Hello, my name is Ms. Grant.

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

We're in the unit "Macbeth: Lady Macbeth as a Machiavellian Villain." Today we're gonna finish reading Act Two.

I'm really excited to hear all of your fantastic ideas as we continue to read this play.

I'm gonna be your support and guide as we continue this learning journey together.

Let's get started.

So by the end of today's lesson, you are going to be able to explain what happens in Act Two, Scenes Three and Four of "Macbeth." We're gonna read these scenes and we're gonna have a discussion about one of the key characters, the porter, and we're also going to look at the idea of setting.

There are some key words we're going to reference throughout our lesson to help us unlock the learning.

They are porter, equivocate, Jacobean, The Gunpowder Plot and setting.

Their definitions are going to 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 lesson outline for today, we're gonna start off by looking at Act Two, Scene Three, the significance of the porter.

And in the final learning cycle, we're going to think, well, what do the play's settings tell us? Let's get started with the significance of the porter.

Let's consider the main plot points of all the scenes up to Act Two, Scene Two.

So in Act One, Scene One, the witches meet on the heath.

Act One, Scene Two, there's reports of a brutal battle.

Act One, Scene Three, the witches give prophecies.

Act One, Scene Four, Macbeth contemplates regicide.

Act One, Scene Five, Lady Macbeth asks spirits to "unsex" her.

Act One, Scene Six, Lady Macbeth welcomes King Duncan, but she's actually plotting regicide.

Act One, Scene seven, Lady Macbeth goads Macbeth into regicide.

Act Two, Scene One, Macbeth commits regicide and Act Two, Scene Two, Lady Macbeth frames the guards and Macbeth regrets the regicide.

So this is all that has happened in the play up to this point.

I'd like you to discuss how might you describe the tone or atmosphere in the play so far? Pause the video and discuss the question now.

Some really interesting discussions, exploring the play and looking at the tone or atmosphere.

And I had a lot of people say, "Well, it's quite a scary atmosphere, an ominous atmosphere, an unstable atmosphere created by the witches, by the idea of battle, the idea of war, but also by the characters themselves.

Lady Macbeth seems quite a cruel character, potentially quite villainous." There's this idea of deception.

King Duncan is deceived in Act One, Scene Six, and actually beyond when Macbeth commits the regicide.

So it seems ominous, quite a cruel atmosphere, quite an unstable and scary world of the play.

Now, Act Two, Scene Three in some ways allows for a moment of humour in a play that has been violent, supernatural, and ominous in tone and atmosphere.

A drunk porter pretends that he's the gatekeeper to hell as he lets Macduff and Lennox into the Macbeths' castle.

The porter says, "Here's a knocking indeed! If a man were a porter of hell-gate, he should have old turning the key." And this means if a man were in charge of opening the gates of hell like I am to this castle, he would spend a lot of time opening the gate.

So he was pretending that he is the gatekeeper to hell.

And he's saying a lot of people would end up in hell if I were the porter, if I were the gatekeeper there, I would spend a lot of time opening the gate.

Now, many productions of Macbeth have really emphasised the comedy of this scene.

So even though he is talking about something quite scary, he's talking about how they have emphasised, many productions have emphasised, that the porter is drunk and that this is a kind of moment of humour in the play.

But I'd like you to discuss what might Shakespeare be suggesting about the Macbeths' castle as well as allowing for a moment of comedy? Pause the video and discuss this question now.

Some lovely discussions there looking at the symbolism of the scene.

And indeed what Shakespeare might be suggesting is that the Macbeths' castle is indeed hell.

And the reason for this is because they have committed regicide and that is a sin, a sin against God, and thus, the Macbeths' castle itself becomes hell because it houses Macbeth who has committed this sin.

So it allows for a moment of comedy, but it also allows for Shakespeare to suggest that the Macbeths' castle is hell itself.

A check for understanding.

Act Two, Scene Three begins with a porter pretending to, A, be the gatekeeper to the Macbeths' castle, B, be drunk, C, knock on the gate to the Macbeths' castle, or D, be the gatekeeper of hell.

Pause the video and select your response now.

Well done if you selected D.

He's pretending to be the gatekeeper of hell.

Before opening the gate to Macduff and Lennox, the porter pretends to predict who's coming through the gate of hell.

He says, "Knock, knock.

Faith, here's an equivocator that could swear in both the scales against either scale, who committed treason enough for God's sake yet could not equivocate to heaven.

O, come in equivocator." Now this word equivocator or equivocate comes up three times.

And this use of equivocate or equivocater was very topical.

Those on trial for The Gunpowder Plot were allowed by the Church to equivocate in the trial.

In this way, they could avoid incriminating themselves while under oath, without lying in the eyes of God.

They did not want to lie.

That was a sin.

But this idea of equivocation, concealing the truth, speaking in an ambiguous way, was a way to avoid being accused of lying or feeling like they were lying in the eyes of God.

Now I'd like you to discuss what's being suggested about the afterlife of those who equivocate? The porter says, "Here's an equivocator, yet could not equivocate to heaven.

