Summary of the play in tabloid style ;)

II. Read the passage below and answers the questions.

How do actors convey meaning and tone?

1. Highlight words and phrases that appeal to any of the five senses—sight, sound, smell, taste, or touch.

2. Underline and label examples of personification. Explain what things are being humanized (if applicable).

• ·         The illness should attend it
• ·         They made themselves air
• ·         Which fate and metaphysical ait
• ·         That I may pour my spirits in thine

3. How does this passage sound when you say it out loud? Do you hear a rhythm? Are the words soft and musical or harsh and discordant?

There is a rhythm when reading it at out, there are syllables that are stressed and it sounds harsh, though and rude. It sounds like a person with strong attitude.

For example in: “mortal knowledge”, “burned in desire”, “fear thy nature”, “the illness should attend it”.

 4. What is the mood of this speech? How do the imagery and the personification contribute to the mood?

” Shakespeare’s Macbeth, especially the pivotal and ominous second act, exemplifies both denotations of mood. The act has an “overall atmosphere,” even though the mood shifts, while this mood places a sense of cliff-hanging anxiety at the beginning, an ambiance of hysterics towards the middle, a feeling of tragic realization directly following, and an unsure aura of occult extractions. Shakespeare cleverly uses six key elements to further shape and add to the mood: the characters, the imagery, the setting, the sounds, the characters’ actions, and the characters’ dialogue.

LADY MACBETH

'They met me in the day of success: and I have

learned by the  perfectest report, they have more in

them than mortal knowledge. When I burned in desire

to question them further, they made themselves air,

into which they vanished. Whiles I stood rapt in

the wonder of it, came missives from the king, who

all-hailed me 'Thane of Cawdor;' by which title,

before, these weird sisters saluted me, and referred

me to the coming on of time, with 'Hail, king that

shalt be!' This have I thought good to deliver

thee, my dearest partner of greatness, that thou

mightst not lose the dues of rejoicing, by being

ignorant of what greatness is promised thee. Lay it

to thy heart, and farewell.'

Glamis thou art, and Cawdor; and shalt be

What thou art promised: yet do I fear thy nature;

It is too full o' the milk of human kindness

To catch the nearest way: thou wouldst be great;

Art not without ambition, but without

The illness should attend it: what thou wouldst highly,

That wouldst thou holily; wouldst not play false,

And yet wouldst wrongly win: thou'ldst have, great Glamis,

That which cries 'Thus thou must do, if thou have it;

And that which rather thou dost fear to do

Than wishest should be undone.' Hie thee hither,

That I may pour my spirits in thine ear;

And chastise with the valour of my tongue

All that impedes thee from the golden round,

Which fate and metaphysical aid doth seem

To have thee crown'd withal.

III. Refer to the document Macbeth Overview, Literary Devices and then provide:

1. An example of a simile: two unlike things are explicitly compared

"This is the sergeant

Who like a good and hardy soldier fought

'Gainst my captivity." I. ii. 3-5.

2. An example of a metaphor: a term or phrase is applied to something to which it is not literally applicable in order to suggest a resemblance.

"Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player

That struts and frets his hour upon the stage." V. v. 25, 26.

3. A personification: the attribution of human nature or character to animals, inanimate objects, or abstract notions, especially as a rhetorical figure.

"I think our country sinks beneath the yoke;

It weeps, it bleeds. IV. iii 39-40.

4. An example of alliteration: the frequent recurrence of the same initial letter or sound.

"To doff their dire distresses." IV. iii. 188.

5. A symbol that catches your attention: something used for or regarded as representing something else.

“The Weather”. Macbeth’s murders are accompanied by a number of occurrences in the natural realm. There are thunders and lightning that accompany the witches’ appearances and a terrible storm on the night of Duncan’s murder, these violations of the natural order reflect corruption in the moral and political orders.

IV. Discuss. Write a four paragraph essay to support your ideas.

The word fear occurs 48 times in Macbeth in noun and verb forms and as a root in words such as afeard and fearful. Which characters exhibit the most fear? What causes their fear? How does fear differ from guilt?

There are several characters that show fear in Macbeth. Malcolm and Donalbain fear being killed next and Banquo fears the murderers will kill his son. Lady Macbeth fears that Macbeth is not man enough to kill Duncan. Although many of the characters show some fear, Macbeth without a doubt is the most fearful character in the play.

In the beginning, we can see Macbeth feeling “fear [for] things which do sound fair” (I, iii, 54-55). Since the witches are unclear, Macbeth fears things that he doesn’t understand (neither the witches nor their prophecies). Later in the same scene (lines 146-149), Macbeth continues to contemplate the witches and their prophecies:

“Whose horrid image doth unfix my hair

And make my seated heart knock at my ribs,

Against the use of nature? Present fears

Are less than horrible imaginings.”

Here, Macbeth states that the witches scared him (his heart "knocked" at his ribs). He also admits that fears one can see are far less frightening than those one cannot see (the disappearing act of the witches). Once charged with the murder of Duncan by his wife, Macbeth admits to the fear that the murder of Duncan will “revisit” him.

“Whose horrid image doth unfix my hair

And make my seated heart knock at my ribs,

Against the use of nature? Present fears

Are less than horrible imaginings.”

Here, Macbeth states that the witches scared him (his heart "knocked" at his ribs). He also admits that fears one can see are far less frightening than those one cannot see (the disappearing act of the witches). Once charged with the murder of Duncan by his wife, Macbeth admits to the fear that the murder of Duncan will “revisit” him.