To Gain a Basic Understanding of the Key Action of Act 1

Assessment focus: A01, A02 / Suggested number of lessons: 3-4
Resources:
Resource sheet 6:The set-up
Resource sheet 7: Lady Macbeth transformed
Resource sheet 8: Man or mouse? / Outcomes:

To gain a basic understanding of the key action of Act 1
To explore the developing relationship between Macbeth and his wife

►Initial work

Write, or display, the following line on the board: False face must hide what the false heart doth know. Ask students to suggest what this might mean. Elicit the idea that ‘false’ can mean both ‘untrue’ and ‘not to be trusted’. Then explain that this is the last line of Act 1, and is spoken by the main protagonist (key active character) of the play. The key question is: How does Macbeth come to be in a position where, by the end of this stage of the play, he is saying that he must disguise the evil inside him? This will be useful to bear in mind as students are introduced to Macbeth at the start of the play.

▲Activity 1: Students read Act 1 Scene 1 aloud in small groups. Ask them what informationis revealed by this scene: that there will be a battle; that Macbeth will meet with them on ‘the heath’, ‘ere the set of sun’. Also, ask students which of the lines echoes the line they looked at earlier (‘Fair is foul, foul is fair’).

Feed back. Draw out, even at this early stage, that Shakespeare’s ideas – like repeated motifs in music – are conveyed through the language choices, sometimes with direct repetitions, such as the repeated use of the word ‘blood’ in later scenes, or in this case through alliteration: foul/fair/false.

Now read Act 1 Scene 2 as a class, drawing out the key elements of the narrative: Macbeth and Banquo’s courage in winning the battle; the introduction of King Duncan; the treachery of the previous Thane of Cawdor. Act 1 Scene 3 should also be read closely, especially in relation to what the witches promise Macbeth and Banquo, and the latter’s timely warning at the end of the scene: ‘…oftentimes, to win us to our harm,/The instruments of darkness tell us truths’ – which again echoes the fair/foul idea.

►Focused work

The main focus of this unit is on the relationship between Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. Students will need to have a working knowledge of what happens in the remainder of the act, and should focus particularly on Act 1 Scene 5 and Act 1 Scene 7.

▲Activity 2: Distribute Resource Sheet 6:The set-up.Students should scan Act 1 Scenes 1 to 4 in order to fill in the table, and then tackle the last task on the sheet. They can then feed back what they have learned, to show they understand the situation as it has been ‘set up’ by Shakespeare – namely, two ambitious people are about to have the king and his entourage staying at their castle for the night.

▲Activity 3: Now ask students to read carefully Lady Macbeth’s speech at the start of Act 1 Scene 5, and to discuss the following questions in groups:

What does Lady Macbeth say she fears about her husband?
What does she say she intends to do when he arrives back?

▲Activity 4: Lady Macbeth’s second monologue gives an insight into her feelings and how her mind is working. Display or print out the monologue and ask students to highlight any words, lines or phrases that make references to evil, hellish, or murderous things.What is the dramatic effect of a woman making these sorts of statements?

Feed back responses. You might like to use Resource Sheet 7: Lady Macbeth transformed to display some possible highlighted phrases.

Then, with the text displayed, elicit from students what the effect is of Lady Macbeth speaking directly to ‘spirits’ and ‘murd’ring ministers’. Does it make her sound like one of the witches?

Aim High

More confident students could select any one of the soliloquies from Act 1 (for example, Lady Macbeth’s speeches in Act 1 Scene 5, Macbeth’s speech at the start of Act 1 Scene 7) and prepare a short performance, having made conscious decisions about how to interpret and play the role. Ideally, their preparation should include annotating the speeches to show how they intend to move and speak.

Moving On

Students can trace the developing relationship between Macbeth and his wife as it evolves in Act 1 Scene 7. Distribute Resource Sheet 8: Man or mouse? and ask students to complete it for homework, or in a follow-up session.

Check the web

has a set of questions about various aspects of staging Macbeth, including some about the relationship between Macbeth and his wife.

The table below shows what we have found out by the end of Act 1 Scene 4. Scan the text and identify wherethis information is revealed.

Information / Scene / lines
Scotland, under the rule of King Duncan, has been under attack, but two generals, Macbeth and Banquo, have won a key battle.
A traitor, the Thane of Cawdor, has had his title taken away from him by the king. Macbeth has been given the title.
Three witches have met with Macbeth and Banquo and made a series of mysterious statements, saying Macbeth will become Thane of Cawdor.
The witches also say Macbeth will become king; and that Banquo will give birth to kings, even though he won’t be one himself.
The king has announced that his son, Malcolm, will succeed him to the throne (he is giving him the title ‘Prince of Cumberland’).
The king has also said he plans to come to Macbeth’s castle to stay.
At the start of Act 1 Scene 5 we see

Now complete the final two rows. In the first of these, write down who appears at the start of Act 1 Scene 5 and what she is reading. In the final row write what she has found out by the time Macbeth appears.

Task 1: By the time Act 1 Scene 7 has opened, Macbeth is considering murdering the king. But he has doubts. Below are three of his reasons why he shouldn’t kill Duncan. Find Macbeth’s lines from the play which describe these.

Task 2: Lady Macbeth senses Macbeth might not be up to the task of carrying out the murder. She uses several techniques to get him ‘on side’. In each case, find the actual lines she says: