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The first scene of act five is Lady Macbeth's final scene. This scene is very touching and it really changes my opinion of Lady Macbeth. She is one of the characters that has changed the most in my eyes. In the beginning she appeared as the most evil woman and she showed no signs of guilt or fear. But in the end I can see that all that was just an act. All the things she has done and convinced Macbeth to do have been eating away at her. This is very obvious after she supposedly commits suicide. We can also see that all her actions are haunting her if we analyse her final speech.

I really didn't think that Lady Macbeth's part in the play would end like this. Looking back to the whole play she started off very evil, determined and aggressive and finished as a tortured soul and she isn't able to live with what she has done. I think one of the reasons she took her life is because the man she had married turned out to be evil and cruel. In the beginning the situation seemed to be easy to manage but she soon lost control and drifted away from Macbeth. Lady Macbeth also doesn't have the moral dilemma that Macbeth has and she wasn't interested in dying honourably.

Significance:

In the second scene we have the thanes and soldiers were we witness one of their conversations. Through this conversation we see how much men honour and respect Malcolm as opposed to Macbeth. Many men even boys have joined to fight against Macbeth as opposed to the men on Macbeth side who are there because of orders and not because they want to help him.

            A quote that really captures this is "To give obedience where 'tis truly owed". This really shows that Macbeth doesn't deserve their loyalty or their lives whereas Malcolm does and that is why they are putting their heart into defeating Macbeth.

            In the fourth scene we see the thanes and the soldiers again. This scene is really short but important information is given. We learn that Macbeth is still in Dunsinane, which means that he still thinks he is untouchable. We also learn that the soldiers are planning on using branches from the Birnam Woods to conceal their number. We know that this is going to be significant to the plot of the play because of the prophecies.

Relationships:

            In the third scene we can see sings that Macbeth still cares about Lady Macbeth, something that hasn't been evident in previous scenes. Lady Macbeth was the one that cares for both of them through the play but in this scene it is Macbeth's turn to care about Lady Macbeth. He also shows some sings of guilt for putting her is this position. He also recognizes the fact that if she could just forget about the things they have done she would be better off and maybe even wishes he could do so him self.

            Another relationship that I find interesting in this scene is between Macbeth and Seyton. Seyton from what I can tell is a servant but he doesn't seem to respect him. The respect Macbeth had in the beginning of the play is now lost and instead of people referring to him as a honourable man they refer to him as the tyrant whose name brings disgust.

In Character (scene 8 as Macbeth):

            What am I living for, my wife is dead everyone has turned against me and hate me. But I can't commit suicide I must have a honourable death. A death that suits a king, but what am I talking about; I am untouchable I can't die.

            That voice sounds familiar it is Macduff. He is the only man who frightens me and he is the only one that has come to confront me. I cannot kill him; I have made him suffer enough by killing his family. On the other hand if I let him live he will suffer more than if I just take him out of his misery right now. He is so foolish to think that he can harm me.

He was not born of woman! The weird sisters tricked me; I am the fool for believing them not Macduff. Surrender? He must be mad. I am a king and I will not be laughed at. Even though my defeat it sure I will still fight him with all my might.

            We have been fighting for some time and I have barely wounded him.  I am almost positive that I will die today by Macduff's sword, but maybe I can still defeat fate and leave here as a winner. (Macbeth dies)

 Significance:

            In the first scene of act four we see the witches making a potion. They add a lot of disgusting and unusual things in the potion. This makes them seem very evil. The second witch then says that something very evil is coming. Following this Macbeth makes his entrance. This is very ironic and Shakespeare does this to emphasize how evil Macbeth has become and. He is now evil even by the witches' standards who we have just watched make a potion that includes mummified witch flesh and a finger of a baby that was strangled as a prostitute gave birth to it in a ditch among other things.

Following the entrance of Macbeth we have the apparitions that he sees. They have very interesting forms and tell Macbeth a lot of key things. The first apparition tells Macbeth to beware Macduff, which is exactly what Macbeth has been doing. The second apparition however tells Macbeth that no man born of woman can harm him. This of course makes Macbeth feel untouchable and adds to his confidence and arrogance. The third apparition also adds to Macbeth's arrogance and confidence by saying that he will only be defeated when the Birnam Wood gets up and moves. This really shows how influential the witches and the apparitions are.

