Hello, my name is Ms. Grant.

I'm so glad that you've decided to learn with me today.

We're gonna be looking at the play, Macbeth in the unit Lady Macbeth as a Machiavellian Villain.

I'm really looking forward to hearing all of your ideas today.

We're gonna be focusing specifically on the character of Lady Macbeth and some different interpretations about what Shakespeare was doing with this character.

I'm gonna be your support and guide as we go through today's lesson.

Let's get started.

So by the end of today's lesson, you're going to be able to evaluate Shakespeare's presentation of Lady Macbeth.

We're gonna think about her character across the play, how she presented at the beginning, middle and end, her relationship with the status quo of 11th century Scotland when the play is set and Jacobean England when the play was first performed and you're gonna think how does Shakespeare present Lady Macbeth? There are some key words which will be referencing throughout this lesson to help us achieve our objective.

They are revolutionary, unconventional, status quo, patriarchal and misogyny.

Their definitions are gonna come up one at a time on the next slide.

If you'd like to spend some more time with our keywords and their definitions, pause the video at the end of the next slide.

Our learning outline for today, our lesson outline.

We're gonna start off by thinking about Shakespeare, the revolutionary, about this question.

Was he revolutionary, was he not? And then we're going to look at interpretations of Lady Macbeth.

Let's start off with Shakespeare, the revolutionary.

Here are all the appearances of Lady Macbeth in the play.

In Act 1, Scene 5, we meet her and she asks spirits to unsex her.

In Act 1, Scene 7, she tells Macbeth to commit the regicide, that until he does it, he will not be a man.

"When you durst do it, then you were a man." In Act 2, Scene 2, we meet her after the regicide where she tells an anxious Macbeth to consider it, to consider the regicide not so deeply.

In Act 2, Scene 3, everyone finds out about the regicide and Lady Macbeth pretends to be shocked and angered by Duncan's death, "Woe, alas!" In Act 3, Scene 1, as Queen, she prepares for, "Our great feast." In Act 3, Scene 2, she asks Macbeth, "Why do you keep alone?" And without her, he arranges Banquo's murder.

In Act 3, Scene 4, she asks Macbeth, "Are you a man?" when he hallucinates Banquo's ghost.

And in Act 5, Scene 1, she sleepwalks and talks.

She says, "Here's a smell of blood still." It's her final appearance and she dies soon after.

I'd like you to discuss, looking at all the appearances of Lady Macbeth across the play, in what ways is she presented as unconventional? Pause the video and discuss this question now.

Some beautiful discussions showing off your knowledge of this character from across the play.

Lots of people arguing she is presented as very unconventional, particularly in the first half of the play.

When we first meet her, she seems to be rejecting typical ideas of femininity.

So for the Jacobean audience, the play's first audiences, this would've been very shocking.

It's also shocking for 11th century Scotland, also a patriarchy like Jacobean England.

So both for the play's world, 11th century Scotland and the play's first Jacobean audiences, this rejection of femininity is very, very unconventional.

Her dominance over Macbeth also makes her very unconventional.

And her desire, her ambition for power seems to make her very unconventional.

Some people also look to Act 2, Scene 3 saying her ability to dissemble, to be duplicitous is also presenting her as very unconventional, is not a typical feminine quality for the play's first audiences, the play's first Jacobean audiences.

They certainly would've seen her as very, very unconventional.

So we've already had a quick look at this question.

How might the play's first Jacobean audiences have responded to her? But we're thinking more about the fact that they would have seen her as unconventional.

Can we deepen that response? So look at the second question.

Pause the video and discuss the question, how might the play's first Jacobean audiences have responded to this character? Lovely to hear people deepening their response there.

So yes, saying they would have viewed her as unconventional, but some people looking at her character arc and saying maybe they would have seen her ending in Act 5, Scene 1, maybe they would've seen her fate as legitimate, as deserved, as just punishment, not only for the crime of regicide, but also for her transgressing some of these social norms, which they, our Jacobean audience, would have firmly, firmly subscribed to.

So a negative response was what most people were saying about how Jacobean audience might have thought of and responded to Lady Macbeth when Macbeth was first performed.

Now I'd like you to discuss this question.

Might a modern audience see her as less unconventional? So look at that question, might.

Might a modern audience see her as less conventional? Pause the video and discuss this question now.

Some really lovely discussions there.

