Marybeth+&+Elana


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Macbeth by Shakespeare. Scotland, 1609, the Castle. Characters: Macbeth: Scottish general who kills King Duncan and becomes the King, is overtaken by the witches and power, at first does not want to kill people but he has to cover up each murder with another one; Lady Macbeth: Wife of Macbeth, convinces Macbeth to kill Duncan, at the beginning of the play she “wears the pants” in the relationship, goes crazy from guilt by the end of the play and she commits suicide, Banquo: The general and at the beginning Macbeth’s friend, is killed by people whom Macbeth hired, does not stoop to murder like Macbeth, his ghost haunts Macbeth; The Three Witches: Tell Macbeth and Banquo what they see in the future, like to cause trouble and tell Macbeth his prophecy for their entertainment; Hecate: Uses witchcraft and helps the three witches; King Duncan: The past king of Scotland who is killed by Macbeth, was well liked; Macduff: His children are killed by Macbeth, wants to get Macbeth off the throne and Malcom on it; Lady Macduff: Macduff’s wife, killed by Macbeth’s murderers. Malcom: Duncan’s son, is helped by Macduff, only when Malcom takes the throne will order be restored in Scotland Summary: Macbeth opens with the three witches talking about wanting to have fun. Macbeth and Banquo stumble upon the witches. The witches tell Macbeth that he will soon be Thane of Cawdor and then the King of Scotland. They also say that Banquo’s children will rule Scotland some day. At first Macbeth and Banquo do not believe the withces, however, shortly after someone tells Macbeth that he is now Thane of Cawdor. This puts belief into Macbeth’s head and he tells his wife, Lady Macbeth, what has happened. Lady Macbeth hungers for power and she comes up with the idea to murder King Duncan because Macbeth will be next in line for the throne. Macbeth does not want to kill Duncan, however Lady Macbeth seduces and persuades him to. That night after the dinner, Macbeth stabs Duncan in his sleep. Before Macbeth kills Duncan he sees a dagger with blood dripping from it. He takes it as a sign to commit the murder; however it could also have been a warning. The chamberlains are blamed for Duncan’s murder because the Macbeths got them drunk. Macbeth kills the chamberlains, which was accepted because they supposedly killed the King, and become Kind of Scotland. Duncan’s sons, Malcom and Donalbin, run away at this point in the play. They are worried that they are the next ones to be killed because their father was stabbed. Macbeth was with Banquo when the witches said that Banquo’s sons would become the King. He hires a group of murderers to kill Banquo and his son Fleance. Banquo is killed but Fleance survives giving hope that the prophecy will occur. Macbeth is furious that Fleance has escaped, however his guilt is not shown for Banquo until that night at dinner when Macbeth sees Banquo’s ghost and starts talking to it. The guests, who are of Scottish nobility, are scarred and think Macbeth is going crazy. This is not a good image for the King and Macbeth is worried so he returns to the three witches. The witches tell him that he has to watch out for Macduff and he will fall when Birnam Wood comes to Dunsinane Castle. The witches also say that he cannot be killed by “any man born of woman.” This gives Macbeth a false sense of security. Macbeth gives orders for Macduff’s children to be killed. This is a terrifying and emotional scene where Lady Macduff and all their children are murdered. Macduff hears that his wife and children are dead and this makes him very angry. Macduff joins Malcom’s, King Duncan’s son, army to fight against Macbeth. Lady Macbeth is breaking down and is basically going crazy. The guilt from all the murders is tearing her apart and she cannot take it anymore and commits suicide. Macbeth hears of his wife’s death but he cannot sulk because he has to fight. Macbeth hears that the Dusinane army has shields made from the trees in the Birnam Woods, and he is afraid that he will fall like the witches had said. During the war, Macduff and Macbeth meet and Macbeth learns that Macduff was not “of woman born” because he was born by c-section. Macduff, thus, kills Macbeth. Malcom now rightly takes over as the King of Scotland. Symbols/Motifs: Blood: There is a lot of blood in this play. It reflects the violence but also the guilt that comes with murder. When Lady Macbeth was going crazy she yelled that she could not wash the blood off of her hands no mater how much she washed them. She meant her guilt would not go away. The supernatural: Banquos ghost and the bloody dagger that Macbeth sees are warnings throughout the play that Macbeth should not continue to kill innocent people for power. Prophecy: The witches and their prophecy was what started Macbeth on his killing spree. Power/Greed: The motive behind Macbeth and Lady Macbeth’s plots. Gender roles: At the beginning of the play Lady Macbeth has the qualities of a “man.” She is the strong one who has power over Macbeth. Themes: Greed can create a monster. Knowing the future causes problems in the future. Guilt never fails to haunt you. An eye for an eye-Macbeth kills a lot of people and is murdered in the end.

