Hello, my name is Miss Grant.

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

We're in the unit Macbeth, Lady Macbeth as a Machiavellian villain.

We're gonna finish reading the play today.

We're gonna finish Act five, and we're gonna consider the play as a whole.

What are some of its main themes? I cannot wait to hear some of your fantastic ideas.

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

Let's get started.

So by the end of today's lesson, you are gong to have read Act five, Scenes six to nine.

We're going to finish "Macbeth".

You will know what happens in these scenes, but we're also going to think about the play as a whole and think of some of the key things that are explored, and your own interpretation and response to this play.

There's some key words which we're going to reference throughout today's lesson, which are gonna help us unlock the learning.

They are invincible, caesarean section, or C-section, equivocate, theme, and coward.

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 key words and their definitions, pause the video at the end of the next slide.

So our learning outline for today.

We're gonna start by exploring Act Five, Scenes six to nine, and then we're going to finish by looking at "Macbeth's" main themes.

Let's start off with exploring Act five, Scenes six to nine.

Now, I'd like you to discuss.

We know that the witches give Macbeth some prophecies in Act four, Scene one.

Why do these prophecies in Act four, Scene one make Macbeth feel invincible? We've got the prophecy that "none of woman born shall harm Macbeth", and "Macbeth shall never vanquished be until Great Birnam wood to high Dunsinane hill shall some against him." Pause the video and discuss the question.

Why did the witches' prophecies in Act four, Scene one make Macbeth feel invincible? Pause the video now.

Fantastic discussions there, sharing a really nice understanding of these prophecies, but also one of our key words, invincible.

So these prophecies suggest that Macbeth can never be killed.

Everyone is born of a woman, and a wood can't move.

So surely he is invincible, because if none of woman born can harm Macbeth, and if he can't be harmed till a wood moves, this means he will never ever be harmed.

Now, I'd like you to discuss, using a knowledge of Act five, which prophecy has already let Macbeth down and how.

Pause the video.

Cast your mind back to the beginning of Act five and discuss this question.

Pause the video now.

Well done for showing your fantastic knowledge of the beginning of Act five.

And you're right that the second prophecy, "Macbeth shall never vanquished be until Great Birnam wood to high Dunsinane hill shall come against him." The army, the English army led by Malcolm, the army coming to take power from Macbeth, have used branches from Birnam wood to camouflage themselves and thus it looked like the wood was moving.

Now I'd like you to discuss how might Macbeth be feeling at this point in the play? We're in Act five.

One of the witches' prophecies has let him down.

He knows that an army is approaching his castle to take the power away from him, and the support that he felt he had from the witches seems to be diminishing.

So how might Macbeth be feeling at this point in the play? Pause the video and discuss the question now.

Some really nice interpretations of the character of Macbeth and how he might be feeling at this point in the play.

So he might remain confident given the first prophecy, "None of woman born shall harm Macbeth," but feel slightly less secure of his invincibility given that the second prophecy has already come true.

So a bit conflicted, and it seems like throughout the play, he's always felt quite conflicted about how much he should trust the witches.

We saw that with the first prophecy in Act one where he had all of those asides, and he didn't know whether he should commit the regicide or not.

And he always seems to both desire the witches to tell him more and to know their thoughts, their thoughts about the future, their predictions, but also know deep down that he shouldn't trust them.

So he sort of remains in the same precarious position, this difficult position, where he feels like he should be invincible, but there's a slight edge to it.

Now, Macbeth's confidence is misplaced.

In Act five, he's killed by Macduff who tells him, "Macduff was from his mother's womb untimely ripped." Let's have a look at the language in this quotation in a bit more detail.

Untimely ripped.

This means Macduff was born by C-section.

Now, I'd like you to refer back to the original prophecy that the witches gave to Macbeth.

They said, "None of woman born shall harm Macbeth." And now I'd like you to discuss this question.

How did the witches equivocate? Pause the video and discuss this question now.

Some fantastic discussions here looking at Macduff's revelation with the equivocation from the witches side by side.

