The story so far

• At the end of Act 3, Lennox walks with another lord,

discussing what has happened to the kingdom.
Banquo’s murder has been officially blamed on
Fleance, who has fled. Nevertheless, both men suspect
Macbeth, whom they call a “tyrant,” in the murders of
Duncan and Banquo. The lord tells Lennox that
Macduff has gone to England, where he will join
Malcolm in pleading with England’s King Edward for
aid. News of these plots has prompted Macbeth to
prepare for war. Lennox and the lord express their
hope that Malcolm and Macduff will be successful and
that their actions can save Scotland from Macbeth.
 Wednesday, 03 April 2019

DELUSIONS OF FATE
Act 4, Scenes 1 – 3
 ACT 4, SCENE 1
• The Three Witches

• Macbeth

• Hecate

• The Three Apparitions

• Lennox
 Macbeth meets the three witches
• Macbeth insists on talking to the three
witches and learning what has happened
 AMBITIOUS MACBETH
 Yesty = foamy,
I conjure you, by that which you profess,
frothy
Howe'er you come to know it, answer me:  Lodged = stuck
 Topple = collapse
Though you untie the winds and let them fight  Warders‘=
guards’
Against the churches; though the yesty waves  Slope = drop
Confound and swallow navigation up;  Germens = seeds

Though bladed corn be lodged and trees blown down;

Though castles topple on their warders' heads;
Though palaces and pyramids do slope
Their heads to their foundations; though the treasure
Of nature's germens tumble all together,
Even till destruction sicken; answer me
To what I ask you.
 PROPHECIES
What is the What does Macbeth How does he Key words/
apparition of? find out? react? quotations

Macbeth thanks
1st A head wearing Be scared of the spirit, and
Apparition a helmet Macduff says he is more
afraid of Macduff

Macbeth is not
Laugh at men,
2nd afraid of
because no man
Apparition A bloody child Macduff, but
born of woman can
chooses to kill
defeat Macbeth
him anyway

Be brave, do not care

about your enemies, That can never
3rd A child wearing because Macbeth will happen, so
Apparition a crown, holding not be defeated until Macbeth can
a tree/branch the forest of Great never be
Birnam walks up to the defeated
castle
 Fourth Apparition
A show of Eight Kings, the last with a mirror in his hand; GHOST OF
BANQUO following
Thou art too like the spirit of Banquo: down!  Sear = burn
Thy crown does sear mine eye-balls. And thy hair,  Hags = old woman,
witch
Thou other gold-bound brow, is like the first.  Two-fold balls = two
A third is like the former. Filthy hags! orbs
Why do you show me this? A fourth! Start, eyes!  Treble = triple, three
 Blood-bolter'd =
What, will the line stretch out to the crack of doom? blood-clotted
Another yet! A seventh! I'll see no more:
And yet the eighth appears, who bears a glass
Which shows me many more; and some I see
That two-fold balls and treble scepters carry:
Horrible sight! Now, I see, 'tis true;
For the blood-bolter'd Banquo smiles upon me,
And points at them for his.
 Macbeth’s Soliloquy
At the end of the scene, a messenger arrives to tell Macbeth that Macduff has fled to England.
Macbeth has already decided to kill Macduff - what does he do now?

Time, thou anticipat’st my dread exploits.

