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Shakespeare: Macbeth - Good and Evil - offline version
Objectives:
This lesson is focused on Act 4 scene 1 and Act 5 scene 3.
All students will have an understanding that to some extent the Macbeths destroy themselves. Most will be able to use the imagery associated with disease and health to justify their ideas. Some will be able to articulate a balanced argument as to whether they are ultimately destroyed by Good or Evil.
National Curriculum:
En2: 1b, 1d, 1f, 1k
Resources required:
Teaching Activities:
Introduction
Brainstorm 'evil' characters in films and cartoons who are destroyed by themselves, or become diseased, indirectly leading to their death.
Activities
- Look closely at Act 1 scene 6 and underline any phrases which Duncan or Banquo use to suggest that Macbeth's castle has an air of health.
- Q: Why is this dramatic irony?
Q: How would YOU stage the opening ten lines so that the audience can see and hear both the benign and malign implications of the words?
Q: Do you see the opening of this scene as evidence of evil masquerading as good, or as proving Duncan and Banquo's naivety?
- Look closely at Act 5 scene 3, and pick out lines which refer to sickness, disease, and health.
- Teacher-led discussion:
Q: What is diseased?
Q: How does the Doctor suggest Lady Macbeth can be cured?
- Consider as a class in what way evil can be said to destroy itself. Teacher-led discussion.
Q: Can the Macbeths be said to have destroyed themselves?
Q: Who represents the forces of good in the play, and is it true to say that the Macbeths are destroyed by them?
Summary
Come to a conclusion as to how far the Macbeths are destroyed by themselves as opposed to thwarted by the forces of good. You might consider whether the forces of good are presented as strong or weak.
Suggested homework:
- Draw a chart with two columns entitled 'Destroyed by themselves' and 'Destroyed by Good'. Present your findings in the lesson in this chart, using bullet points for each point you make.
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