Another tidbit I admire about the Michael Fassbender/Marion Cotillard Macbeth film is that they have the scenes that Shakespeare didn't put on stage; This movie shows the execution of the Thane of Cawdor that is only mentioned in the original play. They SHOW the murder of King Duncan by Macbeth. They show the horses going crazy.
I haven't finished the movie yet, but I'll let you know if they show Lady Macbeth killing herself or Lady Macduff getting offed.
Friday, December 13, 2019
End of Days
In order to show the severity of Duncan's murder, Shakespeare wrote some unnatural disturbances the night of his death: an owl kills a falcon, the king's horses go wild and eat each other, endless night, etc. Well, on the REAL NEWS today, there is a story of how some salmon farmers rescued a BALD EAGLE that was BEING ATTACKED by an OCTOPUS!!! If any important figures in politics die today, we can point to this story as a precursor. Right now my guess would be some Korean dictator (Octopus) is going to attack a U.S. politician (bald eagle), and then get rescued by salmon farmers (Canada). Thank you, Canada. You're just like Scotland only better!
Thursday, December 12, 2019
MacMichael MacFassbender
I started watching Macbeth the Movie, the one with Michael Fassbender (who played young Magneto in X-men movies btw) and Marion Cotillard (whom I love), but I'm not impressed. Everyone in the play is depressed, lethargic, and bored. Even King Duncan when he learns that the civil war in Scotland is over and he has won seems sad. The witches are so lethargic they look like they haven't had a meal in weeks. The movie has no stone castles, no suits of armor, no trumpets, and no energy, so I suppose it is more historically accurate than all other productions of Macbeth. Director Justin Kerzel makes Scotland look like a bleak, barren landscape with lots of geothermic steam coming out of many holes in the ground.
Despite its depressing impressions, there are several aspects I enjoy about the film:
1. Marion Cotillard--even though she is not convincing as a mean lady--evil? Yes, but not mean.
2. They omit a lot of lines from Shakespeare to focus on their own story they are trying to tell, not Shakespeare's.
3. Dead child at the beginning
4. King Duncan names Malcolm Prince of Cumberland during Act II inside Macbeth's nomadic tent home.
5. It is ULTRA violent.
Despite its depressing impressions, there are several aspects I enjoy about the film:
1. Marion Cotillard--even though she is not convincing as a mean lady--evil? Yes, but not mean.
2. They omit a lot of lines from Shakespeare to focus on their own story they are trying to tell, not Shakespeare's.
3. Dead child at the beginning
4. King Duncan names Malcolm Prince of Cumberland during Act II inside Macbeth's nomadic tent home.
5. It is ULTRA violent.
The idiom: "Be all end all"
"The phrase the be-all and end-all is a noun that designates a thing that is much more important than all other things, the ultimate part of something." (Grammarist.com)
But this is not the way Macbeth uses it exactly. He says it when he is talking out loud to himself and the audience about killing King Duncan. Macbeth is stating that the blow that kills Duncan might be "the be-all and the end-all" moment--the impactful moment that could make all his dreams come true, as long as those dreams are about being the king of a country people don't really care that much about unless you're Canadian Mike Meyers.
I've never been able to wrap my brain around this idiom--which I guess is why it's an idiom (idioms are difficult to translate), which is why I'm opposed to idioms in general.
"Dead as a doornail" is another idiom that Shakespeare is responsible for, but it doesn't come from Macbeth, so I'm not going to dwell on it (it comes from Henry VI Part 2), but doornails were never alive in the first place, so how can it be dead? And I don't know what a door nail is, so why is it being compared to a thing that once had life? p.s. Chelsea Edge does not like for people to be called "things". I blame Wheel of Fortune for this.
But this is not the way Macbeth uses it exactly. He says it when he is talking out loud to himself and the audience about killing King Duncan. Macbeth is stating that the blow that kills Duncan might be "the be-all and the end-all" moment--the impactful moment that could make all his dreams come true, as long as those dreams are about being the king of a country people don't really care that much about unless you're Canadian Mike Meyers.
I've never been able to wrap my brain around this idiom--which I guess is why it's an idiom (idioms are difficult to translate), which is why I'm opposed to idioms in general.
"Dead as a doornail" is another idiom that Shakespeare is responsible for, but it doesn't come from Macbeth, so I'm not going to dwell on it (it comes from Henry VI Part 2), but doornails were never alive in the first place, so how can it be dead? And I don't know what a door nail is, so why is it being compared to a thing that once had life? p.s. Chelsea Edge does not like for people to be called "things". I blame Wheel of Fortune for this.
Tuesday, December 10, 2019
"Fiend-like queen"
In Act 5, Scene 8, Malcolm refers to Lady Macbeth as a "fiend-like queen" which I find interesting because Macbeth's real name is Mac Bethad Mac Findlach. Macbeth's last name looks a lot like "Fiend-like". Coincidence? I think Shakespeare came across this name in his Scottish research and used it in Malcolm's final speech on purpose. Lady Macbeth's real name btw was Grouch... ugh, what a beautiful name. If Shakespeare wanted to bestow a harsh name to a harsh character, he couldn't do much worse than Grouch.
Monday, December 9, 2019
Liar and slave!
When Macbeth's messenger tells him that a grove of trees are moving to Dunsinane in Act 5, Macbeth calls him a "Liar and a slave!" The former is because Macbeth doesn't want to believe that Birnham Wood could move to his castle because the witches warned him about that. The latter is interesting and not at all unique to Shakespeare's Macbeth.
In our modern culture, "slave" is not a put down like it once was. If someone calls you "slave" nowadays, it's because you're are controlled by some outside influence such as drugs, video games, or Justin Bieber, but "slave" used by Shakespeare meant a person of lowest rank. Slavery during the Renaissance did involve European colonization, but Shakespeare wasn't involved in colonization. He probably just meant someone of low social standing, like poor people.
In our modern culture, "slave" is not a put down like it once was. If someone calls you "slave" nowadays, it's because you're are controlled by some outside influence such as drugs, video games, or Justin Bieber, but "slave" used by Shakespeare meant a person of lowest rank. Slavery during the Renaissance did involve European colonization, but Shakespeare wasn't involved in colonization. He probably just meant someone of low social standing, like poor people.
Beowulf vs. Macbeth
Things Macbeth has in common with Beowulf:
1. Savage on the battlefields
2. Never had offspring
3. Married a widow (The our some rumors that Beowulf may have married Hygelac's widow, Hygd, and Macbeth married Gruoch who had a son from a previous marriage.)
4. Became kings of their countries
5. Dealt with supernatural forces
6. Was a thane/Had thanes
Things Macbeth differs from Beowulf (besides the obvious)
1. Beowulf waited to be king so he didn't have to murder a family member
2. Beowulf had 50 years of relative peace as king
1. Savage on the battlefields
2. Never had offspring
3. Married a widow (The our some rumors that Beowulf may have married Hygelac's widow, Hygd, and Macbeth married Gruoch who had a son from a previous marriage.)
4. Became kings of their countries
5. Dealt with supernatural forces
6. Was a thane/Had thanes
Things Macbeth differs from Beowulf (besides the obvious)
1. Beowulf waited to be king so he didn't have to murder a family member
2. Beowulf had 50 years of relative peace as king
Dead Sons
Macbeth has several dead sons in it--two out of three to be specific.
Siward's son dies, which is interesting because we hardly know Siward and know even less about Young Siward. All we know is Macbeth kills Young Siward, probably for the purpose of just making Macbeth seem even crazier and more tyrannical than we already thought of him. Old Siward took it rather coldly when he found out--he seems happy that his son died fighting and not cowardly. He even wishes he had as many sons as he had hairs on his head so that they could all die bravely. This does not seem like a good lineage plan. When Malcolm offers sympathy for the loss, Siward wants none of it, so we can argue that Siward did not value his progeny.
Earlier in the play, Macduff's son is killed by murderers sent by Macbeth. This ends his lineage as far as we know which explains why there are so few Macduff's in the world now. This son's death motivates Macduff to want to personally kill Macbeth which is important, because Macduff wasn't born of a woman as is the only person in Scotland that can kill Macbeth.
Shakespeare himself had a son, Hamnet, who died at the tender age of 11, about nine years before Shakespeare wrote The Scottish Play. I conjecture that these Macbeth characters dealing with their son's mortalities is a result of Shakespeare's own issues.
Siward's son dies, which is interesting because we hardly know Siward and know even less about Young Siward. All we know is Macbeth kills Young Siward, probably for the purpose of just making Macbeth seem even crazier and more tyrannical than we already thought of him. Old Siward took it rather coldly when he found out--he seems happy that his son died fighting and not cowardly. He even wishes he had as many sons as he had hairs on his head so that they could all die bravely. This does not seem like a good lineage plan. When Malcolm offers sympathy for the loss, Siward wants none of it, so we can argue that Siward did not value his progeny.
Earlier in the play, Macduff's son is killed by murderers sent by Macbeth. This ends his lineage as far as we know which explains why there are so few Macduff's in the world now. This son's death motivates Macduff to want to personally kill Macbeth which is important, because Macduff wasn't born of a woman as is the only person in Scotland that can kill Macbeth.
