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." We're gonna read all of Act 4 today, and we're gonna think, how is Scotland suffering under Macbeth's reign? I can't wait to hear all of your fantastic ideas.

I'm gonna be your support and guide as we work through this lesson together.

Let's get started.

So by the end of the day's lesson, we're going to have read Act 4, Scenes 1, 2, and 3.

That is the whole of Act 4.

You're going to be able to understand what happens in that act and explain what happens.

But we're also going to have a focus on the idea of Scotland, and what is happening to Scotland under Macbeth's tyrannical and illegitimate reign.

There's some keywords which we are going to use today to help unlock our learning, and they're going to be referenced throughout.

They are precarious, malevolent, contrast, stable, and invincible.

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.

So our lesson outline for today, we're gonna start off by looking at Macbeth's increasing desperation.

And our second learning cycle, we'll see us look at Scotland's suffering.

Let's start off with Macbeth's increasing desperation.

Here's what we know of Scotland since Macbeth became king.

In Act 2, Scene 3, there was terrible weather.

The earth was feverous and did shake.

That's the night of the Regicide.

In Act 2, scene 4 we hear some unnatural events, an owl killing a falcon and Duncan's horses eating each other.

In Act 3, scene 3 things are murdered, Banquo or flee Scotland, Macduff.

In Act 3, scene 4 in public Macbeth is unsettled by visions.

He sees Banquo's ghost at a feast.

And in Act 3, scene 6, Macduff and Malcolm prepare for war.

I'd like you to discuss all of these events are very destabilising, but why are all these destabilising events happening? Pause a video and discuss this question now.

Some lovely discussions there showing your deep understanding of Macbeth as king.

here's some ideas you might have had.

Well, the unnatural, supernatural, and violent acts we've got the supernatural, unnatural in the natural world, the violence, which is enacted by Macbeth himself.

And all of of these acts occur because Macbeth killed King Duncan.

Regicide destroyed the stability and order of Scotland, but it also destroyed the stability and order of Macbeth's mind.

So all of these unnatural destabilising events can be linked back to the regicide.

The regicide has the power to not just destabilise the person who committed the regicide, but the whole of Scotland.

So Act 4 develops the idea that Scotland is in a precarious position.

In Act 4, scene 1, Macbeth seeks the witches.

He wants reassurance and advice about his future.

I'd like you to discuss why would this moment, Act 4, scene 1, Macbeth seeking the witches.

Why would it develop the idea that Scotland is in a precarious position? I'd like you to consider Macbeth's status and the presentation of the witches and their malevolence.

Pause the video and discuss this question now.

Beautiful understanding.

They're not just of the character of Macbeth, but also the character of the witches and the unnatural relationship between the two of them.

Here's some ideas you might have had.

A king should rely on his thanes and subjects, not supernatural powers.

The witches have been presented as malevolent.

They don't care about Macbeth or Scotland, only their own fun.

So Scotland is bound to suffer if the king, and in this case it's Macbeth, is consulting witches.

Scotland will be the victim if this relationship continues.

So Macbeth has put Scotland in a precarious position, and indeed, in each of Act 4's three scenes, Shakespeare emphasises that Macbeth does not care about his country, its stability or its future.

In Act 4, scene 1, he asks the witches about his own invincibility, not Scotland's security.

In Act 4, scene 2, he kills Macduffs wife and son, and thus continues to weaken Scotland.

He's not thinking about its future or its citizens, its population.

And in Act 4, scene 3 in England, Malcolm, Macduff and Lennox reveal their devotion to Scotland, and this serves as a very clear contrast to Macbeth.

So in Act 4, each of the scene Shakespeare's emphasising that Macbeth does not care about Scotland.

A check for understanding.

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

Pause the video and match each scene from Act 4 to its plot points.

Pause the video now.

Well done if you matched Act 4, scene 1 to Macbeth seeks the witches and asks for assurances about his future.

Act 4, scene 2, lady Macduff and her son are killed by paranoid Macbeth.

And Act 4, scene 3, Malcolm, Lennox and Macduff speak about their love and hopes for Scotland.

Now when Macbeth meets the witches in Act 4, scene 1, he demands answers about his future.

He says, "Though you untie the winds and let them fight Against the churches; though the yeasty waves Confound and swallow navigation up; Though bladed corn be lodged and trees blown down; Though castles topple on their warders' heads; Though palaces and pyramids do slope Their heads to their foundations; though the treasure Of nature's germens tumble all together, Even till destruction sicken; answer me To what I ask you." Let's have a look at some of the language from this section of Act 4, scene 1 in a bit more detail.

So yeasty waves means foaming waves.

Warders' heads, it means inhabitants.

Though the treasure of nature's germens, he's talking about the entire natural world here.

And sicken, this means here gets tired of itself.

I'd like you to discuss, look at this section of Act 4 scene 1, how does this speech emphasise Macbeth's desperation? Pause a video and discuss this question, now.

Some really beautiful discussions there about Macbeth's desperation, and lots of people looking at this complicated bit of text and thinking, "Well, Macbeth is saying, though all these terrible things happen, so the winds are excessive, the foaming waves, though houses fall down on inhabitants' heads, though all of nature is destroyed, even if all of that happens, I don't mind if that happens, I just want answers.

