MacNotes

"Hey could I get a 6-pack of MacNotes and a side of soliloquies?"
"That'll be 92%, please drive through"

Here are my Macbeth Notes, Soliloquy analyses are due to come in a later blog post.

Intro:
-Macbeth is based on a real king
-Macbeth king of the scots, ruled c. 1040
-Since the play was written c. 1600, cannot be taken as historical fact

Shakespeare Himself:
-Shakespeare was an actor and playwright
     -Also very successful
     -Probably performed for royalty
     -Wrote 37 plays; A lot
     -Second most quoted thing next to Bible
-Lots and lots of phrases coined by him
     -Goodness' sake, good riddance, assassination
     -He built a whole lot of the English vocabulary
     -He set a lot of patterns in drama and story that are commonplace
     -Helps you learn about the world around you
-Who wants you to learn about the world around you? - The gov't
     -What did the 1600s gov't think about plays?
          -They were illegal

Preparation for Shakespeare:
-Their society was a monarchy
     -Ruling family
     -Aristocrats
     -Divine Right; Monarch linked to god
-As a result; rigid hierarchy of ruling; status was crucial
     -Nowadays it's about money
     -Power back then came from family; All about birth
          -Measured in land, title, and arms
-At the bottom were peasants
     -Worked the land for the lords who ran the land for the king
     -Knights were lords/men who worked for lords in combat
          -Owned a horse
          -Title "Sir name of place"
          -Were basically nasty teenage boys; Born into war and murder and killing and rape and death; Jerusalem Crusades
          -Fun = Cruelty because they have known nothing else
-Witches were real
     -Crusade vs women with skill and knowledge
          -Midwives, herbalists, scribes, etc
     -Called them witches
     -Women were lower than men and supposed to be OWNED
     -Women without men are DANGEROUS to that power scheme
     -THIS SHIT IS CRAZY
-Men played female roles
-Considered dangerous, low class, outlawed within city limits
     -Considered anti-religious
     -Not much other entertainment
     -Plays were exciting and amazing
     -Audience in sections
          -Rich people sat on the stage
          -Poor people stood in the pit, while drinking and eating and yelling; This is "the peanut gallery"

1:1 Witches
-Themes - Supernatural, or women with power?

IN SHAKESPEAREAN LOGIC YOU ARE YOUR LOOKS
     -Beautiful people are awesome
     -Witches are evil nasty ugly
     -COMES FROM DISEASE/DISFIGURATION
     -Auto response; Ewwww
     -Body is repulsed by disease and injury
          -Makes people bad baby makers
     -REVULSION
-No looks = no value
     -Feminist undercurrent - Power of women is looks and sex

-They only meet in nasty weather, after battles, etc
-Greymalkin is a cat
-Paddock is a toad
-Familiars - Animals that give witches their power

-Fair is foul - They cast a spell
-Theme: Inversion
-Witches have power over three things: Potions, people (manipulations), and spirits (nature)

-Prophecy - Three fates - Past, present, future

-Hypnotic suggestion - If you tell somebody there's something wrong with them, and they'll make it up
-Witches might not use magic - Just clever illusions and manipulation

1:2 At the Battle
Alarum; trumpet sound
King at the back of the tent
-Old men send young men to fight
Duncan - This bleeding sergeant enters
     -Revolt; fight against the king
Malcom - THis guy rescued me; hey man tell my dad about the war
     -Captured for ransom
Why would sergeant do that?
-The king is a celebrity; he WANTS TO TALAK TO HIM; he saved malcolm because he really believes he is divine
Sergeant describes a battle
     -Macdonwald is a rebel; do swarm upon him; he looks evil
-he hired mercs; he is not loved
     -firtune like a rebels whore; he BOUGHT luck
-but then macbeth owned their asses
-nave to chaps; cut him in half
     -then cut his head off and put it on a pike
     -BOSSKILLER
-He sent them mercs on retreat
-But then dem norwegians took advantage of their fatigue
-There arent cannons in 1100s but whatevs
Purpose for this scene; shows macbeth is totally awesome; sets up the tragedy; character is called a tragic hero; his flaws bring him from a nice place to a bad place

1:3 Encounter The Witches
Witches shown casting nasty spell to demonstrate power
Macbeth enters, recognizes strange day
Banquo is partner of mac
-notes the witches as ugly
Witches hail three bits
     -thane of glamis; past
     -thane of cawdor; present
     -will be king; future
Macbeth is shocked, doesn't think it's possible; this is a manipulation to get him to think that he deserves the title
Banquo asks if  witches are true
-asks whats the problem is?
Witches say they'll get some stuff
Macbeth must know how this happens
Witches vanish
Banquo is like lolwut?
-Are we hallucinating? are we high?
-They all realize they will have boons
Ross
-ross is a weasel; takes whatever the most powerful side is;p whoever king is; has no real loyalty
-tells macbeth he is thane of cawdor
     -macbeth sees the truth and begins to imagine himself king; makes him bitter; start of CORRUPTION
-BORROW'D ROBES motif of clothing?
-starts to get excited talking to banquo
-banquo warns him; little truths told by evil convince us to betray us later

