Background
for Teachers
It is no accident that Macbeth is often considered to be
cursed in the theatre; perhaps it is the play that most embodies
“evil,” and as such has taken on a significance in the
theatre where actors and others are superstitious of speaking its
name.
As
the famous Shakespeare critic A.C. Bradley has written, “Macbeth
leaves on most readers a profound impression of the misery of
a guilty conscience and the retribution of crime…But what
Shakespeare perhaps felt even more deeply…was the incalculability
of evil, --that in meddling with it human beings do they know
not what” (324).
Likewise,
Bradley’s comment that “[t]he soul, [Shakespeare]
seems to feel, is a thing of such inconceivable depth, complexity,
and delicacy, that when you introduce into it, or suffer to develop
in it, any change, and particularly the change called evil, you
can form only the vaguest idea of the reaction you will provoke”
(324) allows us as readers of the play to begin to understand
the unpredictability and subsequent magnitude of such change.
The
play catalogues Macbeth’s moral decline, and asking students
to consider what contributes to that moral decline will allow
them to better understand moral choices.
There
are numerous possibilities for consideration of ethical decisions
in this play. Perhaps it could be argued the entire play is a
dramatization of the role of good and evil in society; yet the
specific ethical situations and dilemmas in the play, of course,
are a lot more complex than this simple binary would suggest.
However,
one of the most fruitful understandings for students would indeed
be to consider the nature of evil. Is it a relative term? What
circumstances drive people to commit evil acts?
In
order to consider these ethical issues in the class, this module
assumes that students will have a clear understanding of plot
and of the main characters, in order that they could then be asked
to consider the ethical situations presented in the play, and
the possible reasons or motives for them, via key scenes or lines
(see below for specific examples).
The
teacher would need, of course, to be familiar with the same issues,
and additionally have considered the ethical/moral questions below
in order to anticipate class responses. The way this module is
set up is that a class would be divided into smaller groups, each
of which would be given a question to consider, and subsequently
present their conclusions to the class as a whole. An alternative
class outline is also given; rather than approaching the ethic
issues via scenes/lines, students are assigned characters to research
in relation to the “character values,” or the core
values they possess or lack.
Summary
of the Play and its Ethical Components:
Macbeth
begins the play as a valiant captain, where his victory over the
rebellious Thane of Cawdor is considered “good”. Macbeth
is duly given the title “Thane of Cawdor.”
Macbeth’s
first signs of the tyrant arewhen the witches hail Macbeth as
the future king.
When
the present king Duncan says his son Malcolm is his heir, Macbeth
turns to thoughts of murder. Lady Macbeth eggs Macbeth on, especially
when Macbeth seems hesitant.
Lady
Macbeth “conquers his scruples” (Leggatt 124). Macbeth
sees an imaginary dagger and “broods on prophecy”
(124) that Banquo and descendents will be king.
Macbeth
hires murderers to kill Banquo and Fleance, but Fleance escapes.
Banquo’s ghost appears to Macbeth which causes a “wild
reaction (124).
Macbeth
consults the witches again, who tell him to beware Macduff. Since
Macbeth can’t find Macduff, he kills his wife and children.
The
virtues of the court of Edward the Confessor in England contrast
sharply with those of Macbeth. Act 4, Scene 3 is pivotal scene
in that the horrific murders of Macduff’s family in the
scene before are contrasted with the relative order in the court
of Edward the Confessor. The scene describes the virtues of a
king, and his relationship to his people, which provides opportunity
to discuss the contrast to Macbeth’s own kingship. Malcolm
lists out general characteristics of a tyrant (not necessarily
those of Macbeth, interestingly). “The idea of a good king
is given specific embodiment in the [lines] that follow”
(Leggatt 176) 4.3.148-159.
Macduff
and Malcolm plan to return to Scotland to reclaim the crown. In
Scotland, Macbeth has become a hated tyrant,
Lady
Macbeth sleepwalks, tries to wash imaginary blood from her hands,
and commits suicide.
Macduff
kills and beheads Macbeth, and Malcom becomes king of Scotland.
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