Now, the witches did equivocate because the prophecy was not a lie, not an out and out lie, but it concealed the full truth by being vague.

So Macduff can indeed kill Macbeth because he was from his mother's womb untimely ripped.

The C-section means that the witches' prophecy no longer stands.

After finding out that Macduff was born by C-section, and before Macduff kills him, Macbeth and Macduff continue to talk, they have a dialogue.

And Macbeth says, "I'll not fight with thee." He realises that Macduff was born by C-section, and therefore Macduff can kill him.

So Macbeth says, "I'll not fight with thee," and Macduff says, "Then yield thee, coward." Macbeth says, "I will not yield to kiss the ground before young Malcolm's feet.

Yet I will try the last.

Before my body, I throw my warlike shield." Let's have a look at one important word from this section in a bit more detail.

Yield means to give up.

Now I'd like you to focus your attention on Macduff's insult.

He calls Macbeth a coward.

I'd like you to discuss why does Macduff call Macbeth a coward? Consider Macbeth's role at the start of the play and the status of where he is in the play.

Pause the video and discuss this question now.

Some really lovely discussions there looking at the character of Macbeth from Act one, but also understanding the world of the play, 11th century Scotland, and what is expected of men, particularly male soldiers.

So Macduff thinks Macbeth is a coward because in the world of the play, fighting a battle proves your bravery.

You fight not because you will win, but because you have faith in your cause, like Macbeth did for Duncan at the start of the play.

So for Macduff, Macbeth seems a coward here because he is refusing to fight.

Now, Macbeth says, "I will not yield to kiss the ground before young Malcolm's feet." He says this after Macduff has called him a coward.

I'd like you to discuss.

Macbeth was accused of cowardice by Lady Macbeth in Act one, Scene seven.

It goaded him into regicide.

What effect does Macduff's insult have on him at this point in the play? Pause the video and discuss this question now.

Well done for looking at two different moments in the text at the same time and coming to some conclusions.

So the effect of Macduff's insult, it goads Macbeth into fighting, just as Lady Macbeth, her insult goaded Macbeth into regicide.

Even though he no longer feels invincible, he is convinced by Macduff's insult.

This goads him, makes him feel that he must fight Macduff.

Now I'd like you to discuss this question.

How far has Macbeth changed over the course of the play? I'd like you to consider the play's first and last battle scene, and his response to Macduff's insult.

Pause the video and discuss the question now.

Some beautiful discussions there thinking about the character of Macbeth as a whole and showing your brilliant knowledge of the plot points and Macbeth's character development over the course of this play, as well as being able to form an argument about how far you think Macbeth has changed over the course of the play.

Here are some ideas you might have had.

Well, in some ways, he is a completely different person to the noble thane of Act one.

He is isolated, he's frightened, he's a traitor to Scotland.

But in other ways, he's the same person.

He's someone who thrives in battle and who reacts very strongly against being called a coward.

So we see a completely different Macbeth, but in some ways, also a very, very similar Macbeth.

A check for understanding.

Why is Macduff able to kill Macbeth? Is it A, because Macbeth is a coward, B, because the witches' prophecies were equivocal, C, because Macduff was born by C-section, or D, because Macbeth is invincible? Pause the video and select your responses now.

Well done if you selected B and C.

Now here are the main plot points of Act five, Scenes six to nine.

In Act five, Scene six, Malcolm gives instructions about the battle.

In Act five, Scene seven, Macduff searches for Macbeth, desperate to kill him.

In Act five, Scene eight, Macduff reveals he was born by C-section and kills Macbeth.

We looked at a short section of their dialogue earlier in this learning cycle.

And in Act five, Scene nine, Malcolm is crowned the rightful king of Scotland.

So these are the main plot points of Act five, Scenes six to nine, and we've looked at Act five, Scene eight, in a little bit more detail so far.

A check for understanding.

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

We've got scenes six, seven, eight and nine.

Pause the video and match the scenes to their plot points now.

Well done if you matched Act five, Scene six to Malcolm gives instructions for battle.

Act five, Scene seven to Macduff searches for Macbeth, desperate to kill him.

Act five, Scene eight to Macduff kills Macbeth, Macduff was born by C-section.

And Act five, Scene nine, Malcolm is crowned king of Scotland.

We're now going to read the final scenes of Macbeth.

We'll start with Act five, Scene six, Malcolm gives instructions for battle.

As you read, I'd like you to discuss these two questions.

What does Siward call Macbeth? How does Malcolm show strong leadership? Pause the video, read Act five, Scene six, and discuss these questions after your reading.

Pause the video now.

Some beautiful reading of that scene.

We can see that Malcolm is giving instructions for battle.

We know that Macbeth is about to lose the throne.

Let's look at some ideas you might have had for these discussion questions.

What does Siward call Macbeth? He calls Macbeth a tyrant.

He's been called this by many people, particularly as his tyrannical reign increases and the violence of his reign increases.

How does Malcolm show strong leadership? Well, Malcolm gives instructions about the battle, when to drop the camouflage, and what each thane's role is.

So we can see that he's really preparing to take over the throne of Scotland, and has some good leadership qualities which will make him a good king in comparison to Macbeth.

Let's move on to Act five, Scene seven, where Macduff searches for Macbeth.

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

Macbeth fights and kills Siward's son.

Why does Macbeth think he was able to do this? And why is it particularly important to Macduff that he kills Macbeth? Pause the video, read Act five, Scene seven, and as you read, discuss these two questions.

Pause the video now.

Some really nice reading of Act five, Scene seven, particularly embodying the character of Macduff, who is desperate to kill Macbeth.

Here are some answers you might have had to our discussion questions.

So Macbeth thinks he was able to kill Siward's son because Siward's son was "of woman born".

He believes that the witches' prophecies are protecting him, so he's still feeling quite confident in the witches' prophecies.

And why is it particularly important to Macduff that he kills Macbeth? Well, Macduff says he wants to kill Macbeth because otherwise he believes his "wife's and children's ghosts will haunt me still," and as we know, Macbeth had his wife and children killed in Act four, and Macduff wants revenge.

We're now going to read Act five, Scene eight, where Macduff kills Macbeth.

We've looked at a short section of this scene already.

As you read, I'd like you to focus on Macduff and discuss these two questions.

Why is Macduff able to kill Macbeth? And Macduff tells Macbeth to "yield", give up, surrender, and then insults him.

What three things does he call him? Pause the video, read Act five, Scene eight, and after reading, discuss these questions.

Pause the video now.

Some beautiful reading of that scene, really conveying Macduff's anger and then his excitement as he approaches to kill Macbeth.

So here are some ideas you might have had about some of our discussion questions.

Why is Macduff able to kill Macbeth? Macduff was "from his mother's womb untimely ripped." That is, he was born by C-section, and well done for using that key word in response to this question.

Macduff tells Macbeth to "yield", to give up, surrender, and then insults him.

What three things does he call him? Well, he calls Macbeth a coward.

We looked at that earlier in this learning cycle.

But he also calls him a monster and a tyrant, so Macduff's hatred for Macbeth really coming through.

We're now going to read Act five, Scene nine, the final scene of the play, where Malcolm is crowned king.

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

Siward finds out that his son was killed.

Why does he call it a "fairer death"? Malcolm is crowned king of Scotland.

He immediately gives out rewards to those who fought with him.

What is the reward? And what does Malcolm call Macbeth and Lady Macbeth? I'd like you to pause the video, read the final scene of Macbeth, and after you've read it, discuss these three questions.

Pause the video now.

Some beautiful reading of that final scene, and well done for reading all of Shakespeare's play and having such fantastic responses to it.

Let's have look at these discussion questions before we move on to our second learning cycle and think about your response to the play as a whole.

So here's some ideas you might have had about our questions about Act five, Scene nine.

So Siward finds out his son was killed.

Why does he call it a "fairer death"? Well, Siward is proud that his son died in battle.

He feels it's an honourable way to die.

Malcolm's crowned king of Scotland and he immediately gives out rewards.

