinces him to go through with it. When reading their dialogue you get the sense that they are quite close. She seems to know Macbeth very well, and knows what his weaknesses and desires are, and what will push him to do the deed. Lady Macbeth is extremely ambitious, and she believes that her husband must seize what has been promised to him, not sit idly and wait for it. Macbeth questions what she asks him to do, and were it not for her conviction, the murder never may have happened, and the events of the play may have been very different. Her character, like the witches is also very sinister. In the beginning she has no guilt about the murder, and sees it as the only option. She calls upon dark spirits and forces to strengthen her, fill her with cruelty, and stop any remorse. While I find her character bewitching, her lack of compassion and sympathy makes me fear her. The actresses who played Lady M in productions I have seen have been outstanding, capturing her cold harsh cruelty, and later her unravelling human side as well. Her fate teaches us that no crime goes unpunished, and you cannot dismiss the past and what you do. Her ambition costs her as we see later in the play, and while I do feel sorry for her, I can't help feeling like she gets what she deserves. 

The Weird Sisters: Triple the Toil and Trouble

The witches of Macbeth- some of the most well known characters in Shakespeare. Almost everyone (Shakespeare buff or not) is familiar with their scene of "Double, double toil and trouble; Fire burn, and cauldron bubble." (IV.i.10). The witches serve a number of purposes in the play. They are the supernatural elements of the play, and help create the atmosphere and tone throughout the script. A story of murder and betrayal just isn't complete without three creepy hags. In terms of their dialogue onstage they serve the purpose of foreshadowing. If you pay close attention, and attempt to understand their rhymes, they predict Macbeth's future, and practically lay out the plot of the play before your very eyes. They hail Macbeth as Thane of Glamis (his current title), then as Thane of Cawdor, and finally as king, foretelling that Macbeth will ascend to these titles. They also tell Banquo's fortune- predicting that he will be "Lesser than Macbeth, and greater." (I.iii.63) and "Thou shalt get kings, though thou be none." (I.iii.65). This means that although he seems to be less than Macbeth he will actually gain more than him in the end, and while he won't be a king, he shall have kings-or his sons will become kings. Fate and destiny are large themes in this play, and the witches, through their supernatural predictions, set Macbeth on the path he follows throughout the play. By telling him what he could become, he is pushed to attempt to achieve his promised future, both by his wife and his own ambition. Personally I think that we influence our own future, and that the choices we make lead us towards different paths. Our futures are constantly shifting and changing, and there are hundreds of possibilities depending on what you choose to do. Everything is connected, and every choice influences the others and so on and so forth. Hard stuff to comprehend. Perhaps there is some sort of predetermined fate, but if so, I think we have the power to change it. Lady Macbeth thinks similarly, and pushes Macbeth to take advantage of the circumstances and seize what he is promised; she believes that he must act to make the prophecy unfold. Perhaps the consequences Macbeth faces later could have been avoided if he hadn't acted, but then it wouldn't be a very interesting play would it? This is a fun Animaniacs parody of the witches' scene from Macbeth. Just for laughs. This video shows three different versions of the same scene (Act I scene I), done in the three different movie versions of the play. It is very interesting to see how the witches can be portrayed differently, depending on the time setting, and their intent with their delivered lines. The witches are interesting and sinister characters who play an important role in both the theme and the plot of the play. "Fair is foul, and foul is fair" (I.i.12)

The Scottish Play: Act I and First Impressions

Alright. So first off you should know that I love Shakespeare. Seriously I'm a wee bit of a Shakespeare nerd. I have had some sort of contact (read, acted in, or seen) with most of his plays- and my favorites are "Midsummer Night's Dream", "King Lear", and "Macbeth" (which I had both seen and read before we studied it in English). While understanding the language can sometimes be like translating Latin, his writing is so gripping, witty, and beautiful that it constantly pulls me in.  My first encounter with Macbeth was learning that there is deep superstition rooted with this play and theatre. It is supposedly VERY bad luck to say the name of the play while in a theatre and it is referred to as Mackers or The Scottish Play. Should you mistakenly utter the name  you must spit and turn around three times or be cursed. While I am not superstitious I don't mess with this one after my friend said the name by accident in the theatre, then promptly tripped and fell off the stage spraining her ankle. No joke. Actors don't make this stuff up.  Regardless of the curse on it's name, I find Macbeth a gripping story of murder and I absolutely love the character's journeys and developments in this play. As an actor I see so much to play with these characters, who are so deep, complicated and challenging, and ever changing and growing throughout the play. I find the theme of power extremely intriguing, and the use of supernatural elements only increases the creepiness and underlying tone of evil that rides throughout this play. The script is excellently written, but watching it on stage really brings the story to life. This video (done by Sparknotes) gives a good detailed overview of the play. This video is a Lady Macbeth monologue (from Act I) done by Judi Dench when she was a part of the Royal Shakespeare Company in London. Her portrayal of Lady M is one of my favorites- she is a powerful and strong actress who's performance resonates very deeply with me.