Some people referencing performances they've seen of Macbeth to say, "Well, this is how I responded to Lady Macbeth when I saw her in this particular production." And sort of a general consensus that maybe a modern audience would see her as less unconventional, because there are lots of attributes that she has like ambition, ambition for herself and her reaction against the patriarchy, her desire for equality with Macbeth, which is signalled when they first meet, their close relationship.

In fact, he calls her his dearest partner of greatness.

We had some people referencing that word, partner.

So maybe she would seem less unconventional, because these desires that she has are seen as perfectly natural for any individual to have.

So they wouldn't seem as transgressive as they would seem to a Jacobean audience.

Now I'd like you to discuss this question.

How does Lady Macbeth subvert each typical expectation of Jacobean women? We've said that she is subversive, but let's look more specifically at how she subverts some of the typical expectations.

A reminder that conventional Jacobean were meant to obey men, particularly their father or husband, accept their inferiority to men and marry and have children.

So these were some typical expectations of Jacobean women.

I'd like you to pause the video and discuss this question.

How does Lady Macbeth subvert each typical expectation of Jacobean women? Pause the video now.

Some lovely, really precise discussions there.

Here are some ideas that you might have had.

Lady Macbeth's presentation in comparison to a conventional Jacobean woman.

She dominates Macbeth, so she doesn't really seem to obey him.

In fact, she pushes him, goads him into regicide.

Macbeth calls her his partner of greatness, which lots of you referenced when we were discussing the previous question about how a more modern audience might respond to her.

And this absolutely does suggest some form of equality.

And Lady Macbeth is married, but she asks spirits to unsex her and make her breast milk gall, poison.

So she rejects the idea of motherhood, which would've be seen as particularly shocking for a Jacobean audience.

So given Lady Macbeth's unconventional character, why might we consider Shakespeare a revolutionary in terms of his presentation? I'd like you to pause the video, look at the conventional expectations and then Lady Macbeth's presentation and consider this question.

Given Lady Macbeth's unconventional character, why might we consider Shakespeare a revolutionary in terms of his presentation? Pause the video and discuss the question now.

Some really lovely, evaluative discussions there.

And I really liked to hear people using those keywords, unconventional and revolutionary.

Some people are arguing he seems very revolutionary in his characterization.

Here we have a woman who is not conforming in any way to the status quo, to traditional expectations.

And so what he's doing on the stage here with presenting Lady Macbeth as someone who is dominant, someone who desires and maybe has equality with her husband and someone who very specifically rejects motherhood.

That is quite revolutionary for a writer to be doing at this time.

Let's look at the play's relationship with the status quo.

So at the beginning of the play, Duncan is the rightful king and there's a clear hierarchy.

So the status quo is established and it seems pretty stable.

In the middle of the play, the status quo is destroyed because of the regicide, there are illegitimate monarchs and Scotland is in chaos.

So there is no status quo, it has been destroyed.

But at the end of the play, the status quo is restored.

The illegitimate monarchs are dead and Malcolm is crowned king.

So now I'd like you to discuss this question, in what ways then might Shakespeare seem less revolutionary? We just discussed that he seemed quite revolutionary in his presentation of Lady Macbeth, but how might this relationship, the play's relationship with the status quo, suggest that he is less revolutionary? Pause the video and discuss the question now.

Really lovely to hear people being able to discuss the question on the other side.

How does Shakespeare seem less revolutionary? And absolutely, it's because the status quo is restored at the end of the play that we might argue he is less revolutionary, because any of the disruption, any of the subversion is eradicated by the end of the play and the status quo is restored.

So the play doesn't challenge the status quo, but it instead looks at what happens when it's destroyed.

There is chaos and so it reestablishes that status quo and the chaos, the chaotic atmosphere is removed.

A check for understanding.

In what ways might we characterise Lady Macbeth's presentation as revolutionary? I'd like you to select two that apply.

Is it a, b, c or d? Pause the video and select your responses now.

Well done if you selected a and c.

Now I'd like you to complete the sentence stems below to evaluate the presentation of Lady Macbeth.

Shakespeare's presentation of Lady Macbeth could be considered revolutionary because, and I'd like you to consider her presentation in Acts 1 to 3.

Shakespeare's presentation of Lady Macbeth could be considered revolutionary, but, and I'd like you to consider the fate of her character.

And Shakespeare's presentation of Lady Macbeth could be considered revolutionary, so, and I'd like you to consider audience response to her character.

So all those fantastic discussions that you've been having in this learning cycle and now I'd like you to complete the sentence stems below to show that evaluation of the presentation of Lady Macbeth.

Pause the video and complete the task now.

Lovely to see people join together all of that discussion and formalising it by completing those sentence stems. Here are some ideas that you might have had.

Shakespeare's presentation of Lady Macbeth could be considered revolutionary, because she's an unconventional woman who doesn't accept the norms relating to her gender.

Shakespeare's presentation of Lady Macbeth could be considered revolutionary, but she's seemingly punished for her subversion of the status quo, which serves as a warning not to disobey the social order.

Shakespeare's presentation of Lady Macbeth could be considered revolutionary, so Jacobean audience might have viewed her as unnatural and threatening.

Nice to hear people bringing in some contextual ideas at the end of those sentence stems. Let's look at our second learning cycle, interpretations of Lady Macbeth.

Let's read two key pieces of dialogue from Lady Macbeth.

When she first hears of the prophecies, "Come, you spirit," she says in Act 1, Scene 5, "Come, you spirit, unsex me here, fill me from the crown to the toe top-full of direst cruelty.

Make thick my blood.

Stop up the access and passage to remorse that no compunctious visitings of nature shake my fell purpose nor keep peace between the effect and it.

Come to my women's breasts and take my milk for gall." Let's look at the second key piece of dialogue.

This is when she's goading Macbeth into regicide.

She says, "I have given suck and know how tender 'tis to love the babe that milks me.

I would, while it was smiling in my face, have plucked my nipple from his boneless gums and dashed the brains out, had I so sworn as you have done to this." So I'd like you to discuss why might these be particularly shocking moments in the play? And I'd like you to consider common expectations of Jacobean women in your discussion.

Pause the video, reflect on these two key pieces of dialogue and think about the context that you have to help you understand or discuss why these are particularly shocking moments in the play.

Pause the video now.

Lovely to hear people connecting the text to the contextual knowledge that they have.

And lots of people focusing on the idea that these two moments don't just reject the idea that she is powerless, but reject ideas that she should, in some way, be a mother.

So she's saying, "Unsex me," here, "I'm rejecting my idea of femininity." I would like thick, powerful blood so that I can commit the regicide.

And I would like my women's breasts to be filled with gall, with poison.

So they are not, in any way, going to be used for nourishment of any children that I might have, but they're going to be filled with poison so that I can do this malevolent act.

I can commit regicide.

And then when she's goading Macbeth into the regicide, she is displaying her loyalty in this particularly graphic image where she's saying, "I would have thrown our own child to the floor, killed it by dashing its brains out if I'd sworn that I would've done it to you." So a particularly shocking moment, because Jacobeans believed that a woman's duty, God-given duty, was to have children and here Lady Macbeth is saying, "It's not just that I don't want to do it, but I would actively reject it by killing my own child." And so very, very shocking and powerful moment in this play, particularly for a Jacobean audience.

And now I'd like you to discuss this second question.

How might these moments contribute to the idea that Shakespeare is revolutionary in his presentation of Lady Macbeth? So we looked at this idea in the learning cycle slightly earlier, then we looked at the idea of the status quo and saying maybe he's less revolutionary.

Let's return to this idea that he is a revolutionary and why might these two moments, particularly, help support this idea that Shakespeare is revolutionary in his presentation of Lady Macbeth? Pause the video and discuss this question now.

Lovely to hear people using that keyword, revolutionary, to guide their discussion and linking it to context.

Yes, he might seem revolutionary, because he's presenting a very unconventional woman who is rejecting ideas of motherhood and for a Jacobean audience, that was a God-given duty.

So this seems very, very subversive and an interesting choice by Shakespeare to shock us in this way.

Now here is Lady Macbeth's fate at the end of the play.

In Act 5, Scene 1, she sleepwalks whilst fixated on the smell of blood.

In Act 5, Scene 3, the doctor describes her as troubled to Macbeth, who hasn't seen her since Act 3.

In Act 5, Scene 5, a servant tells Macbeth, "The Queen, my lord, is dead." And in Act 5, Scene 9, Malcolm describes her as fiend-like as he ascends the throne.

Arguably, Lady Macbeth is punished for her subversion of the status quo and we see this throughout Act 5.

I'd like you to discuss these three questions.