What are they? Malcolm promotes his thanes to earls, a new title in Scotland.

So just like his father who was very good at promoting and rewarding loyalty, so too is Malcolm rewarding loyalty.

And finally, what does Malcolm call Macbeth and Lady Macbeth? Well, Malcolm calls Macbeth a "dead butcher", and Lady Macbeth "fiend-like".

So they've got a very poor reputation after their death, and Scotland looks forward to a brighter future now they are not in charge.

We're gonna move on to our second learning cycle now.

We're gonna look at Macbeth's main themes.

We've read the whole play now, so I'm really excited to hear some of your ideas which think about the text as a whole.

So a group of students discuss what they think "Macbeth" is about.

Aisha says, "I think an important theme is ambition.

Shakespeare is exploring what can be a positive attribute, but what happens when it is taken to its extremes." Sam says, "I think Shakespeare's exploring the theme of love.

Lady Macbeth distorts the loving bond she and Macbeth have.

Her goading him into regicide is the turning point of the play and leads to the tragic ending." Lucas says, "I think Shakespeare is exploring what it means to be a king.

King Duncan, Macbeth, King Edward and King Malcolm.

The play is full of different types of leadership so we can explore the theme of kingship fully." So some really nice ideas there about what the play's main theme is, and each student having a different idea, which is, of course, what literature is all about.

I'd like you to discuss, who do you agree with most and why? Pause the video and discuss the question now.

So really nice discussions there, and a sort of even match between who believes which student might have the most valid interpretation of the play.

Of course, there is no correct interpretation.

It was also really nice to see people supporting their idea with moments from the text, so textual evidence, either plot points or things about certain characters or even quotations in order to say this is why I believe that Aisha is correct or Sam is correct or Lucas is correct.

A check for understanding.

True or false? The theme of "Macbeth" is Macbeth's invincibility.

Pause the video and select your response now.

Well done if you selected false.

Now I'd like you to justify your answer.

Is it A or B? Pause the video, read through the justifications, and then select your response.

Do that now.

Well done if you selected A.

A theme is an idea that is explored multiple times and in multiple ways in the text.

Macbeth feels invincible in Act five, but this is not the text's main idea, unlike Aisha, Lucas and Sam who selected big ideas, ambition, love and kingship.

The idea of invincibility is not a big idea that is explored multiple times in the text.

I'd like you to create a mind map around the question what are the main themes of Macbeth? The first note has been added for you.

We've taken Aisha's idea about the idea of ambition and just a bullet point about how this is explored, explored through Macbeth and Lady Macbeth.

So I'd like you to pause the video and create a mind map.

What do you think the main themes of "Macbeth" are? Pause the video and create your mind map now.

Lovely to see people creating mind maps with lots and lots of different themes, showing off your brilliant knowledge of this play.

Here are some ideas, some things that you might have said.

So kingship, and it's explored through the presentation of different kings in the play, and that's what helped Lucas some up with his argument.

He thinks that the play's main idea is the exploration of kingship.

We've got appearances versus reality.

I heard lots of people noting that down and exploring that theme, and noting that it's explored through the witches, Macbeth, and of course, Lady Macbeth.

And masculinity, explored through the expectations and pressures in 11th century Scotland, and lots of people citing the learning we did in learning cycle one about the idea of Macduff calling Macbeth a coward and what that does to him in order to support their response that masculinity is one of the main themes in this play.

These are not all of the themes by any means.

Lots of people were talking about the supernatural as well as a very, very important theme in this play, but these are just some of the main ideas that came up.

Well done for looking at this play as a whole and for having that brilliant reading of the final couple of scenes of Act five.

In summary, Macduff tells Macbeth that he was born by C-section.

Macbeth realises the witches' prophecies won't protect him.

Macduff kills Macbeth.

Malcolm is crowned king of Scotland, and thus order is restored to the country.

Themes are a text's main idea.

It was such a pleasure to read the end of "Macbeth" with you and have a discussion of its main themes.

I look forward to seeing you next time.