Shakespeare himself had a son, Hamnet, who died at the tender age of 11, about nine years before Shakespeare wrote The Scottish Play. I conjecture that these Macbeth characters dealing with their son's mortalities is a result of Shakespeare's own issues.
Friday, December 6, 2019
Shakespeare's Mistake?
In Act 1 Scene 3 of Macbeth, Macbeth says, "By Sinel's death I know that I am Thane of Glamis;",
but according to the BBC History website, Macbeth's father's name is Finlay or Findlaich.
It turns out, because Shakespeare was using Holinshed's Chronicle as his source of historical information, Shakespeare got some misinformation.
I suppose we should forgive William of some of his inaccuracies. A researcher is only as good as his or her sources.
but according to the BBC History website, Macbeth's father's name is Finlay or Findlaich.
It turns out, because Shakespeare was using Holinshed's Chronicle as his source of historical information, Shakespeare got some misinformation.
I suppose we should forgive William of some of his inaccuracies. A researcher is only as good as his or her sources.
Monday, December 2, 2019
Edward the Chaste?
Edward the Confessor never makes an appearance in Macbeth, but he is mentioned. According to an article from the BBC, Edward was NOT a typical king. He was SO religious that he was likened to a monk with a crown. He was so devout that he remained celibate even after he married (Maybe his wife was a saint.) Edward also started the tradition of "The Healing Touch", a practice by royalty of touching sick people thinking it will cure them. This practice lasted for 700 years (How many years without anti-bacterial soap?--Gross).
Anyway, Edward is used by Shakespeare to contrast Macbeth's ability as a king. Whereas Edward is a good king and heals his country, Macbeth is a terrible king and makes his country sick.
BTW--both Macbeth and Edward were childless--Edward because he was celibate, Macbeth, because he was married to a woman who turned herself into a man through soliloquy.
Anyway, Edward is used by Shakespeare to contrast Macbeth's ability as a king. Whereas Edward is a good king and heals his country, Macbeth is a terrible king and makes his country sick.
BTW--both Macbeth and Edward were childless--Edward because he was celibate, Macbeth, because he was married to a woman who turned herself into a man through soliloquy.
Friday, November 22, 2019
"Look like the innocent flower, but be the serpent under 't."
Shakespeare was loosely connected to the Gunpowder Plot of 1605 from which Guy Fawkes got his fame. William Shakespeare's father John was a friend of one of the conspirators, and according to some sources, the conspirators hung around the Mermaid Tavern where William frequented.
After the plot was foiled, Shakespeare wrote Macbeth in which he included elements from the plot including the mentioning of a design on a commemorative medal King James had made for those who captured the plotters (see image). In Act 1 Scene 5, Lady Macbeth tells her hubby to "Look like the innocent flower, but be the serpent under 't."
After the plot was foiled, Shakespeare wrote Macbeth in which he included elements from the plot including the mentioning of a design on a commemorative medal King James had made for those who captured the plotters (see image). In Act 1 Scene 5, Lady Macbeth tells her hubby to "Look like the innocent flower, but be the serpent under 't."
Thursday, November 21, 2019
4.2 The Saddest of All Time
Macbeth's Act 4 Scene 2 is in my humble opinion, Shakespeare's most pessimistic, and it's not even because Macduff's family is savagely slaughtered at the end, but rather what the characters speak of before the onslaught.
When Ross says, "Cruel are the times when we are traitors and do not know ourselves; when we hold rumor from what we fear, yet know not what we fear, but float upon a wild and violent sea..." (lines 18-21), it is as relevant today as it was then. Every day we are set upon by troubles so plentiful that we can only feel helpless. We feel as if there is some enemy to fear, but have no idea who it is, so we are helpless to avoid it and often misappropriate it.
For Ross and Lady Macduff, the enemy is real and swiftly coming to murder them. Before the murderers' arrival, Lady Macduff says, "Whither should I fly? I have done no harm. But I remember now I am in this earthly world, where to do harm is often laudable, to do good sometime accounted dangerous folly" (lines 69-73). She would play the part of hopeless victim, but this cruel world in which evil is rewarded and good deeds punished pays no attention to such pitifulness.
Of course, the entire scene is about Macduff's absence. Lady Macduff is afraid because the father of her children has abandoned them. She fears for her children who will have no leader, no protector, no provider. Extrapolate these desperate feelings to the much larger implication--the absence of the Heavenly Father. Shakespeare is illustrating that we are all helpless and lost in a cruel, Godless world. The end result is loss of innocence and pointless death.
This is why I consider the scene to be so bleak.
