Unit 2, Activity 2.1

Macbeth Journal Entries 

1 (1). Many stage productions of MacBeth omit Act I scene i. Is this scene necessary? How does it prepare us for important themes in the play? What is the effect of this scene's setting? What does the line "Fair is foul, and foul is fair" (line 10) mean?

    The many productions of Macbeth that omit Act 1 scene i are making an error. Taking out the first scene of act 1 is defeating it's main purpose, the purpose of being able to draw the attention of the audience. Therefore this scene is extremely necessary to the overall outcome of the audience's perspective on the play. Act 1 scene i prepares the spectators. This scene prepares us for important upcoming themes in this play, for example the strong belief in prophecies throughout the play. Characters in Macbeth generally believe in prophecies that are said to be true by the witches and Macbeth tries strongly to make the prophecies come true. It also sets up the theme of weather, and the effect that it has on the play. Such as when Macbeth kills Duncan the thunder and lightning accompanies him, and for other instances in the play.

    The setting of the scene is in a very dark, deserted place where the witches are gathering. The thunder and lightning accompanies them, and this entire setting sets a tone for the play. The dark place along with the weather sets up the darker tone that the play has. It gets people ready for all the bad moral behaviour and the killing as well. The quote "fair is foul and foul is fair" is very important at setting up the play. It is setting up the theme in the play "not everything is always as it seems". Macbeth at the beginning seems like a perfectly relatable character with his ambition but we soon see that he will stop at nothing and kills Duncan, along with committing more evil acts. 

2 (2). For questions 2-4, consider the classical definition of tragedy from Aristotle's Poetics: a drama about a noble hero with a tragic flaw that causes his/her downfall. The tragic hero's fate evokes pity and terror and creates a catharsis (an emotional release or purging) for the audience.Describe MacBeth's character. Is he completely a villain? Does he have a conscience? What are his admirable qualities? What do the wounded captain's comments (I. ii.) reveal about MacBeth's character? What is his tragic flaw? Is MacBeth aware of his flaw?
  Macbeth is a very intriguing and complicated character, who of which grows and develops as a person while the play goes on. Macbeth doesn't fit the description perfectly as a "villain",due to the fact he has a conscience. For example towards the end of the play when Lady Macbeth passes away, he is very gloomy and heart broken thus showing he has emotion and cares for her. The admirable qualities in which Macbeth has includes passion, for example after his wife died he was deeply saddened and depressed. Another quality that is illustrated is the sense of a conscious, this is shown after Macbeth kills Duncan as he is dramatized and shocked. 
  In act 1 scene ii, the wounded captain reveals numerous aspects on Macbeth's character. The captain mentioned Macbeth's ambition towards success. Perseverance is also demonstrated once he got through Macdonwald. Macbeth's tragic flaw I believe was his blinding ambition to become King, which was aided by the witches prophecy. Macbeth is so driven to become King, that he does the unthinkable, unspeakable and loses loved ones along the way. He only realizes what his flaw is when the Birnam forest comes running towards him, only then is Macbeth aware that he is not immortal and his life will quickly come to an end.

3 (3). A tragic hero should provoke our sympathy. Do you sympathize with MacBeth? Why or why not? Does his downfall evoke pity and terror? Does he fit Aristotle's definition of a tragic hero?
     The play Macbeth stars ones of the most famous and famously debated characters written by Shakespeare. It is often debated wether Macbeth is a tragic hero of not. Fitting the definition of a tragic hero requires the audience to have sympathy for the character in some way. I think that people actually do sympathize for Macbeth, this is due to the ambition he has. Macbeth is in search of what he can't have and is constantly trying to improve on his social status in anyway possible, this is easy to relate to as many people do so on a daily basics. A tragic hero's downfall should also evoke pity and terror. Although the pity is not illustrated well the terror aspect is evident due to the blood, killing. 
    Macbeth does indeed fir Aristotle's definition of a tragic hero as he is noble during the play, he has relate-able and admirable qualities such as ambition or courage. Macbeth also has a tragic flaw, it being the amount of ambition and adrenaline he has which leads to him killing Duncan. Finally, when Birnam wood is striding towards him he realizes the mistakes he has made and that he will pay for it in return for his life. He also dies with dignity, say he will fight till the very end, until he is destined to be killed.  

4 (8). Blood is mentioned over 100 times in MacBeth. What are the most significant references to blood in the play? As a psychological symbol, what does blood represent for MacBeth and Lady MacBeth?
     Macbeth revolves around blood as it is mentioned countless times. The most significant scenes in the play to involve blood include the hallucinations, murders and famous speeches. One of the biggest references to blood is the hallucination of the bloody dagger by Macbeth. It is significant because it is pointing to the room of Duncan and it has blood on it which leads Macbeth to make the decision to kill King Duncan. Followed by the next significant scene using blood, which is when Macbeth kills Duncan in his sleep and comes back holding the bloody dagger. Lady Macbeth also has one of the most significant references to blood in the play. The scene where she is sleepwalking and trying to scrub a spot of blood off of her hands is very significant because she is reenacting the scene after Macbeth kills Duncan, thus revealing the truth to the Doctor who witnesses it. As a psychological symbol, blood for Lady Macbeth and Macbeth illustrates how unsure Macbeth was when he killed Duncan. Also guilt can be observed when Lady Macbeth is trying to get the blood spot out hysterically.  So it is justified to believe that blood signifies guilt for Lady Macbeth in this scene because she cannot get rid of the guilt, same with Macbeth. Even if the dagger is wiped clean of the blood, the guilt will still remain for Macbeth no matter what. 