BOOM HERES A SOLILOQUY
first assignment is to turn soliloquy into our own words
aside = thinking out loud
ends near line 150

banquo links new role to "breaking in" new clothes (robes)

time and the hour runs through the roughest day; he is suddenly disturbed; he wants to be king, but is loyal to duncan
-god has chosen a new king? but I must follow the rules, he thinks he's being forced into killing the king due to his beliefs

-WE LIVE IN AN AWESOME PLACE
     -I can hold in m hand all th info of everything ever in extistence; thats cool
     -and we take it for granted
-Books back then were a big deal!

macbeth apologizes for his thoughts
-banquo says we better talk about all this
     -till then, dont say anything

Self-Fulfilling Prophecy
-Prediction
-In men define a situation as real, they become real in their consequences
-If you think something will happen, it will have a very high probability of happening
     -Even if the witches didn't actually see the future, them telling him it will will modify Macbeth's behaviour such that it will

Law of Attraction
-People and thoughts are made of energy; Energy attracts energy
-Therefore if you open the mail expecting it to be a bill, the bill would appear

WHAT WE THINK IS WHAT WE DO

3:1 Soliloquy 1 - 117-147
Macbeth
First, I was Thane of Glamis, and now of Cawdor,
And next I should be king.

Thank you, Angus, for this news!

Don't you wish your children would be king?
When the witches would promise to me the throne
Promised them the throne as well?

Banquo
It's true their prediction may give to you the throne
As the witches speech has been true so far
But I find it odd
Remember that sometimes evil will win us over
With small truths, only later to betray us at
A crucial moment

Macbeth (Actual Soliloquy)
Two of the witches' fortunes told have been true
And as two joys would prelude to a third in the world of theatre...

Thank you, gentlemen (Banquo, Angus and Ross)

This tempting prediction
Can't be bad, though neither can be good,
If it bodes foul, why would 2/3rds of it be true?
I am indeed Thane of Cawdor now
If it bodes well, why must I force myself?
The mere idea makes my hair stand on end,
And sends my heart racing
Fears which seem so real are but my own imaginings,
These thoughts and their murderous nature does threaten my very sanity, and disturbs me such that my very ability to act is clouded by speculation
And there is nothing but what isn't there (he is confused, bewildered, etc)

Banquo
Wow, look how distracted he is

Macbeth
If I could possibly be king, then fate would crown me, without even my own action

Banquo
These possibilities that have come upon him like unfamiliar clothes, they might require some breaking in

Macbeth
Oh well, let the chips fall where they may, even the worst times will pass

Banquo
Waiting on you, dude

Macbeth
Oh sorry man! I was deep in thought, about things I've now forgotten (except that he hasn't)
Dear fellows, your kind efforts will not be forgotten be me
Let's return to the king
(to Banquo)
Think about what's happened, and when we've time,
And events have been given some time to unfold,
We must speak, honestly and freely to each other on this matter

Banquo
Sure, man

Macbeth
Good! Let's go

1:4
King enters
-With Malcolm; Stronger son
-With Donalbain; Weaker son

Sees Macbeth
-Excited
-My cousin! I cannot hope to repay you; I give to you Thane of Cawdor
-Macbeth says His duty is repayment in itself
-Lying back then is really bad
     -Word is bond; This would be to betray god
-This is buildup

King
-Hugs and thanks
-Thanks banquo
-He announces Malcolm as heir and Prince of Cumberland
-Going to visit Macbeth
     -Host duty; Safety and comfort is their concern
     -Can I get you something?
-Macbeth replies he must leave early to tell his wife
-And he's off

Macbeth's Aside
-The Prince of Cumberland must be eradicated for me to become king
-Line 53 is a major change for him
-King says Macbeth is awesome; Valiant
     -Peerless kinsmen; The best of my kin

Tragic Heroes
-Begins at a great height, at their oeak
-But due to a tragic flaw (often hubris), begins a brutal descent
-The suffering is a fault of their own
-Hubris: (o'erweening pride), the sin of pride and ambition and overconfidence
     -Eg Kanye West
-In celebrities, we often look for this to bring them down; EVEN THOUGH WE BUILT THEM UP
     -For some reason entertaining
     -We love the fall; We love the underdog even as we pick on him as soon as we can
     -Eg Tom Hanks
          -Understands this; is nice to everybody
     -Pattern in culture but also in our psychology
-So, don't let it get to your head
     -Eg Rockstars
     -All linked to ego
     -Ego is the root of all evil; Not necessarily ego
          -Root of that is insecurity
          -Or it could be they like being liked
-So, look for insecurities in Macbeth

