© Pearson Education, Inc., or its affiliates. All rights reserved.NOTESMacbeth. Then live, Macduff: what need I fear of thee?
But yet I’ll make assurance double sure.
And take a bond of fate.^24 Thou shalt not live;
That I may tell pale-hearted fear it lies,
And sleep in spite of thunder.
[Thunder. Third Apparition: a Child Crowned, with a tree in
his hand.^25 ]
What is this,
That rises like the issue of a king,
And wears upon his baby-brow the round
And top of sovereignty?^26
All. Listen, but speak not to ’t.
Third Apparition. Be lion-mettled, proud, and take no care
Who chafes, who frets, or where conspirers are:
Macbeth shall never vanquished be until
Great Birnam Wood to high Dunsinane Hill
Shall come against him. [Descends.]
Macbeth. That will never be.
Who can impress^27 the forest, bid the tree
Unfix his earth-bound root? Sweet bodements,^28 good!
Rebellious dead, rise never, till the Wood
Of Birnam rise, and our high-placed Macbeth
Shall live the lease of nature,^29 pay his breath
To time and mortal custom.^30 Yet my heart
Throbs to know one thing. Tell me, if your art
Can tell so much: shall Banquo’s issue ever
Reign in this kingdom?
All. Seek to know no more.
Macbeth. I will be satisfied. Deny me this,
And an eternal curse fall on you! Let me know.
Why sinks that caldron? And what noise is this?
[Hautboys.]
First Witch. Show!
Second Witch. Show!
Third Witch. Show!
All. Show his eyes, and grieve his heart;
Come like shadows, so depart!
[A show of eight Kings and Banquo, last King with a glass^31 in his
hand.]
Macbeth. Thou art too like the spirit of Banquo. Down!
Thy crown does sear mine eyelids. And thy hair,
Thou other gold-bound brow, is like the first.
A third is like the former. Filthy hags!
Why do you show me this? A fourth! Start, eyes!- take... fate get a guarantee
from fate (by killing Macduff). 85 - a Child... hand symbol of
Malcolm. - top of sovereignty crown.
90- impress force into service. 95
- bodements prophecies.
- lease of nature natural
lifespan. - mortal custom natural death.
100105110- glass mirror.
115318 UNIT 3 • FACING THE FUTURE, CONFRONTING THE PASTLIT17_SE12_U03_A4C_WC.indd 318 3/14/16 1:13 AMTEACHING
Analyze Theme
Students may have marked Scene i, lines
82–108 during their first read. Use these lines
to help students understand a central theme
of the play: Ambition corrupts. Encourage
them to talk about the annotations that they
marked. You may want to model a close read
with the class based on the highlights shown
in the text.
ANNOTATE: Have students mark details in
lines 82–108 that show the theme: ambition
corrupts, or have students participate while
you highlight them.
QuEsTiON: Guide students to consider
what these details might tell them. Ask
what a reader can infer from Macbeth’s
determination to kill Macduff, even though
Macbeth says that Macduff is not a concern.
Accept student responses.
Possible response: Macbeth wants to keep his
position at all costs, and he is jealous of anyone
who might contest him, at present or in the
future, thus his interest in Banquo’s offspring.
CONCLuDE: Help students to formulate
conclusions about the importance of
these details in the text. Ask students why
Shakespeare might have included these
details.
Possible response: Shakespeare includes these
details to show his audience that ambition has
corrupted Macbeth completely and distorted his
judgment, blinding him to consequences and
danger. He has killed the rightful king, and his
downfall is inevitable.
Remind students that a play’s theme is an
important message or central idea revealed
throughout the work. Point out that it is
up to the reader to figure out the theme by
analyzing different elements in the text for
clues about the writer’s meaning. Note that
closely reviewing the words and actions of a
main character is one way to identify theme.CLOSER LOOK
DIGITAL PERSPECTIVES
Enriching the Text Review the text of Scene
i with students. Locate multiple recordings of
Act IV, Scene i of The Tragedy of Macbeth on
the Internet for students to view. Be sure to
preview the videos before playing them for the
class. After students view the clips, invite them
to discuss similarities and differences between
the way the actors portrayed the characters.
Then have them discuss how the performancescompared with their own interpretations of the
characters after having read the scene. In what
ways are the actors’ interpretations different from
their own? In what ways are they the same?
What might account for these differences?
After the discussion, have students write a short
critique of one of the performances using the
text of the play as a basis for their review of the
performance.318 UNIT 3 • FACING THE FUTURE, CONFRONTING THE PAST
LIT17_TE12_U03_A4_WC.indd 318 4/9/16 1:55 PM