Hello, my name is Ms. Grant.

I'm so glad that you have decided to come and explore more of "Macbeth" with me today.

We're gonna look at some really interesting and challenging ideas.

I can't wait to hear everything you have to say.

I'm gonna be your support and guide throughout this lesson.

Let's get started.

So, by the end of today's lesson, you're gonna be able to explain how language has been used to describe the witches.

The language is really rich, it's really complex, and we are gonna pick it apart to you understand how language has been used and also, why that language has been used.

This lesson comes from the unit "Macbeth", leading Macbeth as a Machiavellian villain.

Now, we're going to reference keywords throughout this lesson, which can help us understand how Shakespeare uses language to describe the witches.

They are outsider, genderless, conform, subversive, and femininity.

The definitions are gonna come up on the next slide.

You can pause the video at the end of that slide, if you want to spend some more time with those key words.

So, our lesson is Shakespeare's language, the witches, and it's gonna be divided into three parts.

First, we'll look at expectations of women in Jacobean England.

Next, we'll look at the witches as threatening outsiders.

And finally, we're gonna look at disorder in the natural world.

Let's start with expectations of women in Jacobean England.

There were common beliefs about women and the role of women in the Jacobean era.

An ideal Jacobean woman should accept her inferiority to men, expect a limited education, marry and have children, run a household to a high standard, obey man, particularly their father and husband, look traditionally feminine, neat, clean, demure.

So, we know what the expectation was.

I want you to discuss in what ways do the witches subvert these expectations? Pause the video and have a quick discussion.

Some really lovely discussions there.

People saying they subvert these expectations in almost every way.

They seem to have quite an extensive supernatural education.

They don't seem to be married nor have children, and we never see their household.

Really, they don't have one.

They meet on a heath.

We meet them in a cave.

And crucially, some people already noted they do not obey any of the men in their lives and they don't obey Macbeth when he asks them to tell him more about the prophecy for example.

The idea of obedience is not important to the witches.

Now, many Jacobeans saw Christianity as a foundation of their beliefs about women.

For example, in the early 16th century, Protestant leader John Knox argued, "Women in her greatest perfection was made to serve and obey man." I want you to pause the video and discuss what did John Knox mean when he argued this? Some really interesting ideas there.

Lots of people are looking at these verbs to begin with, serve and obey.

So, the idea that a woman is there to serve, to be subservient to a man, and that they should be obedient.

So, an idea of a kind of a little bit of a childish relationship in some way.

You often expect children to be obedient to their parents, but also, a sort of employer-employee relationship.

This idea of service.

And John Knox was arguing that this made a woman perfect, if they were able to serve and obey men.

So, a quick check for understanding.

Jacobean women were afforded basic freedoms and rights as long as they were married.

Pause the video and select whether you think this is true or false.

Congratulations if you selected false.

Now, I want you to justify your answer.

Is it A, basic freedoms were afforded if you are an educated woman.

Marriage restricted your freedoms further.

Or B, the very fact of being a woman made an individual inferior to a man.

Marriage status did not affect this.

Pause the video and select your response.

Well done, if you selected B.

The very fact of being a woman made an individual inferior to a man.

So, we're now gonna look at each characteristic of the witches and we're gonna explain how these characteristics subvert each traditional expectation.

The witches' characteristics we've got, they're unmarried with no children or household, they have knowledge of spells, they disobey the demands to tell Macbeth more about the prophecies in Act 1, Scene 3, and they look wild in their attire, in their clothing.

Banquo says they look wild.

I'd like you to pause the video and I want you to explain how this subverts traditional expectations of women.

You can use the sentence starter to support you.

Pause the video and write your response now.

Some really fantastic specific responses there.

Really nice to see you tying context to the play itself.

Here's some ideas that you might have had.

So, unmarried with no children or household.

This subverts traditional expectations as women were expected to marry, have children, and run a household.

The witches have knowledge of spells.

This subverts traditional expectations as women were not expected to have any education, let alone a supernatural one.

They disobey Macbeth, and this averts traditional expectations as women were they were expected to obey men.

And finally, they look wild in their attire, in their clothing.

This subverts traditional expectations as women were meant to conform to standards of feminine dress and behaviour.

Well done for explaining how each characteristic subverts traditional expectations.

So, let's move on to our second learning cycle.

We're gonna think about the witches as threatening outsiders.

In Jacobean England, witches were commonly expected to be women.

In his book about the supernatural "Demonology", King James I who was on the throne when "Macbeth" was first written and performed, writes, "What can be the cause that there are twentie women given to that witchcraft where there is one man? The reason is easie, for as that sexe is frailer than man is, so is it easier to be intrapped in these grosse snares of the Devill?" I'd like you to pause the video and spend some time with this quotation from "Demonology".

What does it reveal about traditional expectations of Jacobean women? Pause the video and discuss this question.

Well done for spending some time with that quotation, not easy, some really lovely ideas.

People really picking apart what King James I was saying.

Here are some ideas that you might have had.

