LOVE IS BLIND

The audience sees Lady Macbeth as a crazy person, that is extremely evil. Especially, when she explains the scene about his gums and her nipples and how ready she would be to kill the King. The audience of course wants to jump into the story and tell Macbeth not to listen to her and to let the power of the king come to him naturally rather than committing an evil act just to get the power. Where I look at Lady Macbeth as a psycho and someone who has a lot of anger inside that is only taken out on other people, Macbeth sees her as an authority figure, who knows whats best for him. Macbeth, although questioning it himself, thinks that his wife of all people would tell him the right thing. This is why Macbeth will give in and commit the crime. Macbeth does not see her words as crazy, but rather ignores them and looks at what could be the potential problems that come from this and how will they deal with them. He worries about what people will say about him and what will happen if the fail, but again Lady Macbeth is there to pick him up and give him confidence. This is why he doesn't see the suggestion as crazy, but rather of possible truth. The fact that Macbeth is even considering that this decision could be right and whats best for him and the people shows that he is a very confused and controlled person. This goes to show Lady Macbeth's power over people because Macbeth would never do something like this if it wasn't for his wife in his ear encouraging him to do so.

Act 1 Study Questions

I-1

1) Beginning the play with a dialogue between the witches sets the mood to be dark, evil, and mysterious. This foreshadows the plot, theme, and mood for the future of the story in the same manner. In comparison of Shakespeare's other plays, Macbeth requires more ambiguity and the syntax and diction used needs to be more bleak. For example, Hamlet highlighted the themes of betrayal and complexity of relationships and power. Even though, the theme falls in the same ballpark with Macbeth, the gloominess of the plot of Macbeth overpowers that of Hamlet. In the beginning of the play, the witches were going to meet Macbeth at the "ere of sunset." Line 10 was "Paddock calls" and line 11 was "Anon." The phrase paddock class means a toad, which symbolizes transformation. The word anon means soon or shortly. The "toad" and it's transformation could metaphorically be compared to Macbeth and his evolving and transforming to be a completely different person or even having a transformation in his status and power. The witch's response as anon signifies how Macbeth will shortly have a transformation - to be declared a thane. 

I-2

1. The bloody seargent indirectly characterizes Macbeth by glorifying his actions towards Macdonwald. Macdonwald is a rebel who was executed. He tried to attack them. Macbeth executed macdonwald with his sword. This did not end the fight with the rebels, the Norwegians are still attacking.
2. The traitor was the Thane of Cawdor, as we learn from Ross. Duncan says that its a relief the thane of cawdor was executed and that Macbeth now owns his previous title.

I-3

1. The witches speech gives a first look at Macbeth and his wife without saying who they are. Indirect characterization of the two. Similar to Hamlet where he gives a mini synopsis early in the story. "Weird" in Shakespeare's day meant future seers not weird as we know it, prophecy and destiny. Shakespeare means that Macbeth's wife has him by the balls. They  cast a spell to control his destiny.
2. Macbeth says something very similar to what the witches said at the beginning of the play. This could be him falling into the destiny the witches set up. Dried, chapped fingers, gender ambiguity, hairy, old, they have literal beards. The witches tell Macbeth that he will thane of Candor and eventually King, right then he finds out he is thane of Cawdor. Banquo asked the witch why they had nothing for him, they told him he is lesser but greater than Macbeth. We knew he was thane before he was thane.
3. Banquo says the witches were a figment of their imagination that they lie or that they are hallucinating. Macbeth learns that he is thane of Cawdor from Ross and Angus. During lines 114-156 he was going over his plan in his head and how everything had just happened to him. He acts very happy and shows no incredulity at being thane. Macbeth's aside shows him rationalizing what happened to him and he begins to think that he is going to be King soon. Macbeth tells Banquo that he is happy and excited and nothing more he explains his behavior by saying he is confused.

I-4

1.Cawdor was executed after openly confessing his treason and pleading for mercy. Malcolm tried to stick up for the thane, but the king responds by basically saying that you can't trust a man according to his face. He doesn't believe the thane was truly repentant.

