Copyright © SAVVAS Learning Company LLC. All Rights Reserved.NOTESWill I with wine and wassail^21 so convince,^22
That memory, the warder of the brain,
Shall be a fume, and the receipt of reason
A limbeck only:^23 when in swinish sleep
Their drenchèd natures lies as in a death,
What cannot you and I perform upon
Th’ unguarded Duncan, what not put upon
His spongy^24 officers, who shall bear the guilt
Of our great quell?^25
Macbeth. Bring forth men-children only;
For thy undaunted mettle^26 should compose
Nothing but males. Will it not be received,
When we have marked with blood those sleepy two
Of his own chamber, and used their very daggers,
That they have done ’t?
Lady Macbeth. Who dares receive it other,^27
As we shall make our griefs and clamor roar
Upon his death?
Macbeth. I am settled, and bend up
Each corporal agent to this terrible feat.
Away, and mock the time^28 with fairest show:
False face must hide what the false heart doth know. [Exit.]65- wassail carousing.
- convince overpower.
- That... only that memory, the
guardian of the brain, will be
confused by the fumes of the
drink, and the reason become
like a still, distilling confused
thoughts. - spongy sodden.
- quell murder.
- mettle spirit.
7075- other otherwise.
80- mock the time mislead the
world.
Discuss It Did the witches’ prophecies awaken
Macbeth’s already powerful hunger for power? Or
did he kill Duncan because he was unable to resist his
ambitious wife’s persistent urging?
Write your response before sharing your ideas.MEDIA CONNECTIONMacbeth’s Early MotivationThe Tragedy of Macbeth, Act I 275LIT22_SE12_U03_A1C_WC.indd 275 23/03/21 12:14 PMInterpret Dialogue
Students may have marked Scene vii,
lines 80−83 during their first read. Use these
lines to help students understand Macbeth’s
decision. 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
these lines that describe what Macbeth thinks
of Lady Macbeth, 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 what Macbeth tells his
wife to do, and accept student responses.
Possible response: He tells her to go out and
hide with a false face what her evil heart knows.
CONCLUDE: Help students to formulate
conclusions about the importance of these
details in the text. Ask students why the
author might have included these details.
Possible response: Macbeth has made his
decision to murder the king. He has tried
to resist killing the king, but his wife is too
convincing.
Remind students that in drama, dialogue is
used to reveal character and relationships,
to advance the action of the plot and
develop the conflict, and to add variety and
naturalness to narratives.CLOSER LOOK
Media Connection
Project the media connection video in class or
ask students to open the video in their interactive
textbooks.
Discuss It Possible response: Macbeth’s decision
to kill Duncan was probably a combination of
both. The witches’ prophecies—that he will be
king and that the current king must die—set the
plan in motion, spurring on Macbeth’s ambition.
Macbeth’s reaction to the prophecy will drive the
action for the rest of the play. Lady Macbeth’s
insistence that he go through with the murder
encourages Macbeth to act on his ambition.Whole-Class Learning 275
LIT21_TE12_U03_A1C_WC.indd 275 14/04/21 1:54 PM