Macbeth Act 5 ~ Youtube Speech!

My Youtube speech of Act 5! Enjoy!

Macbeth Act 4 ~Riddle this Image!

"Be lion-mettled, proud; and take no care Who chafes, who frets, or where conspirers are: Macbeth shall never vanquish'd be until Great Birnam wood to high Dunsinane hill Shall come against him." (IV.i.90-94)

In the Act 4 riddle comic assignment I would like to use humor to convey my understanding of the riddles. This riddle is about the turning point when Macbeth is panicking to the extreme, and seeks help from the witches who tell him that no one can kill Macbeth until the Great Birnam wood moves to high Dunsinane hill. Knowing a giant forest cannot move, Macbeth felt secure and eased his concern a little. Ironically he does not know that their prophecy is metaphorical instead of rhetorical; and there are indeed ways for the Birnam woods to move to Dunsinane hill. Like the story later suggested, the seemingly impossible endeavor is possible by moving the woods by labor (the soldiers cut the wood into weapons and disguises). Keeping this in mind especially for my comic, I drew three witches who are announcing their prediction to the soldiers, with the addition of soldiers in the background cutting the trees down. One solider replied to the witches, there has got to be an easier way to kill Macbeth, making fun of the great work of moving the forest. 

"Macbeth! Macbeth! Macbeth! beware Macduff; Beware the thane of Fife. Dismiss me. Enough."(IV.i.71-72) 

In Act IV scene I, where the three witches appeared as three apparitions prophesizing that Macbeth should fear Macduff. Given that their first prophecy about Macbeth’s throne came true, it is significant when they warned Macbeth about Macduff; revealing to the audience for the first time who would kill Macbeth in the end. I played with the tone and placement as the apparition is yelling to Macbeth about the warning; they do not see Macduff next to them and Macduff heard what they are saying. I think it is funny of how the witches always appeared and act so emotionally dramatic in the play. My idea was also to casually capture their emotions, and hopefully after reading the comic my audience will come to have a good laugh. 

"Be bloody, bold, and resolute; laugh to scorn The power of man, for none of woman born Shall harm Macbeth. " (IV.i.79-81)

This is another prophecy the witches made to Macbeth; that one of the woman born cannot harm him. Like the first riddle, the witches’ prophecies deeply influenced Macbeth throughout the entire story. This one in particular misleads Macbeth to a certain extent, believing that no human can harm him because all are born of woman. However, this also played a rhetorical trick as Macduff was born in Caesarian section birth, not a normal birth, so technically Macduff was the only exception. In Shakespearean time, having caesarian section indirectly means the other is probably already dead or dying while delivering, meaning the survival possibility is nearly none. Before I reached the end of the play, the idea that Macduff might be a man born did cross my mind. Thus in this comic, after the witch reveals the prophecy, Macbeth has the same initial thought as I did. He stared at one of the heavier soldiers with a huge tummy with skepticism. The solider simply replies that he gained weight, and he was not pregnant; humorously leading to the real solution of the riddle.

Macbeth Act 3 ~ Presentation of "what's going on"

Here is a video I made for this presentation. Enjoy!

Macbeth Act 2 ~ Tweeting Macbeth's Thoughts

Please visit the full account at : https://twitter.com/Macbeth_bobcat

My Twitter Experience

I did not have a Twitter account so this is my first time experience tweeting. This is an interesting experience because I rarely incorporate with any social networking program, including facebook. Having previously thought these kinds of social networking to be only a more convenient way to connect with friends, it never once occurred that a site like Twitter would have legitimate use. Little did I know, it is also an efficient way to connect with varies topic of interests, thus easily getting information of such. My first impression of Twitter after that realization is positive; perhaps it could be quite beneficial and come in handy. Especially if I were to record a list of thoughts, about a specific experience and use it kind of like a modern, digital, and very public diary. 

This assignment is quite challenging, as I have to pretend that I am Macbeth and to spell out what is in his mind during various events. Before starting, extensively studying the play is a must. Given that Macbeth is a tragedy, I believe there are definitely hidden hints in the plot that leads to the trigger of the sad ending. When study, I mainly focus in the personality of Macbeth, and his interaction with other characters to estimate why he had such a response to certain events. In my research, the greatest finding was the discovery that Macbeth is indeed a real historical monarch of Scotland in the period of 1040-1057 of the House of Alpin. I am interested to know more about why Shakespeare chose this particular historical figure to portray his play. Thanks to the classical / modern language translator, it has made my studying easier. However, since modern language inevitably ignores some of the important structure of the classical language (as I think Shakspeare wrote the line in certain written structure for a reason), it is important to study the original text, and not to rely on the translator too much.