How is she punished? Do you think this punishment is deserved? And why might Malcolm call her fiend-like? So looking at her appearances in Act 5, I would like you to discuss these three questions.

Pause the video and begin your discussion now.

Some beautifully rich discussions there, looking at the fate of Lady Macbeth in Act 5.

Here's some ideas that you might have had.

How is she punished? Well, the guilt she once rejected now consumes her.

She's so unhappy that she decides to take her own life.

Her relationship with Macbeth has been destroyed.

They are not united anymore.

And she has no legacy, people remember her as a fiend.

So she's punished in lots and lots of different ways.

Do you think this punishment is deserved? Of course, no right answers here.

But on the one hand, you could argue yes, as she helps to plot murder and she disrupts the status quo.

On the other hand, you could say she reacts against the patriarchal expectations of her time.

That she should be punished for this is perhaps rooted in misogyny.

So her reaction against the patriarchy actually doesn't deserve to be punished, you could argue.

This fate could be seen as a warning against disrupting the social order.

So perhaps it is deserved.

But on the other hand, her revolutionary characterization has stood the test of time and it perhaps makes us question the rigid hierarchy of Jacobean England.

So of course, no right answers here, but just some ideas that you might have had in response to this question.

And finally, why might Malcolm call her fiend-like? Well, to him, to Malcolm, Lady Macbeth disrupted the status quo and has thus rejected God's hierarchy and this makes her a fiend, makes her devil-like.

And she's not conformed to his idea of a conventional woman and thus she's a threat to the social order and Malcolm, of course, caress about the social order, because he is king.

He should have been the rightful king throughout the play.

And it could be argued that his view that Lady Macbeth is fiend-like is rooted in misogyny, which sees the patriarchy as a hierarchy that must not be disrupted.

So his analysis of Lady Macbeth is because he believes in the patriarchy.

A check for understanding.

Why does Malcolm characterise Lady Macbeth as a fiend? Select two that apply, a, b, c or d.

Pause the video and select your responses now.

Well done if you selected b and c.

Now, Malcolm calls Lady Macbeth fiend-like, an evil spirit or demon.

I'd like you to use the table to explain why this interpretation could be seen as fair or unfair.

I'd like you to consider her initial presentation and dialogue, expectations of Jacobean women, her responsibility for Macbeth's downfall, her own downfall.

And here's the table that will help guide your exploration of why this interpretation of Lady Macbeth as fiend-like could be seen as fair and why this interpretation of Lady Macbeth could be seen as unfair.

I'd like you to pause the video and complete the table now.

Some lovely interpretations there of Lady Macbeth's character and it's really nice to see that both sides of the table are very full.

You are able to look at this idea from both sides and select evidence from the text, which could prove either.

You might have a particular argument, a particular idea, which you think is more powerful, more convincing, but it is good to see that there can be a range of interpretations about Lady Macbeth.

So here's some ideas that you might have had.

This is a fair interpretation of Lady Macbeth's character, because she convinces Macbeth to commit regicide, saying she wants to pour spirits into his ear.

We see this when she goads him into committing regicide in Act 1, Scene 7.

She uses graphic imagery to explain how determined she is to disrupt the status quo.

For example, saying she would dash her own child's brains to the floor while breastfeeding.

According to the ideals of 11th century Scotland when the play is set and the Jacobean audience, the play's first audiences, she does not conform to typical standards.

So Malcolm would, of course, see her as a fiend.

She asks spirit to unsex her, so she does seem to want to be an unnatural fiend.

Let's look at why this might be an unfair interpretation of Lady Macbeth.

It might be unfair, because she's presented as an ambitious woman and this does not make her a fiend.

Might also be unfair because she's confined by the patriarchal expectations of her society.

The idea that she does not conform could be rooted in misogyny.

Malcolm wants to maintain the status quo, which sees him as powerful.

Lady Macbeth also wants power, yet she was punished for it.

Well done for being able to explore this interpretation of Lady Macbeth's character from both sides and it was really nice to see people selecting short quotations from the play, using all of the moments we looked at from the play in today's lesson and the contextual discussions that we had in order to support their understanding of this interpretation.

In summary, Shakespeare's presentation of Lady Macbeth could appear revolutionary.

However, the play could also serve to warn women, not to disobey the social order and patriarchy.

Interpretations which regard Lady Macbeth as evil can be rooted in misogyny.

It was a great pleasure to hear all of your fantastic ideas in today's lesson and I look forward to seeing you next time.