And so Macbeth is willing for the whole of Scotland, perhaps even the world, to be destroyed in order to get the answers that he wants and to feel secure in his kingship and legacy.

He really does not mind what happens in the natural world.

He just wants answers from the witches.

I'd like you to discuss this question now, how does this speech emphasise the witches malevolent power? Pause the video and discuss this question now.

Well done for thinking about that first discussion, using it to help you answer this question.

So Macbeth is saying, "I don't mind if all of nature is destroyed, I don't mind if castles fall down, I don't mind if the oceans are chaotic, I just want answers to the questions." But he's therefore saying, "I know that you the witches can wreak all sorts of havoc.

I know your power." So Macbeth acknowledges that the witches have the power to see into the future, but also to wreak mass destruction.

And he does not mind that they're going to wreak this mass destruction as long as he gets the answers that he wants.

Well done for looking at that complicated bit of text and coming up with some really powerful responses about what is happening with Macbeth and the power that is presented in terms of the supernatural.

So the witches agreed to give Macbeth further prophecies.

They tell him, "Beware Macduff," so Macbeth decides to kill his family.

"None of woman born shall harm Macbeth," and Macbeth uses this to start feeling invincible.

And Macbeth is safe "until" Great Birnam wood moves towards Dunsinane, which is Macbeth's castle.

And Macbeth feels yet more invincible because he feels this unnatural event cannot occur.

I'd like you to discuss this question.

Macbeth feels invincible.

Why should he interpret these prophecies with more caution? Pause the video and discuss this question now.

Well done For looking at these prophecies from Act 4, scene 1 of "Macbeth" in a bit more detail than Macbeth himself does, you've been able to unpick some of their ambiguity.

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

"Beware Macduff." Well this is quite vague.

Why beware of him? And in addition, Macbeth can't kill Macduff because he's in England.

"None of woman born shall harm Macbeth." Why not just say no one? There seems to be something that they're hiding in this prophecy.

And the third prophecy, Macbeth is safe "until" Great Birnam wood moves towards Dunsinane.

And the word until lots of people latched onto, because it suggests that this event will happen and actually Macbeth is not invincible.

A check for understanding.

True or false, the witches tell Macbeth he is invincible.

Pause the video and select your response now.

Well done.

It is false.

Now I'd like you to justify your answer.

Is it A, the witches give prophecies which suggest Macbeth is in a position of strength? However, there are hints that Macbeth can be defeated or B, the witches never say he's invincible, but like the earlier prophecies, they are malevolent and thus unreliable? Pause the video and select your justification now.

Well done if you selected A.

Now we're gonna move into Act 4, scene 2.

We've had a look at Act 4, scene 1 with the prophecies.

We're gonna move into Act 4, scene 2, where Lady Macduff and her son are killed.

And as you read, I'd like you to discuss these three questions.

Why is Lady Macduff angry with her husband, Macduff? What do Lady Macduff and her son talk about before the murderers arrive? And how does this scene emphasise Macbeth's increasing desperation? Pause the video, read Act 4, scene 2 and discuss these questions following your reading.

Pause the video now.

Well done for readings through the scene, which starts off with a conversation, in some ways an argument between Lady Macduff and her son, but ends in a very violent scene where they are both killed.

Here's some ideas you might have had for our discussion questions.

So why is Lady Macduff angry with her husband, Macduff? Well, she's angry because he left his wife and babes to go to England, and she feels "he loves us not." Scotland is a very scary place, a very violent place under Macbeth's reign, and she perhaps feels quite vulnerable.

Question two, what do Lady Macduff and her son talk about before the murderers arrive? Well, Lady Macduff and her son discussed Macduff.

Lady Macduff says that he's dead, but the son argues back, and they discuss what it means to be a traitor and what should happen to them.

So a discussion which in some ways feels quite strange, but also really tells us about the preoccupations of those in Scotland at the time.

Their thinking about what it means to be a traitor.

Question three, how does the scene emphasise Macbeth's increasing desperation? Well, arguably Macbeth had reason to kill Duncan to get a throne.

It might not have been right, but he did have a reason, and Banquo to secure his legacy.

But there is no reason to kill Lady Macduff and her son.

Macbeth does this because he can, because he feels unstable and because the witches said "beware Macduff." So he seems increasingly desperate here in the terms of the fact that he's killing a wife and child for really no purpose.

Let's now look at Act 4, scene 3.

Malcolm, Lennox and Macduff show their devotion to Scotland.

And as you read, I'd like you to focus particularly on Macduff, and focus on these two questions.

Malcolm pretends he's an immoral person and thus won't be a good king.

He does this to test Macduff's loyalty to Scotland.

How does Macduff pass this test? And secondly, in this scene, Macduff learns that his family have been killed.

How does he respond to this news? And what does Malcolm want him to do? Pause the video now, read Act 4, scene 3, and after your reading, discuss these two questions.

Pause the video now.

Well done some lovely reading there between these three very loyal characters to Scotland.