Macbeth Act 1 ~ Character Profile

  Lady Macbeth 

Lady Macbeth is Macbeth’s wife. Her character is very interesting to study and I think she is the most essential character of the play. In my point of view, Lady Macbeth is a very complicated person; she is the kind of person that I can’t clearly or easily label as ‘good’ or ‘bad’. By the conversation she had with Macbeth in Act I, I can tell that she and Macbeth are deeply in love. In the surface of their relationship she is dominating like a man, obviously ambitious, merciless and ferocious. In Act I scene 5 she teaches Macbeth the steps to murder Duncan, and is willing to clean up the mess for him. She might sound like a heartless woman who uses her husband as a puppet for more power, but then I have a feeling that she is not doing it for her own benefit.

Lady Macbeth yelled at Macbeth when he has doubt to murder Duncan, but instead of trying to control Macbeth, I tend to think that she yelled at him out of love. Just like how a mother angrily yells at a son when she finds out that he is too cowardly to pursue a promising future. Even when she speaks mockingly to challenge his manhood, Macbeth does not get mad because in his heart he knows what his wife says is right. After all she is just a woman, what good will it bring for her to sustain so much power? I think she loves her husband (perhaps in a way we do not understand) and wants the best for him. My guess is that later on in the story her guiltiness will come back to haunt her, and make her mentally vulnerable. If that happens, that really shows she has love in her heart.

Macbeth Act 1 ~ Destiny & Fate

When Macbeth and Banquo first met the witches

I think the witches’ role in the play is critical as the plot revolves around and expands from their mysterious prophecies. Frankly, I do not know how many times they are going to reappear in the story but I am sure that each of their appearances will become an important twist for the plot. Their chant “fair is foul and foul is fair” is a paradox.  In my own words, I think it means everything fair will morph into the foul and everything foul will turn into the fair. They sarcastically imply that fair and foul is basically the same thing. So, when something fair happened, something foul will follow along inevitably. (For instance, King Duncan won the battle, but was soon killed by Macbeth; Macbeth luckily became the King but it will end up a tragedy; Banquo cannot be King but his son will.) Therefore, the interesting part of the later reading is that everything will reflect on these “fairness” and “foulness” turns their way. 

I do not know if we are all subject to our pre-determined destiny, but I think it is better to live as though we are not. Isn’t there a saying “good things will come when you least expect it”? Becoming overly concerned about ones destiny is a waste of time because regardless, we will have to experience it. Even if we are subject to pre-determined destiny, knowing it prior will not change the outcome, but by believing in it we influence the future’s will. At least, by believing in it will boost up our confidence, and ultimately enhance our strength and power to go through difficulties. I believe that beliefs generate positive energy and accepting pre-determined destiny creates negative energy. It’s always better to surround ourselves in positive energy. What do you think?

Macbeth Act 1 ~ First Thoughts

An image of William Shakespeare

The play is believed to have been written between 1603 and 1607.

Given that Macbeth is such a well-known tragic play, before I started reading there were various bits of information I had already heard but nothing in fine detail. Such as the story revolving around an overly ambitious nobleman who murdered his King for the throne; before later on succumbing and getting killed by his own fear and guilt. My reading for Act I certainly enriched my understanding about the plot, I am surprised to see that there is a strong female figure, Lady Macbeth, who obtains a significant amount of power in a Shakespeare play. In addition, I pondered about the most significant element of this story—the witches’ prophecies. “All hail, Macbeth, that shalt be king hereafter!” In their prediction, Macbeth is clearly going to become the king; however I am wondering will he still ascend to the throne if he did not murder Duncan. It seems that Macbeth will become King due to the murder, but he will not murder Duncan if it was not for the power of the prophecies and what they promised. Therefore, the function of the prophecies in my personal opinion is so attractive, that, although it is easy to predict the ending of the story I still cannot wait to read the twists.  

After studying some of the other Shakespeare’s plays such as Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, A Midsummer Night’s Dream and more, I have the expectation that Macbeth will be another classic. Following suit of the others, this Shakespearean play will most likely embed dramatic expression and extreme emotions leads by the characters’ entangling relationships and inner struggles. My limited drama class experience has set me a small,  but promising step for reading and understanding the play. I know that the difference between reading other literatures in comparison to reading a play is a key factor. The best way is to first understand the various character personalities and backgrounds; hence I will be able to comprehend their reactions to each event whether individual or ones related to other characters. Understanding the reasons of why they do is more important than to know what they do. So, when reading Macbeth I tried to read it with emotions, sometimes I read it out loud to pretend I am the character. I hope this will be a good start!