Hello and welcome to your lesson today on Conceptualising guilt in "Macbeth." I'm Miss Sutherland and I'll be teaching you today.

Our learning outcome for today is to understand the concept of guilt and begin to reflect on its significance in the play ""Macbeth." We have three keywords for today's lesson.

They are moral, conscience and cautionary.

Let's start with moral.

Moral is relating to the standards of good and bad behaviour.

So everyone can be said to have a moral compass, and the moral compass helps us understand what is good behaviour and what is bad behaviour.

Conscience: A conscience is a person's moral sense of right and wrong.

So a conscience will help us to behave in a good way and a conscience will help us to make the right decisions and treat everyone nicely.

Cautionary: Cautionary means serving as a warning.

So if a story is a cautionary tale, it means that that story serves as a warning.

So there are our three keywords for today's lesson: moral conscience and cautionary.

Pause the video and take a moment to reflect upon those three keywords now.

Great.

We have two learning cycles in today's lesson.

In our first learning cycle, we'll be conceptualising guilt, and in our second learning cycle we'll be considering the purpose of guilt in Macbeth.

So let's start with conceptualising guilt.

First of all, I want you to think about what the word guilt means to you.

How would you define the word guilt? Pause the video and discuss that question now.

Here are some things you may have said.

You may have said that guilt is a feeling of worry or unhappiness, having done something wrong, that guilt is an uncomfortable feeling after having hurt someone or broken a rule.

Guilt is feeling like you have betrayed your moral compass.

So maybe guilt is thinking that you've acted in a way you shouldn't have.

Guilt is also a feeling led by your conscience.

And guilt is something that makes you want to say sorry or make amends.

There are just some of the ideas you may have said about guilt.

But guilt overall, I think we can agree that it's a very strong emotion.

Quick thoughts now.

Can you think of a time you or someone else you know expressed guilt? How did it affect your or their behaviour or decisions? Pause the video and think about that now.

Maybe there was a time where you forgot a loved one's birthday.

Maybe that evoked some guilt in you.

And a lot of the time after we've felt some guilt, we will try and make it up to the person that we've upset.

We will say sorry and we will try to right our wrongs.

I want you to discuss now, based on the below scenarios, what do you think the purpose of guilt is? So why do humans feel guilt? What is it supposed to do? I want you to have a think about that as we go through the scenarios.

Scenario one: You submit a group project, your teacher praises you for the work that your classmate did.

You do not correct the teacher, you then feel guilty.

Number two: You are with a group of friends and they start making fun of someone behind their back.

You know it's wrong, but you don't speak up.

Later, you feel guilty.

And lastly: You have been relaxing all day.

Your parents get home from a long day at work and are met with a list of chores.

You feel guilty.

There are three scenarios in which someone might feel guilt.

Discuss now, what is the purpose of us feeling guilt? What is the reason that humans feel guilt? Pause the video and discuss.

Now, off you go.

Perhaps you've said that guilt is an emotion that serves to further connect us as humans.

'Cause in each of those scenarios, you feel guilt because you've upset, hurt or wronged someone.

And that feeling ought to strengthen your relationship with the person that you've upset, hurt or wronged because it encourages you to make amends with that person to prolong your relationship, to keep it going.

So potentially, humans feel guilt and it's for the purpose of keeping our relationships healthy.

Because if we hurt someone and we didn't feel any guilt, then we wouldn't be bothered to make anything up to that person, to heal the relationship with that person.

So potentially guilt serves a connective function in our society.

Now I want you to discuss these three questions about guilt.

Is guilt a positive or negative emotion in your opinion? Number two: What causes guilt? Is it led by something internal or external to us? And number three: Is guilt necessary for morality? Can we act morally without feeling guilt? Pause the video and discuss those three very interesting questions now.

Remember, there are no right or wrong answers for this discussion.

Off you go.

So as I've said, there are no right or wrong answers for these questions, but we can start to unpick what you may have said and different opinions that we've thrown around.

So is guilt a positive or negative emotion? When we feel guilt, it often feels very negative, it feels uncomfortable.

But when we think of the effect that guilt has, when we reflect on the fact that guilt can help heal our relationships, potentially guilt is a positive emotion.

Number two: What causes guilt? So some people may think that guilt is led by something internal that we are born with, also known as the conscience, but others may think that guilt is led by societal rules and laws.

And breaking them is the thing that causes us guilt, not necessarily anything inside of us.

And lastly, is guilt necessary for morality? Can we act morally without feeling guilt? I'll leave that up to you to decide.

Let's check your understanding now of the interesting discussions that we've been having.

Which of these is not a likely purpose of feeling guilt? Pause the video and answer that question.

