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Shakespeare's Macbeth: Fear and the Motives of Evil
I am in blood Stepp'd in so far that,
should I wade no more, Returning were as tedious as go o'er: Strange things
I have in head, that will to hand; Which must be acted ere they may be scann'd.
Introduction
In his novel, Voyage of the Dawn Treader,
C.S. Lewis describes an island where all dreams come true. Sounds wonderful, right?
But think about it a moment. All dreams. Our fondest wishes, but also our most
terrifying fears. On this island, we would meet every shadowy thing we ever imagined
to be lurking in the darkness, every terrifying image we ever tried to thrust
from our mind. This is the situation in Shakespeare's Macbeth. Just as
the three Weird Sisters predicted, or perhaps precipitated, Macbeth's fondest
wishes, his secret dreams of power, have all come true. But so too have his darkest
fears.
As the play progresses, Macbeth attempts
to quell those fears by means of further bloodshed. Until and unless he can murder
all who appear to threaten his ill-gotten crown, he feels himself "cabin'd, cribb'd,
confined, bound in / To saucy doubts and fears" (3.4.24-25).
But equanimity and peace of mind are forever lost to him, as the voice that he
seems to hear while murdering Duncan has prophesied: "'Sleep no more! / Macbeth
does murder sleep'" (2.2.34-35).
In an increasingly desperate attempt to regain those gifts that only a good conscience
can bestow, Macbeth alters from a man who, at the beginning of the play, is described
as noble and brave, who suffers pangs of conscience over the murder he is premeditating,
to a violent and ruthless tyrant, the "fiend of Scotland."
Characters
whose shifting minds we feel compelled to follow through every twist and turn
are a mark of Shakespeare's mature art and one of the reasons he is considered
the great innovator in English drama. Giving students the tools to follow those
shifts is the purpose of this lesson. Students will use an Internet search engine
(or a printed concordance, if online resources are not accessible) to collect
instances in the play of these key words: blood, fear, mind, false, and sleep.
Students will then organize and analyze the passages in which these key words
appear for what they reveal about Macbeth's state of mind and the motives behind
his increasing evil.
Note: This lesson
may be taught either as a stand-alone lesson or as a sequel to the complementary
EDSITEment lesson, "Shakespeare's
Macbeth: Fear and the 'Dagger of the Mind'," in which students read,
discuss, and perform a wordless version of the "banquet scene" (3.4)
in order to learn how Shakespeare dramatizes fear.
Learning Objectives
After completing the lessons in this unit, students
will be able to
- Use an online search
engine (or a printed concordance) to locate passages that highlight Macbeth's
response to fear and his descent into evil
- Use
the results of this search to analyze the motives of Macbeth's increasingly desperate
and evil actions
Guiding Question:
Why does Macbeth, who knows that his actions are evil and will be punished, continue
to choose evil?
Preparing to Teach this Lesson
- Perhaps the best
preparation for the activities in this lesson is the more narrowly focused EDSITEment
lesson, "Shakespeare's
Macbeth: Fear and the 'Dagger of the Mind'," which involves the close
reading and performance of a single pivotal scene in Macbeth's development as
a character. Although each lesson stresses the link between Macbeth's fear and
his actions, students will have a better understanding of that link having worked
through the activities of both lessons. Students who complete both lessons will
see that the images in the "banquet scene" of Act
3, scene 4 are repeated throughout the play, and they will be better equipped
to draw a meaningful conclusion about the relationship between fear and evil in
Macbeth.
- Two affordable and dependable
paperback editions of Macbeth, including critical introductions and explanatory
notes, are the Signet Classic Shakespeare Series edition and the Folger Shakespeare
Library edition (published by Simon & Schuster's Washington Square Press). The
latter is especially helpful for students, because notes and explanatory materials
are on the facing page rather than at the back of the book.
- There
are two online versions of Macbeth that will be used in the exercise described
below; ideally, your students will have access to both versions. The first of
these is the online text of Macbeth developed by Dr. Michael Best. The second version is one of the standard online editions of most of Shakespeare's works available from
the MIT Shakespeare Homepage,
a link on the EDSITEment-reviewed Mr.
Shakespeare and the Internet. Both of these online texts are identical, but
the version developed by Dr. Best adds line numbers keyed to match the Signet
Classic Shakespeare. In the lesson below, students will search the two versions
by using the "find on page" function on most Internet browsers. (An alternative
search engine for Shakespeare that you may wish to experiment with is available
from Concordance.com, a
link from the EDSITEment-reviewed Internet Public
Library .)
- If neither you nor your students have access to the Internet, there are still ways
to do word searches of Shakespeare's Macbeth. You will need to locate--at
a school, public, or university library--a concordance of Shakespeare's works.
There are concordances both for individual plays and for all the works in aggregate.
Although not a difficult task once you get the hang of it, searching in a printed
concordance can be confusing at first; by comparison, students will find searching
Shakespeare's works online no more difficult than other kinds of online keyword
searching.
- Neither this lesson plan, nor the complementary EDSITEment lesson,"Shakespeare's
Macbeth: Fear and the 'Dagger of the Mind'," require you to first teach
historical context. However, a bit of history can help students make sense of
some of the more puzzling aspects of Macbeth's behavior. Specifically, why is
it that Macbeth, whom we are told is fierce and bloody and ruthless in battle,
becomes completely unhinged by the murder of Duncan? (A similar question could
be asked about Lady Macbeth.) At least part of the answer lies in the fact that
regicide was considered a special kind of murder in the sixteenth and seventeenth
centuries, not an ordinary killing but a uniquely heinous act that violates the
entire natural order. Dire consequences must follow the killing of a king, particularly
a "good" king such as Duncan. The mental deterioration of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth
can be better understood in this light. In part to demonstrate the special enormity
of the crime of regicide, Shakespeare alters the historical record.
- Shakespeare's use of historical sources in Macbeth is shaped by contemporary concerns about succession and legitimacy, fear of rebellion, and the playwright's deep
horror of the crime of killing a king. For more on these subjects, especially
the issue of regicide, see the online essay by Amanda Mabillard,
"Sources for Macbeth," from Shakespeare Online, a link from Mr. Shakespeare
and the Internet. Mabillard shows how Shakespeare altered his sources to make
the historical Duncan look better and Macbeth worse: "Shakespeare's alterations
function to convey the sentiment echoed in many of his works - that there is a
divine right of kings, and that to usurp the throne is a nefarious crime against
all of humanity."
- For a more general (and very brief) introduction to the historical Macbeth, see "The
True Story of Macbeth" on the Roanoke
Macbeth Page, a link from Mr. Shakespeare and the Internet. For a more scholarly experience of the historical sources of Macbeth, see the resources listed for that play at Mr. Shakespeare and the Internet, such as a passage
on the historical Macbeth from Holinshed's Chronicles, excerpted from
the complete text available at The
Furness Shakespeare Library; also on the Furness site, you can view a series
of woodcuts and excerpts related to Macbeth drawn from the Chronicles.
- Recommended
as critical background for the approach to Macbeth's psychology taken in this
lesson (as well as in the complementary prequel to this lesson, "Shakespeare's
Macbeth: Fear and the 'Dagger of the Mind'") is the online lecture
by Ian Johnston, An
Introduction to Macbeth. For further critical works on Macbeth, see the resources
listed on Mr. Shakespeare and the Internet
- Additional
lesson plans for teaching Macbeth and other plays by Shakespeare are available
from the EDSITEment-reviewed Teaching
Shakespeare, a site produced by the Folger
Shakespeare Library.
1 Provide
students with a context for their research. Begin
by sharing with your students the "guiding question" for this lesson, above. Tell
them that this question will help to guide the choices they make in their online
searches. Also, tell them that the purpose of the research they will be doing
will be to come up with plausible answers to this question. Share with them the
fact that there is a crucial difference between Macbeth and every other tragic
hero in Shakespeare: only Macbeth knows from the start that what he does is unequivocally evil and only Macbeth never, either to himself or others, tries to argue that his actions are somehow justified (see, for example, act
1, scene 7). Why then does he do what he does? To answer "ambition" is not
enough. For more on the inadequacy of this answer as an explanation of Macbeth's
psychology, see the essay by Ian Johnston, An
Introduction to Macbeth. Behind the question of Macbeth's motivations is,
of course, the larger and mysterious question of why some human beings, in possession
of a sense of right and wrong, choose evil.
2 The following bulleted items provide a step-by-step description
of the central activity of this lesson. Students work in small groups to locate
key passages that suggest the motivations behind Macbeth's increasingly evil actions
and words. A complementary set of instructions for students, providing a simplified
version of the steps described below, is available as a downloadable pdf
file.
- Ask each group to locate the
Modified MIT text of Macbeth, prepared by Dr. Michael Best, as well as the
MIT text of Macbeth. Each online text offers certain advantages and disadvantages
for this exercise. The Modified
Text allows you to locate scene and line numbers, but does not allow you to
search the entire text as once, as is an option on the MIT
text of Macbeth. Once your students get some practice, however, they will
find it easy to search both texts. One strategy might be to do a global search
of the whole play with the MIT
text of Macbeth, then note the relevant act-and-scene numbers, then search
those scenes using the Modified
Text.
- If for some reason you and your
students are not able to search these online texts, an alternative/backup online
option for searching Shakespeare's plays is available from Concordance.com,
a link from the EDSITEment-reviewed Internet Public Library. This electronic concordance
offers some distinct advantages, and you and your students may find that you prefer
it.
- For either the Modified
Text or MIT
text of Macbeth, students should use the "find on page" function on their
Internet browser. (In Microsoft Internet Explorer, click "edit," followed by "find
on this page.") When the "find" button takes them to a particular spot in the
text, they should determine where they are in the play, and discuss whether the
surrounding passage reveals anything significant about: 1) Macbeth's state of
mind (fearful, angry, etc.); 2) Macbeth's motivations; or 3) the way in which
other characters perceive Macbeth and his actions. Again, the crucial guide in
deciding whether or not a passage is relevant is the research question; as a group,
students need to decide whether or not a particular passage might plausibly help
to answer the research question.
- If the
group decides that a passage is significant, the next step is to carefully record
the act, scene, and line numbers (this is where the Modified
Text, with its line numbers, is most useful). If students have access to a
word-processing program (such as MS Word), they can cut and paste relevant passages
to create a document. The advantage of this procedure is that it will make it
easier later on for the teacher to provide a printed handout or overhead summarizing
the findings of all groups.
- A cautionary
example: The power of online searching is obvious, but we sometimes have a tendency
to substitute technology for thinking. It is easy to find passages where the word
blood appears; in this exercise, students must also think hard to determine whether
or not those passages are relevant to the research question. The phrase, "what
bloody man is this?", for example, is hardly relevant to the discussion at hand.
But such a search will also turn up the following, and very interesting, passage from the end of 3.4.136-138:
...I am in blood Stepp'd in so far that,
should I wade no more, Returning were as tedious as go o'er: Strange things
I have in head, that will to hand; Which must be acted ere they may be scann'd.
Students need to determine whether
or not this passage says anything important about the motives behind Macbeth's
actions. The first thing to be determined is what does Macbeth mean by this metaphor
of "wading in blood"? What does it mean to say that an action must be performed
before it can be thought about carefully ("scann'd")? Students need to bear in
mind the context of the passage: what is happening at this point in the play?
When he utters the words quoted above, how does Macbeth's situation differ from
the situation he faces just before killing Duncan? Before killing Banquo? If Banquo
is dead, and Fleance, for now at least, not a threat, why can't Macbeth relax
and enjoy being king? What compels Macbeth continue his path of terror?
- When
they have finished searching the entire play, groups should select just three
key passages from their results. This will involve discussing just how each
passage contributes to answering the research question; a passage is considered
important if it offers a crucial insight into the workings of Macbeth's psychology
and his motives for evil. Accompanying their written record of each passage, groups
should record reasons why that passage is significant and what it reveals about
Macbeth's motives. Students should be prepared to offer reasons in a whole-class
discussion for their particular selections.
3 As
a class, collate the work of the research groups. There are several ways you might
do this. On the board, you could create a timeline of Macbeth's descent into evil,
going through the play scene-by-scene and asking whether any of the student groups
had found relevant passages in a particular scene. If students have produced electronic
documents, they could exchange those documents so that each group had a copy of
every other groups' documents. Each group would then be assigned a particular
section of the play: their job would be to cut-and-paste passages in the order
that they appeared in their section of the play. The various collations by groups
could then be combined as a single master document containing a record of Macbeth's
descent into evil.
4 Analyze
and discuss the results of your research:
- Give
students time, either in or out of class, to read the collated results of the
group searches. As a class, discuss what these results contribute to an understanding
of the research question: Why does Macbeth, who knows that his actions are
evil and will be punished, choose evil? Suggest to students that the answer
to the question may not be the same at every point in the play. The motivations
for Macbeth's murder of Duncan may not be the same as the motivations for his
subsequent acts of violence. The results of their work in small groups will reveal
some of the shifting motives for evil in Macbeth.
- If
your class has also studied the complementary prequel to this lesson,"Shakespeare's
Macbeth: Fear and the 'Dagger of the Mind'," conclude class discussion
by returning to some of the images and metaphors you examined in the "banquet
scene" of Act
3, scene 4. Discuss how these images are repeated throughout the play. What
conclusions can you draw about the relationship between Macbeth's fear and his
subsequent actions?
Extending the Lesson
- A follow-up writing assignment is a good
way to extend and reinforce the discoveries made by groups and the class as a
whole. One option would be to ask students to formulate a thesis backed up by
evidence in response to the research/guiding question of this lesson. You could
also have students focus their attention on a single word, formulating a thesis
about how Shakespeare's use of the word reveals something about the motives of
Macbeth's descent into evil. But you might want to allow for more flexibility
in the assignment, because as students investigate the permutations of words like
sleep, they may make discoveries that lead in slightly different directions. The
important thing to stress, however the assignment is formulated, is that students
should have: 1) a main point that is a statement (not a question); 2) evidence
that supports that statement. From the collated class document and from additional
searches they can now do with online or print concordances, they should find ample
material to support their main point.
- There
are some things the Internet does extraordinarily well. One of those things is
to perform quick searches of very long texts. This lesson has focused on Macbeth,
but of course you can use this as a model for searching all kinds of texts found
online. There are two things that students who use this powerful technology need
to keep in mind: 1) you need a direction, a guiding/research question; 2) you
need to analyze your results and be selective.
- As
you talk about the larger sources of fear and evil in this play, your class will
eventually need to come to grips with the three witches. Who or what are they?
Are they embodiments of evil or, as some have suggested, projections and manifestations
of Macbeth's own deepest wishes and fears? To learn more about witches and witchcraft
in the seventeenth-century, visit the EDSITEment-reviewed site, Witchcraft
in a Salem Village. While most of the archived materials are from late-seventeenth-century
America, but the colonists conceptions about witches are inherited from English
traditions that would have been familiar to Shakespeare and his patron, King James
I, who was deeply interested in the subject.
Standards Alignment
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