5 (13). Discuss the definitions of "manhood" proposed by characters throughout the play. Contrast Malcolm's and Macduff's views of manhood (see IV. iii. 213-235). Does Malcolm's view of manhood seem to contradict his earlier description of himself (see IV. iii. 125-132)? What is Lady MacBeth's definition of manhood (see I. vii. 35-59)? How does MacBeth espouse this definition in his conversation with Banquo's murderers (see III. i. 75-142)? Does MacBeth find this definition of manhood viable by the end of the play? How has his "manly" behavior reduced him to the level of a beast?

     The play Macbeth is in general a manly play, with lots of blood, killing and competition to be the most powerful man. There are many different definitions of manliness and manhood in the play by many different characters. In one particular scene, after Macduff’s wife and children are murdered, we see an example of this. After informing Macduff about the news, Malcolm urges Macduff to take revenge on Macbeth and go after him in search of vengeance  looking for blood. Macduff on the other hand believes that the responsibility of a man in this circumstance is to take responsibility for not being there to protect his family. This description does kind of contradict what he had said earlier in the scene about himself being a rather innocent man who had never lied or broken a promise.

Lady Macbeth’s definition of a man in Act 1, scene 7 is one of taking what is desired no matter what. She believes that men should not fear the consequences of taking what they want or desire and if they do fear this they are cowards. Later in the play when Macbeth is talking to the murderers, he uses this definition of a man to help get the murderers to say yes to the job. He tells them that Banquo has wronged them and that if they want to kill him, they should do so because that is what they desire. He states that they will be a lower class of man if they do not do so. A the end of the play, I think Macbeth realizes that maybe this definition of a man is not intelligent, because this definition of a man has caused him to lose everything just for a short term gain. It has reduced him to a beast like creature because he just goes after whatever he desires without thinking about personal relationships or about consequences, that is the behaviour of an animal.

6 (12). Discuss the following characters as doubles of MacBeth: Duncan, Malcolm, Banquo, the Thane of Cawdor, and the King of England. How would you compare each character to MacBeth? If we interpret these characters as reflections of various facets of MacBeth's personality, what facet would each character represent?

  Macbeth and Duncan in the play are quite different in terms of personality, Duncan is very wise, old and a father figure of sorts. Meanwhile Macbeth maybe being more naive, however both are born into nobility and they are both high up in Scottish hierarchy. I guess if Duncan were to be a part of Macbeth`s personality it would have to be perhaps the ability to be wise in certain situations and his nobility throughout the play. Malcolm and Macbeth are both trying to become King at all costs and will stop at nothing to do so. Malcolm also ends up being a part of the regicide against Macbeth, like Macbeth committed a regicide on Duncan. Both characters share ambition and courage. Macbeth and Banquo are also comparable characters especially since they were such good friends prior to Macbeth killing Duncan. They were both high up in the Scottish military during the reign of Duncan. If there was a character trait that they perhaps shared it would probably be the caution and being unsure because Banquo says not to take the prophecy of the witches literally because they are evil, he frequently advises not to do things without thinking them over first. Macbeth also takes time to think about things and is often concerned about things like the witches and Macduff, however his mind is corrupted. Macbeth also shares a character trait with the Thane of Cawdor prior to him, because he is described as a traitor and that`s why he was hanged. Macbeth is also a traitor of sorts because he commits regicide on Duncan. Macbeth is also similar to the King of England in the sense that they are both very good military minds and both have courageous military backgrounds.

7 (9). How are storms, omens, and prophecies used as psychological symbols in the play?
   Through out this play it is evident that Shakespeare used many symbols to intrigue the audience and to make them think, as not everything is as it seems. Storms were used during the plays when death, battle or chaos occurred, for example when the witches were talking, and when Macbeth killed Duncan storms were occurring in the background. Omens are used through out the play during dark scenes, to show a sense of destruction. For example "The moon is down" (Act 2, scene 2) is an Omen used. Prophecies were used in the play at the very start when the witches address Macbeth, mentioning his rightful title, then the Thane of Cawdor followed by the King. All of which come true, but prophecies are good uses of foreshadowing for events later on in the play.

8 (4). What are the forces that determine MacBeth's destiny? To what degree are the witches responsible for MacBeth's downfall? What roles do fate and free will play in MacBeth's destruction?
    The forces that determine Macbeth's destiny are the witches and the spirits prophets, Macbeth's own ambition and Lady Macbeth. I would say that the witches were greatly responsible for Macbeth's downfall. It was the witches that gave Macbeth the courage to kill Duncan, and gave him faith that eventually he would become King. The idea of fate and free will are "debatable" in a sense in the the play Macbeth. Although, I am very  "free will" sided, as Macbeth  took it upon himself to take all of the actions he did to get to where he wanted to be. Although if Macbeth truly had faith in the prophecy he would have just relaxed, as no matter what he did eventually he would become King. That was obviously not that case as his actions were gutless and back fired on himself in the end battle.

9 (10). What is the purpose of the Porter scene (II. iii. 1-45)? Does it seem out of place in the play? How does this comic scene reflect the play's darker themes?
   The purpose of the Porter scene was to add humour into the play, as many people in the audience were drunk it was important to keep them entertained and drawn into the plays action. Personally I do not think it was out of place in the play. This comic scene reflects on the darker elements of the play in a simple way, just to lighten the mood. An audience would not enjoy a play of constant death, storms, blood and serious scenes, adding a funny moment is very key to a successful production even if the funny moment is extremely short.