Off you go.

So, we've said that guilt makes us feel bad or uncomfortable at having done something wrong.

So it's not likely that guilt would make us commit more wrongdoings.

In fact, it's possible that it's likely that guilt would have the opposite effect and that guilt would actually dissuade us from committing more wrongdoings.

It would stop us from committing more wrongdoings.

But guilt likely helps us to reconnect with other people and repair our relationships.

And guilt likely does help to realign us with our moral compass and helps us to act in the right way.

Now I want you to answer the following questions to track and begin to unpick the theme of guilt in "Macbeth." Here are your three questions: In which moments of the play do characters feel guilt? Why do the characters feel guilt in each moment you've outlined above? And in which moment of the play do you think guilt is the most significant? So those are your three very interesting questions that are going to allow you to tie the concept of guilt to the play ""Macbeth." I hope you enjoy answering these questions.

Pause the video.

Off you go.

Let's go through a brief outline of where characters feel guilt in the play ""Macbeth." Let's start off with Act One, Scenes Three to Seven.

Macbeth, in those scenes, acknowledges guilt for even having the thought of regicide take shape in his mind.

And that shows just how much regicide contradicts Macbeth's sense of morality.

He's having guilt before he even commits that crime.

Next, Act Two, Scene One, Macbeth sees a bloody dagger which could represent his guilt about committing regicide.

So again, Act Two, Scene One occurs before Macbeth has committed regicide and he's hallucinating a bloody dagger.

And we often see that bloody dagger as representing his guilt.

So again, Macbeth feels an extreme amount of guilt before having even committed any sin.

Or we could say that to even think about murdering the king is a sin in itself, which is why Macbeth feels that heavy sense of guilt prior to the regicide.

Act Two, Scene Two.

Now this is after the regicide has been committed.

Macbeth cannot sleep or pray, reflecting his guilt at having committed a sacrilegious murder.

In other words, Macbeth has committed a murder against God.

He's committed the most unholy, the most sinful murder of them all by murdering King Duncan.

And as a result of this, he cannot sleep or pray, reflecting his extreme amount of guilt.

Act Three, Scene Four, Macbeth sees Banquo's ghost.

This could symbolise his guilt about being treacherous.

So by Act Three, Scene Four, Macbeth has murdered both the king and Banquo, and he's now haunted by Banquo's ghost.

Remember, Banquo was a very good friend of Macbeth.

And so now, Macbeth has betrayed people around him twice.

He's committed treachery twice now, and we could then take Banquo's ghost to be a manifestation, a sign of, or a physical representation of Macbeth's guilt.

And lastly, Act Five, Scene One, Lady Macbeth hallucinates blood on her hands and appears desperate to clear her guilty conscience.

So Macbeth is not the only character who feels guilt in the play.

Lady Macbeth too feels this extreme, severe sense of guilt, but we only really see that taking shape towards the end of the play.

Well done on tracking that theme of guilt across the play "Macbeth." I now want you to check your response to question one.

Were there any moments that we've just discussed that you could add to your own notes about where characters feel guilt in the play? Pause the video and check your own response now.

Off you go.

Great job.

The theme of guilt in "Macbeth" is a really interesting one to unpick and I'm really looking forward to delving in deeper to this theme with you later.

Let's move on now to consider the purpose of guilt in "Macbeth." Why is guilt so important? Why is guilt so prominent in this play? Discuss your opinions on the below statement.

"Macbeth" is a play all about guilt, not ambition.

What do you think about that statement? Do you agree, do you disagree, or are you somewhere in the middle? Pause the video and discuss.

Very interesting discussions there.

Let's look at what Aisha said.

Aisha agrees that Macbeth is a play all about guilt, not ambition.

She says, "Guilt causes Macbeth to lose control, which drives him to commit murders in an attempt to reestablish control, which then leads to more guilt.

His crimes corrupt his conscience until he finally rejects it, becoming a bitter tyrant." And now let's look at Andeep's opinion.

Andeep disagrees.

Andeep says, "Guilt is an emotion that almost dissuades Macbeth from committing regicide.

It is ambition that prevents guilt from serving its normal function and thus strives Macbeth's destructive violence and subsequent downfall." So these two Oak pupils have very different opinions on what the play "Macbeth" is all about.

Perhaps you had a similar turnout in your discussion.

Perhaps one of you agreed that "Macbeth" is all about guilt and one of you disagreed.

Either way, both opinions are completely valid and effective.

Take some time to reflect now, which Oak pupil do you most align with? Do you agree with Aisha that "Macbeth" is a play mostly about guilt or do you agree with Andeep that ambition is more of an important theme in "Macbeth" than guilt? Pause the video and discuss, which Oak pupil do you align with? Great discussions.

