Notes: Macbeth Act 5

Notes: Macbeth Act 4

Journal Topic: Ruler type

"What kind of ruler do you think Macbeth will be? Why? Provide at least three textual examples that support your main points."

• "Fair is foul, and foul is fair"-Witches

• "But this blow might be the be-all and the end-all—here,But here, upon this bank and shoal of time,We'ld jump the life to come" -Macbeth 

• "I heard a voice cry, "Sleep no more! Macbeth does murder sleep," the innocent sleep..."           -Macbeth

• The times have been that, when the brains were out, the man would die, And there an end, but now they rise again, With twenty mortal murders on their crowns, And push us from our stools: this is more strange Than such a murder is." -Macbeth

I find that Macbeth is a poor leader, for a variety of reasons. A good leader does what is best fro his people, Macbeth is only concerned about himself and his actions support his. Instead of rising up to leadership, he stoops so low as to kill off his other competitors for the throne. For these actions ad murderous ways, I consider Macbeth nothing more than a coward. He is strung along like a puppet from Lady Macbeth and after he does some course of action, he is haunted by his guilt and he has the audacity to wonder why thing have played out the way they have. "I heard a voice cry, 'sleep no more! Macbeth does murder sleep!' The innocent sleep." Macbeth is haunted by murdering and believes he heard this chant after he killed Duncan. Macbeth's conscious is finally taking a toll. Another example of his conscious streaming through is when he sees Banquo's ghost lurking during a dinner.  "The times have been that, when the brains were out, the man would die, And there an end, but now they rise again, With twenty mortal murders on their crowns, And push us from our stools: this is more strange Than such a murder is." Macbeth is unable to back up his reasoning for anything he does. After every action he takes, he sits and contemplates after it's committed as oppose to the traditional thinking before he acts. He is such a poor leader, because he never learns from hi mistakes. Normally people grow and further their understandings to not make the same mistake twice. Macbeth not only continues to commit the same mistakes, but he is doing so and acts oblvious when his plans fail.

Macbeth Act 3 Notes

A coward makes for a poor leader

"Imagine how the plot, theme, and tone of Macbeth would be different if Macbeth could gain more power by becoming good at something or learning something, rather than benefiting through another's loss."

The first thing that comes to my mind from this prompt is the timeless quality most powerful leaders posses hypnotizing speaking skills. History is proof that great leaders are remembered for their memorable speeches to motivate or call forth some type of action. This is but one quality Macbeth lacks due to being consumed by his wife's ambitions/wickedness. If Macbeth could master the qualities of a true leader to win over his people as oppose to killing people to take the throne, maybe he could actually be a real "man."  In my opinion, I think Macbeth is a coward. He is influenced by Lady Macbeth to follow through with plans that cause disaster and solutions that cause nothing but tragedy, and does so for self seeking ambitions to better his own standings in life. He shows no true leadership. But who's really to blame? Do you blame Lady Macbeth as the puppet master, or Macbeth, the puppet? A true leader rises by building others up, not by putting others down. Is Macbeth could actually think for himself and gather enough strength to do what's best for his people as oppose for himself, maybe he could make the right decisions instead of letting Lady Macbeth walk all over him. Macbeth has no power because he isn't a leader. He is self seeking and ambitious for the throne and has lost sight of what it means to be a true leader. Learning/bettering himself is about the only option left for him to salvage his poor decision making, being easily influenced, and his murderous ways in order to become a real leader. 

What About My Masterpiece?

I have changed ideas so much for my masterpiece. But after much consideration, I've decided I'm going to revert back to my original idea except combining it with just a few aspects of the newer ones as well. 

The plan: I want to Persue my idea of interviewing fellow journalist. I like the idea of giving people who always tell other people's stories to finally have a chance to tell their own. I really liked my original concept. And I want to take it in the direction of a video, or maybe a picture slideshow and just describe their stories by talking to the class, or maybe even write them like a journalist press release type format. 

The action: now it's just a matter of gathering my journalist to interview. After contacting them, setting up rates, etc. I need to interview them to start and build my story from there. Journalism is a matter of telling stories, and that's exactly shr I want to do! 

The end goal: inspire people! 