2.The king greets them by saying that he can never repay them enough for their good deeds, but announces he will leave all his estate and names his son, Malcolm, prince of Cumberland. He then proposes that they go to Macbeth's castle at Inverness. Macbeth tells himself that the only way to be king is to get rid of Malcolm, and even though he'll be appalled at his action, he must do it.

I-5

1. Macbeth was honest with his wife when he informs her of his new title as "Thane of Cawdor." He refers to the witches as "weird sisters" probably because he doesn't want her know that he is associated with the "evil servants."

Lady Macbeth responds by saying that she thinks Macbeth is playng things off as if everything is fine. By saying "but be the serpent under't", she describes him as someone that lies to make everything appear under control. This doesn't really match the characterization of Macbeth so far in the story which implies that there is something the audience doesn't know about him. 

2. The wife was confident about the guests visit. She also seemed prepared and a little cocky about the way her and her husband would handle it.

3. Lady Macbeth. Yes she wants to kill Duncan. No, he isn't sure whether he wants to follow through with Lady Macbeths orders or not. She tells him not to let Duncan see tomorrow. 

4. The question appears to answer itself. 

I-6

1. The opening speeches (1.6.1-10) describe how the surroundings of the castle are "pleasant" and the air is sweet-maybe even too sweet. From the outside, the castle appears to be paradise.
Lady Macbeth's welcome is formal. Her language is totally different from her language in the previous scene which shows how fake and dishonest her welcome was.

I-7

1. "If it were done when 'tis done then 'twere well." If it were done when it was done it was done well. (Meaning if he completed the death quickly and efficiently and with no complications then he did the job well.) Macbeth is determined to kill the king and be done with him but in lines 1-12 he is fearful of how the "inventor" will judge his actions. He's violating the hospitality of his kinship and responsibilities as a host towards his guest by trying to kill his guest instead of protecting them. The motivation that Macbeth attributes to himself in lines 25-28 is the attribute of an Arabic heaven-like God. He will be seen as a "God" and that is his source of motivation to get the job done. 

2. In lines 28-30 she is complaining about him leaving the chamber because it was  almost time for dinner. Macbeth responds to her complaining by saying did he ask for me? And lady Macbeth says don't you know he did? The positions are lady Macbeth is ready for the King to be killed while Macbeth is still hesitant and on the fence about it. Macbeth convinced Lady Macbeth by explaining that he is an respected person and doesn't want to lose his honor while Lady Macbeth convinces Macbeth by convincing him to gain the power and kill the king. The stronger person in the scene is Lady Macbeth because  she's more verbally confident in her argument while convincing Macbeth to kill the King. 

Meet Macbeth

Macbeth is introduced by the witches, who see him as brave and strong. This could be an implication that Macbeth will do whatever it takes to become King, but it also can foreshadow the idea that it was presented by a witch, meaning there could be evil deeds behind it. Macbeth is seen as heroic when he enters the story because he had just defeated the traitors, but he also is shocked to find out that he is the thane of Cawdor. This could be a front to show that he respects the title, when in reality he was power thirsty to have that title. The witches foreshadow that Macbeth and Banquo will have power, but that Banquo will always be inferior to Macbeth. This could possible create a rivalry between the men or one of the men could turn evil in order to withhold the power. Shakespeare starts each act with a setting, which helps the reader to picture where the play is and some background. Also the witches play a key role in describing the characters and giving hints as to what will happen without giving the entire thing away. The witches not only foreshadow, but also help introduce the characters with indirect characterization. Shakespeare's tone towards Macbeth is honorable because all of the characters seem him as a respectable person, but I believe that this is all an act and the evil in Macbeth will soon prevail. The author presents Macbeth as a questionable, yet favorable character. Macbeth seems like a character who desires power and will do anything to be superior to others, even if they are his friends, which may lead the plot into Macbeth attempting to get the King's throne.

My Macbeth Resources

1. Alec McFarland. He is probably the most knowledgable person I know when it comes to shakespeare.
2. http://www.shakespeare-online.com/plays/macbeth/macbethresources.html This website has a lot of good analysis on Macbeth and breaks it down really well.
3. http://www.shakespeare-navigators.com/macbeth/Links.html This website has essays from students who have previously studied Macbeth, which I can read and learn from.
4. http://shakespeare.mit.edu/macbeth/full.html This website will be helpful in providing the text and the scenes.
5. I will also use Mrs. Bryne as a resource because she knows my learning style, which is why she is very beneficial in teaching me.

