William Shakespeare’s:
OBJ: to understand how Shakespeare creates the
characters of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth.
Starter
Can you match up the word with its correct definition?
Stage directions
What the character
says
Dialogue
What the character
does
Action
notes telling an actor
how to look, move and
behave
Stage directions, Dialogue, Action!
Can you match up the word with its correct definition?
Stage directions
What the character
says
Dialogue
What the character
does
Action
notes telling an actor
how to look, move and
behave
Macbeth
Read the captain’s report of the battle in I,ii. What
words/phrases are used to describe Macbeth?
Act I, scene iii.
Macbeth and Banquo meet the witches. You will be given one
of the questions below. Listen out for the answer and put you
hand up when you think you hear it!
1. What is Macbeth told by the witches?
2. What do the witches say to Banquo?
3. What does Macbeth ask the witches in this scene?
4. How does Macbeth feel after the events of I, iii?
5. What is Banquo’s reaction to the witches?
6. What news is delivered by Ross?
7. What are the reactions of Macbeth, Banquo and Ross
to the news?
So fair and foul a
day I have not seen
Inner thoughts
Look at how Macbeth and Banquo are presented to the audience in
this scene. Find quotations from I, iii then explain what is revealed
about their characters through the dialogue.
Quotation
Character
Speak, if you can: Macbeth
what are you?
I neither beg nor
fear/Your
favours nor your
hate
What is revealed
Macbeth is curious and wants to speak
with the witches. His use of
commands and questions suggests an
authoritive character
Macbeth becomes Thane of Cawdor….
• The witches were right with their first
prediction for Macbeth. But they also said
he will be King.
Today’s Horoscope:
Today's upbeat energy brings a celebratory
mood. It's only natural to feel some fear at the
choices you are making but now it's up to you
to chart the course of your life. Don't be
burdened by other people's issues, as you are
a free agent with the talent to carve out your
own future.
1. What do you think this means?
2. How many different outcomes could this
horoscope point to?
• Teacher note: at this point, it is worth discussing
our reactions to horoscopes etc. It is fun to buy
some fortune cookies and hand them out, read
out and discuss how we feel about the
predictions. Have we ever had a horoscope
come true? Do we only remember them when
they happen to come true? Are we still
interested in fortune telling? Will Macbeth be
thinking about what the witches have said still?
Shakespeare’s character creation
• Shakespeare has presented Macbeth
as…….
• Therefore, I think his reactions to the
witches will be………
• I don’t/do think he
wants/doesn’t want
to be King
because….
HIGHER LEVEL: use quotations to prove your points.
• Teacher note: the following two slides
have notes to explain the red highlighted
parts that are key to both characters. 
Macbeth’s letter
LADY MACBETH
(reading) “They met me in the day of success, and I have
learned by the perfectest report they have more in them
than mortal knowledge. When I burned in desire to
question them further, they made themselves air, into
which they vanished. Whiles I stood rapt in the wonder of it
came missives from the king, who all-hailed me 'Thane of
Cawdor,' by which title, before, these weird sisters saluted
me, and referred me to the coming on of time with 'Hail,
king that shalt be!' This have I thought good to deliver thee,
my dearest partner of greatness, that thou might’st not lose
the dues of rejoicing, by being ignorant of what greatness is
promised thee. Lay it to thy heart, and farewell.”
Lady Macbeth’s response
Glamis thou art, and Cawdor; and shalt be
What thou art promised. Yet do I fear thy nature;
It is too full o' th' milk of human kindness
To catch the nearest way: thou wouldst be great,
Art not without ambition, but without
The illness should attend it. What thou wouldst highly,
That wouldst thou holily; wouldst not play false,
And yet wouldst wrongly win. Thou'ld’st have, great Glamis,
That which cries, “Thus thou must do,” if thou have it,
And that which rather thou dost fear to do,
Than wishest should be undone. Hie thee hither,
That I may pour my spirits in thine ear
And chastise with the valor of my tongue
All that impedes thee from the golden round,
Which fate and metaphysical aid doth seem
To have thee crowned withal.
Exit SERVANT
The raven himself is hoarse
That croaks the fatal entrance of Duncan
Under my battlements. Come, you spirits
That tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here,
And fill me from the crown to the toe top-full
Of direst cruelty. Make thick my blood.
Stop up the access and passage to remorse,
That no compunctious visitings of nature
Shake my fell purpose, nor keep peace between
The effect and it! Come to my woman’s breasts,
And take my milk for gall, you murd'ring ministers,
Wherever in your sightless substances
You wait on nature’s mischief. Come, thick night,
And pall thee in the dunnest smoke of hell,
That my keen knife see not the wound it makes,
Nor heaven peep through the blanket of the dark
To cry “Hold, hold!”
Lady Macbeth
What is your first impression of Lady Macbeth from
Act I, scene V?
Lady Macbeth
• Act I, scene VII: find a quotation that
shows Lady Macbeth persuading her
husband by:
• Flattery
• Calling Macbeth coward
• Questioning his manhood
• Reassurance
Macbeth
• Act I, scene VII: find a quotation that
shows Macbeth:
• Speaking well of Duncan
• Suggesting violence isn’t the answer
• Worried he will be found out
• Decided on the plan
The Murder
What are the arguments for and against killing Duncan?
We should murder Duncan because…
We should not murder Duncan
because…
Language and vocabulary
Deception
What other themes are there in
‘Macbeth’ so far?
Theme
The story so far
Complete the summary of Act One by filling in the gaps
Macbeth and his friend _____ are returning from a
battle with the _______ where they have just secured a
victory for King ______ when they come across three
_____. The _____ tell Macbeth that he will become
Thane of _____ and _____ of Scotland and say to
Banquo that his _____ will be the future kings of
Scotland.
Almost immediately, the first _____ is fulfilled when
Macbeth is rewarded for his _____ in battle with the
title Thane of _____.
Macbeth sends a _____ to his wife about the witches
predictions. She is excited by the prospect of
becoming ____ and decides to persuade Macbeth to
____ Duncan when he returns home so that they can
take over the throne.
Duncan is invited to _____ castle where Macbeth and
his wife plan to _____ him.
The story so far
Complete the summary of Act One by filling in the gaps
Macbeth and his friend Banquo are returning from a
battle with the Norwegians where they have just
secured a victory for King Duncan when they come
across three witches. The witches tell Macbeth that he
will become Thane of Cawdor and King of Scotland and
say to Banquo that his children will be the future kings
of Scotland.
Almost immediately, the first prediction is fulfilled
when Macbeth is rewarded for his bravery in battle
with the title Thane of Cawdor.
Macbeth sends a letter to his wife about the witches
predictions. She is excited by the prospect of
becoming queen and decides to persuade Macbeth to
kill Duncan when he returns home so that they can take
over the throne.
Duncan is invited to Macbeth’s castle where Macbeth
and his wife plan to murder him.