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Macbeth: plot, characters and context

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Para educadores: diapositivas de la lección, apuntes de repaso listos para usar sobre Macbeth: plot, characters and context (English Literature, Shakespeare) — úsalos en tu lección, o presenta el tema como una actividad interactiva de clase que tus aprendices juegan como un juego en vivo.

Apuntes de la lección

Plot summary

  • Act 1: After a battle, three Witches tell Macbeth he will be Thane of Cawdor and king, and tell Banquo his descendants will be kings. Macbeth is named Thane of Cawdor. Lady Macbeth urges him to kill King Duncan, who is staying at their castle.
  • Act 2: Macbeth murders Duncan. Duncan's sons, Malcolm and Donalbain, flee; Macbeth becomes king.
  • Act 3: Macbeth fears Banquo's prophecy and has him murdered, but Banquo's son Fleance escapes. At a banquet, Macbeth sees Banquo's ghost.
  • Act 4: Macbeth returns to the Witches. The apparitions warn about Macduff and give misleading assurances concerning birth and Birnam Wood. Macbeth orders violence against Macduff’s household.
  • Act 5: Lady Macbeth sleepwalks and her death is later reported. Malcolm’s soldiers carry branches from Birnam Wood toward Dunsinane. Macduff reveals that he was “untimely ripped” from the womb and kills Macbeth. Malcolm becomes king.

An imagined meeting on the heath

An imagined meeting on the heath

Main characters

  • Macbeth moves from celebrated soldier to tyrant. Lady Macbeth urges violence and later displays distress. Banquo offers a contrast in his response to prophecy. Macduff opposes Macbeth; Duncan is generally presented as a legitimate, trusting king. The Witches prompt questions about temptation, fate and human choice.

Branches carried toward Dunsinane

Branches carried toward Dunsinane

Context

  • Probably composed around 1606 during James VI/I’s reign. The 1605 Gunpowder Plot and divine-right ideas offer relevant contexts for treason and kingship, without establishing a single authorial purpose.
  • James wrote Daemonologie and claimed Banquo as an ancestor. Distinguish the play, its chronicle sources and historical events; characters and events are not reliable historical records.
  • Gender expectations and supernatural beliefs were contested and varied. Interpret Lady Macbeth’s language as her strategy and viewpoint rather than a fact that femininity means weakness.

Use context with care

Use context with careContextRelevant questionJames VI/I andkingshipHow does the play test legitimaterule?Witchcraft debateHow are prediction and choiceconnected?Gunpowder Plot,1605How does the play present treason?Gender expectationsHow does Lady Macbeth challengeroles?

Diapositivas

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Preguntas de práctica

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  1. 1.Who wrote Macbeth?

    Easy
    • AWilliam Shakespeare
    • BCharles Dickens
    • CArthur Miller
    • DJ. B. Priestley
  2. 2.Which king does Macbeth murder while he is a guest at Macbeth’s castle?

    Easy
    • AMacbeth
    • BBanquo
    • CMalcolm
    • DDuncan
  3. 3.Who are the 'three weird sisters'?

    Easy
    • ADuncan's servants
    • BBanquo's friends
    • Cthe Witches
    • DMacbeth's daughters
  4. 4.Who becomes king at the end?

    Easy
    • ABanquo
    • BMalcolm
    • CMacbeth
    • DMacduff
  5. 5.Which new title does Duncan award Macbeth after his success in battle?

    Easy
    • AThane of Cawdor
    • BKing of England
    • CPrince
    • DLord of Fife
  6. 6.Which monarch’s reign provides an important context for Macbeth’s probable composition around 1606?

    Easy
    • AHenry VIII
    • BElizabeth I
    • CCharles II
    • DJames I
  7. 7.What was the Gunpowder Plot?

    Easy
    • Aa battle
    • Ba marriage
    • Can attempt to blow up Parliament and the king in 1605
    • Da play
  8. 8.What did James I believe about kings?

    Easy
    • Athey were equal to everyone
    • Bthey were chosen by God
    • Cthey were elected
    • Dthey had no power

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