• General Atmosphere/Opening Conditions
• Time/Place
• Main Character

• The prophecies of the witches
• Starts the real action of the play

• Series of events usually covering more than one act
• During this time the hero or heroine of the play (protagonist)
  • Is the active force
  • Makes plans which work out as intended
  • (or) In other ways appears to have the upper hand
    • Murder of Duncan is successfully accomplished
    • Macbeth is crowned
    • Macbeth expects to get rid of Banquo

• The point of greatest dramatic tension
• The place in the play where the protagonist reaches the peak of his or her power
• From that point on there is a distinct change; things begin to go downhill
  • Technical Climax: The killing of Banquo (& the escape of Fleance)
  • Dramatic Climax: The banquet scene

• Covers several scenes
• Shows all the ways in which events are going against the hero or heroine
• During this time we hav the rise of the antagonist
• The struggle between the antagonist and the protagonist is the main conflict, and conflict is the essence of drama
• In great drama this does not mean merely a fight between two individuals, though the basic conflict may be concentrated and personified in two characters, as it is in Macbeth.
• Sometimes the antagonist may be a force of nature (as the sea) or a force within the protagonist's own nature against which he or she struggles in vain.

What fundamental principles of life underlie the clash between Macbeth and Macduff?

• Suspense, like conflict, is essential to good drama
• Though found throughout the play, this moment of final suspense has a particular function in the organization of the plot
• It is usually in the 5th act, close to the end of the play
• And is even more significant to the protagonist than to the audience
• For it is a moment when things seem to be going well and the tragedy may be averted
• Here it is easily recognized as the death of the young Siward, which gives Macbeth a final glimmer of confidence in the witches' prophecies

This is a techincal term in drama for the complete downfall of the protagonist, either through death or some other devastating circumstance. In the case of Macbeth, the catastrophe is really a blessing.

Atmosphere is conveyed by the various and recurring images that control the tone of the individual scenes and our impressions of individual characters.

• Darkness & Light
• Animals
• Inversion of natural order

A reexamination of the scenes leading up to and following the deaths of both Duncan and Macbeth will disclose many elements of parallelism. The use of paradox of the "Fair is foul, foul is fair" pattern established in the first scene and continued throughout is an example of a stylistic device used for dramatic impact.

Dramatic irony often appears at the tensest moments of the play. Give specific examples from Macbeth:

For instance, we can see the importance of irony in the scene in which Lady Macbeth welcomes Duncan to her castle, after she has declared that he will never see the morrow's sun; in the dialogue between Macbeth and Lennox after Duncan has been murdered; in the scene in which Ross brings news to Macduff of the murder of his wife and children.

• Their their Words
• Their Actions
• Their Motivation
• Their Character
• What they appear to be vs. what they really are

• How do the witches address Macbeth? (the witches' predictions)
• Thane of Glamis
• Thane of Cawdor
• King thereafter
  • Macbeth will become:King
  • Macbeth will NOT:"get" kings
  • Banquo will NOT:be king
  • Banquo will:"get" kings
• What are the four apparitions and what is the message of each one? How are the messages of these apparitions fulfilled?

Be able to explain how Macbeth and Lady Macbeth mirror each other in words, actions, character, motivation, and action.

• Macbeth
• Lady Macbeth
• Macduff
• Donalbain and Malcolm
• Nature

Name and explain causes and meanings of:

• Dagger Soliloquy
• Banquo's Ghost attending Macbeth's banquet

• Macbeth murders sleep ***
• Borrowed robes ***
• Owl eats hawk
• Duncan's horses eat each other
• Beard on woman
• Bell
• Night/Darkness
• Day/Light
• Witches***
• Blood (Note several statements about blood by both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. This is quite significant.)***

Explain significance of THEMES/how they move the action of the play. Give examples from the text. (We discussed 3 specific themes in class.)

Explain how Macbeth and Lady Macbeth change throughout the course of the play.

• Macbeth Begins: _________________________________________________
• Macbeth Ends: __________________________________________________
• Lady Macbeth Begins: ____________________________________________
• Lady Macbeth Ends: ______________________________________________

Identify the 2 high points (climax points) of the play

• Technical: When Fleance escapes the murderous attack on he and his father
• Dramatic/emotional: In the banquet scene when Macbeth experiences an emotional breakdown due to his guilt. As a result, he reveals too much information to his guests, forever dooming his kingship to a short life.

"Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow
Creeps in this petty pace from day to day,
To the last syllable of recorded time,
And all our yesterdays have lighted fools
The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle!
Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage
And then is heard no more. It is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing."