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This video is a line-by-line walkthrough guide for William Shakespeare’s Macbeth: Act 3, Scene 1.
I provide a close reading of the entire scene, including: — Detailed explication — Commentary — Literary analysis
All commentary is supplemented by in-text, line-by-line study notes designed to help students: — Prepare for GCSE, A-Level, IB, and AP evaluation — Prepare for general high school and college quizzes, exams, and essays — Generate ideas for analysis essays — Participate knowledgeably in class discussions Click here to download the annotated text of Macbeth: https://sites.google.com/view/shakespeare-walkthrough/home
This video discusses :
PLOT: — Banquo suspects Macbeth murdered Duncan; is tempted by Witches’ prophecies, but resists — Macbeth reminds Banquo to attend a banquet that evening — Banquo says he is going for a ride that afternoon with Fleance — Macbeth tells Banquo that Malcolm and Donalbain have fled to England and Ireland and are blaming Macbeth for Duncan’s murder — Macbeth’s third soliloquy reveals his fears of Banquo and his sons — Murderers arrive — Macbeth reminds murderers that Banquo is a mutual enemy and must be eliminated — Murderers comment that they have been so wounded by the world, they would like to see it burn — Macbeth gives murderers instructions about where to find Banquo and Fleance
CHARACTER: — Banquo: character foil; Macbeth’s conscience; tempted but resists = not perfect but possesses strength of character; brave + wise + royal in nature, unlike Macbeth — Macbeth: insecure in his manhood; obsessed with issue of male heir; has started down the slippery slope of tyranny; willing to burn the world to support own ego — Murderers: spiteful, bitter, nihilistic, willing to burn the world to be revenged for wrongs
THEME: — Necessary paranoia of the tyrant; slippery slope; “blood will have blood” — Alienation: Macbeth increasingly alone — Cain and Abel: spiteful brother murders his better brother/self — Projection: we see what we want to see — Manhood: historic importance of male heirs — Nihilism: bitter, spiteful people are dangerous — Root cause of evil is humiliation and the resultant resentment, bitterness and desire for revenge; “Joker” theme — Appearance vs reality: tyrant’s need to lie constantly