Prose Essay

Young Goodman Brown, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, is a short story about a character how is faced with the choice of staying true to himself or conforming to societies pressures. The theme of this story is the good versus evil that every person must battle throughout their lives. Young Goodman Brown's battle is a decision between going to the devils side or staying true to his wife and returning home to the village. The author uses inward questioning and outward conformation to show the battle that Young Goodman Brown fights, but essentially shows the character's unavoidable loss of innocence. With symbolism in Faith's ribbon, allusions to the Bible, and a serious tone the author is able to show how the character of Goodman Brown eventually gives in to the evil side, which contributes to the meaning of the story by showing how easy it is to give in to people that you know and trust. 

Hawthorne uses symbolism as a way of ensuring that Goodman Brown's character will continue to question the "evil" side. Faith's pink ribbon resembles innocence and purity. It shows her youth and happiness when said in this line, "And Faith, as the wife was aptly named, thrust her own pretty head into the street, letting the wind play with the pink ribbons of her cap while she called to Goodman Brown." Faith's character of purity is the driving force behind Goodman Brown's inward questioning. The author uses the devil's ceremony to try and lure Young Goodman Brown's character into the evil side, but the attraction the author created between Faith and Goodman Brown keeps Goodman Brown fighting the evil. Hawthorne also uses symbolism with the woods. The author uses the woods to resemble the fear that Goodman Brown's character feels. Every time the character enters the forest a chill goes through his whole body. This contributes to the overall meaning in that the author uses negative things to draw him in, while allowing him to recognize the bad and fear in them. Although he senses the fear, he knows that it is impossible to get away from them.

The author has Young Goodman Brown's character start to outwardly conform when he shows that all of the people who the character knows and loves, including his father and grandfather, have also gone to the evil side. Historical tradition and allusions are used that contribute to the pull between the good and evil. This story was written in the time of the Salem witch trials, which forces the author to pull the character to the evil side, but the allusions to the Bible encourage the author to pull the character to the good side. "'But, were I to go on with thee, how should I meet the eye of that good old man, our minister, at Salem village? Oh, his voice would make me tremble both Sabbath day and lecture day.'" In this line, there is a reference to Salem village, which was where the witch trials were happening and is another negative thought the author puts into the character's head to get him to conform to the evil side. Yet also in this line, the author refers to Sabbath day and lecture day, which are from the Bible, which shows the mixed emotions of the character between good and evil. The allusions and historical time period are used to show the battle in the character's head, which still seems to be confused and unsure what to do.

When Goodman Brown's character hears a lot of familiar voices from his village, he finally gives into the devil and goes to the ceremony. There the author has many other characters that Goodman Brown is familiar with, which of course creates shock, but also shows how going to the evil side was inevitable because everyone else was there and pressuring him to also do so. The author used a serious and formal tone, but also one that kept the readers on their toes. The tone had a sense of anticipation and fear because the readers knew that in the end the author would have the character turn to the evil side. Although the story is eloquent and to the point it has an overall tone of seriousness because of the topic it is discussing, which is betrayal and deep-rooted evil. The tone the author uses seems to foreshadow Young Goodman Brown going to the evil side from the beginning of the story. If there was hope that he would choose good, there would have been a different tone. 

The author created a story in which there was a battle between good and evil, yet the evil was predestined. Faith and religion kept Goodman Brown on the good side for as long a possible, but the pressures of the rest of the community, especially the pressures from the people of Goodman Brown's church, led him to accept the evil side. The tension of inwardly questioning and outwardly conforming contributed to the overall meaning in that he fought a battle that was already chosen for him. The historical time period and allusions helped to fuel the confusion, but would lead him to an inevitable ending. While the theme is good versus evil, it was also a loss of innocence that wouldn't and couldn't be avoided. Without a serious tone the author would not have been able to emphasize the betrayal and evil that took place, but without symbolism it would not be possible to create the contrast between pure and evil. 