When Ross says, "Cruel are the times when we are traitors and do not know ourselves; when we hold rumor from what we fear, yet know not what we fear, but float upon a wild and violent sea..." (lines 18-21), it is as relevant today as it was then. Every day we are set upon by troubles so plentiful that we can only feel helpless. We feel as if there is some enemy to fear, but have no idea who it is, so we are helpless to avoid it and often misappropriate it.
For Ross and Lady Macduff, the enemy is real and swiftly coming to murder them. Before the murderers' arrival, Lady Macduff says, "Whither should I fly? I have done no harm. But I remember now I am in this earthly world, where to do harm is often laudable, to do good sometime accounted dangerous folly" (lines 69-73). She would play the part of hopeless victim, but this cruel world in which evil is rewarded and good deeds punished pays no attention to such pitifulness.
Of course, the entire scene is about Macduff's absence. Lady Macduff is afraid because the father of her children has abandoned them. She fears for her children who will have no leader, no protector, no provider. Extrapolate these desperate feelings to the much larger implication--the absence of the Heavenly Father. Shakespeare is illustrating that we are all helpless and lost in a cruel, Godless world. The end result is loss of innocence and pointless death.
This is why I consider the scene to be so bleak.
Wednesday, November 20, 2019
Macbeth or CATS?
We're watching Macbeth 4 Kidz on DVD and the witches are... how can I put this? Lively!
Are we watching a performance of Cats off broadway or a Shakespearean tragedy?
These healthy ladies are running around in leotards with lines on their faces that resemble whiskers on a cat. They keep clawing and snarling at the audience and Macbeth like they're auditioning for the Andrew Lloyd Webber production.
This is definitely the most musical production of Macbeth ever conceived and it is AMAZING! Not only do the witches sing for what feels like half the show, Macbeth sings too! His rendition of "How do you Murder a King?" is stuck in my head worse than the "1877 Cars for Kids" commercial on the radio (which I hate and turn the channel whenever it starts). I will NOT endure that song! Anyway, if you get the chance, check it out. It's amazing.
Are we watching a performance of Cats off broadway or a Shakespearean tragedy?
This is definitely the most musical production of Macbeth ever conceived and it is AMAZING! Not only do the witches sing for what feels like half the show, Macbeth sings too! His rendition of "How do you Murder a King?" is stuck in my head worse than the "1877 Cars for Kids" commercial on the radio (which I hate and turn the channel whenever it starts). I will NOT endure that song! Anyway, if you get the chance, check it out. It's amazing.
Tuesday, November 19, 2019
Shakespeare's Omissions
's 't 'kay t'leave 'ut so m'ny l'tters, M'. Sh'k'sp're? I'm 'n 'nglish t'cher who's readin' M'cbeth wi' my st'dents, 'nd it's hard t' make 'em read c'rrectly, b'cuz 'f so m'ny 'missions. Wh' th' see th' w'rd "i'", 'nstead o' sayin' "in" wi' a sh'rt vow'l sound, th' say "I" wi' a long vow'l sound. "O'" 's "Oh", n't "uh" as 't should be. Oft' times t' apostrophe r'places a cons'nant. Oft' times t' apostrophe r'places a vow'l. I' gets t'resome v'ry quickly. O' well, I s'pose I should gi' o'er it. 'Til th' learn th' d'fference, g'day t' all, 'nd t' all a good ni'!
Saturday, November 16, 2019
Scorpions in His Head
In Act 3 Scene 3, Macbeth tells his wife, "full of scorpions is my mind." I guess this explains why he is having trouble sleeping. It also lets the audience know that Macbeth's mindset has changed since his murdering of Duncan. Now that Macbeth is king, he has to kill just to keep the status quo. It's only a matter of time before Banquo figures out that his family future as predicted by the witches is NOT connected to Macbeth's success anymore and turns against Macbeth. Macbeth also still has Malcolm and Donalbain to worry about--they still have a claim to the throne and are safe away in other countries. Then there's that tricky Macduff who didn't show up to Macbeth's coronation at Scone. If Macduff doesn't show up to the state dinner later, Macbeth is going to know Macduff is a foe and not an ally.
Just FYI, scorpions are not native to Scotland. There are barely any in the UK.
Just FYI, scorpions are not native to Scotland. There are barely any in the UK.
Thursday, November 14, 2019
Macbeth, Thane of Fashion
In Macbeth, Shakespeare 4Kidz performance, Macbeth shows up dressed like a girl scout. I don't know whether to fear him or buy a box of thin mints. Before viewing this dvd, I didn't realize where girl scouts got their fashion since... It turns out it's based off of eleventh century Scottish men. From now on, when I see girl scouts in front of the grocery store trying to shlub their boxes of carbohydrates on me at inflated prices, I'm going to run away screaming like Macbeth is trying to unseam me from my nave to my chops.
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