Activity One  Macbeth and the Witches (30 points, groups of no more than 3)

Dr. Gingrich, 10th Honors English

Alpharetta High School:

A.Read the Following Five Web Sites and Take Notes on Witches in the 16th Century

http://internetshakespeare.uvic.ca/Library/SLT/ideas/the%20supernatural/daemonologie.html

http://www.sacred-texts.com/pag/kjd/

Read the preface by King James I

http://www.library.usyd.edu.au/libraries/rare/witchcraft/w-england16&17/w-england16.html

http://www.thecaveonline.com/APEH/witchcraftmidwifery.html

http://www.bbc.co.uk/legacies/myths_legends/england/essex/article_1.shtml

1.  What were the views of witches at the time?

2.  What values of the culture of the time period does this view and treatment of witches illustrate?

B.  Take notes on and consider the following elements.

• What is Macbeth’s immediate reaction to the Weird Sisters’ announcement? What is unusual or unexpected about this reaction? What would be a more “appropriate” reaction? Under what circumstancesmight Macbeth’s reaction be expected? (Further, who points out this reaction to the audience?)

• What is Banquo’s immediate reaction? How does this begin to establish Banquo’s character?

• When next do Banquo and Macbeth speak of the Weird Sisters? What is the gist of their conversation?

(What does Macbeth ask of Banquo in this conversation? What does he offer in exchange? How does Banquo respond?)

• What does Banquo confide in his soliloquy in Act III, Scene I?

• Establish a chain of events from Macbeth’s second visit with the Weird Sisters to his death in Act V.

• What element of Macbeth’s psychological construct does Banquo represent?

• What element of Macbeth’s psychological construct do the Weird Sisters represent?

What visions or dreams does Macbeth have? How does he respond to them? What effect do they have on him? Is Macbeth sane and responsible for his actions by the end of the play?

C. Write a journal response from point of view of one of the following  (Macbeth, MacDuff, Banquo, or Lady MacBeth) at the end of the play in which he discusses the witches, their impact on him and how he feels about the prophecies.

Multiple Critical

Perspectives Macbeth