Macbeth in real life?

Shakespeare was well known for borrowing ideas from history and mythology so I didn't find it surprising that Macbeth was based on stories from the Holinshed's Chronicles, which is a history of the British Isles. In Holinshed's, Macbeth, King of the Scots, although the play exaggerates and makes parts up about the play. In some ways, Shakespeare invented the genre of historical fiction.

Shakespeare Humor

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-17476117

Here's an interesting article about Shakespeare's use of "fools" in his works and how they would relate to the modern world/who they would be.

Thoughts?

Side note: I also found it amusing that his wife's name was Anne Hathaway (some more interesting facts under the Shakespeare facts section). Maybe her parents were avid Shakespeare readers or historians. Maybe it's just a coincidence. Probably the latter.

Animated Macbeth: Foreshadowing of Deaths?

Aside from this being funny, it does take some important lines from the book to form a summary. I also noticed that around the 3 minute mark, the bones of the witches' hands form the amulet that gives Macbeth his new title. I thought this could symbolize how Macbeth's power will be built from the death of others by his own hands, or that his murders will start because of that initial title of Thane.

My Inner Monologue

This is honestly my inner monologue while reading Macbeth.

Shakespeare's opinion on war

When I finished reading Macbeth, one thing that immediately stood out at me was that this tragedy, both begins and ends with war and bloodshed.  I think Shakespeare intentionally did this because as we've learned from the last books we've read, authors often try to impose their own beliefs and bring attention to problems within modern society.  I think that Macbeth is trying to really highlight the negative impact war has on not only the people directly involved in it, but others as well (evident by Lady Macduff's murder).  I would assume that everyone is against war, but few convey this idea more elaborately and revealing as Shakespeare.  As i started to look into this even more, I discovered that Shakespeare also questions the morals, ethics, justifications, etc. of war through other plays and I think this central theme was really highlighted by the beginning and end of Macbeth.

Another thing that i hate to admit it was that Lina was actually right and that the whole thing about Lord of the Rings was accurate therefore i owe you an apology.... but don't expect another one anytime in the near future.

What is "Good"

In response to Becca's post, if one can go about different ways in defining evil, then one can also do the same with good.  In terms of the general notion of good, Lady Macduff is the epitome of a good mother and wife.  She cares for her husband and son.  She isn't the murderer in the play, but rather the victim. In other cases such as Lady Macbeth, there isn't an easy answer.  She is the mastermind behind Duncan's death, but she shows remorse in her sleep.  For ones that are harder to identify as good or evil, is it better to find what true "good" is or to determine a person's nature by one sole definition of "good" that society agrees upon?

A Sequel

Shakespeare may have intended to write a sequel to Macbeth.  However, since Shakespeare never did write an official sequel, Noah Lukeman took it upon himself to publish one he himself wrote.  Interestingly enough, Lukeman titled his play as The Tragedy of Macbeth Part II: The Seed of Banquo.   I think the "seed of Banquo" part odd because Banquo isn't the one who plotted against Duncan.  He did not start the plot of Macbeth and couldn't have started the plot in the sequel as he is long gone by then.  The title may have also been referring to the witch's prophecy that Banquo's son will become king. 

What do you think?

Also, here's the cover:

Important Lines

As I've been reading Macbeth, I've underlined phrases that stuck out as particularly important or interesting. I compiled them in a list below (I attempted a wordle, but I'm apparently not as tech savvy as Luisa and Shira.) Some I find illuminating, or a turning point, or just kind of cool.

Fair is foul, and foil is fair
Thrice to thine and thrice to mine, and thrice again to make up nine
Lesser than Macbeth and greater
And nothing is but what is not
My dearest partner of greatness
Leave all the rest to me
False face must hide what the false heart doth know
Whiles I threat, he lives
Hear it not, Duncan, for it is a knell that summons thee to heaven or to hell
A dagger of the mind
To know my deed 'twere best not know myself
A farmer that hung himself on th' expectation of plenty
Banquo, thy soul's flight, if it find heaven, must find it out tonight
After life's fitful fever he sleeps well
Something wicked this way comes
But cruel are the times when we are traitors and do not know ourselves
The night is long that never receives the day
Out, damned spot, out, I say!

Do you have any favorite lines to add?

What is "Evil"

I was intrigued by the semi-debate regarding Lady Macbeth's "evil" qualities in class today so I decided to look for other opinions. I stumbled upon another blogger blog called "All About Evil" that had some interesting ideas as to what "evil"   is. In the blog itself there are many contrasting opinions, what do you think defines "evil"? I have also attached a scientific view of the actual cognitive science behind "evil" and its many analyses (this one is for Julianne). It is very cool to look at the cognitive versus abstract views of the two articles. Enjoy!
-Becca

http://allaboutevillk.blogspot.com/2009/03/what-is-evil-anyway.html

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=defining-evil

Another Macbeth Dagger Scene

         I was browsing through some Macbeth videos and found this one to be particularly interesting. The first thing I noticed, which isn't really relevant, is that Macbeth looks like a vampire. Anyways, this portrayal of Macbeth shows Macbeth as very paranoid. 

         I noticed that here, the dagger is also invisible as it was in the Goold version and that Macbeth also squeezes his eyes shut in an attempt to "unsee" it. Another aspect of the video that I found to be a nice touch was how he quickly draws his real dagger from what appears to be thin air. Just wanted to show another way that a director interpreted the scene and made it into a scene

Lady Macbeth Wordle

So I decided to take Luisa's idea and do a Lady Macbeth word cloud version. It's of what she wants, but also fears in life for her and her husband. The hands and spot part mostly show her craziness, I just couldn't imagine a wordle without them! Throne and blood should be larger, but I couldn't figure out how to edit the text again.

