MYPNA_TE_G12_U3_web.pdf

PLANNING

Whole Class learning

PerformanCe Task

In what ways does

Macbeth attempt to

control the future and

to bury the past?

UniT PerformanCe-Based

assessmenT

What is the relationship

of human beings to time?

essenTial QUesTion:

How do our attitudes

toward the past and

future shape our

actions?

Summary

As Act V begins, a doctor and a servant observe Lady Macbeth as

she sleepwalks and reveals her guilt about Duncan’s murder. The

doctor tells Macbeth he cannot cure her. As Malcolm and Macduff

approach Dunsinane, Lady Macbeth’s death scream can be heard.

When Macbeth is told of his wife’s death, he comments on the

meaninglessness of life. Malcolm tells his men to cut branches from

the trees in Birnam Wood to disguise their numbers. A servant tells

Macbeth that Birnam Wood appears to be moving toward the castle.

Macbeth is stunned, but he enters the battle anyway. Macbeth

engages Macduff in the fight, only to have it revealed that Macduff

was “from his mother’s womb untimely ripped.” Macbeth realizes

that this means that Macduff’s birth sidesteps the witches’ prophecy,

but he continues to fight. Macduff kills Macbeth, beheads him, and

declares Malcolm Scotland’s new king.

The Tragedy of Macbeth, Act V

Connection to the essential Question

Macbeth is finally confronted with the reality that the witches’

prophecies do not guarantee the success of his desired outcome of

controlling the future.

Connection to Performance Tasks

Whole-Class Learning Performance Task Students will observe that

Macbeth continues to believe that his future as king is assured until the

very last moment when he learns that Macduff was “from his mother’s

womb untimely ripped.” By this point, Macbeth’s ambition is so intense

that he is willing to die rather than submit to the forces of Macduff and

Malcolm.

Unit Performance-Based Assessment Students will note that in Act V

Macbeth finally succumbs to the natural flow of time and the

consequences of his past murderous acts. The structure of the last act,

which consists of eleven very brief scenes, enhances the inevitability

of the action and seemingly speeds up time as the action moves

relentlessly towards its violent conclusion.

WHOLE-CLASS LEARNING • THE TRAGEDY OF MACBETH, ACT V

insight

In Act V, time seems to both stand still and speed up. Lady Macbeth

suffers from sleepwalking and Macbeth too is exhausted by lack of

sleep. Yet, Macbeth seems eager to confront the future, indicated

by his donning of armor long before the battle begins. The action

proceeds at a quick pace until the inevitable future that signals

Macbeth’s end occurs at the hands of Macduff.

aUdio sUmmaries

Audio Summaries of Act V

of The Tragedy of Macbeth

are available in both English

and Spanish in the Interactive

Teacher’s Edition or Unit

Resources. Assigning these

summaries prior to reading the

selection may help students

build additional background

knowledge and set a context for

their first read.

334A UNIT 3 • FACING THE FUTURE, CONFRONTING THE PAST

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