Hello, welcome to your lesson today on "Exploring the motif of light in 'Macbeth.

'" I'm Miss Sutherland and I'll be teaching you today.

Our learning outcome for today's lesson is to explore the significance of the motif of light in "Macbeth." I'm really looking forward to getting stuck into this lesson with you today.

We have four keywords for today's lesson.

Let's go through them one by one.

The first keyword is microcosm.

A microcosm is a society or place that has the same characteristics with something larger than it.

So a microcosm, in other words, is a smaller version of something.

Understanding microcosm might be easier when we consider it with the word macrocosm.

So a macrocosm is the whole of a complex structure, especially the world or universe.

So a microcosm is a smaller replica or smaller version of the macrocosm.

So we could say our everyday lives in the city that we live is a microcosm, and it is a representation of the wider universe which is the macrocosm.

And we're going to look a little bit about what people in the Jacobean era believed about microcosm and macrocosm in today's lesson.

Our next keyword is dunnest.

Dunnest means thickest or murkiest, and that's a very interesting, powerful word from Lady Macbeth's soliloquy that we're going to zoom into later on in the lesson.

And lastly, tainted.

Tainted means to contaminate or pollute something.

We could taint water by putting another liquid in it that's unpleasant, but we could also see one's conscience as being tainted with guilt or sin.

So there are our four keywords for today's lesson.

I'll give you a moment to pause the video and reflect upon those four keywords now.

Off you go.

Great, we have two learning cycles in today's lesson.

In the first learning cycle, we'll be linking the motif of light with regicide.

And in the second learning cycle, we'll be linking the motif of light with Banquo's murder.

So light imagery in "Macbeth" surrounds both the murder of King Duncan and also surrounds the murder of Banquo, so it's a really important motif to unpick.

Let's get started with linking the motif of light with regicide.

I want you to discuss, what comes to your mind when you see these images? We have a night sky with very little light, and then in the other picture we have a bright sun beaming down.

What comes to your mind when you see these images? Pause the video and discuss.

So we might associate the night with sinister occurrences and we might associate the day with goodness.

We are going to explore how the motif of light links with the theme of guilt throughout "Macbeth," starting with Act 1, Scene 4 and 5.

In the play, night and darkness tend to be associated with sin and guilt, whilst light is symbolic of innocence and godliness.

Act 1, Scenes 4 and 5 of "Macbeth" are the scenes where Macbeth and Lady Macbeth reflect on regicide just before the act is committed.

I want you to discuss, what do you remember about Macbeth and Lady Macbeth's state of mind in this part of the play? How are they feeling just before they commit regicide or decide to commit regicide? Pause the video and discuss, off you go.

Both Lady Macbeth and Macbeth reference light and dark in Act 1, Scene 4 and 5, to show their feelings just before committing this act.

And Shakespeare uses the motif of light to give us an insight into their feelings and thoughts surrounding the regicide.

So let's now unpick how the motif of light is used to show how both Lady Macbeth and Macbeth are feeling before the regicide.

Let's reread lines 49 to 54 of "Macbeth" Act 1, Scene 4 soliloquy.

He says, aside, "The Prince of Cumberland, that is a step on which I must fall down, or else overleap, for in my way it lies.

Stars, hide your fires, let not light see my black and deep desires.

The eye wink at the hand, yet let that be which the eye fears, when it is done, to see." Discuss, what is interesting about the light imagery in Macbeth's soliloquy here? Pause the video and discuss.

So it's clear here from the line "Stars, hide your fires," Macbeth is asking for the stars to dim.

So he's asking for an absence of light in this soliloquy just before he commits regicide.

I wonder why Macbeth is asking for an absence of light before he goes on to commit this murder.

Why do you think Macbeth calls for the absence of light just before the regicide? Pause the video and discuss.

Macbeth might want darkness to conceal his sinful thoughts from the light, and the light could represent heaven or God.

