Cauldron Bubble

 In act four the witches are waiting for Macbeth and they are putting all of this gross stuff into a cauldron. They put a toad, snake, a newt's eye, frog's tongue, fur from a bat, a dog's tongue, the forked tongue of an adder, the stinger of a burrowing worm, a lizard's leg, an owl's wing, scale of a dragon, a wolf's tooth, a witch's mummified flesh, the gullet and stomach of a ravenous shark, a root of hemlock, a jew's liver, a goat's bile, twigs, a turk's nose, a tartar's lips, the finger of a baby that was strangled as a prostitute gave birth to it in a ditch. To cool the mixture that add a baboon's blood. The second witch says "for a charm of powerful trouble,/ Like a hell-broth boil and bubble." What she is saying is that she wants it to cause powerful trouble. I think that mixture of ingredients is so disgusting. It kind of reminds me of menudo because I think menudo is a disgusting mixture of soup. Macbeth is stupid for believing everything the witches tell him. They have already caused him so much guilt and he still goes to them for advice and to answer his questions. Everything that the witches are doing is because Hecate told them to. Hecate arranged for Macbeth to meet the witches to learn his destiny and Hecate will create illusions to trick Macbeth. 

Fear of Banquo

Macbeth wants to hire a murder to kill Banquo for him. Macbeth feels like being king is nothing if he cannot feel safe being king. "Our fears in Banquo/ Stick deep, and in his royalty of nature/ Reigns that which would be feared. 'Tis much he dares,/ And to that dauntless temper of his mind/ He hath a wisdom that doth guide his valor/ To act in safety. There is none but he/ Whose being I do fear, and under him/ My genius is rebuked, as it is said/ Mark Antony's was by Caesar." Macbeth is saying that there is something noble about Banquo that makes him fear him. Banquo is a risk-taker and he acts brave. Macbeth says his guardian angel is frightened the same way Mark Antony's angel was feared of Octavius Caesar. Antony and Octavius became rivals because Octavius was to take over the empire but Antony did not think he was suitable for the job. That is similar to the relationship of Banquo and Macbeth. The murderers agree to kill Banquo but they will also have to kill Fleance. When they attack Banquo, Fleance gets away. The ghost of Banquo haunts Macbeth at their dinner gathering. The ghost brings out Macbeth's guilt. I thought this scene was funny how Macbeth gets all freaked out by the ghost of Banquo. Lady Macbeth tries to cover up Macbeth's behaviors saying it was only a strange habit that he has developed. Macbeth believes that the dead will get revenge and the ghost of Banquo is Banquo's way of getting revenge on him.

King James

In Google I put 'King James' and images of Lebron James came up and I thought it was pretty funny.
Anyways, King James became King of Scotland when he was only one years old. Then he inherited the throne of England. He married Anne of Denmark and they had eight children but only three lived beyond their early childhood. Shakespeare started writing Macbeth around the same time period of when King James took over the throne of Scotland. The story of Macbeth contains many reflections of James' interests: the family tree of Scottish royalty, the issue of "just" kingship, the threat of regicide, and witchcraft. Shakespeare addresses his monarch's interest in ancestry by including a scene in which the witches conjure an image of King James's ascent to the throne through a family tree traced back to Banquo. King James was very interested in witch craft so that is why Macbeth includes the three witches. King James had wrote Daemonologie which talked about all of the witch craft and witch trials that were going on.

<King James I." King James I. Great Site Marketing, n.d. Web. 01 Mar. 2015.>

My love/hate relationship with Shakespeare.

Throughout high school we have read many plays written by Shakespeare and I never liked them. I didn't like it because I could not understand what Shakespeare was writing. I would end up reading the No Fear Shakespeare. I also thought it was boring to read. When we started reading Macbeth I was like alright Mari just try to pay attention and try to understand what is going on. I knew we were going to be quizzed over the reading so I had no choice but to pay attention. I was bored with the reading, but then it was interesting when we would take what Shakespeare was saying and put it in a more simple writing. I liked analyzing what he was saying and finding out the true meaning of his writing. It was cool finding out how he would tie certain aspects to other historical events and kings. Shakespeare uses unrhymed iambic pentameter in his writing to show a stressed kind of talking and then the witches usually chant or talk like if they are reciting a song.

"The Curse of Macbeth"

The Curse of Macbeth

When Macbeth was premiering for the first time one of the cast members got sick and died right before going on so Shakespeare filled in for him. King James didn't allow the play to go on for several years. The role of Lady Macbeth was a bad role to take on. Those who played Lady Macbeth often got chased out of theaters, and fell fifteen feet off of the stage. In 1942 three actors died and a costume designer killed himself after the play's premiere. Actress's don't like to say the title "Macbeth" unless it is during the play itself or rehearsal. They would rather refer to the play as "The Scottish Play." If an actress does say "Macbeth" by accident there are several ways to "rid the bad luck." There are old tales stating that witches that watched the plays put spells on all future productions of Macbeth because it angered them.

<Macgowan, Doug. "The Macbeth Curse - Historic Mysteries." Historic Mysteries. N.p., 19 May 2012. Web. 25 Feb. 2015.>

The Murder of Duncan- Act 2 Scene 1

Lady Macbeth has to convince Macbeth to murder Duncan. She develops  a plan to set up the two servants to make it seem like they were the ones who committed the murder. Macbeth and Lady Macbeth thought that if they used the servants daggers and covered them with blood, people would believe they were the one's responsible for Duncan's murder.

In scene 1 of act 2 when Macbeth is walking to Duncan's room to murder him he walks "with Tarquin's ravishing strides." Shakespeare refers to Tarquin in several of his plays and poems. The plays where Shakespeare refers to Tarquin include Macbeth, Titus Andronics, Cymbeline, and The Rape of Lucrece. Tarquin was a Roman prince who sneaked into a roman woman's bedroom and raped her. Since Macbeth is sneaking in the middle of the night to go commit a crime is why it is relevant to compare him to Tarquin. The ringing of the bell is what makes Macbeth go through with the murder.

The Three Witches

The Macbeth Witches

In the 17th century witchcraft was normally blamed on women. In Macbeth the witches were described as having beards which makes them seem non feminine. In Scene 1 of Act 1 the witches are accompanied by thunder and lightning which makes the scene a lot more dramatic. Almost every time the witches enter a scene their entrance is accompanied by thunder.  In the last line of Scene 1 of Act 1 all of the witches say "Fairs is foul, and foul is fair, Hover through the fog and filthy air." In that last statement they are entranced in the confusion of good and bad, beauty and ugliness.

In Scene 3 of Act 1 the second witch had been "killing swine." Witches were often accused of killing pigs. In this scene is when the witches announce that Macbeth will become Thane of Cawdor and that Banquo's sons will be kings. Macbeth questions the witches asking them where they got that knowledge from. From this point on is where Macbeth has to make a decision if he is going to do what he needs to do to become Thane of Cawdor. Macbeth is about to be influenced by Lady Macbeth and end up murdering Duncan.