Year 11 English Macbeth

Task: As you study Macbeth, write down notes on the characters, their motivations/action/themes inherent in each
scene.

Act and Scene Characters/ motivation Cultural Values and Thematic concerns Quote to reinforce them
Gender Beliefs of the
Abuse of Power
era -
 Medieval Europe Gender relations

Act 1, Sc 1 Three witches. They are evil and
malevolent. They plot their bad
design on Scotland and say theyll
meet Macbeth.
Witches are evil. Abuse of Power the There to meet with
Many women are witches plan to abuse Macbeth.
burnt at the stake in their supernatural
the 1600s in England, powers to attack
Spain. Scotlands social fabric.

Witches steal Gender women are

children, cast spells traditionally accused of
and generally being witches and
interfere with the punished for their
living. abuse of power.

People are very

superstitious.

Act 1, Sc 2 King Duncan, King of Scotland,
Malcolm, Sergeant, Ross, Lennox.
Scotland defeats an invasion by
Norway. Macbeth defeats a
traitor, and the Thane of Cawdor
and the king gives him his title.
Compensation is paid Power - King Duncan And with his former title
by defeated armies to has the power to award greet Macbeth.
the victors. battlefield commissions
to his subjects. Macbeth
Battlefield
receives more power
commission
lands and another title.
Macbeth for his
valiant defense is

Act 1, Sc 3 The three witches meet Macbeth
and Banquo on the heath and
prophesize some things; Macbeth
shall be thane of Cawdor, Macbeth
shall be king hereafter; and
Banquo will not be king but beget
kings.
Ross and Angus turn up with the
Kings gift of thane of Cawdor to
Macbeth. Banquo and Macbeth
are amazed that the witches
prophecy has come true.
given the Thane of
Cawdors title.
The great chain of Power More power is If chance will have me
being God created promised to Macbeth as King/Why, chance may cr
the social structure King by the witches, but me/Without my stir.
and hierarchy of there are obstacles
society. King at the (Malcolm, Donalbain) in
top princes, lords the way to that ultimate
all the way down to power. Power in the
the peasants. Kings form of his sons
were divinely becoming future kings
appointed by God. of Scotland is also
promised to Banquo.
Abuse of power
Witches can see into
Banquo is wary of their But tis strange/And ofte
the future, but their
promises to them. sometimes, to win us to o
promises could be
harm/The instruments of
evil.
darkness tell us truths/W
with honest trifles, to bet
us/In deepest consequen
Act 1, Sc 4 The King welcomes Macbeth and
Banquo and lavishes them with
praise. But he announces Malcolm
as the Prince of Cumberland - his
heir instead of Macbeth. Macbeth
thinks this will be an obstacle that
he must overcome. Macbeth may
have felt that he deserved to be
named heir.
Act 1, Sc 5 Lady Macbeth reads a letter from
Macbeth that recounts the witches
prophecies and his new title. She is
worried about Macbeths
goodness and doubts his ability
to go through with her plan to kill
Duncan that night. She invokes the
darkness to make her more like a
man so she can kill without
remorse.
Lineage of Kings Power Duncan We will establish our est
passed down from provides stability in upon/Our eldest, Malcolm
father to son. Scotland by naming whom we name
Malcolm as his heir. hereafter/The prince of
Cumberland.
That is a step/On which
This is a problem then
must fall down, or else
for Macbeth to obtain
overleap/ For in my way i
the kingship.
lies.
Chivalry a code of Gender Women are Yet do I fear thy nature/
behaviour that bound traditionally too full of the milk of hum
lords and knights to characterized as caring, kindness/To catch the ne
act in a good manner. nurturing mothers who way.
are compassionate.
Women monsters of
Lady Macbeth breaks
Greek mythology
this stereotype by Come, you spirits/That t
harpies, Medusa, the
wanting her feminine on mortal thoughts, unse
Sirens. Lady Macbeth
traits to be replaced by here/And fill me, from th
invokes a spell like a
masculine traits of crown to the toe, top-full
witch.
strength, direst cruelty!
determination, and the