Macbeth study guide questions

Notes/lecture information for Macbeth:

Macbeth Character Map

Characters

Macbeth – Lady Macbeth's husband and a Scottish nobleman, the Thane of Glamis. He is made Thane of Cawdor for his bravery in battle, and becomes King of Scotland by murdering the previous King, Duncan. As Macbeth opens, Macbeth is one of the great noblemen in Scotland: valiant, loyal, and honorable. He's also ambitious, and while this ambition helps to make him the great lord he is, once he hears the weird sisters' prophecy Macbeth becomes so consumed by his desire for power that he becomes a tyrannical and violent monster who ultimately destroys himself. What's perhaps most interesting about Macbeth is that he senses the murder will lead to his own destruction even before he murders Duncan, yet his ambition is so great that he still goes through with it. Lady Macbeth – Macbeth's wife. Unlike her husband, she has no reservations about murdering Duncan in order to make Macbeth King of Scotland. She believes that a true man takes what he wants, and whenever Macbeth objects to murdering Duncan on moral grounds, she questions his courage. Lady Macbeth assumes that she'll be able to murder Duncan and then quickly forget it once she's Queen of Scotland. But she discovers that guilt is not so easily avoided, and falls into madness and despair. Banquo – A Scottish nobleman, general, and friend of Macbeth. He is also the father of Fleance. The weird sisters prophesies that while Banquo will never be King of Scotland, his descendants will one day sit on the throne. Banquo is as ambitious as Macbeth, but unlike Macbeth he resists putting his selfish ambition above his honor or the good of Scotland. Because he both knows the prophecy and is honorable, Banquo is both a threat to Macbeth and a living example of the noble path that Macbeth chose not to take. After Macbeth has Banquo murdered he is haunted by Banquo's ghost, which symbolizes Macbeth's terrible guilt at what he has become. Macduff – A Scottish nobleman, and the Thane of Fife. His wife is Lady Macduff, and the two have babies and a young son. Macduff offers a contrast to Macbeth: a Scottish lord who, far from being ambitious, puts the welfare of Scotland even ahead of the welfare of his own family. Macduff suspects Macbeth from the beginning, and becomes one of the leaders of the rebellion. After Macbeth has Macduff's family murdered, Macduff's desire for vengeance becomes more personal and powerful. King Duncan – The King of Scotland, and the father of Malcolm and Donalbain. Macbethmurders him to get the crown. Duncan is the model of a good, virtuous king who puts the welfare of the country above his own and seeks, like a gardener, to nurture and grow the kingdom that is his responsibility. Duncan is the living embodiment of the political and social order that Macbeth destroys. Malcolm – The older of King Duncan's two sons, and Duncan's designated heir to the throne of Scotland. Early in the play, Malcolm is a weak and inexperienced leader, and he actually flees Scotland in fear after his father is murdered. But Malcolm matures, and with the help of Macduffand an English army, Malcolm eventually overthrows Macbeth and retakes the throne, restoring the order that was destroyed when Duncan was murdered. Weird Sisters – Three witches, whose prophecy helps push Macbeth's ambition over the edge, and convinces him to murder Duncan in order to become King. The witches' knowledge of future events clearly indicates that they have supernatural powers, and they also clearly enjoy using those powers to cause havoc and mayhem among mankind. But it is important to realize that the witches never compel anyone to do anything. Instead, they tell half-truths to lure men into giving into their own dark desires. It's left vague in Macbeth whether Macbeth would have become King of Scotland if he just sat back and did nothing. This vagueness seems to suggest that while the broad outlines of a person's fate might be predetermined, how the fate plays out is up to him. Fleance – Banquo's teenage son. Macbeth sees him as a threat because of the weird sisters' prophecy that Banquo's descendants will one day rule Scotland Lady Macduff – The wife of Macduff and the mother of Macduff's children (and the only female character of note in the play besides Lady Macbeth). She questions her husband's decision to leave his family behind when he goes to England to help Malcolm save Scotland from Macbeth. Source: http://www.litcharts.com/lit/macbeth/characters

Love is Blind

Lady Macbeth is viewed as this evil and conniving women. Macbeth is infatuated with her and ultimately does whatever he can to basically impress her. He craves her praise and lady Macbeth expliots her power over him by calling all the shots in the play. But Macbeth is blinded by love of the power she posses over him and doesn't realize the reality of being in handcuffs during the relationship. His ignorance makes him continue this lifestyle as oppose to taking control himself. 

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Came across these powerful art pieces by John Holcroft. So much reality packed into each picture.