Hello and welcome to "Read it and (Don't) Weep," the podcast that will help you breeze through your high school literature classes. Are you tired of struggling to understand the themes and characters in classic works of literature? Well, I’ve got you covered! I am your host, Jackey Taggart, and I taught high school English for almost 20 years. Join me each episode as I dive into the world of high school literature and break down the essential elements of each work. From Shakespeare to Steinbeck, I'll cover it all. My goal is to give you valuable insights and analysis on some of the most popular high school literary texts, as well as tips and tricks for acing your tests and essays. Let’s start reading!
Act 1, Scene 4
Hello again, and welcome back. We are in Act 1, Scene 4 of Shakespeare’s Macbeth, and Macbeth and Banquo have just arrived at the royal castle of King Duncan in Forres. Both are still thinking about the prophecies the three Weird Sisters told them in Scene 3. If you have not yet read up to this point in the play, it would be a good idea to get caught up with your reading and listen to my other episodes before continuing.
The scene opens with King Duncan asking if the execution of the former Thane of Cawdor has been completed. Malcolm, Duncan’s eldest son, confirms that, yes he has been executed. Malcolm reports that he spoke with another soldier who saw the Thane die. Before his death, he openly confessed his treasons, asked for a pardon, and expressed his “deep repentance." Malcolm states that, "Nothing in his life / Became him like the leaving it" meaning his death was more honorable than his life.
Duncan responds by saying, "There's no art to find the mind's construction in the face. He was a gentleman on whom I built an absolute trust.” In other words, Duncan is saying that you can’t judge a person’s true character just by their appearance, and he is disappointed because he trusted the old Thane of Cawdor completely, but he turned out to be a traitor. This is ironic because the king plans to name Macbeth the new Thane of Cawdor, and Macbeth has already has thoughts of deceiving the king. This emphasizes one of the key themes within the play – the idea that looks can be deceiving. Keep this in mind as you continue reading.
Just then, Macbeth and Banquo arrive at the castle. Duncan praises both Macbeth and Banquo for their services and loyalty on the battlefield and announces that he has named his son, Malcolm, Prince of Cumberland. This means that he will be the heir to the king’s throne in Scotland. Duncan then invites himself and all of his attendants to Macbeth’s home in Inverness to celebrate. A little forward in my opinion, but who is going to say no to the King of Scotland!
Anyway, Macbeth is not thrilled by this announcement because it means that he is not going to be named king as the witches predicted. He has also not let go of his earlier thoughts as Banquo suggested. He says to the audience, “The Prince of Cumberland — that is a step On which I must fall down, or else overleap, For in my way it lies.” So, he either needs to give up his desire to become king or figure out a way around this new complication. I wonder which way he is leaning? Let’s read on! He continues, “Stars, hide your fires, Let not light see my black and deep desires.” Essentially, he is saying to the stars to stop shining so bright because they might see the evil ideas in his head, which are, I think I might want to kill Duncan so I can have the throne for myself.
As the scene ends, everyone leave to head to Macbeth’s castle oblivious to Macbeth’s murderous thoughts.
Before continuing on to scene 5, take a moment to answer the following questions in your reading journal - After hearing that Malcolm has been named Prince of Cumberland, Macbeth experiences a strong internal conflict. What do his words in this scene reveal about his ambition and moral struggle, and how do you think this moment will influence his future actions?
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Act 1, Scene 5
We move swiftly to Inverness, Macbeth’s castle. The mood changes instantly from royal pageantry to domestic plotting, as we meet Lady Macbeth, Macbeth's wife.
She is alone, reading a letter from Macbeth. Macbeth, writing to his "dearest partner of greatness," recounts his success on the battlefield and the meeting with the Witches, noting their knowledge is "more in them than mortal knowledge." He confirms they hailed him Thane of Cawdor and predicted he would one day be king. He explains that he is sharing this news so she will fully understand the promise of greatness now set before them.
Lady Macbeth immediately accepts the prophecy, "Glamis thou art, and Cawdor, and shalt be / What thou art promised."
However, she also voices her concerns regarding her husband's moral character saying, "yet do I fear thy nature." She worries he is "too full o'th milk of human kindness / To catch the nearest way" (meaning the way of murder). While she believes Macbeth is ambitious, she also feels like he lacks the cruelty that true ambition requires. She sees that he wants the crown but hopes he can gain it without staining his conscience.
For this reasons, she declares her intent to take charge. She plans to "pour my spirits in thine ear, / And chastise, with the valor of my tongue, / All that impedes thee from the golden round" In other words, she is ready to give her husband a "murderous pep talk" so he can be king.
A messenger suddenly arrives with unbelievable tidings, The King comes here tonight. Lady Macbeth is momentarily shocked, calling the messenger "mad" because her husband should have informed her of this important detail in his letter. However, the messenger confirms that everyone is on their way and will be there soon.
This news spurs Lady Macbeth into one of the most chilling soliloquies in all of Shakespeare. She calls upon spirits that "tend on mortal thoughts" to enter her. She famously demands, “Unsex me here, / And fill me from the crown to the toe, top-full / Of direst cruelty.” Basically, take away anything gentle or feminine in me and fill me completely with cold, ruthless cruelty. Isn’t that a pleasant thought? She goes on to ask the spirits to harden her, to shut down any feelings of guilt or compassion so nothing will weaken her resolve. She doesn’t want conscience or empathy getting in the way of what she plans to do, which is convince Macbeth to kill the king while he is staying with them. She even calls on dark forces to strip away her nurturing instincts and replace them with something bitter and destructive. Lastly, she calls on the night to cover everything in darkness, so no one, not even heaven itself, will see what she’s about to do or try to stop her. At this point, she is fully committed to Duncan’s murder. That didn’t take very long!
Macbeth enters, and Lady Macbeth greets him by repeating the witches’ prophecies, insisting she feels the future is already within their grasp. Macbeth confirms that Duncan will arrive that very night. Her response makes her intentions unmistakable, she believes Duncan will not live to see the next day.
From there, she takes control of the plan, telling Macbeth he must hide what he’s thinking. She warns that his face gives too much away, like an open page others can easily read. She then delivers her most famous piece of advice, “Look like the innocent flower, / But be the serpent under't.”
She assures him that she will take care of the night’s crucial work, which she believes will secure their absolute power for the rest of their lives. Macbeth, still uneasy, showing his moral conscience, says they should talk more about it later. Lady Macbeth shuts him down, telling him to keep a calm, friendly expression and leave everything else to her.
This is where scene 5 ends. Before continuing to scene 6, take a moment to record your thoughts in your reading journal. Consider the following question. Lady Macbeth reacts very differently to the witches’ prophecy than Macbeth did. What do her words and actions in this scene reveal about her personality, values, and view of power? How might her influence shape Macbeth’s choices going forward?
Closing
Thanks for listening to this episode of Read it and (Don’t) Weep. Be sure to subscribe to the show so you will be notified when new episodes are released. If you liked today’s show, please leave a review so others can discover my show. If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions for future episodes, drop me an email at readitanddontweep@gmail.com, or reach out to me on social media. I would love to hear from you. The links are in the show notes.
Thank you for listening. I am Jackey Taggart and remember to Read It and Don’t Weep.