This scene also shows us the development of Macbeth and how vicious he has become. We see this through his actions; once the witches have disappeared he decides that he is going to kill Macduff's family and anyone who is standing in line for Macduffs inheritance.  Prior to this decision Macbeth is informed that Macduff has gone to England, which causes Macbeth to see him as a threat. It must be obvious to Macbeth that Macduff is going to return Scotland because he has left his family behind.

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            In a previous blog I talked about Lady Macbeth and her attitude towards Macbeth. I mentioned how she degrades him and presents him as a coward. In the beginning I thought that she did that because she is evil and manipulative and she was using it to convince him to kill Duncan. After reading scene two  in act four I realized that Lady Macbeth isn't the only female character that has such an attitude towards her husband.

Lady Macduff also degrades her husband; this becomes very clear at line nine in act four scene two when she says that even the smallest of the birds would fight an owl if it's family was in danger. This is very degrading and unfair towards Macduff considering what a noble man he is. She then calls him a traitor in a conversation with her son and continues to put him down. I do realize that Lady Macbeth and Lady Macduff have different reasons for having such an attitude but it was surprising to see Lady Macduff act similarly to Lady Macbeth.

In the next scene (scene three) we are taken to England where Macduff and Malcolm are talking. In this conversation Macduff is trying to convince Malcolm to fight against Macbeth. Malcolm is very secretive and doesn't seem interested in avenging Macbeth. This is really surprising, I was sure that Malcolm would want to fight Macbeth and save his country. When Macduff looses all hope of convincing him Malcolm tells Macduff that he would be a worse king than Macbeth. Macduff finds this hard to believe and I can understand why. Duncan was a noble man and a great king; even Macbeth has said that there was no reason to kill Duncan because he was such a noble king. Malcolm then goes on and explains all the bad qualities that he posses. This is strange, Macduff is already leaving why keep him and tell him such things. In the beginning Macduff isn't too upset and tries to convince him that those aren't very bad qualities. Once Malcolm says that if he were king he would take world peace and throw it down to hell Macduff is outranged and doesn't know what to make of it. I have to say that the same thing happened to me, it couldn't be possible. Malcolm had to be as honourable and noble as his father. Luckily Malcolm explains that these are all lies and that he did it because Macduff isn't the only one that has come to talk to him. Macbeth has sent many others to convince him to return to Scotland. At this point I am a little surprised not so much because of Malcolm's behaviour but Macduff's. It makes sense why Malcolm would lie but if I was Macduff I wouldn't be able to find the courage to say what he told Malcolm.

Next we have Ross's entrance, Macduff asks about his family and the situation in Scotland. Ross tells him that the situation in Scotland hasn't improved and that his family is in peace. We know that his family has just been slaughtered but Ross has not yet told him (dramatic irony). Why wouldn't Ross just tell him right away, there really isn't a right moment to tell someone news like this so why wait. It is possible that Ross knew that if he told Macduff right away but he hadn't convinced Malcolm to fight Macbeth he wouldn't finish the job so he delays the news until he know that Malcolm is going to Scotland.

Once Macduff has learned the news he reacted like anyone would but his pain quickly turns into rage. He has a very interesting line, when Malcolm tells him that by taking revenge on Macbeth will make him feel better he says that Macbeth doesn't have any children. This shows that the pain Macbeth has caused him can't be returned because he can't do what Macbeth did to him. Macbeth has really made a mess of the situation. The apparitions told him to fear Macduff but he ignored that part of the visions he had and concentrated on the fact that he is untouchable because all men are women born (as far as he knows). By doing this Macbeth has given Macduff even more motivation to kill him. At the end of the scene they exit with Macduff outraged and ready to face Macbeth. At this point the suspense is building up, we are now going into the last scene of the play with an English army ready to face Macbeth. 

In character (as Banquo):

Now he has it all, and I have none. I can only hope that the weird sisters were right about both of us. It is odd though how things have worked out, first he became Thane of Cawdor and now king. I definitely find it hard to believe that anyone could build up the courage to kill such a noble king. So many questions, who did it? The guards, Malcolm or possibly someone else. Macbeth seems to be over Duncan's death ferly quickly. He is a Nobel man; he can't duel over the past he has to show what a great king he can be. He seems so busy but yet he finds time to hear about my plans, truly a great host.