Let's have a look at some of the things that you discussed for these questions.

So Malcolm pretends he's an immoral person and won't be a good king.

It's quite a strange moment where he says that he's immoral in lots and lots of different ways, full of lust, full of greed.

And he does this to test Macduff's loyalty to Scotland.

If Macduff says, "That's fine, you can be king," then he'll know that Macduff is not a loyal thane.

And how does Macduff pass this test? Well, when Malcolm pretends he's an immoral person, Macduff says he's not fit to govern or even to live, even though he know knows Malcolm has a high status, as Duncan's son, he says, no, Scotland is more important.

You are not fit to govern or even to live because you are not a good Scottish person.

And he calls Scotland "miserable." He personifies it and says Scotland is miserable because it has no one honourable to lead it.

And he says Scotland has no hope for its future.

So Macduff is very, very unhappy about the present situation in Scotland, but also its future.

And in this scene, Macduff learns that his family have been killed.

How does he respond to this news? And what does Malcolm want him to do? While Macduff is devastated, he realises that they were killed because of him, "not for their own demerits, but for mine." And Malcolm wants him to take revenge immediately.

He says, "let grief convert to anger." So he wants Macduff to use this to fuel.

They're going to Scotland and taking the throne from Macbeth.

Well done for reading Act 4, scene 3, and looking really closely at what is happening between Malcolm and Macduff to understand Macduff's increasing desperation, but also these thanes' increasing desperation to get their country back from him.

Our second learning cycle, we're going to look at Scotland's suffering.

In Act 4, scene 2, Macduff says of Scotland and Macbeth, "O nation miserable with an untitled tyrant, bloody-sceptered, When shalt thou see thy wholesome days again?" Now, a sceptre is an object given to monarchs and it's meant to be a symbol of their power.

So Macbeth, who is the tyrant, he has a sceptre because he is a king, but Macduff calls it a bloody sceptre.

I'd like you to discuss how is Scotland presented in this moment where Macduff is talking about his nation? Pause the video and discuss the question now.

Some really beautiful discussions there looking at the idea of Scotland, rather than focusing on characterization at this point, looking at the country and what Macbeth's regicide and his reign means for Scotland.

Here's some ideas you might have had.

So Scotland seems to be presented as an unhappy country with an illegitimate monarch.

It is personified, it is miserable, and it does not have a legitimate monarch on the throne.

The country has a leader who rules with violence.

His sceptre, a symbol of his power, is pictured covered in blood.

And it's an ill country, weak and vulnerable rather than wholesome, powerful.

So Macduff is saying it is unwholesome, it's sick, it's ill, and he wants it to be wholesome, he wants it to be well again.

A check for understanding.

Why does Macduff call Scotland "a miserable nation"? Select two that apply.

Pause a video and select your responses now.

Well done if you selected C and D.

It's an unstable, vulnerable position under Macbeth, and life in Scotland is currently characterised by violence.

Now I'd like you to discuss this question: In what ways is Scotland suffering under Macbeth? And I'd like you to consider these four things.

How the natural world responds to his reign, Macbeth's stability as a monarch, how his thanes feel, and what life is like in Scotland for those who still live there.

Pause the video and discuss this question using the four bullet points to support your discussion.

Pause the video now.

Some beautiful discussions there about Scotland, how it's suffering under Macbeth.

Here's some ideas that you might have had.

The weather is really terrible.

We looked at this in learning cycle one.

We're told that the earth was feverish and did shake, the night that Macbeth committed the regicide.

And in Act 2, scene 4, there is further discussion of the terrible weather.

The animal kingdom is acting in unnatural ways.

We know that a weaker bird managed to kill a bird of prey.

And we know that Duncan's horses ate each other.

People live in fear.

Macbeth is a bloody and brutal monarch who kills women and children.

We see that in the scene with Lady Macduff and her son.

Thanes are starting to be suspicious of Macbeth, and thus the country is weakened.

We see that scene where lots of important Scottish thanes, noble people are in England, not in Scotland where they should be.

Macbeth has hallucinated in public, so his subjects know that he's unstable.

Macbeth doesn't care about Scotland, only about his own security.

And again, we looked at that section from Act 4, scene 1 with the witches, where Macbeth showed he does not care what happens to Scotland, indeed, what happens to the world as long as he can maintain his power.

And the country is about to face war, a very destabilising event because Malcolm wants to take the throne from Macbeth.

So we might support Malcolm wanting to take the throne from Macbeth, but war itself is very destabilising, and so Scotland will suffer given that there is going to be a war for the throne.

Well done for considering this question in such detail and coming up with such a range of responses.

In summary, Scotland is unstable under Macbeth's leadership.

In Act 4, scene 1, the witches give Macbeth further prophecies.

Macbeth feels the witch's prophecies make him invincible.

Macduff is a loyal Scottish thane whose family is killed by Macbeth.

Malcolm and Macduff prepared to go to war with Macbeth in order to restore Scotland to strength and stability.

It's been such a pleasure to look at Act 4 of "Macbeth" with you and hear all of your fantastic ideas.

I look forward to seeing you next time.