O, come in, equivocator." So remember who the porter is pretending to be.

And I'd like you to discuss what is being suggested about the afterlife of those who equivocate.

Pause the video and discuss this question now.

Well done for looking at this difficult concept, and it is being suggested that those who equivocate still end up going to hell.

And this would please James I, who wanted punishment for those who tried to kill him.

He wouldn't want to think that those who tried to kill him in The Gunpowder Plot, that if they equivocated in their trial that this would still allow them into heaven, but, no, equivocators, they end up going to hell.

Let's look at some of these words in a bit more detail.

So the word treason is used by the porter in Act Two, Scene Three, and this means betraying your country.

I'd like you to discuss why might this word be particularly powerful at this moment in the play? Pause the video and discuss this question now.

Fantastic discussions.

They're tying together your knowledge of the play, but also contextual ideas, this idea of The Gunpowder Plot in 1605.

So the Macbeths have just committed treason.

They've committed regicide, they've killed King Duncan, but it would also be topical for the play's first Jacobin audiences owing to The Gunpowder Plot.

So here you can see that Shakespeare's directly speaking to an event that all Jacobeans would've been aware of, an assassination attempt on their king.

And here this moment in the play really speaks to that, becomes incredibly topical.

Here are the key plot points of Act Two, Scene Three and Act Two, Scene Four of "Macbeth." In Act Two, Scene Three, Part One, a drunk porter lets Macduff and Lennox into the Macbeths' castle.

In Act Two, Scene Three, Part Two, the regicide is revealed.

The Macbeths pretend to be shocked and upset, and Lady Macbeth pretends to faint.

In Act Two, Scene Three, Part Three, Duncan's sons, Malcolm and Donalbain, flee the country, worried for their own lives.

And in Act Two, Scene Four an old man and Ross remark on the unnatural weather.

It's dark during the day, animals are also acting strangely, a bird of prey was killed by a weaker bird.

So these are the key plot points of Act Two, Scene Three and Act Two, Scene Four.

A check for understanding.

I'd like you to match the scenes to their plot points.

We've got Act Two, Scene Three, Parts One, Two, and Three, and Act Two, Scene Four.

Pause the video and match the moments from the play to their plot points now.

Well done if you selected Act Two, Scene Three, Part One, the porter scene.

Act Two, Scene Three, Part Two, the regicide is revealed.

Act Two, Scene Three, Part Three, Malcolm and Donalbain flee Scotland, and Act Two, Scene Four, Scotland experiences unnatural weather.

Now I'd like you to read Act Two, Scene Three.

And as you're reading, pause and discuss the following three questions.

Firstly, Lennox talks to Macbeth whilst Macduff goes to wake King Duncan, what does he say about the weather? How does Macduff respond to the regicide? And what does this suggest about his character? And Question Three, Macbeth tells Donalbain and Malcolm about their father's death, then Macduff.

What are the differences between the way they report the regicide and what does their language reveal about them? Read Act Two, Scene Three now, and once you've finished, pause, reflect on these questions.

Pause the video now.

A beautiful reading of Act Two, Scene Three.

I liked seeing those interpretations of the porter and also people really emphasising the difference between Macbeth's reaction to the regicide in public and Macduff's public reaction to the regicide.

Here's some ideas you might have had.

So Lennox talks to Macbeth whilst Macduff goes to wake King Duncan.

And this is what he says about the weather.

He says, the weather, it's the worst he's ever known.

"Chimneys were blown down," "lamenting," crying, "was heard in the air" and the earth "was feverous and it did shake." So the regicide seems to have really impacted the natural world.

Question Two, how does McDuff respond to the regicide? What does this suggest about his character? He cries, "O, horror, horror, horror," suggesting his deep distress and loyalty to Scotland and the King.

Lots of people selected that quotation.

It's a really powerful moment in this scene.

And Question Three, Macbeth tells Donalbain and Malcolm about their father's death, then Macduff.

What are the differences between the way they report the regicide? This is one of my favourite moments in the play.

It's a small moment, but I've seen lots of productions interpret the way Macbeth says this in in different ways.

So Macbeth tells the sons that "The spring, the head, the fountain of your blood Is stopp'd; the very source of it is stopp'd", which always seems to me very, very menacing.

And Macbeth's language emphasises the end of something.

There's the repetition of stopped, and the image of the fountain of blood is is also quite menacing.

And so a real moment in this play where we seem to see Macbeth's kind of more threatening abilities, which kind of contrasts to his reaction to the regicide where he seemed consumed by guilt.

This is just my interpretation of this moment in the play and lots of productions have interpreted it very, very differently, but it does seem a menacing moment.

Now, Macduff says very differently to Macbeth, he says, "Your royal father's murder'd." And this reveals his respect for Duncan's status, but also a focus on their relationship.

And he says, "your father." So he really focuses on the idea that sons have lost their father here, and he also focuses on the fact that it's a crime, regicide, unlike Macbeth.

He says, "Your royal father has been murder'd." So that final three words there, royal, father, murder'd, showing a lot about what Macduff thinks has happened, a real contrast to Macbeth's language, which I interpret as much more threatening.

Let's look at Act Two, Scene Four now.

And as you're reading, I'd like you to pause and discuss the following two questions.

The natural world is in chaos in Act Two, Scene Four.

What three unnatural events did the old man and Ross describe? And what do we learn about Malcolm, Donalbain and Macbeth? So the fortunes, the direction of these three characters lives' has changed because of the regicide.

What do we learn about them? Pause the video, read the scene.

And once you've read the scene, discuss these questions.

Pause the video now.

Lovely to hear people reading through that scene with such intonation and selecting really precise answers to these questions.

Here's some ideas you might have had.

So the natural world is in chaos.

And the three unnatural events that the old man and Ross describe are it's dark during the day, number one.

A bird of prey is eaten by a weaker bird, number two, and Duncan's horses went wild and ate each other.

So there's chaos in the political world, in the political sphere, because of the regicide, and that seems to be reflected in the natural world as well.

And what do we learn about Malcolm, Donalbain and Macbeth? Well, Malcolm and Donalbain have fled Scotland and they are actually now suspected of killing King Duncan, their father, themselves.

And Macbeth is on his way to Scone to be crowned.

So Scone is where kings of Scotland are crowned, and he's on his way there.

So the fortunes of these men really, really change within this scene.

We're gonna move on to our second learning cycle, and we're gonna think about this question.

What do the play's settings tell us? Here are three important settings in Act Two, Scenes Three and Four.

We've got the gate of the Macbeths' castle, we've got Scotland, and we've got England and Ireland.

I'd like you to discuss what happens at each setting.

Pause the video and discuss this question now.

Well done for being able to look at this literary device's idea of setting and being able to correctly identify what happens at each setting.

Here are some ideas you might have had.

So the gate of the Macbeths' castle, this is where the porter lets in Macduff and Lennox pretending to be the gatekeeper of hell.

Scotland and the old man and Ross in Act Two, Scene Four, they discuss how Scotland is experiencing a lot of unnatural events, and England and Ireland, well this is where Donalbain and Malcolm arrive because they have fled Scotland.

They can no longer be in Scotland.

They don't feel safe there.

A check for understanding, true or false? The old man and Ross discuss the unnatural weather and animals because they know Macbeth committed regicide.

Pause the video and select your response now.

Is this true or false? Well done if you selected false.

They don't know that Macbeth committed a regicide.

I'd like you to justify your answer.

Is it A or B? A, this conversation is suggestive of Macbeth's unnatural crime, but Macbeth is not yet suspected.

Or B, this conversation is a moment of comedy in the play before the chaos of Macbeth's reign begins.

Pause the video and select your response now.

Well done if you selected A.

This conversation is not meant to be a moment of comedy.

Many more productions have shown the Porter Scene, Act Two, Scene Three, as a moment of comedy in the play before the chaos of Macbeth's reign begins.

So this conversation is just suggestive of Macbeth's unnatural crime, but Macbeth is not yet suspected.

Now, I'd like you to discuss what does each setting suggest about Macbeth's regicide and his future reign? And I'd like you to consider these three settings, the gate of the Macbeths' castle, Scotland, and England and Ireland.

So what does each setting suggest about Macbeth's regicide? What should we think of it and what might we be able to predict about his future reign? Pause the video and discuss this question now.

Some lovely discussions there, tying together your knowledge of what it means to commit the crime of regicide, and really thinking how a writer, in this case, Shakespeare, might use setting to suggest something about the plot, character or ideas in their text.

Here are some ideas you might have had.

So the gate of the Macbeths' Castle, this setting suggests that Macbeth's Castle is hell itself, an idea that we discussed in Learning Cycle One, and Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are occupants of hell owing to their regicide, which is of course a crime.

Scotland, well, the unnatural weather and the unnatural events in the animal kingdom suggests that Macbeth's reign is illegitimate.

It's not natural, and it'll be characterised by chaos just like the current weather.

And England and Ireland, the thanes that make Scotland strong are suspicious and divided.

So Donalbain and Malcolm, they're really part of Scotland.

They were of course King Duncan's sons and they have fled.

So Macbeth's reign will be characterised by suspicion and isolation as the thanes who were once loyal to him start to be suspicious and leave just like Malcolm and Donalbain.

Really nice discussion there about the settings and what we can understand about the text itself through those settings.

In summary, Act Two, Scene Three starts with a drunk porter who pretends to be the gatekeeper to hell.

References to regicide and equivocation were topical for Jacobeans because of The Gunpowder Plot.

King Duncan's murder is revealed in Act Two, Scene Three.

King Duncan's sons flee Scotland and the unnatural events in Scotland suggest that Macbeth's reign is illegitimate.

I've so enjoyed looking at Act Two, Scenes Three and Four, the end of Act Two with you, and hearing all of your fantastic ideas, especially that exploration of setting in Learning Cycle Two.

I look forward to seeing you next time.