1:5 to 1:6
Insecurity
-Tries to do well due to sterility
     -Lady Mac says she has born children
     -BUT THEY DONT HAVE ANY
-Mac turns his RAGE against every one to boost his ego
-STEREOTYPE: Wife tells everything to husband, husband grunts
     -They breach this stereotype; Mac is telling lady mac about HIS life
-Stereotype: Husband is allowed to punish their wife; Men were greater than women
     -Many examples of this; rapes in syria, etc
     -BUT: Mac says "partner," implying EQUALITY; Working together, towards POWER

-Sexism
     -Looks or brains, can't have both
     -Related but separate
     -Ambition = Bitch
     -Friendly = Slut
     -Old = Ugly
     -Pretty = Stupid
     -Institutionalized sexism!
     -In any case, a theme of Macbeth

-That's cool, but you are to kind to do what you need to do
     -You want it honestly
     -Your should kill the king
     -If you want it, you've got to take it, steal it, cheat it, kill it
     -Come to me, and allow me to persuade you from your ethics and allow you
          -For persuasion; women can do two things; sex or manipulation
          -Cannot use force; Must be subtle
          -Of course this is Shakespeare's perception; He might think that all women are trecherous

-The king will be here tonight
     -Lady mac says WHAT???

-Is this a spell?
     -"Calling spirits;" SHES A WITCH
     -She literally is calling demons to drink from her breasts
     -WTF

-Macbeth; The king is coming!
     -Lady Mac tells him to mask his feelings and then kill him
          -"He won't see the sun"
     -She'll deal with the king; "Put this night's business into my dispatch"
     -Macbeth is a little bitch "We'll talk about this later"

-MACBETH IS WHIPPED

-Killing the king = killing the gods

-This links to the theme of inversion
     -Let's jump the line
     -Let's take my female nurturing nature and give it to demons!
     -Let's I'll be powerful and you be my tool

-King comes in and says what a nice place
     -and the sudience is like lolno
          -DRAMATIC IRONY
     -yelling at the screen, etc

-Kings like oh this place is so nice
     -and lady mac is like oh it's so nice to see you
     -OHH its all so luvvy duvvy
          -Stereotype; Duplicity of women; indirect; false face; subtlety; sneakery
               -Like a pack of grade 8 girls
               -Macbeth would likely struggle w/this

-King's like where's mac? he raced home
     -Lady welcomes him
     -etc etc etc

-Vacillation: to go back and forth
     -Mac's soliloquy is like this
          -Manic-Depressive
          -Easily manipulated is a sign of mental trouble

GOOGLE SUGGESTIBILITY
     -What makes someone more easily manipulated
     -Also google bipolar disorder
          -Mac might have it

1:7 - 2:2
Soliloquy

Mac - I'm not doing this
Lady Mac - Oh yes you are
Mac - No I'm not
Lady Mac - I would have staked my baby's life on the promise you made
     -She's stripping away his manhood, but simultaneously removing her womanhood
          -Her ambition makes her less feminine
               -Drive is a man thing; Women like their nest; Men always want to expand
                    -Stereotype being inverted in this play
Mac - But what if we fail?
     -WHINING
Lady Mac - Fail? Screw your courage, we won't fail
- I'll get his servants so drunk they'll pass out, so that we can do whatever we want to Duncan and blame it on the guards
     -Wassail: I fermented cider
- We'll use their own knives
- We gonna pretend to be sad
Mac - I'm convinced

Mac - Hey guys
Banquo - I dreamed of those two witches
Mac - (lying) I haven't thought of them, we'll talk about this later
- If you agree with what I say, it'll be good for you
Banquo - Well as long as i can do so with a clear conscience and good loyalty

Soliloquy - Dagger soliloquy

Lady Mac - That which made them drunk made me strong
- Listen! an owl's shriek!
     -Owls symbolize wisdom, but also guardianship of the dead or travel of a spirit through the planes
          -Gateway to the other side
     -She's really hearing Duncan's death
     -Also symbolizes Post traumatic stress - She's manifesting it
     -Or it's magic
     -But why would she grieve? Cause she just killed god
- Had he not looked like my father I could've done it
     -SHES TOO WEAK TO DO IT
     -Her femininity is shown
     -She's weaker than she lets on

Mac shows up
- I did it
- Did you hear that?