Act 1, Sc 6 Duncan talks about how lovely
Macbeths castle/surroundings are their King and serve
but is ironically unaware of the and obey this law.
plan to kill him. Lady Macbeth
plays the noble host.
Act 1, Sc 7 Macbeth weighs up the pros and
cons of killing Duncan and decides
not to go ahead with it. Duncan is
his kinsman (cousin) and his King.
Macbeth is his host and the king
has rewarded Macbeth recently
with a new title. Also Duncan is a
good king to the Scottish people.
However, Lady Macbeth chastises
Macbeth over pulling out
ability to kill without
mercy.
Power -Lady Macbeth
wants to be Queen.
Vassals are loyal to Gender Lady Macbeth This castle has a pleasan
is playing the seat.
stereotype of a caring,
nurturing hostess for
the King, but in reality is
planning to kill him.
Code of protection Gender behind every When you durst do it, th
if you entered a great man is a great you were a man.
friendly castle you woman. The idea of the
And live a coward in thin
were under their nagging wife who
own esteem.
protection. breaks a mans sense of
masculinity. So Lady
Macbeth supports the
stereotype of a wife
who nags her husband
to get her way.
 suggesting that he will be twice
the man if he kills Duncan, shell
love him even more, thus
emasculating Macbeth and
attacking his masculine pride.
Act and Scene Characters/ motivation
Act 2, Sc 1 Macbeth meets Banquo and his
son Fleance at midnight and
discuss the weird sisters but
Macbeth denies he thinks about
them. Macbeth has a vision of a
dagger floating in front of him,
then a bloody dagger and argues
whether it is real or not and what
it means.
Cultural Values and Thematic concerns Quote to reinforce them
Gender Beliefs of the
Abuse of Power
era -
Gender relations
Medieval Europe
Visions monks and Power Macbeth Is this a dagger, which I
priests had visions hallucinates a dagger on before me/ The handle
of god and became his way to kill Duncan, toward my hand?
canonized as saints. the instrument that will
Visions could reveal grant him absolute
the future. power.
Macbeth acts like a
witch/warlock invoking
dark things as he steals
silently to kill Duncan.
Act 2, Sc 2 Macbeth has done the deed
murdered Duncan in his sleep but
is guilty and regrets the deed
immediately. Lady Macbeth on the
other hand acts cool, calm and
collected and cant believe that
Macbeth has brought the murder
weapons with him. Macbeth cant
face the body again so she puts
the daggers back with the grooms
and smears blood on them.
Act 2, Sc 3 Macduff discovers the murdered
body of King Duncan and raises the
castle. Macbeth and Lady Macbeth
play dumb, and Macbeth kills the
Regicide killing a Gender Lady Macbeth Will all great Neptunes
king appointed acts like the man in this ocean wash this blood/ c
divinely by God scene as she organizes from my hand? No, this m
himself was a mortal the framing of the hand will rather/ The
sin and an affront to grooms and berates multitudinous seas
God himself. It Macbeth for being as incarnadine,/ Making the
disrupts the Great coward and paranoid. green one red.
Chain of Being that She inverts the female
A little water clears us o
God installed on stereotype of being
deed.
society. scared of blood while
Macbeth does not act
like a man and is
frightened of the blood
on his hands.
Power Macbeth is a
step closer to the
throne.
Execution people Power Malcolm and Where we are, theres
could be killed on the Donalbain choose to daggers in mens smiles,/
spot without a trial by flee Scotland as they do near in blood, the nearer
a lord. not feel safe in bloody.
 two grooms to keep them silent. Scotland. The
Banquo, Lennox and Macduff succession then passes
seem to be convinced that the to Macbeth the next in
kings grooms did kill the king. line.

Act 2, Sc 4 Ross and an old man talk about the
strange signs that befell the night
of Duncans murder his horse ate
each other. Macduff says that he is
not going to Scone to see Macbeth
made the new king. Why? Macduff
might have doubts about
Macbeths claim.
Signs signs in nature Power the Malcolm and Donalbain
could be read as sovereignty falls upon Kings two sons,
prophetic and have Macbeth as the
meaning. suspicion of killing
Duncan falls upon his
two sons as they have
fled.

Act and Scene Characters/ motivation Cultural Values and Thematic concerns Quote to reinforce them
Gender Beliefs of the
Abuse of Power
era -
Gender relations
Medieval Europe

Act 3, Sc 1 Macbeth is the king and The retention of Abuse of power To make them kings, the
immediately he fears Banquos power by a monarch Macbeth uses his seed of Banquo kings!
power of prophecy (in that sometimes entailed influence to have
Banquos sons will be kings) so he putting to death Banquo assassinated by
 coerces two minor lords to those who were a two men with a
assassin Banquo for him as threat to that power grievance against
Macbeth cannot do it directly as Elizabeth the 1st Banquo.
they have common friends. had Mary the 1st
Macbeth also says to kill his son executed. Alexander
Fleance as well to circumvent the the Great had his
witches prophecy that Banquos baby half-brother
sons will be kings. murdered.

