Act 5
Agenda:
1. Summarize Act 5
2. Complete “Choo Choo” booklet
Homework
• Acts 1-5 study questions due
Act 5
• Scene i:
As a doctor and her gentlewoman look on,
Lady Macbeth walks in her sleep, mumbling
expressions of guilt, including the lament
that "All the perfumes of Arabia" will not
sweeten her blood-stained hands. In this
half-dead state, she speaks of the crimes
against Duncan, Banquo and Lady Macduff.
Act 5
• Scene ii:
Near Macbeth's royal palace at Dunsinane, a
group of Scottish rebels against Macbeth
relate the progress that the English army led
by Macduff and Malcolm has made against
Macbeth's defenses. They will join this force
at Birnam Woods and march with it on
Dunsinane to overthrow Macbeth.
Act 5
• Scene iii:
At his castle, Macbeth tells the Doctor that he
does not fear the invasion force because of
the predictions of the witches that no man
born of woman can kill him and that the
woods must march before he is defeated. The
Doctor tells Macbeth that his wife is afflicted
by insomnia and hallucinations.
Act 5
• Scene iv:
Near Birnam Wood, Malcolm, Macduff and
their force assemble for the assault upon
Macbeth's castle, Malcolm instructing his
men to camouflage themselves with
branches from the trees of Birnam Wood.
Act 5
• Scene v:
At his castle, Macbeth is told that his wife, Lady
Macbeth, is dead. Macbeth is stunned, saying
that life "is a tale/Told by an idiot, full of sound
and fury/Signifying nothing." Just then, a
messenger arrives with the word that Birnam
Wood is "marching" on Dunsinane. Macbeth
realizes what this means in terms of the
prophecies, but vows to fight on, still assured
that no man born of woman can kill him.
Act 5
•
Scene vi:
Malcolm, Macduff and a lord of their party,
Siward, prepare to assault the walls of
Macbeth's castle.
Act 5
• Scene vii:
Macbeth appears in armor and kills Siward.
He encounters Macduff and the two duel
throughout the remainder of the scene.
Act 5
• Scene viii:
As the fight between them continues, Macduff
tells Macbeth that he is not a "natural" product of
his mother's womb, that he was prematurely
ripped from it and (technically) is "not of woman
born." Macbeth faces the challenge bravely, telling
his foe to "Lay on, Macduff." Macduff does just
that and kills Macbeth. Macduff appears carrying
Macbeth's severed head and hails Malcolm as the
new king of Scotland. Malcolm says that when he
is crowned, he will make Macduff and his
supporters Earls of the realm as they all celebrate
the triumph over Macbeth, Lady Macbeth and the
evil that they wrought in Scotland.
Study Questions:
1. What do the doctor and gentlewoman see
Lady Macbeth doing? What do they decide to
do?
Answer: She is sleepwalking and talking about
the murders. The doctor decides his best move
is to not mention that he heard anything. And
he tells the woman to keep an eye on Lady
Macbeth.
2. What does Macbeth want the doctor to do for
his Wife?
Answer: He wants the doctors to ease her
suffering, to give her something to make her
oblivious to her weighty troubles.
3. What trick does Malcolm use to hide the
number of men in his army?
Answer: He has his men cut off tree branches
and use the as camouflage.
4. Malcolm says, “And none serve with him but
constrain things Whose hearts are absent,
too.” What does that mean?
Answer: Macbeth’s armies are there in body
only, not in spirit, and there should not be any
serious opposition.
5. What is Macbeth’s reaction to Lady Macbeth’s
death?
Answer: He takes it very calmly, saying she
would have died sooner or later, anyway.
6. What is Macbeth’s reaction to the news that
Birnam Wood is moving.
Answer: “Arm, arm, and out!” He’s going to fight
to the bitter end and take down the whole
universe with him, if necessary.
7. Who first fights Macbeth? What happens?
Answer: Young Siward fights Macbeth and is
slain.
8. Macbeth says to Macduff, “But get thee back,
my soul is too much charged with blood of
thine already.” To what is he referring?
Answer: Macbeth doesn’t want to fight
Macduff; he has already killed Macduff’s
family.
9. When does Macbeth die?
Answer: Macduff fights him and beheads him.
11. Who will be King of Scotland?
Answer: Malcolm will be king
Two Assignments
1. “Macbeth: Themes & Motifs” Due Friday
January 8th.
2. “Wrapping Up: Acts 1-5: Due Friday January
8th. (Dramatic Irony & Dues Ex Machina)
Catastrophe, Shakespear belongs to a group
patronized by James the 1st, Catharsis
Notes:
• These notes will help you complete the last
two assignments on the play Macbeth.
Catastrophe
• a final event or conclusion, usually an
unfortunate one; a disastrous end:
THE TRAGIC HERO
The story also depicts the troubled part of the hero's life
which precedes and leads up to his death.
It is essentially a tale of suffering and
calamity, conducting the hero to death.
Shakespeare's tragic heroes are men of rank,
and the catastrophe that befall them are unusual
and exceptionally disastrous in themselves.
The hero falls unexpectedly from a high place, a place of glory,
or honor, or joy, and as a consequence, we feel a
kind of awe at the depths to which he is suddenly plunged.
Thus, the catastrophe will be of monumental proportions.
A tale of a man slowly worn to death would
not be tragic in the Shakespearean sense of the word.
Such exceptional suffering and Catastrophe affects the hero, makes
the whole scene a scene of woe, and triggers pity.
TRAGEDY,
HUMAN FLAWS,
AND RESPONSIBILITY
The catastrophes of tragedy
proceed mainly
from the actions of men.
Human beings placed in
situations - from their
relationships, certain
actions arise.
Shakespeare's tragic
heroes are responsible
for the catastrophe
of their own falls.
Actions cause other
actions – Interconnected
deeds leads to complications
and inevitable catastrophe.
The Effect: we regard the
suffering and catastrophe
as something which happens
to and is caused by the hero.
The hero recognizes
responsibility for the
catastrophe which befalls him
too late to prevent his death.
The Center of the tragedy:
action issuing from character,
of flawed perceptions, and
of human frailty for which the
hero is ultimately responsible.
Catharsis:
Catharsis: purging of emotions (at the end of a
play, having identified with the characters and
reacted accordingly we are to be emotionally
wrung out)
A tragic hero should provoke our
sympathy. Do you sympathize with
Macbeth? Why or why not? Does
his downfall evoke terror and
Catharsis?
Define: Deus Ex Machina (Latin)
dey-uhs eks mah-kuh-nuh
1. a god introduced into a play to
resolve the entanglements of the plot.
2. any artificial or improbable device
resolving the difficulties of a plot.
3. Someone or something that comes in
and saves the day/situation.
Can you find an example of Deus
ex machina in the play Macbeth?
Unit test on Macbeth/Les Mis/The
Elephant/Out, Out!:
• Personal Response: May
st
21 ,
2013
• CARL: May
rd
• M/C Unit Exam: May 23 , 2013
nd,
2013
22