The play of Macbeth relates easily with many essential questions that have been asked in this unit. The two essential questions that really stuck out were: What does it mean to be human and How does power corrupt. Macbeth proved himself human when he succumbs to the power and manipulation from both the witches and Lady Macbeth herself. Lady Macbeth calls him a coward in Act I Scene VII to cause him to guilty for going against his promise to her. "Wouldst thou have that which thou esteem'st the ornament of life, And live a coward in thine own esteem," (I, vii, 44-47) Lady Macbeth manipulates Macbeth into doing her deeds through toying around with his conscience and causes guilt to be the ultimate drive towards his actions. The obvious question that everyone will answer is how does power corrupt. Gaining power from killing the king, Macbeth becomes power hungry and is obsessed with this new power and ability to do whatever he wishes as king. Because of this obsession of power, Macbeth leads to kill those that once cared for him to kept this power from escaping his grasp. After hearing the prophecy from the witches, Macbeth swears to kill the family of the one that fled from him. "The cast of Macduff I will surprise; Seize upon Fife; gives to the edge o' sword His wife, his babes, and all unfortunate souls that trace him in his line." ( IV, i, 164-167). Macbeth here, is determine of killing the members of Macduff to ensure that the last apparition that was revealed would not come true. He did this in order to keep the power that he has gained, and to possibly gain more power by having the power to keep the power of a king. Macbeth is the clear example of how gaining even a little power will corrupt one self as they gain more. Power here, is the drug of the world.
What I learned throughout this project was that working in groups is easy, when everyone collaborate, which is exactly what everyone in our group did. We worked together to achieve it as fast as possible because we all had really busy lives. It was difficult to find a time to actually film the project, but we eventually found a free to time to put everything together and I was completely happy with the outcome. I also learned that it is really important to understand the play and to go beyond the black and white words to really understand the purpose of the play and what Shakespeare is trying to say and tell others. Something I noticed for the next time we work in groups is to not leave everything to the last minute, which we didn't do, but it is always a good reminder to myself. Also it is important to spend time analyzing the scene, maybe not word for word, but analyze the concepts and what the author or poet is trying to say.
I am extremely proud of the analysis of this scene we did because we dug deep into the meaning of the true meaning of the scene to uncover Shakespeare's message towards his audience as he reveals how easily manipulated we can be. He reveals a common characteristic that we may all possess, whether we admit it or not. If I divided the work of each of the group members, I would have to say that we all did equal amount of work contributing to the project. There was no one that did not do their part so it was a good group which helped us finish the project with effect time use and days before the dead line.
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Monday, November 15, 2010
Macbeth Act 4 Scene 1
EQ: What does it mean to be human?
How does power corrupt?
In Act 4 Scene 1, the 3 witches brew a potion that can tell them the future and what will happen under which circumstances. Macbeth requests to look into the potion to see his own prophecy concerning his future. The apparition show an armed head, a bloody child and a child crowned with a tree in his hand. These are symbols of what may happen in the future that can strip him of his power as king. Now, Macbeth knows too be aware of the than of Fife, that no man born of woman shall harm himself and that he will be vanquished "when Great Birnam wood to high Dunsinane hill shall come against him" (Line 101-102). Then, when the witches leaves, Lennox comes and notify the king that Macduff has fled to England and it is then that Macbeth orders the death of Macduff's family and kin.
What does it mean to be human?
To Macbeth, the concept of being human hasn't passed through his head since he gained the power of a king. Now, he is power hungry because he already had a taste of what it feels like to be king. This is also another example of being human, because it shows how vulnerable we are and how easily influenced we are by what we are exposed to. "Time, thou anticipatest my dread exploits:" (Line 158) This line shows how Macbeth does not wish to be exposed of his weaknesses, although they seem unlikely to happen. This is proof that he wishes to stay in power
How does power corrupt?
We can also see in this Scene how becoming king, gaining all that power, has really corrupted Macbeth. Instead of just ordering the death of his friend, he wishes to kill another friend's family to show off his power, but also because he is frightened. In the beginning, the quest for power corrupted Macbeth into the king that he was loyal to. Now, after gaining all that power, Macbeth has to do more bad deeds to remain in power, which includes killing those that he was/are close to. "The cast of Macduff I will surprise; Seize upon Fife; give to the edge o' the sword His wife, his babes, and all unfortunate souls" (Line 164-166). This shows us clearly that Macbeth wishes to eliminate the family of Macduff
How does power corrupt?