So Macbeth is asking for the lights to dim, for the stars to not be so bright, because the darkness that would create would, he hopes, be enough to hide his sinful thoughts of regicide from heaven or God, meaning that he could evade judgement and punishment.

Whether he is successful in hiding his sinful thoughts from heaven or God is debatable.

Now let's discuss, how is the theme of guilt relevant here? Pause the video and discuss.

Macbeth recognises how sinister his thoughts are.

That's why he's asking for the stars to hide their fires, because he knows what he's thinking is wrong.

Therefore, we know he feels guilt.

He does not want to be judged by God, and that actually reflects his conscience is still intact.

Remember, guilt is an emotion originating in the conscience, it's an emotion that the conscience gives you to tell you that you're acting in the wrong way.

And so, whilst Macbeth feels guilt, we know that his conscience is working.

It's still there inside of him.

So, potentially, there's hope for Macbeth to listen to his conscience and decide not to go through with the act.

Now let's reread lines 43 to 53 of Lady Macbeth's soliloquy from Act 1, Scene 5.

Let's see how it's similar or different from Macbeth's use of the motif of light.

Lady Macbeth says, "Stop up the access and passage to remorse, that no compunctious visitings of nature shake my fell purpose, nor keep peace between the effect and it.

Come to my woman's breasts and take my milk for gall, you murdering ministers, wherever in your sightless substances you wait on nature's mischief.

Come, thick night, and pall thee in the dunnest smoke of hell, that my keen knife see not the wound it makes, nor heaven peep through the blanket of the dark to cry, 'Hold, hold!'" Discuss now, what is interesting about the light imagery in Lady Macbeth's soliloquy? Pause the video and discuss.

Lady Macbeth seems to summon night and darkness to help her follow through with regicide, and we can see that where she says, "Come, thick night, and pall thee in the dunnest," or thickest, murkiest, "smoke of hell, that my keen knife see not the wound it makes, nor heaven peep through the blanket of the dark to cry, 'Hold, hold!'" So, similar to Macbeth, Lady Macbeth wants darkness to triumph over light.

However, Lady Macbeth does seem to summon the darkness in a much more powerful and decisive way than Macbeth does.

Macbeth merely asks for the light to be dimmed.

Now I want you to discuss, how is the theme of guilt relevant here? Pause the video and discuss.

In her more ruthless pursuit of darkness, Lady Macbeth does not seem like she feels guilt.

She seems like she wants to be sinful, like she's ready to commit this regicide.

However, if we look closely, she acknowledges that heaven, God, or morality would stop her from committing the regicide, suggesting she too at this point of the play has an intact conscience.

And we can see that where she says she wants the thick night to come because it would prevent heaven from peeping through and saying, "Stop, don't commit this regicide." So, although it may not seem like Lady Macbeth experiences any guilt in this play until the end, we can see that she does have a conscience, that she does recognise that the judgement from God or heaven would stop her from committing this regicide if it saw her act.

I want you to discuss now, do you notice any similarities between the way in which Macbeth and Lady Macbeth reference light in their soliloquies? How does it signal guilt or lack of it? You can compare lines 49 to 54 of Macbeth's soliloquy with lines 43 to 53 of Lady Macbeth's soliloquy, and they're both there on the screen for you.

Pause the video and discuss, off you go.

Well, as we've mentioned, both characters seem to want darkness to prevail.

Macbeth's quest for darkness is less ruthless, is more subtle than Lady Macbeth's.

And we could say that they both clearly feel guilt at this point of the play because they acknowledge that they don't want heaven or God or light to see their wrongdoings, and that must mean they know they're doing something wrong, and guilt is an uncomfortable feeling when we know we're doing something wrong.

Here are some pupils' responses about what darkness in Act 1, Scene 4 and 5 could symbolise based on their readings of those soliloquies.

Aisha says, "I think the darkness that Lady Macbeth and Macbeth summon is symbolic of their sin.

It symbolises them aligning with the devil." Andeep thinks, "The darkness represents Macbeth and Lady Macbeth's desire to conceal their crimes from God and their own conscience, which proves they feel guilt." And Jacob thinks, "The darkness symbolises the moral decay of Lady Macbeth and Macbeth.