It'll be really interesting to unpick Aisha's opinion since we are looking at the theme of guilt.

Why might Aisha really strongly believe that guilt is really important in this play? Let's unpick then the significance of guilt in "Macbeth." Discuss now, why might Shakespeare have wanted to create a play about guilt? What was his purpose in putting guilt at the forefront of this play? Pause the video and discuss.

Let's go through what you may have said.

Firstly, King James I was a patron of Shakespeare's company.

That means King James I invested in Shakespeare's company, gave money to keep Shakespeare's company running, or some other benefits.

And Shakespeare may have emphasised Macbeth's guilt to please King James.

Now why would making guilt a dominant theme please King James? Well, in the aftermath of the Gunpowder Plot of 1605, the theme of treason was very topical.

By making "Macbeth" a play about guilt, Shakespeare explores the consequences of betraying the monarchy.

So after the Gunpowder Plot of 1605 where some people tried to destroy the Houses of Parliament and the monarchy, there was probably a lot of anxiety around regicide and treason.

So in the play "Macbeth", Shakespeare shows those who consider regicide or commit regicide as being tormented by guilt.

And King James I would've likely been pleased to see such a strong warning against regicide on the stage.

So let's go through some other reasons that Shakespeare may have wanted to create a play about guilt.

Shakespeare uses guilt to reflect how the unnatural act of regicide causes great disturbance in one's mind and natural order.

Again, this would have pleased King James.

And guilt in "Macbeth" reflects divine judgement and damnation, aligning with strong societal Christian beliefs about sin, reaffirming "Macbeth" as a cautionary play about committing regicide.

In other words, the theme of guilt may be so significant in "Macbeth" because it helps the play serve its warning or its caution not to commit treason, not to commit regicide.

And in doing so, in providing that warning, Shakespeare pleases his patron King James I.

Now, let's take some time to check your understanding of what we've just talked about.

Why might Shakespeare have chosen to centre "Macbeth" around guilt? Pause video and answer that question.

Shakespeare may have chosen to centre "Macbeth" around guilt to warn against regicide and thus please King James I.

Remember, the audience would've seen Macbeth being tormented by guilt, being in anguish because of guilt.

And so the audience, in seeing that, are warned against acting in the same ways that Macbeth has acted.

They are warned against committing regicide and even thinking of committing regicide.

Let's now move on to our practise task.

Guilt is the most important theme in "Macbeth." Write a paragraph where you discuss your opinion on this statement.

You could write about: how guilt drives the plot, how guilt affects characters, how guilt would be understood by a Jacobean and contemporary audience, and how guilt contributes to the cautionary or didactic nature of the play.

So in other words, how guilt helps the audience learn a moral lesson.

Pause the video and complete your practise task.

I can't wait to hear your opinions on whether you think guilt is the most important theme in "Macbeth." Pause the video and get writing.

Off you go.

Great job.

Here is an example response.

"Guilt is the most important theme in "Macbeth" because it drives the psychological deterioration of the protagonist.

After committing regicide, Macbeth is consumed by guilt; unable to sleep, and haunted by hallucinations.

Guilt fuels his paranoia and needs to more violent actions, showing how guilt can be a relentless destructive force.

Shakespeare allows the audience to witness how guilt leads to the tragic downfall of Macbeth and his wife, thus allowing "Macbeth" to become a cautionary tale against treason and regicide.

The devastating consequences of guilt may have been particularly important for Shakespeare to explore because he wanted to please his patron, King James I, amongst political tension in the wake of the Gunpowder Plot of 1605." I want you now to reread your work.

Were you able to reflect upon how "Macbeth" could be considered a cautionary tale? Pause the video and check that you talked about "Macbeth" as a cautionary tale in your paragraph.

Off you go.

Excellent.

Remember, being able to talk about "Macbeth" as a cautionary tale allows you to comment on Shakespeare's intentions or purpose for the play.

And that's a very important part of analysing this play effectively and writing a really effective written response about this play.

So, very well done.

Let's go through what we've learned today.

Guilt is an uncomfortable feeling with the purpose of aligning one with their moral compass.

The theme of guilt is central to "Macbeth." Shakespeare exposes the destructive force of guilt in "Macbeth." Shakespeare may have centred the play on guilt to warn against regicide and treachery.

And King James I was a patron of Shakespeare's company, so guilt may have been used as a device to please the King.

Thank you so much for joining me in today's lesson.

I hope you've enjoyed conceptualising guilt in "Macbeth," and I hope to see you in another lesson soon.