Shakespeare, Year 10: the story and how the tragedy is built (Macbeth option)

Cawdor; king

提示The first title he already holds, the second arrives within minutes, and the third is the one that tempts him.

为什么He is already Thane of Glamis. Ross arrives moments later to say Duncan has made him Thane of Cawdor, so the second greeting comes true at once and the third starts to look possible.

2

提示It happens early: on the very night the Macbeths plan it.

为什么Duncan is killed offstage in Act 2 Scene 2, at Macbeth's own castle. The audience sees Macbeth come back with the daggers and hears “I have done the deed.”

England

提示It is where he later gathers an army of ten thousand to come back with.

为什么Donalbain goes to Ireland. Their flight makes them look guilty, which lets Macbeth be named king; Malcolm returns from England with an army in Act 5.

Banquo

提示He heard the witches too, and was promised something for his children.

为什么Banquo is killed in Act 3 Scene 3 but his son Fleance escapes, so the prophecy that Banquo's descendants will be kings stays alive.

Malcolm's soldiers each cut a bough and carry it in front of them

提示Think of an army wanting to hide how many men it has.

为什么Malcolm gives the order in Act 5 Scene 4. A prophecy that sounded impossible comes true in an ordinary, practical way.

Macduff

提示The Thane of Fife, whose wife and children Macbeth had slaughtered.

为什么They fight in the last scene. Macduff brings in Macbeth's head, and Malcolm is hailed as King of Scotland.

5

提示The same as every Shakespeare play in the standard editions.

为什么Roughly: Act 1 temptation, Act 2 the murder, Act 3 the crown and the banquet, Act 4 the apparitions and the killing of Macduff's family, Act 5 the fall.

The three witches

提示They meet in thunder and lightning and plan where to find the hero.

为什么Act 1 Scene 1 is very short. Starting with the witches rather than the king or the hero puts the supernatural first and sets an uneasy mood before Macbeth is even seen.

Banquo's

提示He was killed on Macbeth's orders earlier that same evening.

为什么Until now Macbeth has kept up a public face. Here he breaks down in front of his lords, and from this point he loses their trust. This is one common reading of where the tragedy turns; the play does not label it.

Macduff was not born in the ordinary way: he was cut from his mother's womb

提示Think of an operation at birth.

为什么Macduff says he “was from his mother's womb / Untimely ripp'd”. The prophecy was true but misleading, which is how every promise made to Macbeth turns out.

Hamartia

提示A Greek term beginning with h.

为什么In Macbeth it is usually said to be ambition. The term comes from Aristotle's writing on tragedy.

Malcolm

提示Duncan's elder son.

为什么The play ends with order restored: the rightful heir invites everyone to see him crowned at Scone. Tragedies of this kind usually close with a survivor putting the state back together.