So, lots of people looked at this word frailer, "that sexe is frailer than man", and frail means weak and delicate.

Women are expected to be weaker, more delicate than men, but also, thought of as inferior for this weakness.

And some of you even noted this that King James I says, "The reason is easie." And if he says, it's easy to know why women are tricked by the devil and become witches, it seems like women's weakness is presented as common knowledge.

Well done for looking at the nuance of that text, that subtlety there.

Now, in some ways the witches are presented as women.

For example, in Act 1, Scene 3, they call each other sister and the weird sisters.

However, Shakespeare also uses language to suggest that the witches are not women.

Instead, in the opening scenes, he uses language to present them as genderless and as such dangerous and threatening outsiders.

For example, when Banquo sees the witches for the first time, his description reveals his confusion about the witches' humanity.

He says, "What are these? So wither'd and so wild in their attire.

That look not like the inhabitants o' the earth and yet are on it?" The what suggesting here that he doesn't recognise the witches as people, but rather as things using what not who.

He says they're so withered and so wild in their attire.

So, they don't conform to societal standards in terms of their appearance.

And as such, they're threatening.

He notices it immediately.

He says they don't look like the inhabitants of the earth.

They don't look like anything he has ever seen on earth.

And he says, "And yet," so Banquo is shocked that despite the witches clearly being inhuman, they're in front of him.

They are outside of his experience.

So, after looking at that short, very revealing section, we can see that Banquo sees the witches as outsiders.

I want you to think about the witches presentation in other scenes.

In what ways are they presented as outsiders? Pause the video and have a think.

Some really beautiful ideas there.

I'm gonna focus on what people were talking about Act 1, Scene 1, because lots of people were talking about the staging.

The fact that they start the play, but they're not within the community.

They're on an isolated heath.

And actually, the rhythm of their language also suggests they're outsiders.

They speak in a very different way to the other characters in the play.

So, really nice to look at staging there and the rhythm of their language.

And absolutely, this presents them as outsiders one of many ways.

So, a quick check for understanding.

Shakespeare subverts traditional expectations of witches by presenting them as genderless.

Is this true or false? Pause the video and select your response.

Well done, if you selected true.

Now, I'd like you to justify your answer.

Is it A, Jacobeans believed witches were usually women, or B, Jacobeans believed witches were usually outsiders.

Pause the video and select your response.

Well done, Jacobeans believe witches were usually women thinking about that extract from "Demonology" to justify that response.

So, Banquo calls the witches withered, wild, not like the inhabitants of the earth when he first sees them.

After the witches disappear, he continues to think about who or what they were.

He doesn't think of them as humans or in any way natural.

Macbeth joins in.

And their language reveals their confusion.

Let's reread Macbeth and Banquo's reflections on their experience.

Banquo says after the witches have disappeared, "The earth hath bubbles as the water has.

And these are of them.

Whither are they vanish'd" Macbeth says, "Into the air, and what seems corporal melted as breath into the wind.

Would they had stay'd!" Banquo says, "Were such things here as we do speak about? Or have we eaten the insane root that takes the reason prisoner?" So, let's use some questions to annotate and explore Macbeth's and Banquo's language.

Banquo compares the witches to bubbles.

What does this imply? Macbeth says that they seemed human, the witches seemed human, and then they melted.

Why? Why did they pick? Why did Shakespeare pick these verbs, seemed and melted? And finally, Banquo asks if the things witches were drug induced.

What does this suggest? Pause the video.

Look at this beautiful rich language and use the questions to help you explore it.

Beautiful annotations there.

Some really rich ideas.

Let's share and collect some ideas.

So, Banquo's first quote, "The earth hath bubbles, as the water has, and these are of them, Whither are they vanish'd?" You might have said, well, bubbles can't be controlled or captured just like the witches.

Bubbles only remain for a short period of time before disappearing just like the witches.

And finally, bubbles are strange things.

They comprise of two states.

They're liquid on the outside, they're gas within.

And this comparison speaks to the idea that Banquo is not quite sure what the witches are.

So, really rich, rich comparison here.

Macbeth, he says, "What seem'd corporal melted." Seem'd suggest some doubt.

Like he can't trust that the witches were flesh and blood people.

And humans can't melt.

So, this verb emphasises the witches otherworldly appearance and their abilities as well.

And finally, Banquo says, "Were such things here as we do speak about? Or have we eaten on the insane root?" Again, the witches are referred to in terms that makes it clear that they're not natural, they're not people, they're called things.

And Banquo likens the experience of something like a hallucination rather than reality.

The witches are not physical entities, but something ethereal.

So, just six or seven short lines, but incredibly rich in terms of conveying the witches' strange state and Banquo and Macbeth's confusion.

So, we're now gonna look at disorder in the natural world.

We looked at context, we've looked at language really closely.

We're gonna look at disorder in the natural world for this final learning cycle.

So, Banquo believes the witches are unnatural.

He says of them, "What are these?" that they "look not like the inhabitants o' the earth".

He compares 'em to "bubbles" and "things".

