Act I, scene IV and V

The homework for today's class was to finish the scene questions for Act one, scene four and five. Also, remember that the first blog post is due on Sunday, Feb 11th.

Word of the day: Dramatic Irony--we know something the character doesn't

Here is a summary for scene four and five:

Scene IV
This scene shows us Duncan's major flaw, his weakness. He says "There's no art to find the mind's construction in the face". In other words, he takes everything at face value. He has an inability to judge character. For example, the Thane of Cawdor betrayed him, and now he has chosen a new Thane of Cawdor who he thinks is faithful, but is really thinking about murdering him.

Then, we have the big love fest, as I like to call it. Macbeth's character is being heightened for us; we see that he is a hero in the king's mind. He is being built up in the initial scenes of the play, so that his tragic fall is that much more shocking.

The first major problem that arises in this scene is when Duncan announces that his son will be the next king. He names Malcolm the Prince of Cumberland. Note that this was not done in Scotland at the time--King's were elected. So, Duncan is so well respected that he is allowed to break tradition and pass the Kingship to his son. Duncan also announces that he will be coming to Macbeth's castle, Inverness, for a visit.

What is Macbeth's reaction? He is angry, and reveals this in his aside. He now has two people in his way of becoming King. The scene ends and he leaves to go home to be ready for the King. The irony is that we know Macbeth's true intentions upon leaving to be ready for the king.

Scene 5

This scene begins with Lady Macbeth reading a letter from Macbeth announcing what has happened with the witches. Lady Macbeth, in a soliloquy, reveals her true nature. She believes that her husband is too soft--too "full of the milk of human kindness". He has ambition, but not enough cruelty. So, Lady Macbeth asks to be unsexed--she wants to forget her womanly self in favour of manly cruelty. She thinks she cannot be both womanly and dark enough to commit the crime she is thinking of. She is much more confident and decided than Macbeth. When she learns that Duncan is coming for one night, she immediately decides what she will do. Lady Macbeth tells her husband to not let his face give everything away--he is like an open book. She tells him to look innocent. She says Macbeth will be King, and she tells him to leave everything to her, as Duncan will not live to see the next sunrise.

In this scene, Lady Macbeth almost reminds us of the witches--she longs to be unnatural like they are.