 Anticipat’st = ruin
The flighty purpose never is o'ertook  Exploits = plans
Unless the deed go with it. From this moment  Flighty purpose =
intention that escapes
The very firstlings of my heart shall be  O'ertook = fulfilled
The firstlings of my hand. And even now,  Firstlings = very first
decisions
To crown my thoughts with acts, be it thought and done:  Boasting = talking
The castle of Macduff I will surprise,  Sights = visions
Seize upon Fife, give to th' edge o' th' sword
His wife, his babes, and all unfortunate souls
That trace him in his line. No boasting like a fool.
This deed I’ll do before this purpose cool.
But no more sights!—Where are these gentlemen?
Come, bring me where they are.
 Act 4, Scene 2
• At Macduff’s castle, Lady Macduff confronts Ross, demanding
to know why her husband has fled. She feels betrayed. Ross
insists that she trust her husband’s judgment and then
regretfully departs.
• Once he is gone, Lady Macduff tells her son that his father is
dead, but the little boy wisely argues that he is not. Suddenly,
a messenger hurries in, warning Lady Macduff that she is in
danger and urging her to flee. Lady Macduff protests, arguing
that she has done no wrong.
• A group of murderers then enters. When one of them
criticises Macduff, Macduff’s son calls the murderer a liar, and
the murderer stabs him. Lady Macduff turns and runs, and
the pack of killers chases after her.
 Act 4, Scene 3
• Outside King Edward’s palace, Malcolm
speaks with Macduff, telling him that he
does not trust him since he has left his
family in Scotland and may be secretly
working for Macbeth. To determine
whether Macduff is trustworthy,
Malcolm rambles on about his own vices
(faults).
• He admits that he wonders whether he is
fit to be king, since he claims to be
lustful, greedy, and violent. At first,
Macduff politely disagrees with his
future king, but eventually Macduff
cannot keep himself from crying out,
mourning Scotland’s doom.
• Macduff’s loyalty to Scotland leads him
to agree that Malcolm is not fit to govern
Scotland and perhaps not even to live.
But there's no bottom, none,
In my voluptuousness: your wives, your daughters,
Your matrons and your maids, could not fill up
The cistern of my lust, and my desire
All continent impediments would o'erbear
That did oppose my will:
Were I king,
I should cut off the nobles for their lands,
Desire his jewels and this other's house:
And my more-having would be as a sauce
To make me hunger more; that I should forge
Quarrels unjust against the good and loyal,
Destroying them for wealth.
But I have none: the king-becoming graces, Verity = truth
As justice, verity, temperance, stableness, Temperance =
Bounty, perseverance, mercy, lowliness, soberness, restraint
Devotion, patience, courage, fortitude, Stableness = stability
Bounty = generosity
I have no relish of them, but abound Perseverance =
In the division of each several crime, determination
Acting it many ways. Nay, had I power, I Mercy
should Lowliness = humility
Pour the sweet milk of concord into hell, Devotion
Patience
Uproar the universal peace, confound
Courage
All unity on earth. Fortitude = bravery
 Act 4, Scene 3
By voicing his disapproval, Macduff
has passed Malcolm’s test of loyalty.
Malcolm then takes back the lies
about his faults and embraces
Macduff as an ally. A doctor appears
briefly and mentions that a “crew of
wretched souls” waits for King
Edward so they may be cured. When
the doctor leaves, Malcolm explains
to Macduff that King Edward has a
miraculous power to cure disease.
 Only a genuine king gets his power
from God, and can cure diseases and
rule with an iron fist.
 Scrofula (a form of tuberculosis that
affects the lymph nodes and skin)
was also called the "King's Evil" and it
was thought to be cured by the
"Royal Touch," a ceremony that was
performed by monarchs in France
and England as far back as the middle
ages.
 The healing ceremony was
supposedly started in England by
King Edward the Confessor,
Macbeth's ideal king. In a book called
The Royal Touch, historian Marc
Bloch writes that King James I wasn't
thrilled about performing this
ceremony —he thought it was
superstitious —but he did it anyway.
 Act 4, Scene 3
Ross enters. He has just
arrived from Scotland, and
tells Macduff that his wife
and children are well. He
urges Malcolm to return to
his country, listing the
suffering of Scotland since
Macbeth took the crown.
Malcolm says that he will
return with ten thousand
soldiers lent him by the
English king.
…down-fall'n birthdom: each new morn
New widows howl, new orphans cry, new sorrows
Strike heaven on the face, that it resounds
As if it felt with Scotland and yell'd out
Like syllable of dolour.
Bleed, bleed, poor country!
…our country sinks beneath the yoke;
It weeps, it bleeds; and each new day a gash
Is added to her wounds:
O Scotland, Scotland!
O nation miserable,
With an untitled tyrant bloody-scepter'd,
When shalt thou see thy wholesome days again
Alas, poor country!
Almost afraid to know itself. It cannot
Be call'd our mother, but our grave; where nothing,
But who knows nothing, is once seen to smile;
Where sighs and groans and shrieks that rend the air
Are made, not mark'd; where violent sorrow seems
A modern ecstasy; the dead man's knell
Is there scarce ask'd for who; and good men's lives
Expire before the flowers in their caps,
Dying or ere they sicken.
 Act 4, Scene 3

…down-fall'n birthdom: each new morn Bleed, bleed, poor country!

New widows howl, new orphans cry, new sorrows
Strike heaven on the face, that it resounds
As if it felt with Scotland and yell'd out
Like syllable of dolour.

O Scotland, Scotland!

…our country sinks beneath the yoke;

It weeps, it bleeds; and each new day a gash
Is added to her wounds:
O nation miserable,
With an untitled tyrant bloody-scepter'd,
When shalt thou see thy wholesome days again
Alas, poor country!
Almost afraid to know itself. It cannot
Be call'd our mother, but our grave; where nothing,
But who knows nothing, is once seen to smile;
Where sighs and groans and shrieks that rend the air
Are made, not mark'd; where violent sorrow seems
A modern ecstasy; the dead man's knell
Is there scarce ask'd for who; and good men's lives
Expire before the flowers in their caps,
Dying or ere they sicken.
 Act 4, Scene 3
Then, breaking My children too? […]
My wife kill'd too? […]
down, Ross He has no children. All my pretty ones?
confesses to Macduff Did you say all? O hell-kite! All?
What, all my pretty chickens and their dam
that Macbeth has
At one fell swoop?
murdered his wife MALCOLM
and children. Dispute it like a man.
Macduff is crushed MACDUFF
I shall do so;
with grief. Malcolm But I must also feel it as a man:
urges him to turn his I cannot but remember such things were,
That were most precious to me. Did heaven look on,
grief to anger, and And would not take their part? Sinful Macduff,
Macduff assures him They were all struck for thee! naught that I am,
that he will inflict Not for their own demerits, but for mine,
Fell slaughter on their souls. Heaven rest them now!
revenge upon
Macbeth. O, I could play the woman with mine eyes
And braggart with my tongue! But, gentle heavens,
Cut short all intermission; front to front
Bring thou this fiend of Scotland and myself;
Within my sword's length set him; if he 'scape,
Heaven forgive him too!
 Act 4, Scene 3 – Evil macbeth
 ‘Bloody’ (murderous)
 “This tyrant, whose sole name
 ‘Luxurious’ (lecherous)
blisters our tongues”
 ‘Avaricious’ (greedy)
 “An angry god”
 ‘False’ (fake)
 “Treacherous”
 ‘Malicious’ (evil)
 “Great tyranny!”
 ‘Sudden’ (violent)
 “Black Macbeth”
 ‘Deceitful’ (sneaky and lying)
 “Not in the legions
 ‘Every sin/ that has a name’ (a
Of horrid hell can come a devil
reference to the seven deadly sins:
more damn'd in evils to top
o Wrath
Macbeth.”
o Greed
 “Untitled tyrant bloody-scepter'd”
o Sloth
 “Devilish Macbeth”
o Pride
 “Hell-kite”
o Lust
 “Fiend of Scotland”
o Envy
o Gluttony