Now, these are not the only unnatural creatures, and certainly, it's not the only unnatural, supernatural event that happens in the play.

I want you to have a discussion.

What other the characters or events in the play are unnatural? Show of your depth of knowledge about this play in this discussion question.

Pause the video and discuss what other characters or events in the play are unnatural.

Lovely to hear people really, really sharing.

Yes, you already know this play really well and connecting this unnaturalness with the witches to other moments in the play.

Let's share and collect some responses.

Here are just some ideas that you might have had.

I'm sure you had many more.

In Act 1, Lady Macbeth summons unnatural spirits to unsex her.

Macbeth disrupts the natural order by killing King Duncan.

Macbeth sees Banquo's ghost.

After the regicide birds of prey are seen to be eaten by weaker birds.

Well done, I had a few people discussing that.

It's a really small moment in the play, but a really nice one to reference.

And the witches show Macbeth visions, and this is in Act 4.

The idea of the unnatural then comes up many times in Macbeth.

Theme is the word we use for an idea that comes up in a text multiple times.

Shakespeare uses the theme of the unnatural in "Macbeth" to emphasise disruption, chaos, and subversion.

I want you to pause the video.

How does the witches' unnatural appearance prepare us for what is to come? Pause the video and discuss this question.

Some beautiful ideas there.

People talking about the idea that the witches don't seem to conform to any expectations of society and they are outsiders to society.

They don't even conform to traditional ideas about witches themselves.

Therefore, this is gonna be a play in which we see extreme examples of disruption, extreme examples of subversion, the most extreme example of disruption being Macbeth's regicide.

And another very extreme example of subversion being Lady Macbeth who seems to reject all traditional Jacobean ideas of femininity.

Really nice, this complex question linking the witches' unnatural appearance to later moments in the play.

So, a quick check for understanding.

What is a theme? Select all that apply.

Pause the video and select.

Is it A, a dominant idea in a text, B, an idea to describe the witches, C, an unnatural idea, or D, an idea that is returned to repeatedly in a text.

Pause the video and select your responses.

Well done, if you selected A, a dominant idea in a text, and D, an idea that is returned to repeatedly in a text.

So, quick thoughts.

Why is the theme of the unnatural important to "Macbeth"? Pause the video, allow yourself to quickly think why is this theme so important? Fantastic to see everyone synthesising all the knowledge from the start of this play to help them answer this question.

Now, we're gonna use the discussion grid to formalise our ideas.

First of all, we're gonna explain the theme.

There's a sentence start there to help you.

Shakespeare uses the theme of the unnatural to.

And here's some verbs that might be useful, foreshadow, suggest, emphasise, reveal.

Then you're gonna develop your ideas.

You can use these sentence starters to help you, more specifically, more precisely, in particular, indeed.

Here's an example.

More specifically, Macbeth murders King Duncan and this unnatural deed destabilises Scotland.

And finally, I want you to conclude your arguments.

You can use these words to help you, therefore, ultimately, as a result, and consequently.

Here is a model to help you.

Ultimately, unnatural deeds disrupt the status quo and must be reversed.

So your discussion, why is the theme of the unnatural important to "Macbeth"? You're now going to use all of those ideas and the grid to help formalise your thoughts.

Pause the video, and off you go.

Really lovely to see people developing really precise ideas and then coming to a conclusive argument.

Very powerful discussions, and well done for using this grid so well.

So, here are some ideas that you might have had, and you can use these to help bolster your responses, if you like.

Shakespeare uses a theme of the unnatural to foreshadow that the play will be filled with unnatural characters and events.

Indeed, in Act 1, Scene 5, we meet Lady Macbeth who like the witches subverts expectations of Jacobean women.

As a result, we might connect these four women and think about their unnatural influence on Macbeth.

So, an example there focusing on Lady Macbeth.

Let's look at another example.

Shakespeare uses a theme of the unnatural to emphasise the depth and breadth of supernatural power throughout "Macbeth".

In particular, Macbeth's unnatural regicide is mirrored in the natural world where a weaker bird eats a hawk.

Therefore, the unnatural is presented as particularly dangerous as it can't be contained once unleashed.

So this focus here, not on Lady Macbeth, but Macbeth instead and his regicide and how that impacts the wider world.

Another example.

Shakespeare uses a theme of the unnatural to suggest another layer to the witches.

They are otherworldly rather than women.

More precisely, they're compared to bubbles and things rather than humans.

As a result, we might interpret the witches as yet more mysterious, unknowable, and unpredictable.

So, people they're using their analysis that language from learning cycle two in order to develop their ideas about the theme of the unnatural.

And so, in summary, the witches are presented as genderless.

The witches' non-conformity confuses Macbeth and Banquo.

The witches are presented as unnatural, threatening outsiders.

The witches' behaviour subverts audience expectations of femininity.

The theme of the unnatural is first introduced.

Well done on completing this lesson.

I loved hearing your analysis of language and linking it to the rest of the play.

Please do complete the exit quiz, and I'll see you next time for our next lesson.