Lady Mac - Did you just say something?
Mac - NO
pathetic fallacy - environment reflects the interior of the characters

Morality
-Kohlberg's Stages
     -Some people don't go up far enough
-Macbeth is level 4.5; He understands the effects of his actions
     -Cognitive dissonance; Two conflicting things
          -He knows what he's doing, but it's bad, so he convinces himself it's good
-Kids, candy, and mirror experiment
     -When we see ourselves, it changes how we think about what we do
-Pyramid of Needs
     -Macbeth tried to get way up there and then failed because his elevation to King was FALSE
-Id, Ego, Superego
     -Freud's concepts can be seen in Macbeth's mind

3:2
Macbeth does to lady mac what lady mac did to macbeth
     -it's flipped on her
     -now he's dropping on the pyramid
     -now he's dropping on the morality scale

3:3
Third murderer?
-Macbeth could have just done a spell; supernatural
     -a version of himself was sent as the murderer?
-Bifircated
     -split in two between personalities

3:4
-Feast

last line
-flip; lady mac is now the nice one, mac is no longer nice

Three prophecies
-To whom the witches referred
     -"Masters"
-Idea being the prophecies are tricks to manipulate macbeth
     -He assumes literal/obvious meaning, allowing him to be tricked
          -CLASSIC way to trick somebody
     -Tell them half-truths
          -COGNITIVE DISSONANCE

-First; Beware Macduff
     -Obvious truth; Macduff did not support Macbeth's Coronation; He fled
          -By bringing it up, they get Macbeth worried/paranoid; Shift his focus; Paranoia clouds your thoughts his anxiety
     -They 'prime' him to listen

-Second; None of woman borne shall harm Macbeth
     -Ridiculous; He's invincible?
          -(if you take the literal version, he's magical)
     -His response; Why do I need to worry about Macduff?
          -Sees contradiction in the first two prophecies; He is confused
     -(Technically, Macduff had a C-section, so wasn't borne of woman)
          -Trickery! They are more likely to set up Macbeth to do these bad things rather than do it themselves
               -Indirect, manipulative; Feminine exercise of power

-Third; No harm shall come to Macbeth until Birnam Wood comes to Dunsinane
     -AN ACTUAL FOREST COMING TO MACBETH'S CASTLE???
          -Seems literally impossible
     -Macduff and Malcolm tell their soldiers to cut down branches from birnam wood to advance camouflaged
          -TRICKERY!!!

-Half-truths are misleading
     -Banquo's line; Sometimes evil tells us small truths to betray us later
-The real trick is that we end up tricking ourselves

-Reaction: Immediate and emotional
-Response: Calculated; Thought out with understanding of the actual cause

-It is very easy to doubt those prophecies; But Macbeth is to high on his ego to believe himself anything but awesome

-Fourth; He got no kids; no line of succession; Banquo's sons will be royalty
     -Setup to make Mac mad; it's his ONLY fault; Why he needed to become king was to uphold his ego
          -Guaranteed reaction!
               -ATTACK HIS MANHOOD
     -This leads to him killing Macduff's kids; IF I CAN'T HAVE KIDS NO ONE CAN

Ross
-Argument with Lady Mac
-LMac says Mac doesn't love them
-Ross says he does, gives her a warning and leaves as though he might cry

-Son and Lady start talking

-Lady Mac gets a warning
     -Ignores it
-Gets murdered

Malcolm tests Macduff

-Siward (from England) gives him some troops; Politics; England wants to ally with Malcolm to make peace w/Scotland
-Talkin bout Edward
     -He can heal with touch
     -The king is pretty awesome

-Ross; Scotland is in trouble!
     -How are my kids?
          -Oh yeah they are AT PEACE
               -ALL DEAD. EVERYBODY.
-Malcolm encourages Macduff to take revenge

The witches seemed to create cause-and-effect that lead Macbeth to react with crazy violence
Which makes it so Macduff will fight with NOTHING TO LOSE

Dramatic Need As it applies to Macbeth
-This topic area would make a good essay that would allow you to compare the play with your own ideas and experiences
-Because all the characters do things that AT THEIR ROOT are understandable
-"Once I x then everything will be okay"

-Eg
     -I wish I could go to jail or the hospital or something
     -Why?
     -Because then I could stop smoking

Magical Thinking
-Thinking that one's thoughts on their own can bring about effects in the world
-This is a self-centering process; A kind of egotism
-Eg I prayed for a new car, so god made my son crash it so I could get insurance
     -Solipsism; I am all that is; Brains in vats; Objective knowledge is impossible; My interaction with reality is all that exists

Themes For An Essay
What if in the play no one was selfish?
     -Nothing would happen

Supernatural
-But what if it's all demons and sorcery? Macbeth is being manipulated by spirits, not people

Religion
-Going against god makes for a life of complete ruin

Innocence
-Macbeth acts bad because he doesn't have the emotional strength to know better?

Lady Macbeth
-Could be imaginary?
-Could be the worst harpy the world has ever seen
-Could be a magic demon
-Could be innocent in a sense
-Could think she's doing the right thing?