COPYRIGHT 2005 Institute for Evolutionary Psychology Q: What causes Macbeth and Lady Macbeth to change personalities?
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He says:

As in any proverbial "battle of the sexes," isn't the answer obvious? What would make any man change his personality? Marriage! Without a doubt, Macbeth's real tragedy is his marriage[ If marriage can be defined as a coming together of opposites to form a third entity that is, as Gestalt psychology informs, "more than the sum of its parts," then marriage is indeed Macbeth's unfortunate undoing. And, of course, the fault lies with his wife: Lady Macbeth.

Think of it. Think of Macbeth's marriage to that "fiendlike" queen of his. She is the one who turns his noble and valiant conquests on the fields of war into "butchery" in the eyes of his former friends and countrymen. Macbeth was once a hero, and what Malcolm at the end of the play calls his "butchery" was, on the battlefield in service of Malcolm's father Duncan, not only lauded as "bravery" but also rewarded"

For Brave Macbeth--well he deserves the name-Disdaining Fortune, with his brandished steel, Which smoked with bloody execution, Like valor's minion carved out his passage Till he faced the slave, Which ne'er shook hands nor bade farewell to him Till he unseamed him from the nave to th' chops, And fixed his head upon our battlements. (1.2.16-24)

At war, Macbeth's violent behavior is correctly understood as, and deemed to be, bravery because it is in service of his friends and "cousins." His loyalty is what is being lauded. But, mangled by the blood-spotted hands of his wife, he becomes a traitor--to his "brother band" and to himself. Her monomaniacal ambition changes him into a monster, one--not so ironically--whose loyalty even she cannot control to the point where she is literally "awakened" by her blind and vaulting ambition to realize she did not want the kind of man she thought she wanted. When ultimately confronted by his total depravity and emotional abandonment of their marriage (which she, herself, brutally brought about), she is forced to change her countenance, an epiphany that, in turn, reveals her guilty conscience: "Out, damned spot! Out, I say!" And, like the proverbial Frankenstein monster run amok, the monstrous man she creates can only be "undone" by one not of woman born--as if Macbeth had to be "reborn" into death through a male process that equates wound with womb, beheading with the infant's first crowning at birth.

But how does this all happen? How does Lady Macbeth "change" the unassuming and self-sacrificing Thane of Cawdor into an insensitive brute? First, she has very little regard for her husband's humanity and actually derides him for being "too full o'th' milk of human kindness" (1.5.17). Then, she manipulates him through a meticulous process of cruel and piercing emasculation, purposefully designed to attack his warrior status, an identity of utmost importance in his medieval and brutish realm: "Art thou afeard/To be the same in thine own act and valor/As thou art is desire" (1.7.40-42),

Indeed, her mocking is relentless. When he tries to defend his masculinity, "I dare do all that may become a man;/Who dares do more is none," she attacks even more brutally:

When you durst do it, then you were a man; And, to be more than what you were, you would Be so much more the man. (1.7.50-52)

She even goes so far as to embarrass him by proving she is, herself, more "the man" than he is,

... I have given suck, and know how tender 'tis to love the babe that milks me; I would, while it was smiling in my face, Have plucked my nipple from his boneless gums And dashed the brains out, had I so sworn as you Have done to this. (1.7.55-60)

Her last line above is also insulting on another level, for she accuses him of breaking his promise to her. In fact, when he tries to put an end to her ever-increasing pressure by daring to assert, "We will proceed no further in this business," she taunts him for his weakness and lack of loyalty:

Julius Caesar notecard

Julius Caesar Ancient Rome William Shakespeare Character List Brutus- A friend of Caesar, yet a vigilant supporter of the Republic and feels that Caesar may lead Rome to a dictatorship. He comes torn between his allegiance to Caesar and what he feels is best for Rome. Julius Caesar- A well-respected Roman senator and general who recently returned to Rome from a victorious military campaign. Antony- Caesar's good friend. Cassius- Roman general and an aquaintance of Caesar. Dislikes the Roman population feels about Caesar. Octavius- Caesar's son, and later on his successor. Casca- member of the Roman public who is opposed to Caesar's triumphant return, relating to Cassius. Calpurnia- Caesar's wife, has many epiphanies about Caesar's death. Portia- Brutus' wife, daughter of a Roman noble who is opposed to Caesar in power. Decius- a member of the conspirators;convinces Caesar that Calpurnia's epiphany was misinterpreted. Cicero- Roman sentor and noted orator. Lepidus- the Third member of Antony and Octavius' entourage. Summary The play is opened to a triumphant Julius Caesar, who has just defeated General Pompey, his rival, in battle. Caesar enters with many noted Roman Generals and political figures, including Antony, Cassius, and Brutus. A soothsayer tells Caesar to “Beware of the Ides of March”, and Caesar continues with his celebration. Cassius and Brutus converse and Brutus reveals that he is at war with himself. He feels that Rome will be destroyed if a dictator takes over, and he fears that that’s what the people want. Cassius agrees, pointing out Caesar’s weaknesses and blames himself for letting him rise to power. When Caesar returns, he tells Antony that he distrusts Cassius. Caesar leaves, and Casca comes in to tell Brutus and Cassius that Antony offered the crown to Caesar three times and the people cheered, but he refused. He also reports that immediately following, Caesar fell to the ground and had a seizure, but it did not change the people’s devotion towards him. However to Cassius and Casca this is a sign of weakness, and Cassius draws a plot against Caesar in hopes to bring Brutus with him. He plants forged letters in Brutus’ house, from concerned Roman citizens who feel that Caesar’s sudden popularity is becoming a problem. Brutus deeply feared a dictatorship and felt that the Roman citizens would lose their voice. The letters provided justification for Brutus to be a conspirator against Caesar because he truly felt that it was what the public wanted. The conspirators meet at Brutus’ house and discuss their plan- they decide to bring Caesar away from his house and kill him. Cassius wants to kill Antony too, but Brutus talks him out of it, saying it will dishonor their motives. Later one morning Calpurnia pleads for Caesar not to go to the Senate. She tells him of recent nightmares she had where men crowded around Caesar’s bloody statue, smiling. Caesar considers staying home for Calpurnia but Decius convinces him the dream was misinterpreted and he should go. He exits with the conspirators. On the way to the senate a citizen gives Caesar a letter telling him about the conspirators, but he refuses to read it. When they arrive to the senate, the conspirators bow around Caesar, and stab him to death one by one. Caesar sees his good friend Brutus among the murderers, in a famous line, “Et, tu, Brute?” he gives up the struggle. Antony returns and sees the conspirators bathed in Caesar’s blood, thus making true Calpurnia’s premonition. He pledges his allegiance to Brutus, and shakes hands with the rest of the conspirators, still crying over Caesar’s dead body. Brutus says that they will explain Caesar’s death in a funeral oration, and gives Antony permission to speak in it. After everyone leaves Antony saya that Caesar’s death will be avenged. At the funeral, Brutus calms down the crowd by explaining that they did what was best for Rome, and Caesar was dangerous for the country. Antony appeared with Caesars body and took the pulpit. His speech was sarcastic and condescending, although referring to Brutus many times as an “honorable man”. He points out all the good Caesar had done for Rome, and how he turned down the offer to the crown three times. He shows the crowd Caesar’s dead body and explains how horribly he was killed. The crowd becomes even more enraged after Antony reads them the will, in which bequeaths an amount of money to every Roman citizen, and that his gardens become public. They call Brutus and Cassius traitors and set to run him out of Rome. Octavius, Lepidus, and Antony set up a 3-man coalition against Brutus and Cassius, who are away in exile. Both of the teams put together armies and prepare to fight. Brutus reveals that Portia has killed herself due to his absence. That night, the Ghost of Caesar appears to Brutus and tells him that they will meet again. On the battlefield, Cassius and Brutus are struggling. Cassius sees his best friend Titinius being surrounded by cheering troups, so he assumes he’s been caught, and orders himself to be killed. His last words are proclaiming that Caesar has been avenged. Titinius returns (the men surrounding him were his own troops) and kills himself due to Cassius. Brutus kills himself and proclaims that finally Caesar can rest easily. Over Brutus’ dead body, Antony calls him an honorable man, his actions being out of the good of Rome. Symbols/motifs Letters: the letters Cassius planted in Brutus’ apartment, the letter that potentially could have saved Caesar’s life Omens: Calpurnia’s dreams and the Soothsayer’s Friendship/Loyalty Democracy Jealousy

