The beginning of the end for the era of Macbeth

Posted on November 22, 2011 by ef082014

Although Macbeth’s downfall becomes somewhat evident in Act III (when he is being taunted by Banquo’s ghost), I think Act IV represents the breaking point for Macbeth, as well as his rule over Scotland.  Scene I opens up with the witches concocting an elaborate recipe and later telling Macbeth of his future – they give him news that (at the time) seems to be positive, as usual, for the King.  However in Scene II, it is clear that Macbeth, as well as the entire world around him has been brought to total devastation.  Out of fear, Macduff has left his wife and children without notice just to get away from the “abhorred tyrant.”  It seems that Macduff and Malcolm have some hostility between them (I actually thought they were going to fight in Act IV, Scene III), yet they team up in order to overtake the diminishing Macbeth.

Unrelated observation: In Scene II, Macduff’s son seems extremely thoughtful and well-versed for a child.  He participates in a very peculiar exchange with his mother.

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The comparisons can go on forever…

Posted on November 21, 2011 by teshia.sooklal

I thought it’s only fitting to fill my blog post with material that I couldn’t cover in the presentation in class. I think the comparisons between Macbeth and Lady Macbeth can go on forever. Their echoes of each other’s words ring throughout the entire play. The audience really does get an in depth look at their relationship and how they play off each other. In 1.7.33, Macbeth says “If it were done when ’tis done, then ’twere well/ It were done quickly.” Here, he’s referring to the killing of Duncan right before his wife persuades him to carry out the evil deed. Then in 3.1.13, Lady Macbeth says to her husband about all the deeds that have been committed already, “what’s done, is done” (probably the most famous line is all of Shakespearean literature). Here, she echoes her husband’s words in 1.7, which continues to portray the influence they have on each other.

Shakespeare’s diction is also very well chosen in this play to set the tone of the entire plot. In 1.5.64, Lady Macbeth says “Look like th’innocent flower,/ But be the serpent under’t” when speaking to her husband about killing Duncan. In 3.2.14, Macbeth says, “We have scorched the snake, not killed it” when speaking to his wife about killing Banquo and Fleance. Shakespeare uses words with very wicked connotations like “serpent” and “snake” to add to the ambience of the plot. His words emphasize the dark, dangerous and almost poisonous path Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are on and later we’ll come to see that the only way they can get off is if they themselves are killed.

Posted in Gender matters, Macbeth | 3 Comments

Scene Study – Macbeth Act 3 Scene 1

Posted on November 21, 2011 by Chenda

 

http://youtu.be/F2GDUdcc5qw

Posted in Macbeth and the Murderers -- Group 6 | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

The Blind Leading the Dead

Posted on November 18, 2011 by Rikki

“I know what ’tis to love;

And would, as I shall pity, I could help.

Please you walk in, my lords.” (4.4.10-13)

There is a tragic absurdity that runs through Troilus and Cressida. Paris, in the lines above, expresses his regret to Troilus that he cannot interfere in Troilus’ separation from Cressida. This line does not seem to be mocking and yet, as an audience, we know that what he says is untrue. Paris has all the power to help Troilus. He simply needs to return Helen to her husband and end the war. Paris seems totally unaware of the absurdity of his attempt to comfort Troilus. He takes no blame for the widespread pain he inflicts. Like Shakespeare’s caricatures of Menelaus, Ulysses, and Agamemnon, the portrait of a blindly hypocritical Paris serves to undermine the blind reverence that follows those in power. This theme is carried further in the hectic short scenes of act 5. Amidst the bloody chaos, Agamemnon says “march patiently on” (5.9.6). Not only are the leaders in this play out of touch with the human consequences of their actions, they are disconnected from the reality of events as they unfold around them.

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The witches in “Macbeth”

Posted on November 15, 2011 by urszula.glowacka

“Macbeth” is a very intriguing play that brings tension between predestination and free will, appearance and reality. The action starts with a storm what introduces dark, ominous atmosphere that will continue through the play. The first characters we meet are three witches – “the weird sisters.” Shakespeare uses these figures to open the play and lead us into this complicated, mysterious world.

The witches, as was observed in the class, replace the chorus, but instead of clarifying things for the audience, they add to the overall confusion and mystery in the play. The witches represent supernatural forces, they come and go and at times we are not sure if they are even real. They speak in riddles and rhymes. As they exit the scene the witches chant: “Fair is foul, and foul is fair” (1.1. 12). It is a paradox, one word contradicts another. These words reflect the perversion of values throughout the play. Things are not always
clear and easy, not always black and white, but sometimes complex and not immediately
visible. It is very interesting to note that the first words that Macbeth speaks in the play are: “So foul and fair a day I have not seen” (1.3. 37). We can interpret his words literally; he calls the day foul because of the bad weather and it is also fair for him because he won the battle. However, these simple words carry a lot of deeper meaning and reinforce the message that things are not always the way they seem. The fact that Macbeth and the witches use the same words suggests that they have some sort of spiritual connection. The witches awake Macbeth’s ambition and create the suspense in the play. Their prophecy leads to a series of tragic events and to Macbeth’s demise. Or maybe it isn’t what it seems and the witches are projections of Macbeth’s imagination; they are personification of
his inner thoughts and desires.

