Macbeth..?? O.M.G....

When I first get to know about Macbeth is when Miss Dzelfa give the questions for the test. I start to wonder what is Macbeth story actually. At first point when I got the paper I feel so tense. I did not really understand the extract as the word is and old English and I can't understand it. You know what? Sincerely from my heart, at that time, I hate this MACBETH story. I just wonder why is the word is so complicated and hard to understand.

When Miss Dzelfa told us that we need to read MACBETH (the story that I hate) and shoot a short video about the scene, I feel like..... Wow...!!! MACBETH...... I just feel like a storm come into me.. Wuhuhuhu..

When I get into the group with all my groupmates, we devide ourself and read one Act per person. At first, I read the synopsis of the whole story in order to get the idea of what this story about. At this point, I start to slowly understand the story and started to like it. For me, this is a very interesting story to read. 

Then, I read the Act 1 synopsis. I feel that this chapter is interesting as it firstly show the the witches that come and tell   One says that she has just come from “killing swine” and another describes the revenge she has planned upon a sailor whose wife refused to share her chestnuts. Suddenly a drum beats, and the third witch cries that Macbeth is coming. Macbeth and Banquo, on their way to the king’s court at Forres, come upon the witches and shrink in horror at the sight of the old women. Banquo asks whether they are mortal, noting that they don’t seem to be “inhabitants o’ th’ earth”. He also wonders whether they are really women, since they seem to have beards like men.

At this point I have a feeling that this is actually an interesting story. The witches, what they convey to Macbeth and what they actually mean. After I read the simplified version, at last I understand the story. It is all about the power of woman. On how Lady macbeth influence Macbeth action to kill the king inj order to be the new king.

Before I end my writing, I would like to thanks all my groupmates for helping me understand the story and share ideas. Love you all..

That's all from me.. Thank you.. :-)

Guilt-inspired Hallucinations (ENTRY 4)

Act 2, Scene 1

Dagger

"A dagger of the mind, a false creation,/Proceeding from the heat-oppressèd brain?" Macbeth is having illusion of a dagger before committing the murder. This suggests that he is denying his own true nature. Deep down inside his heart, he does not want to commit this murder. In his soliloquy from Act 1, Scene 7; he gives two reasons for not killing the king. Firstly, he is his kinsman; secondly, he is his host. King Duncan is such a a humble leader, so free of corruption, that when he dies, angels will play trumpets against the injustice of his murder. "...He’s here in double trust:First, as I am his kinsman and his subject,/Strong both against the deed; then, as his host,/Who should against his murderer shut the door,/Not bear the knife myself. Besides, this Duncan/Hath borne his faculties so meek, hath been/So clear in his great office, that his virtues/Will plead like angels, trumpet-tongued, against/The deep damnation of his taking-off..."

"Thou marshall’st me the way that I was going,/And such an instrument I was to use." He even has the illusion where the dagger leads him to Duncan's room. He needs some sort of motivation to encourage him to commit the murder. Without the illusion, he can't be convinced in murdering the king. Even Lady Macbeth who portrays as a stronger figure than her husband needs something to help her in committing the murder.

Act 2, Scene 2

Drinking

"That which hath made them drunk hath made me bold." Lady Macbeth has been drinking like the chamberlains. The difference is that the chamberlains are made drunk so that the murder can be carried out but Lady Macbeth needs the drink to give her courage. She drinks but not to level of being drunk. It provides her with the courage to compensate to her evil act. This is a sign that she is not that strong as the way she portrays herself. Like Macbeth, she is also in denial of her own true nature.

Sleep

"Methought I heard a voice cry, “Sleep no more!/Macbeth does murder sleep”—the innocent sleep,/Sleep that knits up the raveled sleave of care,/The death of each day’s life, sore labor’s bath,/Balm of hurt minds, great nature’s second course,/Chief nourisher in life’s feast."

"Still it cried, “Sleep no more!” to all the house./'Glamis hath murdered sleep, and therefore Cawdor/Shall sleep no more. Macbeth shall sleep no more'."

The feeling of guilt continues and even heightened after the murder. Macbeth is horrified by the voice he heard who says that he shall never sleep again for killing an innocent man in his innocent sleep. The voice is another illusion of Macbeth. He is full of guilt that he needs his inner voice to punish him.

Water

"Go get some water,/And wash this filthy witness from your hand." Lady Macbeth acts sensibly by asking Macbeth to wash away the blood, the evidence from his hands. Water can wash away the evidence. Does water wash away guilt? Her soliloquy in Act 5, Scene 1 tells us that she can't get rid of the guilt. I can't wait to spill out my thoughts about Lady Macbeth but I'll keep it for future post. Let me focus on Act 2 first.