 It's awfully dark; I hope I'm not late. What are those voices, I must just be tired or maybe it's the wind. Who are these men! What do they want?  Why are they after me? Where is Fleance? I must protect him. He has to make it out of here, the prophesy has to come true. Please Fleance make it to safety and then I will be able to rest in peace.

Thank god I made it on time. But wait how did I get here? Why didn't anyone greet me? Why is everyone ignoring me, can't they see me? Hello! Hello! Macbeth noble Macbeth, why are you looking at me like that? Wait who is dead? Who has returned from the dead?  Who has twenty gushed in their skull? I don't understand what does al this mean? What is this on my hands is this own blood? Did the men in the woods kill me? What happened to Fleance? If I am dead how is it possible that Macbeth can see me, and what is all this he is taking about?

Questions:

In scene 3 we witness the murder of Banquo and the escape of Fleance. Before the murder takes place a new character is introduced as the third murderer but we don't know who he is or what his purpose is in that scene. There are many possibilities who the third murderer could be. It could just be another servant Macbeth ordered to make sure the job was. Macbeth could have also ordered the third murderer to kill the other two murderers after the job was done. Another possibility is that the third murderer is Macbeth himself. Although it wouldn't make sense for it to be Macbeth and time wise it is a little impossible it is possible. Then the question of who the first murderer is arises. From the dialogue it seems as though he is the one that helped Fleance escape. This is a hard one because not a lot of people knew about Macbeths plans to kill Banquo. It could just be one of the servants Macbeth hired to do the job but had a more personal relationship with Fleance and didn't want him to be killed. The first murderer could have also have been posed by a witch or maybe it was one of the witches.

Significance:

This scen is very significant to the play. It shows how Macbeth is becoming more evil by the minute. When he killed Duncan we could in a way empathize because he had a reasonable motive for the murder. But he doesn't have any justified reason other that that he fears Banquo to kill him, and he definitely doesn't have a reason to kill Fleance other than the witches prophesy that he can't be sure of. The third scene of act tree could possibly be the climax. Until this point things have been going in favour of Macbeth. But in the third scene Fleance escapes, we know from the witches that Banquos children and grandchildren will become king. Fleance escaping means that Macbeth wasn't able to defeat fate.

Significance:

In the first scene of act two we see Banquo who can't sleep and tells Fleance that nightmares are keeping him up. When Macbeth enters he tells Macbeth that he has dreamt of the witches and Macbeth tells him that he doesn't think of them anymore. The audience clearly knows that Macbeth is lying but Banquo is unaware of this. At this point I would imagine that Banquo is worried and might be suspecting that he is in danger. Macbeth lets him know that if he stands by him he will award him and Banquo tells him that as long as what he does is honourable he will stand by Macbeth. Of course Macbeth realises that Banquo is too much of an honest man and that he will cause trouble. I would suspect that Macbeth will kill Banquo at some point because he knows about the witches and if he lives he might be able to put the pieces together and figure out that he is responsible for Duncans murder. Macbeth then hallucinates and sees a dagger; now depending on how the director decides to do this part of the scene will have a great in pact on the audience. If there is actually a dagger then we can assume that the witches are behind it as opposed to not having a dagger, which then would mean that Macbeth is going crazy, and the idea of killing Duncan is taking over his mind. I think that not having a dagger is the way to go; personally if there is no dagger I would feel more sympathetic towards Macbeth because the idea is obviously taking over his mind as opposed to having one where I would blame everything on the witches. The second scene starts with Lady Macbeth; in this scene I start to feel more sympathetic. She isn't as cruel and evil as I thought. In one of my previous blogs I said that it seemed as though the thought of killing a man didn't frighten her but she proves me wrong. In order to set up the murder she had to drink to find the courage, "That with hath made them drunk hath made me bold!" we also see another weakness, Lady Macbeth says that if Duncan didn't look like her father she would have done it her self. It was nice to see a more sensitive side to Lady Macbeth. I was surprised that Duncan gets murdered so early on in the play. I thought that the whole play would be about Macbeth killing Duncan and that he still had a long way to go until he actually commits the crime. After the murder of the king Macbeth is acting just like anyone would after killing someone. Lady Macbeth has returned to her evil self again, she doesn't seem too terrified of what her husband has done. She only shows sings of weakness when she is alone, never in front of Macbeth and I think she does this to convince Macbeth to kill Duncan. In a way she is saying that if I can bare the idea of killing someone so should you. When she sees that Macbeth didn't leave the daggers behind she is shocked and tells him to go back into the chamber. When Macbeth refuses Lady Macbeth says she will do it and when she comes out she is rather calm. She says that just a little water will wash away their guilt as opposed to Macbeth who thinks that if he dips his hands in the ocean to wash them the blood will spread everywhere. Macbeth is obviously still trying to proses information and he is slowly realising what he has done. He says that while he was in the chamber he heard voices saying, "Macbeth shall sleep no more, Macbeth is murdering sleep". We can almost be totally sure that the witches are behind this because we know they have the ability to keep people from sleeping. Although Lady Macbeth isn't as freaked out as Macbeth after seeing the crime scene they both over react when they hear noises. The beginning of scene three has a comical side to it. The porter is pretending to be the porter of hell, which is an accurate way one might describe Macbeth's palace. Macduff then meets Macbeth and they go to wake up the king. Macduff comes out of the chamber terrified confusing everyone else. I was really surprised that Macbeth was able to act so surprised as if he isn't the one behind Duncans murder. If I didn't know he did it I woud have never suspected him as the murderer. We soon find out the Macbeth killed the two guards who supposedly killed Duncan. On the hand this is in a way smart of Macbeth. The guards are the only ones who know that they didn't kill the king and might be able to prove their innocence. On the other hand however it may raise more suspicions but luckily Lady Macbeth takes the heat of Macbeth - although some might believe that Lady Macbeth actually faints. Malcolm along with Donalbain decide that the best thing they can do right now is leave because they might be in danger. This is a very smart move because it's most likely that Macbeth would have killed them too.