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Shakespeare and Homer

Posted on November 14, 2011 by nelson.martinez

Shakespeare’s homage to Homer and even Chaucer could be related to today’s Hollywood (even though Shakespeare doesn’t sell out). He took a very famous work of literature and adapted it into a screen play. He took creative license and created and original story line through a classic story.
One of the aspects of the original that I missed during the adaptation was the gods of Olympus. During the Iliad they were a very strong influencing force throughout the epic poem. It would have been nice to see how Shakespeare would have adapted the gods into his play.
It was nice to see Shakespeare’s version of Chaucer’s Troilus and Criseyde. During Act 5 iii, when Hector was departing to war this scene mirrors Book 22 of the Iliad. In the Iliad he was being persuaded by his parents. The scene is very emotional and very intense. In the play Hector is being asked by many people and it is not as intense.
There were things that I would have liked to have seen in the play from the original but that being said I still enjoyed it.

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Dear Cressida, Your Actions Speak Louder Than Your Words!!

Posted on November 10, 2011 by raquel.ortega1

In our class discusions we have throughly discussed Cressida. Cressida’s relationship with Troilus. Cressida’s relationship with Diomedes. And every other relationship she has in the story. Still today,  I don’t quite know where stand with her. I wonder if she was evil and conniving from the start or whether her actions were shoved upon her upon the Trojan and Greek exchange. One thing I do know if that she is most definitely deceitful and manipulative. She too, is unsure of what she might become someday.  She says, ” I have a kind of self resides with you;/ But an unkind self, that itself will leave to be another’s fool. / I would be gone. Where is my wit? I know not what I speak” (3.2 149-152).  In today’s urban society one would classfiy Cressida as a “trick,” someone who deceives, lies, and is untrustworthy. You can look it up in at Urbandictionary.com if you need further connotation. 🙂

Cressida’s relationship with Troilus is rather interesting because neither of them pledged any vows to be with each other for the rest of their lives. We can furthermore classify their relationship as a lustful one, lasting as long as a 3rd grade romance. And by the end we see what love or lust as one can call it has done to Troilus. One thing I know I am definitely in Troilus’s side.

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Women in Troilus and Cressida

Posted on November 10, 2011 by nmartinez1

I have to agree with many of the comments made so far, especially the one that characterizes the women in Shakespearean plays. In this particular play, Troilus and Cressida, women are portrayed as either a whore, crazy or hardly referred to at all in the text.

Andromache does not appear in the play until act V.  She is the wife of the greatest Trojan warrior, Hector. “Hath nothing been but shape and forms of slaughter” (5.3.12). In act V she implores Hector not to fight because she dreamed about his death. After a few lines we never hear from her again.

Cassandra is the Trojan princess and prophetess. She is portrayed as a crazy woman yet she warns her brothers of the fall of Troy, “Cry, cry! Troy burns, or else let Helen go” (2.2.112). She does not reappear until the final act, when she too warns Hector of his death. The Trojans fail to listen to her words and they lose their hero.

Helen is cause of the war between the Trojans and the Greek. She is represented as a whore in this play because she willingly leaves Menelaus for Paris. Diomedes calls both men fools to fight and destroy for her and for their glory. (4.1.54-56)

Cressida is also depicted as whore. At first she thinks highly of Hector then Pandarus opens her eyes to Troilus. She gives in to his seduction as she will give in to Diomedes. In act IV Ulysses degrades Cressida by stating that everyone must kiss her to welcome her. I believe this act was unfair to Cressida because there is nothing else she could have done about the kisses. Yet she is deemed as loose by Ulysses and he himself does not kiss her.

Posted in Troilus and Cressida | 4 Comments

A love as false as Cressid…

Posted on November 9, 2011 by erica.lin

I found the oaths Troilus and Cressida very interesting. They were speaking as if they knew they were a story and that their tale would become an “epic.” The ironic thing is that Panderus’s extra added sentence was the only one to transcend the play and actually become a integral part of the English language. Troilus and Cressida may not be like Romeo and Juliet, who are madly in love and willing to sacrifice everything for each other. Nor are they like cunning Antony and Cleopatra, but they do try in their own way to become something of legend. We also discussed how self-conscious the characters in this play were and that may also be a reason that is holding them back from being true lovers. They seem only to care for their “image” of love than rather the love itself: you can’t love wholly and be self-conscious about it. Another thing is, this relationship does seem rather one-sided. Seems as if Troilus is the one who loves Cressida and Cressida is like, ‘well if this is the best I can do, I’ll take what I can get (a prince of Troy)’ and she doesn’t really have a passionate love for him which is why their bonds and promises and oaths are so easily broken: their love is not true.

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Scene Study – Group 5 – Act 5, Scene 3

Posted on November 8, 2011 by ef082014

http://youtu.be/r6qeLQ8J-Mg

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