Just as a note, the font I used is called, "Loved by the King"...thought it was appropriate for her.

-shira

Macbeth's Word Cloud

I found a website called Wordle that can make word collages. I typed in words that I thought were important and then Wordle formatted it in a cool way. Since Shakespeare's writing recieves so much acclaim for its wording, I thought making a word cloud for Macbeth would be perfect. 

It would be really cool if someone else made a word cloud with words they think are important! 

Maybe a Lady Macbeth themed cloud...

Thomas Middleton

I don't know about you guys, but when I read that Act 3 Scene 5 was most likely written by someone else (most probably Thomas Middleton), I was pretty confused. There are a few noticeable differences in the writing. For example, before 3.5, whenever the witches come into a scene, they have a conversation with one another. 3.5 has hardly any conversation, and it is monopolized by an entirely different character, Hecate, whose monologue is completely written in couplets. This contrasts with the previous depictions of the witches.

Thomas Middleton, the supposed "other" playwright, apparently adapted and revised Macbeth. He collaborated with Shakespeare a few times, including on the play "Timon of Athens." Middleton apparently was thought to be second only to Shakespeare himself by a few notable authors of the period.

Did you guys pick up on any other differences?

Shakespeare's Acting

I was interested that Shakespeare not only wrote plays but also acted in his earlier life. I did some research and learned that in 1594, Shakespeare became a leader in an acting and playing company. It was called the Lord Chamberlain's Men, and they even performed in front of Elizabeth I. Each actor got 10 pounds for their performance, so this is probably how he earned his money during his writing. It was at this time that Shakespeare wrote: Romeo and Juliet, Richard II, King John, and Love's Labour's Lost. At this time in his life Shakespeare was completely immersed with the theater world. In 1599, the Globe Theater was built which was owned by the Lord Chamberlain's Men. Many of Shakespeare's plays were performed here and the Lord Chamberlain's Men were the main actors in the plays.

Polanski's witches

Roman Polanski's witches.

Musical Chairs?: The Significance of Seating

While reading tonight's scenes, I was struck by the fact that Banquo's ghost not only appeared at the banquet, but sat in Macbeth's chair. WHen you think of a Kings seat (which I believe would be at the head of the table) it appears to be a symbol of their supremacy, a throne of sorts. The fact that Banquo, who's progeny the Weird Sisters predicted would eventually upset Macbeth's power and replace him as king, takes Macbeth's seat of power, seems to be a bit of irony, or even symbolism for that matter. It is if Banquo's ghost taking Macbeth's literal seat is foreshadowing Banquo's progeny taking his figurative seat as king.

Goold's take on Banquo's Ghost

When looking around on the internet to see if there were any videos that could illustrate Act 3 Scene 4 when Banquo's ghost strolls into the dinning room, one video kept reappearing and really popped out at me.  However, I have this strange and bizarre feeling that I have scene this somewhere...

P.S. sorry that I couldn't put this video straight on the blog without making it a hyperlink ( Its really confusing) so if anyone could teach me how to do this for future reference that would be fantastic!

~Salvo

Casting Macbeth

I was thinking about Ms. Schieffelin's post on the "cast" of Nine Stories.
I decided I would cast Macbeth since that's the book we're reading right now and I watch a lot of Netflix. I did not do the entire cast of the play... not everyone is interesting enough.

Macbeth = Tom Hanks
He can do this. He's got that deep penetrating stare that I think is important and he has pulled off interesting characters in the past. Macbeth also needs to have a certain look. Tom Hanks is perfect because he can look so innocent, but, as I said before, he has a deep (murderous?) stare.

Lady Mac = Helena Bonham Carter
This woman can pull of the creepy wife who convinces her husband to commit murder. Some might say she could also be a witch, but I think she could play a mean Lady Macbeth.

Duncan = Michael Gambon
You probably know him as the second Dumbledore in the Harry Potter movies. He has got the old man quality I need for the perfect Duncan. Father-figure, nice guy, and beard makes Gambon the perfect Duncan.

Witch 1 = Uma Thurman
Witch 2 = Salma Hayek
Witch 3 = Vanessa Williams
I chose these witches because they all have the capacity to look and act evil. Also, they are all very pretty which I think is a nice twist on the stereotype that witches are ugly.

I cannot think of a good Banquo. If you want, write a comment on who you would cast as Banquo and why.

Casting Nine Stories

I came across this article on Flipboard today and thought you all might find it interesting. The writers at Word and Film have imagined casting many of the main characters in Nine Stories. What do you think they get right? What do they get wrong?

Casting Nine Stories

"The Scottish Play"

Something I found interesting about Macbeth is that it is considered to be bad luck to say "Macbeth" inside a theatre so, actors instead refer to it as "The Scottish Play" or "The Bard's Play"(the setting is Scotland and "the bard" is a nickname for Shakespeare). Macbeth, himself, is referred to as "the Scottish King" or "the Scottish lord". If you do say "Macbeth" inside a theater you are supposed to do something to reverse the bad luck like quoting a Shakespeare line or spinning around three times.

Here's a link:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Scottish_Play

Anonymous - Trailer

And here's a movie trailer that goes along my other post about Shakespeare not writing the plays.

Is Shakespeare Dead?

Last year in my English class my teacher showed us an article by Mark Twain, which question if Shakespeare wrote any of his own plays. Here is the URL   http://www.shakespeare-oxford.com/?p=119    Twain brings many interesting points to light, such as why was there no books in Shakespeare Will and as far as anyone can prove he received only one letter in his life.  And here is a BBC article with some different theories
http://www.bbcamerica.com/anglophenia/2011/10/did-shakespeare-really-write-his-plays-a-few-theories-examined/

-Greg