They are tainting their consciences by following through with regicide." So there are three different opinions on what darkness could represent or symbolise at this point of play.

Maybe you agree with one of the Oak pupils, maybe you had your own idea about what darkness could symbolise.

They are all really effective ideas.

Reflect now, do any of those ideas on the screen there align with your own? Pause the video and have a quick think.

Now let's check your understanding of what we've just discussed.

"Across Act 1, Scenes 4 and 5, both Lady Macbeth and Macbeth.

." Pause the video and complete that sentence now.

Across Act 1, Scenes 4 and 5, both Lady Macbeth and Macbeth use the motif of light to signal their guilt.

Remember we said that they want darkness to come to conceal or hide their thoughts of regicide.

And the fact they know that these thoughts need to be hidden or this act needs to be hidden, it shows they feel guilty, it shows they know what they're thinking of doing is wrong.

Now during the Jacobean era, people believed that happenings in the ordinary life of man, the microcosm, in other words, Macbeth's world, could be reflected in the macrocosm, the wider universe, the world of the planets and the stars.

They also believed the human body was a microcosm in itself with corresponding elements in the macrocosm.

Discuss now with this belief in mind, how do you think a Jacobean audience would've reacted to the regicide? Pause the video and discuss.

So the fact that the Jacobean audience would've believed that Macbeth's world would be reflected in the wider universe, they may have been very on edge seeing the regicide unfold because they know that this would disrupt the whole universe.

Now let's check your understanding.

During the Jacobean era, what did people believe? Pause the video and answer that question.

During the Jacobean era, people believed the lives of men, the microcosm, would be reflected in the wider universe, the macrocosm.

As the play progresses, Macbeth's inner world seems to become more consumed with darkness.

Why do you think Macbeth becomes more consumed with darkness as the play progresses, especially after the regicide? Pause the video and discuss.

Well, potentially, Macbeth is becoming tainted with more and more guilt as the play progresses, and that's why Shakespeare describes him being more consumed with darkness, especially after the regicide.

Since Jacobeans believed the inner lives of man, microcosm, would be reflected in the wider universe, macrocosm, we might expect to see the universe react to Macbeth's sin, guilt, and descent into darkness.

And indeed that is what we see in Act 2, Scene 4, and I want you to read this independently and study the motif of light here.

This scene occurs after the regicide.

I want you to highlight examples of light and dark imagery.

I want you to answer the question, what could the significance of the light and dark imagery be here? Number three, look at lines 5 to 10 closely.

How could the idea of the macrocosm reflecting the microcosm be relevant here? And number four, can you comment on how Shakespeare has developed the motif of light since Act 1, Scene 4 and 5? How does it reflect Macbeth's journey? Pause the video and get stuck into Act 2, Scene 4, exploring the motif of light.

Off you go.

Great effort there.

Let's go through what you may have said.

So you may have highlighted, "By the clock 'tis day and yet dark night strangles the travelling lamp.

Is it night's predominance or the day's shame, that darkness does the face of earth entomb when living light should kiss it?" Potentially, you highlighted that when you were looking for examples of light imagery, that's a really powerful part of that scene.

Number two, what could the significance of the light imagery be here? The Old Man wrote comments on how dark has stifled all light.

The imagery in "strangles" reflects how darkness has been cruel and threatening, much like the brutal act of Macbeth in committing regicide.

The overwhelming darkness and lack of light could symbolise Macbeth's descent into sin and his innocence being murdered.

So as we've said, the light of the universe seems to reflect the withering light within Macbeth here.

Now look at lines 5 to 10 closely.

How could the idea of the macrocosm reflecting the microcosm be relevant? Macbeth has committed a sacrilegious murder in the world of man, the microcosm.

After, darkness stifles the sun and day seems like night.

This could reflect the Jacobean belief that the events in the ordinary lives of men are mirrored in the wider universe, the macrocosm.

