Scottish Play Notes - June 8 - Eng. 11

Fate vs. Freewill

• No freewill?
• [M. chooses to kill Duncan, tell his wife etc.]
• Would M. have killed Duncan without his prophecy?
• Lets his freewill be overcome by fate
• "this super natural soliciting…" (I iii 130)

• "if chance will have me king, chance will crown me king" (I iii 143)

• Dies because Macduff kills him
• Prophecies were tricks

• [**Fleance does not become king]

• Didn't have to kill Duncan if he believed in fate [what's the rush?]
• Was it his fate to kill Duncan?
• [he didn't have to do anything to become Thane of Cawdor]
• Hecate is angry because the witches told M. his fate [took away his freewill?]

-Lady M. persuades him "When you durst do it, then you were a man" (I vii 49)

 - M. wants his prophecies to come true - makes the decision when Malcolm becomes Prince:

"The Prince of Cumberland!  That is a step/ On which I must fall down, or else o'er-leap/For in my way it lies"  (I iv 47-49)

-[killing Banquo, killing Macduff's family…]

[-what is Shakespeare saying about freewill?  What's he saying about fate?  Can we apply this to our world/lives]

-"the seed of Banquo kings"  (III i 70)- M. does not take any responsibility

-compare M. to Macduff - he avenges his family

• Hearing the owl screech in Act II during Duncan's murder

** M. would definitely think about becoming king - not hard to guess since he's next in the hierarchy of power

Temptation vs. Morality

• Witches symbolize temptation

• Banquo/Macduff represent moral characters

• Lady also symbolizes temptation
• Does M.'s morality come back?

• [he doesn't want to kill Duncan according to I vii soliloquy]
• How does he go from "if chance will have me king, chance will crown me king without my stir" (I iii)
• [then Malcolm is named Prince of Cumberland]

• Lady prays to the "dark spirits" on purpose, she underestimates what will happen "a little water clears us of this deed"
• Morals - he couldn't have had strong ones if "be a man" convinces him to do something
• [what is it inside of us that makes us do bad things?]

 - as M. kills people, he loses sight of what's right and wrong [is it true that once people commit a crime,  it gets easier to commit another one - could substitute "sin" for "crime]

• Doesn’t care about his own life "I have almost lost the taste of fear" (V v 9)
• The crown is symbolic of temptation
• Once he gets the crown, how come he continues to commit crimes?
• He becomes more evil and violent once he has the crown (MORALITY)
• [can we connect POWER with MORALITY?  Is there a connection?]
• "Do you not hope your children shall be kings?" (I iii 118)
• The ends justifies the means
• Giving into temptation doesn't quite work out - you get what you give - the wrong route
• Earning something - Malcolm (order is restored - born into kingship]
• The Thane earned Thane of Cawdor by being noble, honest, and brave - to contrast - Macdonwald is executed for betrayal
• Witches use GREED against the thane [these days, is greed seen as bad?  Don't we celebrate all the rich people in the world and try to emulate them?  Don't they run the world?]
• M. Trusts his wife
• Later III iv M. is not moved by the question "Are you a man?"
• CHANGE AND PROGRESSION throughout the play

Betrayal and Loyalty

• The Thane knows that betrayal is evil
• Could compare characters in play
• Thane betrays himself, the country, his occupation, his own morality
• [is the Lady loyal?]
• The Thane chooses POWER over LOYALTY
• [Macduff's loyalty?]

-[ what or whom are we loyal to?]

-[what are our priorities? Eg. Macduff leaves his family to save the country]

-Thane is most loyal to the witches - at the end "The fiend that lie like the truth" (V v 44)

• [proof that the Thane is loyal to the witches: "I bear a charmed life, which must not yield/ To one of woman born."  (V viii 12,13)
• Interesting idea - why doesn't Banquo tell on Macbeth?  [loyalty? "If you shall cleave to my consent, when 'tis,/ It shall make honour for you" (II i  25,26)]
• [Banquo's soliloquy: "May they not be my oracles as well./And set me up in hope?" (III i 9,10)

TECHNIQUES: could take theme and compare and contrast characters

-comment on general statement about human nature (expand argument to outside world)

SPECIAL SHEETS: Essay package, "Literary Pointers," "Essay Writing Sheet," "Blue Sheet," "Class Improvements," "Green sheets"