Act 3, Sc 2 Macbeth begins to crack up over Abuse of power We have scorched he sn

his guilt from killing Duncan, but Macbeth reveals to not killed it.
reveals to Lady Macbeth that his Lady Macbeth that even
O, full of scorpions is my
has embarked on a plan to get rid though he wishes he
mind, dear wife!
of Banquo and Fleance. Lady was dead (like Duncan)
Macbeth is ignorant of this plan, so he has to go through There shall be done a de
Macbeth is taking the reins of with trying to maintain dreadful note,
power and planning the future and their power and thus
consolidation of their power. killing his rivals and
threats like Banquo.

Act 3, Sc 3
Act 3, Sc 4 The banquet scene. A murderer
reports that Banquo is dead but
Fleance escaped. The ghost of
Banquo enters the feast and sits in
Macbeths place. Macbeth has a fit
over the visitation but no one else
can see it, and Lady Macbeth
attacks over his weakness and odd
behavior. The feast is called off
and the lords leave. Lady Macbeth
explains it way as a childhood
illness. Macbeth comments on
Macduffs absence from the feast
Act 3, Sc 5 Hecate, the Queen of the witches
berates the three witches for
meddling in Scotlands affairs
without asking her input or
permission. She says that Macbeth
is coming back to see them for
another round of prophecies.
Ghosts were seen as Power Macbeth says There the grown serpen
a sign by that Fleance cant harm lies./The worm thats fled
medieval/Elizabethan him now as a child, but Hath nature that in time
people that perhaps could as an venom breed,/No teeth f
something bad was adult. the present.
going to happen. A
Gender Lady Macbeth We are but yet young in
bad omen for
emasculates Macbeth deed.
Macbeth?
again over his crazy
What, quite unmanned
behavior.
folly? A womans story
winters fire. (old wives
It will have blood, they
say./Blood will have bloo
Witches are cruel Power even the How did you dare/ To tr
creatures whose only witches have a and traffic with Macbeth
purpose is to commit hierarchy and Hecate riddles and affairs of deat
acts of evil upon reinforces this
humankind. order/boundary.
Act 3, Sc 6 Lennox is skeptical about Malcolm,
Donalbain and even Fleance being
accused of murdering their
fathers. He admits that Macduff is
now out of favour too

Act and Scene Characters/ motivation Cultural Values and Thematic concerns Quote to reinforce them
Gender Beliefs of the
Abuse of Power
era -
Gender relations
Medieval Europe

Act 4, Sc 1 The witches prophesise three Witches give their Power Macbeth is For the blood-boltered
more things; Macbeth should fear victims a false sense heartened by two of the Banquo, smiles upon me/
Macduff; none of woman born of security, then prophecies that he points at them for his.
shall harm Macbeth; Macbeth says often double-cross believes cannot come
that he will make sure and kill their victims true, thus ensuring his
Macduff anyway; none shall assail power as King of
Macbeth until Birnam wood comes Scotland. However, he
to Dunsinane hill. Macbeth is is shown too that
fortified by these prophecies as he Banquos line will
believes they cant come true. become kings of
Macbeth then asks if Banquos Scotland too.
issue will ever rule and is shown 8
 future kings who all look like
Banquo. Lennox turns up and says
the Macduff has fled to England,
so Macbeth prepares to raid
Macduffs castle and kill all his
family as revenge for this betrayal.
Act 4, Sc 2 Ross visits Fife, Macduffs castle
with news that Macduff has fled to
England for his wife. Lady Macduff
and her son banter over what it
means not to have a father now (a
traitor). Murderers enter the castle
and slay everyone, exacting.
Abuse of power
Macbeth is set upon
killing Macduffs family.
Executions often Gender The scene Do I put up that woman
extended to family reinforces two gender defense/To say I have do
members beyond the stereotypes on that harm.
crimes of the single women are innocent of
For the poor wren/The m
lord. their husbands
diminutive of birds, will
machinations, that they
fight/Her young ones in h
are innocent of the
nest, against the owl.
knowledge of the crime
etc. The other is that
men should stay at
home to protect the
family against harm and
not flee.
Abuse of power
Macbeth executes the
 innocent Lady Macduff
and her family.

Act 4, Sc 3

Act and Scene Characters/ motivation Cultural Values and Thematic concerns Quote to reinforce them
Gender Beliefs of the
Abuse of Power
era -
Gender relations
Medieval Europe

Act 5, Sc 1

Act 5, Sc 2

Act 5, Sc 3

Act 5, Sc 4

Act 5, Sc 5
Act 5, Sc 6

Act 5, Sc 7

Act 5, Sc 8