Introduction to Macbeth Webquest Name:______Date:_____ Per:_____

A. Shakespeare’s life and times

1. What do we know about Shakespeare as a man?

2. What was life like in his time? What was the society he lived in?

B. Shakespeare’s theatre -Be sure to take an interactive tour of Shakespeare’s Globe.

3. What did theatre look and work like in Shakespeare’s time?

4. What do we know about acting, costumes and audiences in Shakespeare’s time?

5. How did those in government feel about the theater?

C. King James: King James was the king at the time that Shakespeare wrote and performed Macbeth.

6. How did James become king?

7. What was he like as a king?

8. What was the political climate in England at the time?

9. How was James connected to “Macbeth”?

D. Witchcraft: Christianity continued to dominate people’s lives in the Renaissance period. People regarded witchcraft as the work of the Devil. They often went on witch hunts which resulted in the deaths of many people, especially women.

10. How was King James connected to the campaign against witches and witchcraft?

E. The Real Macbeth

11. Was there a “real” person named Macbeth? What did Shakespeare use as his inspiration for writing this play?

12.What was Shakespeare’s historical source for “Macbeth”?

F. The Macbeth Curse :Over the years, people have reported suffering misfortunes, injuries and deaths after being associated with this play. Some assert that the play is cursed.

13. Why do people think the play is cursed?

14. Where did this idea originate?

G. Tragedy

  1. Usually a story of ______hero.
  2. A tale of ______that is exceptional and ends in death.
  3. ______that befalls an important person.
  4. The fate of the hero affects the ______.
  5. The hero always ______to the disaster in which he perishes.
  6. The play often deals with a character’s ______eg. Insanity, sleepwalking.
  7. Use of the ______contributes to the action.
  8. There is conflict between ______. EXTERNAL
  9. There is a ______conflict within the hero. INTERNAL
  10. The conflict within the hero is a disposition in some direction in which ______.
  11. The hero has a ______which leads to his downfall.
  12. There does not have to be a ______of good or evil.

H. The Tragic Hero

1. He must be a person of ______such as a king, general, or nobleman.

2. He must be basically a ______person. He must matter to us and we must see him as a worthwhile person.

3. Because of his position, his actions usually have ______effects.

4. He must possess a character trait or quality which under normal circumstances

would be a ______, but which under the special circumstances of the play proves to be a ______.

5. Although a great man, he often shows ______.

6. Frequently, he makes serious errors in ______which lead him to committing the deed which begins his downfall.

7. He must be ______for the deed which begins his downfall.

8. He usually makes ______in judgment following his misdeed.

9. Often he has a ______of, or is blind to, ______.

10. He frequently commits further ______which precipitate his downfall.

11. He suffers both ______(isolation, alienation, attacks) and ______(tortured conscience).

12. He must elicit both ______from the audience (______).

13. Usually he ______his mistakes.

14. He must ______.