Eye of childhood

"The sleeping and the dead/Are but as pictures. 'Tis the eye of childhood/That fears a painted devil." Lady Macbeth is telling Macbeth that dead people are like pictures and only children are afraid of scary pictures. But in scene 1, she mentioned, "Had he not resembled/My father as he slept, I had done ’t./If Duncan hadn’t reminded me of my father when I saw him sleeping, I would have killed him myself." She saw Duncan with 'the eye of childhood' herself and could not kill him. Her contradictory speeches suggest that she is not strong at all. All her attempts in convincing Macbeth to commit murder are also to convince herself that she is capable of evil act.

Knocking, blood, Water

"Whence is that knocking?/How is ’t with me when every noise appals me?/What hands are here? Ha! They pluck out mine eyes./

Will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood/Clean from my hand? No, this my hand will rather/

The multitudinous seas incarnadine,/Making the green one red."

Macbeth filled with guilt seems to see everything happens around him as forces of supernatural. In this scene, knocking is just being mentioned without any other information. But I have read scene 3, so I know the knocking has nothing to do with supernatural. The knocking that he is afraid of is a foreshadow. The person who knocks is Madcuff who will eventually kill Macbeth. Blood is also a symbol of Macbeth's guilt. Even the Neptune's ocean won't be able to wash away the blood instead the blood will turn the sea red.

"My hands are of your color, but I shame/To wear a heart so white." Lady Macbeth as strong as usual, accuses that her husband is weak. She is ashamed if her heart is pale and weak like the heart of Macbeth.

"A little water clears us of this deed./How easy is it, then!" Water is mentioned again here. Water may wash away the evidence but can it wash away the guilt as easy as the way Lady Macbeth says it?

Act 2 is really out of my expectation. There are so many symbols, illusions, actions and speeches in this act that are related to Macbeth and Lady Macbeth's guilt.

Going Backward (ENTRY 3)

In my previous post, I have talked about Scence 5 and Scene 7 from Act 1 because I was eager to know about Lady Macbeth. I have skipped scene 3, 4, and 6 thinking that they should be boring. I wasn't so interested in other characters. Now that I have the help from No Fear Shakespeare from Sparknotes with original text and modern text side by side, I actually started reading Act 1 again from the beginning to the end. I have found some lines that arouse my curiosity. Some of these lines are not even being emphasized in the notes that I have. So, the analysis I'll make and type it out after this is really based on my genuine feelings.

Act 1, Scene 3

MACBETH, "Two truths are told,/As happy prologues to the swelling act/Of the imperial theme.../This supernatural soliciting/Cannot be ill, cannot be good. If ill,/Why hath it given me earnest of success,/Commencing in a truth? I am thane of Cawdor./If good, why do I yield to that suggestion/Whose horrid image doth unfix my hair/And make my seated heart knock at my ribs,/Against the use of nature?/Present fears/Are less than horrible imaginings..."

Macbeth has some serious thought about the witches prophecy which has come true that he has become Thane of Glamis and Thane of Cawdor. He is unsure whether he should trust the witches' prophecy. If it's a bad thing, why does the promotion come true? If it's a good thing, why is he thinking of murdering the King? He is aware of his horrible thought. A real fear is less frightening than what is in his mind now which is murdering King Duncan and becomes a king himself. I wonder whether Macbeth would have the thought of killing the king if the witches never appear. He may be satisfied with the promotion he has and continues to be loyal to the king. And what is the intention of the witches? They appear to be very evil. Telling Macbeth the prophecy that he will become a King actually prones him to have the thought of murdering the king. If what the witches say are all true, he does not have to kill King Duncan to become a king. So, why does he have such thought? I guess he has tasted the sweetness of being promoted. To ensure that he will also be the King, he has to make sure the current king is dead. Knowing the fact that he kills the king is the most secure way rather than waiting for the day to come for him to become a king. Macbeth is an interesting character to be explored. He was praised for his courage and loyalty and appeared to be a good man to the readers in previous scenes. His sudden change in scene 3 shocks me.

Act 1, Scene 4

Another shocking lines from Macbeth, "The prince of Cumberland! That is a step,/On which I must fall down, or else o'erleap,/For in my way it lies. Stars, hide your fires;/Let not light see my black and deep desires./The eye wink at the hand, yet let that be/Which the eye fears, when it is done, to see." He feels threatened that Malcolm is the prince of Cumberland. It's an obstacle that stop him from becoming a king. He wants to hide his terrible desires and won't allow his eye to look at what his hand is doing and he is going to do the thing that even he himself is horrified of. Those are very powerful lines. Macbeth himself is horrified of his own desires of murdering King Duncan and becoming a king himself. Not allowing his eye to look at his hand suggests that he has doubt or fear in committing the murder. Therefore, he has to shut his eyes from looking at the act of killing but his hands won't stop from doing the act. Of course, in later scenes I know that he is incapable of committing the murder. But I'm impressed by his strong desires in Scene 3 and 4.

Act 1, Scene 6

BANQUO, "This guest of summer,/The temple-haunting martlet, does approve,/By his loved mansionry, that the heaven’s breath/
Smells wooingly here. No jutty, frieze,/Buttress, nor coign of vantage, but this bird/Hath made his pendant bed and procreant cradle./Where they most breed and haunt, I have observed,/The air is delicate." The modern translation will be: "The fact that this summer bird, the house martin, builds his nests here proves how inviting the breezes are. There isn’t a single protrusion in the castle walls where these birds haven’t built their hanging nests to sleep and breed. I’ve noticed that they always like to settle and mate where the air is the nicest." I definitely think that this is a foreshadow. It's such a wonderful castle. And the birds who stay in the castle are the proof. But Macbeth's evil thought contradicts with his nice castle. It is a disguise that something evil is going to happen. King Duncan, a rather weak character in my opinion, appears to be innocent and naive is unaware of anything and suspects nothing.

LADY MACBETH, "All our service,/In every point twice done and then done double,/Were poor and single business to contend/Against those honors deep and broad wherewith/Your majesty loads our house. For those of old,/And the late dignities heaped up to them,/We rest your hermits." What a skillful lady in her speech which has underlying meanings. She welcomes the King as a guest with gratitude for the honour he has given before and the new honour he has just given. This is the modern translation. I sense double meanings in the word 'honour'. The king presents himself in the castle is the best time to kill him and his death will 'honour' Macbeth as the king. Lady Macbeth's insincerity but skillful speech is another foreshadow of King Duncan's death.

Even though I have known the story line but it is still exciting to read scenes by scenes to find out the interesting lines spoken by the characters. It is because of the language used which appears to be an obstacle for me to continue reading, so I have to seek help by using various sources before reading the original text. Reading Shakespeare's works needs different kind of strategy. Keep 'barking' at the original text and let myself being demotivated is definitely not a good strategy. Seeking help is necessary but doing own analysis and having own insights are also important. I have the notes with analysis. It helps me with my understanding but I won't allow it to dictate my very own interpretation. Those lines that I have quoted in this post are not quoted in the notes I have. And I find myself not referring to the notes much, but I do need the modern translation. All my help so far comes from Sparknotes. I have the printed notes that have summary and analysis of the scenes. For the modern text, I refer it online together with my novel. I don't really bother about the original text at the left side since I have the book. Modern text is at the right side. I highlight the lines in my own book. Sometimes, I do make some notes.

Interesting scenes in Act 1

I forgot to mention about the interesting part in Act One that I think it would be nice to make video from it. the first scene is Scene Four in Act One, where Macbeth spoke to himself about his dark plan but at the same time, Duncan, The King was praising him because of his bravery. I can tell that it is an ironic scene and it is an interesting scene.

The next scene is the seventh scene in Act One where Macbeth worried about his intention to kill the the King, but Lady Macbeth incited Macbeth to be a man and act like a man. In this scene, we can see how a woman can make a man a successful man or an unsuccessful man. We also can see how women can influence men in what they do. That why we always listen to, 'Every man has a woman behind them'.

Each scene has its own power. So, these are the two scenes that for me, it is very interesting to be acted out. I haven't discuss with my group mates yet. We'll see how it goes.

Till then... =)

MacBeth saved the world

Assalamualaikum and hi...

Sincerely, I do like reading books... but when it comes to this ancient and old English, to be honest, it was very hard for me to open the book and read. You really need the courage to open the book with so many words that you knew you would not understand. But thank God, finally, I opened the book and read. The title of the book is "MACBETH". The first thing that I did, was by telling to myself that I have and must finish at least 1 Act and I'm proud of myself because I could finish it. But the truth is, there is one challenge that I also need to be aware of which is feeling sleepy. 

I read the book even though there are a few words that I could not understand, but I continued the reading. Unfortunately, after scene three and before I enter scene four, I collapsed. But still, with determination in me, I woke up and fresh up myself and read the book again and finally, I finished the first Act. 

When I was reading, even though there were a few words that I could not understand, I think I can manage to understand what is actually happened. With the prior knowledge that I have, I managed to get the gist or the idea of each scene that I've read. Well, at least I've tried. Furthermore, I've already discussed with my group mates on each scene in every Act. At least I can relate it with my reading just now. I hope I can continue my reading with the next Act and can finish it before I go back to UPM.

Till then for my next entry for the next Act. =)

Zulaikha Khairuddin (153465)

Macbeth?

When I first heard of this word ‘Macbeth’, I did not know what that is but I knew it is a very famous thing among those who love literature as I saw their excited reaction towards Macbeth. Since I am not a literature person, ‘Macbeth’ is nothing to me until one day Ms. Dzeelfa mentioned ‘this novel’ then I just knew that it is a novel. Isn’t it ridiculous for a TESL student that does not even know Macbeth? This is so embarrassing!

Even though I already know that I have zero knowledge about Macbeth, still, I have no motivation to Google it and find it out! When I heard this novel is written by William Shakespeare, I have a feeling of ‘this novel must be very difficult to read’ especially when I know HE is the writer. First thing came to my mind was: OH MY GOD! Honestly, I love William Shakespeare in term of his incredible works but I don’t like his language. I don’t dare enough to say ‘I hate him’ as I know ‘I HAVE TO LOVE him’ one day. The language is too old, too deep and too difficult for me to understand. Believe it or not, it is so hard for me to understand even one sentence. What more the whole novel. Before I start writing this post, I have gone through the original text. However, I knew that I won’t stay long with the text. - - - - - - - - - - Bingo!

And now, I need my friend named Google. I searched for the summary and read the brief summary to get the gist of the story first before I go to scene by scene summary. Fortunately, I finished my reading on brief summary at a few different websites such as Shmoop, Sparknotes and Shakespeare. 

Lastly, I fell asleep until the next afternoon.  >,<  

: A picture shows a thousand words :

Is she a male? (ENTRY 2)

I have watched a video from SparkNotes. www.sparknotes.com/sparknotes/video/macbeth It's not really a video that has actors or actresses acting in it. It's more like story telling. The narrator narrates the events of the story and certain scenes are portrayed in a way that look like paintings. I'm not so interested in videos that don't really provide much information. It has not much difference from what I have read in the plot overview. I am also not an auditory learner. I would prefer reading it myself than listening to a video that I thought it has information on language and culture. It is a summary of Macbeth in a form of story telling and it does not reach my expectation. Let's continue with my findings after I have done some reading. Is Macbeth ambitious? Or is it Lady Macbeth who possesses such quality? Is she a male trapped in a woman's body? I am very interested to know about Lady Macbeth especially from Act 1, Scene 5 and 7. There are many lines that show that she is even more ambitious that her husband. "Yet do I fear thy nature; It is too full o' th' milk of human kindness" (1.5.15) Lady Macbeth thinks that Macbeth shall be the King but she fears that he is too kind to take steps necessary to make himself one. Why use 'milk' of human kindness? Is milk associated with female? If the answer is yes, I would suggest that Lady Macbeth sees her husband who is kind, possesses female quality; therefore, he is weak and incapable to make himself King for his female quality. "...unsex me here;/And fill me, from the crown to the toe, top-full/ Of direst cruelty..." (1.5.42-43) "Come to my woman's breasts,/And take my milk for gall..." (1.5.47-48) She wants to be 'unsex'. She wishes she's a man so that she can carry out the murder herself. She is the real steel behind Macbeth. She's the one who is manipulating her husband's mind. She is even more ambitious in making Macbeth a King that Macbeth himself. She appears to be cruel with no self-doubt as compared to Macbeth who has a soliloquy in Scene 7 that shows doubt in murdering Duncan. Breasts and milk represent womanhood. They are symbols of nurture suggesting the confined social roles of women. Lady Macbeth feels the constraint and these qualities of hers restrain her from performing acts of violence and cruelty. Violence and cruelty are defined as manliness by Lady Macbeth. This can be seen when she questions Macbeth on his manhood in following lines. "Art thou afread/To be the same in thine own act and valour/As thout art in desire?" (1.7.39-41) She is comparing Macbeth manhood on his intention in killing Duncan with his ability to carry out a sexual act. "When you durst do it, then you were a man" (1.7.49) Lady Macbeth continues to manipulate Macbeth's mind in challenging his manhood. She is really persistent in her goal. "If we should fail?", asked Macbeth. "We fail! But screw your courage to the sticking place,/And we'll no fail.", answered Lady Macbeth. If she has made a decision, nothing can stop her. I'm confused with line 73 to 75 from scene 7. "Bring forth men-children only;/ For thy undaunted mettle should compose/Nothing but males. Macbeth says that Lady Macbeth should give birth only to male children? Why does he say so? Is it because Macbeth agrees with Lady Macbeth that courage, determination and brilliance are masculine traits? Or complementing her courageous wife? That is why he has agreed to perform the act of murdering Duncan. Written by, Chong Wei Sam (151654)