Quotation:

The quote I liked the most in this act was in scene two by Macbeth, the quotes reads as follows " Wake Duncan with thy knocking. I would thou couldst." I like this quote because it really captures Macbeth's regret. He has realised how evil the crime he has committed is and is honestly regretting it. From the beginning I felt bad for Macbeth because his wife bullied him into killing Duncan. But then he also shows an evil side and that empathy fades away. In the beginning he doesn't like the thought of killing such a honourable king and lying to him but is slowly gets easier. At this point in the play he is realising what he has done and this quote shows that he wishes he could undo what he has done.

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             In scene 4 the way Duncan treats Macbeth really surprised me. He is very welcoming and so grateful for what Macbeth has done and he did not doubt Macbeth's loyalty even for a second. I knew that Duncan would be friendly but I didn't think he would be this friendly. There isn't any evidence that they have met before but I would assume they have because of the level of comfort between them. Duncan then announces that Malcolm, his son, is now prince of Cumberland. At this point I would expect Macbeth to back down and let fate take care of things. Instead he has more thoughts in another soliloquy about killing not only the king but also thinking about how he is going to step over Malcolm. Macbeth has invited the King and his kinsmen to his palace and they are now on their way. 

       Scene 5 starts with Lady Macbeth reading a letter form Macbeth explaining what has happened and the prophesy of the witches. I would expect Lady Macbeth to be as kind and noble as Macbeth. Her reaction to the letter proves me wrong. In the beginning she is proud of Macbeth but then proceeds to acknowledge that Macbeth is too kind hearted to jump at the opportunity to become king. She then says that she is waiting for Macbeth to come home so she can convince him to seize the crown. Lady Macbeth seems even more aggressive than Macbeth, and unlike him she doesn't find the thought of killing a man terrifying. When the servant announces that Macbeth is on his way and the King is coming Lady Macbeth is very pleased and finds this the perfect opportunity to make Macbeth the king. She seems so evil, she doesn't want to feel human companion and she is determined to complete her plan. I was astonished at this; I thought she would be the one to talk Macbeth out of killing Duncan not the one to persuade him to do it. Lady Macbeth knows her husbands weaknesses, which makes it easier for her to convince him to take action because she knows exactly what to say in order to convince him.

        In scene 6 Duncan arrives at Macbeths palace and as expected Lady Macbeth is kind and welcoming; a great hostess. I expected her to be kind as if nothing is going on but I didn't think she would be so good at it. She is so good she is able to fool all of her guests including Duncan, but he soon catches on that Macbeth isn't there. It was surprising that Macbeth isn't there to greet them and it makes me wonder where he is and what he is doing. 

     Scene 7 is the last scene in act one and it starts off with Macbeth thinking to himself. After reading these lines I didn't see him as such an evil man anymore, he was rather rational. He realised that he cannot kill the king and that it is wrong to do so. When he tells Lady Macbeth about his decision she is irritated, and she is able to convince him again that the best option is to kill the king by degrading him and saying that he can't back down now. She has an interesting line that shows a lot of things and raises some questions. The line from Lady Macbeth is " I have suck, and know how tender 'tis to love the babe that milks  me. I would, while it was smiling in my face, Have plucked my nipple from his boneless gums And dashed the brains out, had I said so sworn as you Have done to this." This is a very strong line and I can only imagine it makes Macbeth feel like a coward. this quote also makes us wonder what baby Lady Macbeth is talking about, so far there has been no other reference to Macbeth and Lady Macbeth having a child.

Relationships

      The relationship that intrigued me the most was Macbeths with Lady Macbeth. Anyone would think that Macbeth would be the one in control. I'm not trying to be old-fashioned but Macbeth is a noble and courageous man and generally speaking the husband is the man of the house. I would have never imagined that Lady Macbeth would be pushing him around. In the beginning she was the typical housewife, proud of her husband preparing for her guests, but then her evil side came out. I definitely blame her for convincing Macbeth to kill Duncan. Yes Macbeth will be the one that actually does it but without her encouragement Macbeth would have never found the courage to do it.  Although I have to admit Lady Macbeth is pretty good at persuading and ultimately convincing Macbeth. She puts up a good argument, and it is obvious that he craves the power and once he says he wants to kill Duncan Lady Macbeth doesn't let him forget it. I'm not sure how this relationship will evolve over the course of the play but I think it's most likely to stay the same even after Macbeth becomes the king.

Tessa Plakidas

Mr. David Newman

ENG2D (10B)

September 17, 2011

An Ikarian Lifestyle

I wake up and I have a tingling, wet sensation on my left hand. I open my eyes and I look towards my hand, wondering what could be causing this feeling. As I look over Liza (my dog), is staring into my eyes smiling at me like she always has. I pet her small white head and get out of bed. As I am making my way to the shower I can hear Liza's footsteps behind me. I take a quick, hot, relaxing shower and then dry myself. I put on a pair of dark jeans and a grey shirt with a pair of sneakers. I do my makeup casually, same as always, I put on black eyeliner and mascara. I make my way downstairs, and as I enter the kitchen I see Liza by the door reminding me to feed her. I open the kitchen door. Liza runs outside and chases the cats away so that the whole garden is hers. I walk outside with the dog food and feed her. I walk back inside and boil some water for my mint tea. I go back upstairs to grab my jacket and my bag. I pour my hot tea into a mug, call Liza inside and leave the house.

 As I am walking to work I can only see familiar faces. Not many people were able to leave the island, and I finally start to understand how privileged I was to leave and have the option to come back instead of being stuck here. I reach the bakery and get a cheese pie. It tastes just like back in elementary school and I can feel all the childhood memories coming back with every bite.

I finally make it to the office. I open my purse, pull out the keys, and unlock the door. As I walk inside I turn on the lights, and I can hear the door close behind me. I open the windows to admire the beautiful view. I can see the port, the square, the beautiful blue sea and the big green mountains. No one is here yet so I decide to call up my best friends, Marina and Iliana. These are the ones that overcame the distance and were always there for me even if I was thousand of miles away. They answer and I remind them about our Friday tradition: gathering all the good old friends and eating lunch together, and inform them that we will be meeting at the square at three pm and request that they call the others. The first patient arrives. We talk about their family and how she remembers me from when I was young. I start the examination but due to doctor confidentiality I can't reveal any further information. The rest of the day goes by smoothly. I see another twelve patients and then finally it's three pm and it's time to leave. I quickly grab my purse and my macbook, lock the door behind me and walk to the square. 

As I am walking down to the square the road brings back all these memories. I have lived a special moment in every corner of this street and walking down it is like watching my life in replay. As I approach the square I can see everyone standing around waiting for me. As usual, I am the one that is always late. Slowly everyone turns around and looks at me with relief. No one knows where we would be eating today other than me. I could tell them apart from miles away. I could see Marina and Iliana my best  friends, Panagiotis and Nikolas they're cousins and good friends of mine, Nikita my cousin and very close friend, Apostolis who I didn't see much after I moved to Canada but we remained good friends, Antonis also a good friend that was always there for me. Even if we were in huge fights he always came through and helped me. Those are the ones that always stood up for me, and I have to admit I am still surprised that we are friends after all these years, but I always knew that they were friends for life. Even if I wanted to get rid of them I wouldn't be able to because we have been through too much together. Even if most of them were never able to leave the island they seem happy. But they seem even happier now that they can finally eat. Once I reach them I scream at the top of my lungs "let's go eat" and everyone follows me.

We are eating at Fanouris, the restaurant I worked at when I was fourteen. I have to say I miss those days when my boss would call me to remind me that I'm working that evening, or when I would walk into the restaurant and he would always check what I'm wearing and if I am okay. As I walk into the restaurant the smell of souvlaki brings back all the memories. I say hi just the way I would when I signed in for work every day. The only difference this time is that my ex boss comes and hugs me with a big smile on his face. I grab a note pad and a pen and go back outside to our table. As I reach the table everyone is sitting down and the table is set. When everyone sees me with a pen and the note pad in my hand a wave of laughter hits me. I ask them what they found so amusing and they reply they never thought I would be taking their order again. Not to make this too tiring for the readers they order after giving me a really hard time, which I think they did on purpose. After a long debate we decide what we are going to eat and I take our order inside. I put our drinks, glasses, plates and forks on a tray and take it outside. I leave the rest to my ex boss so I can spend some time with my friends. We talk about our week and our plans. It's almost summer so we discuss our vacation destinations. Pretty much everyone wants to go to Athens for a week or two and spend the rest of the summer here. I just want to stay here and maybe go to an island nearby for a few days. My boss appears with a tray full of food and everyone cheers as he approaches. I help him place the food on the table and everyone starts eating. There is no talking for a while. We are too busy eating the food that we ordered. After a while Antonis finally speaks and asks me why I don't want to go back to Canada this summer. I tell him it's because there is no point in me going there since all my friends are coming here for two weeks. We slowly finish all the food and the time to pay the bill comes. Every Friday we would take turns, and this Friday it was my turn to pay, so I walk inside and tell my boss to do the bill, but he refuses. Of course I insist on paying, but as always he wins, but I only leave after I make him promise that next time he will late me pay. I walk outside and see all my friends walking towards me. I know something is up from the look on their faces. When they approach me they announced their plans for the rest of the evening. The party is continuing at my place and of course, I love the idea! I always get so excited when my friends come over.

We all start walking towards my house and after a five-minute walk we reach my house. We can all hear Liza going crazy, barking and crying. I unlock the door and everyone makes themselves comfortable, like they were at their own house. In a way it is, such a big part of their childhood was spent in this house, this garden. Liza is very excited she likes it even more than me when I have people over. Everyone grew up with Liza and knew her since she was an adorable little puppy. I grab eight glasses and a bottle of wine and we sit in the garden. I love my garden. It's right above the sea and you can see the whole village, overall a beautiful view. We sit outside drinking wine, chatting and laughing until the sun goes down. Once it is dark we go back inside and slowly everyone leaves, one by one. By the time the sky is full of stars I am left alone with Liza, finishing up some files. As I go through the files I can't help but think about my past. How I got here. How my life would have been different. All these unanswered questions. I guess I can only be thankful that everything worked out and not wonder why it did.

            It's already 10:35 pm and I finally decide to go to bed after a long day. I go upstairs with Liza following me as usual, brush my teeth and change into a comfy pair of shorts and a big shirt. I walk towards my room, wait for Liza to jump on my bed and close the door. As I approach my bed Liza is wagging her tail and smiling at me which I find very unusual. But then I remember something. Many believe that dogs have a sixth sense and maybe Liza has a good feeling about something. So I lie down under my light blue sheets facing Liza and fall asleep, knowing that everything is going to be okay.