Poetry Essay

Prompt: Read the following poem carefully. Then write a well-organized essay in which you analyze how the poet uses language to describe the scene and to convey mood and meaning.
Poem: "Out, Out-" by Robert Frost 

I chose this prompt because Frost really uses techniques to describe the scene of the accident. He also uses many different techniques to describe the mood during the accident and what it really shows about human beings. 

In "Out, Out," by Robert Frost, the mood shifts from anticipation to detachment and indifference. Frost explains the scene of the poem with vivid description as the boy is hard at work, but seems to run out of words to say when their is a tragic accident. Before the accident the scene is given in great detail and with a sense of elegance. Boys often take on dangerous and rigorous tasks that seem to be a man's job, but it is so accepted in our culture that when something happens to the boy, he is treated as though he is a man. The young boy in this story was working with a saw, which seems would be a job for a man, but when something goes wrong the characters see it as his fault because he let the saw slip. Frost works to show the comparison between the innocence of the young boy and the experience of man to take the blame away from the boy. Through personifications and metaphors, the author is able to create a lead up to an intense scene, but through comparison and a mood shift he is able to create the overall meaning of the poem. 

Robert Frost uses personification to bring the scene to life and create a sense of fear or anticipation. In lines 1 and 7, Frost writes, "The buzz saw snarled and rattled in the yard." 
These lines show the life of the saw and the potential danger that it could be. The innocence of the boy seems to be emphasized by the roughness of the saw that acts as a person in the poem. "Leaped out at the boy’s hand, or seemed to leap," Frost shows that the saw had a mind of its own and again brings the saw to life. Frost also used metaphors to describe the setting in which the scene took place. "And from there those that lifted eyes could count Five mountain ranges one behind the other Under the sunset far into Vermont." Frost compares the mountain ranges to the sunset to show that the area was extremely beautiful, but the sun was soon to set and the day would be over shortly, which could have saved the boys life if only it had set sooner. Frost painted the scene with elegant speech and with a great flow of words. 

Throughout the poem, the author makes references to a boy and a man. In this poem, Frost uses the comparison between man and boy to create the mood and overall meaning. In the line "Since he was old enough to know, big boy Doing a man’s work, though a child at heart—" Frost shows how young boys were expected to take on the work of a man at an early age. Although they were still young and basically a child, everyone saw them as men and treated them as men in this time period. The reason that Frost incorporates this comparison is because he wants to take the blame of the boys death out of the hands of the boy and into the hands of the adults that were all around. The boy knows that he is going to die as he has lost to much blood, but wants to die with pride, which is why is last lines are "‘Don’t let him cut my hand off— The doctor, when he comes. Don’t let him, sister!’" Frost created this comparison that worked really well to show how boys often are forced to grow up much faster than they should have to. 

At the end of the poem, the author makes a major shift. The shift starts with the line "Little—less—nothing!—and that ended it." At this point in the poem the author changes his writing from elegant to short and indifferent. It is as if the author has no words left to say or does not know how to react to the death of such a young boy. Where the author was using metaphors and personification, he is now using nothing but a tone of detachment and indifference. This mood shift shows how the boys are treated as men and if it not them who have died then they continue on with their lives. This contributes to the overall meaning of the poem, which is that death can be painful, but eventually everyone must move on with their lives. In this case, it seemed that not the characters nor the author seemed to care about the death of the boy because the characters continued on and the author ran out of words, but the author was trying to show his disagreement with such young boys being treated like grown men.

The poem "Out, Out," by Robert Frost, shows the realities of the world, but also shows the authors view, which is him standing up for the innocence of the young boys. Personification was a vital technique to show the brutality of the saw, which resembled the difficulty the boy faced. The saw resembled the reality of adulthood and emphasized the danger the young boy in taking on the lifestyle of a man at a young age. The comparison between boys and men showed the authors view on the situation and how he disliked the fact that the adults did not do something different that could have saved the boys life. In the end of the story, the mood shift showed the reality of the rest of human nature. Death is a hard thing to face, sometimes people react with a sense of indifference because that is the easiest way for them to cope. The author's indifference showed his possible way of coping, but also the harshness of the characters who may have been the boys family, but simply continued on with their lives without any sadness or harm. 

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