Themes Public self vs. Private self Loyalty to friends vs. loyalty to country Misinterpretations Fate and destiny vs. free will Achieving and maintaining power

Critical Article POLITICS The structure thus points to a key political theme of the play, and might have served as a warning to Shakespeare�s contemporaries about the risks of regicide. The play also highlights other features of Shakespeare�s political views, and his views on Roman politics. Julius Caesar thus offers important insights into the relation of public and private life, of great historical events and the movements of individual conscience and decision. The assassination of Caesar was a major event in the political history of Rome and of Western civilization, an event of enormous political consequence. Shakespeare, however, also depicts the little twists and turns of private relations and internal argument that contribute to such great events. In Act 2, Brutus debates with himself about whether he should get involved with the conspiracy, and it is not clear that the affirmative has the better argument. He enters the conspiracy on the bare possibility that Caesar might, perhaps, mayhap prove a tyrant (2.1.10ff). Great political events emerge from and in important ways depend upon these private wrestlings, wrestlings that are not always marked by certainty and clear reasoning.

The relation of public and private is also evident in the play�s repeated use of the word �love.�E Few Shakespearean plays refer to �love�Emore often than Julius Caesar, yet in the play �love�Enever refers to a man�s affection for a woman but invariably for one man�s affection for another. Cassius wonders whether or not Brutus still loves him, Brutus loves Caesar and Caesar Brutus, and Antony publicly professes his passionate loyalty and love for the fallen Caesar. These men, moreover, commonly display of their affection for one another. Tears flow freely, handshakes seal bargains, and the men verbally express their love in public and are proud of their passions. The whole play, for all its concern with the masculine world of politics and war, is soft and sentimental, lit in sepia hues. This combination of masculinity and sentimentality will appear again in the Antony of Antony and Cleopatra, and it appears to be part of Shakespeare�s understanding of the post-Republican Roman character. Note, for instance, the contrast with Coriolanus, whose eyes rarely �sweat with compassion.�E (Shakespeare would not be surprised to learn that the guard at the concentration camp spent his off hours weeping over Wagner�s Tristan.)

The prominence of the language of �love�Ehighlights another important factor in Shakespeare�s political vision: For him, and at least for some of his characters, politics is always personal. It is about personal loves and loyalties, as well as hates and betrayals. Cassius understand this well, and is a discerning politician as a result. Brutus, by contrast, is in the grip of abstractions, guided by ideas and ideals of honor and of �Rome,�Eand Brutus is always making political blunders. As G. Wilson Knight pointed out, Brutus, Cassius and Antony can be gauged and compared by their attitudes toward Caesar as man and as hero:

Antony Brutus Cassius

Caesar the man loves loves hates Caesar the hero loves fears Caesar is not a hero

The characters�Evarious actions in regard to the living Caesar and in reaction to his death are guided by their personal bonds of love and loyalty to Caesar. One of the conflicts of the play is the tension between personal and public loves, between love for the person of Caesar and love for the city of Rome (or, better, the abstract conception of �Rome�E. With Antony and Cleopatra, this play depicts a shift form the public devotion characteristic of Republican Rome to the personal devotions of Imperial Rome.

Another political insight concerns the importance of rhetoric. Individual characters shape events by influencing the mob, and they influence the mob through rhetoric, by a kind of verbal seduction. This theme is especially prominent in the great funeral orations in Act 3, in which Brutus and Antony exhibit very different styles of rhetoric with very different results. Brutus is wholly insensitive to the desires of the Roman mob. He provides a reasoned speech in favor of the assassination, and it goes over so well that some people want to make him Caesar. Or, maybe not so well, since the whole point of his speech was that any Caesar is dangerous to Rome. The contradiction between Brutus�s argument and the crowd�s reaction shows how completely he fails to communicate. Antony, on the other hand, wins over the crowd not with arguments but with drama, symbols, relics, stirring gestures. He brings the body of Caesar into the Forum, and at the climactic moment unveils it. He weeps publicly. The twin formula for political success in Rome is: Control the mob and you control Rome; and, Control the symbols and you control the mob.