In Act 4 Scene 1, the 3 witches brew a potion that can tell them the future and what will happen under which circumstances. Macbeth requests to look into the potion to see his own prophecy concerning his future. The apparition show an armed head, a bloody child and a child crowned with a tree in his hand. These are symbols of what may happen in the future that can strip him of his power as king. Now, Macbeth knows too be aware of the than of Fife, that no man born of woman shall harm himself and that he will be vanquished "when Great Birnam wood to high Dunsinane hill shall come against him" (Line 101-102). Then, when the witches leaves, Lennox comes and notify the king that Macduff has fled to England and it is then that Macbeth orders the death of Macduff's family and kin.
What does it mean to be human?
To Macbeth, the concept of being human hasn't passed through his head since he gained the power of a king. Now, he is power hungry because he already had a taste of what it feels like to be king. This is also another example of being human, because it shows how vulnerable we are and how easily influenced we are by what we are exposed to. "Time, thou anticipatest my dread exploits:" (Line 158) This line shows how Macbeth does not wish to be exposed of his weaknesses, although they seem unlikely to happen. This is proof that he wishes to stay in power
How does power corrupt?
We can also see in this Scene how becoming king, gaining all that power, has really corrupted Macbeth. Instead of just ordering the death of his friend, he wishes to kill another friend's family to show off his power, but also because he is frightened. In the beginning, the quest for power corrupted Macbeth into the king that he was loyal to. Now, after gaining all that power, Macbeth has to do more bad deeds to remain in power, which includes killing those that he was/are close to. "The cast of Macduff I will surprise; Seize upon Fife; give to the edge o' the sword His wife, his babes, and all unfortunate souls" (Line 164-166). This shows us clearly that Macbeth wishes to eliminate the family of Macduff
Sunday, November 7, 2010
comment to conflicting...
Ilike how you found examples in the first Act ot support M's dilema. You see where he is at and how he is torn. I like that you found more than one eg to support your answer and that you backed it up with support from the play to further develop your writing. remind me to show you how to footnote Shakespeare.
Thursday, November 4, 2010
Macbeth Act I
EQ: How do we deal with conflicting elements within our personalities?
Macbeth had to deal with his own conflicting elements concerning his personality when his wife persuaded him to kill the King. To Macbeth, it didn't seem right to kill the king because he is still loyal to the king, but at the same time, he was ambitious and wished to gain that power as king of the land. In Act I, Scene 5, line 9,Macbeth told Lady Macbeth of the prophecy of the witches. "...'Hail, King that shalt be!'" This shows his ambition of being king and being encouraged because the prophecy of the witches. In Act I, Scene 7, line 33-34, we see how Macbeth does not desire to kill the king because he is loyal to the king. " We will proceed no further in this business: He hath honour'd me of late..." Therefore, Macbeth experienced conflicting elements of his personality while making such crucial decisions that made him doubt himself.
Also, in the movie, we saw the exact same inner conflict of Macbeth while Lady Macbeth was the outer influence that helped him decide.
Macbeth had to deal with his own conflicting elements concerning his personality when his wife persuaded him to kill the King. To Macbeth, it didn't seem right to kill the king because he is still loyal to the king, but at the same time, he was ambitious and wished to gain that power as king of the land. In Act I, Scene 5, line 9,Macbeth told Lady Macbeth of the prophecy of the witches. "...'Hail, King that shalt be!'" This shows his ambition of being king and being encouraged because the prophecy of the witches. In Act I, Scene 7, line 33-34, we see how Macbeth does not desire to kill the king because he is loyal to the king. " We will proceed no further in this business: He hath honour'd me of late..." Therefore, Macbeth experienced conflicting elements of his personality while making such crucial decisions that made him doubt himself.
Also, in the movie, we saw the exact same inner conflict of Macbeth while Lady Macbeth was the outer influence that helped him decide.
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