The darkness of Macbeth's psyche is now reflected in the darkness of the universe.

And finally, can you comment on how Shakespeare has developed the motif of light since Act 1, Scene 4 and 5? How does it reflect Macbeth's journey? It is interesting that in Act 1, Scene 4, before the regicide, Macbeth is not consumed by dark.

He merely asks for the absence of light to shield his sins from God.

However, in Act 2, Scene 4, after the regicide, "dark night strangles the travelling lamp." Shakespeare's escalated the motif of light to signal that his sinful deeds cannot be concealed but have rather attacked his inner light and conscience and shut out chance of redemption.

If all the light in Macbeth has been metaphorically strangled, then it means he hasn't retained any of his holiness, of his goodness, of his innocence, and therefore he has shut out his chance of redemption with God.

Well done on answering those really interesting questions about a scene that you may have not looked at in that depth before.

I find this scene really, really interesting and powerful.

Now let's move on to linking the motif of light with Banquo's murder.

Let's reread Macbeth's soliloquy from Act 3, Scene 2, just before Banquo is murdered.

Macbeth says, "Be innocent of the knowledge, dearest chuck, till thou applaud the deed.

Come, seeling night, scarf up the tender eye of pitiful day and with thy bloody and invisible hand cancel and tear to pieces that great bond which keeps me pale.

Light thickens, and the crow makes wing to the rooky wood.

Good things of day begin to droop and drowse, while night's black agents to their preys do rouse.

Thou marvel'st at my words, but hold thee still.

Things bad begun make strong themselves by ill.

So, prithee, go with me." Discuss, what do you notice about the light and dark imagery here? Pause the video and discuss.

So we see here that Macbeth is now summoning darkness in the way that Lady Macbeth did earlier in the play.

He asks seeling night to come and scarf up the tender eye of pitiful day, so he really is beckoning the darkness over and he's not subtle about this at all at this point of the play.

Discuss, how does the motif of light differ from the way in which Macbeth summons the darkness in Act 1, Scene 4? Pause the video and discuss.

In Act 1, Scene 4, the scene we read earlier in the lesson, Macbeth summoned darkness to conceal his crimes from heaven, so he asked for the stars to hide their fires, showing a guilty conscience but still an intact moral compass.

However, in Act 3, Scene 2, the scene that's on the screen, the scene we've just read, Macbeth embraces darkness wholeheartedly.

It seems to reflect his decaying moral compass.

Let's now read Act 3, Scene 3, where Banquo is murdered, and I want you to highlight any reference to light or dark in this scene.

Pause the video and get reading, off you go.

That's an interesting scene.

I wonder if you noticed the motif of light in this scene in your previous readings.

I want you to discuss, what could light symbolise in this scene? Pause the video and discuss.

Since Banquo is a noble and loyal character who does not entertain sinister thoughts and the light is extinguished when he dies, we could take light to represent innocence.

Discuss now, how is light significant in this scene? Why did Shakespeare bother to include the motif of light in this scene? Pause the video and discuss that now.

The motif of light is significant because in Act 3, Scene 2, we see Macbeth embrace darkness wholeheartedly.

In Act 3, Scene 3, where Banquo is murdered, we see the light get struck out completely as he is murdered.

This could symbolise that Macbeth has fully tainted his conscience and that there is no chance for redemption having murdered loyal and innocent Banquo.

Let's check your understanding of what we've discussed so far then.

Why is there a piece of reference to light in Act 3, Scene 3 of "Macbeth" significant? Pause the video and answer that question now.

The repeated reference to the light being struck out in Act 3, Scene 3 suggests that Macbeth has fully tainted his conscience and that there is no chance of redemption for him because he has struck out his innocence.

Now I want you to complete the table below to track the motif of light in the scenes we have explored and reflect on the significance of each example in relation to the theme of guilt.

So you need to add quotes for each of those scenes, and you need to then give a brief explanation of how this scene and this quote is significant in relation to Macbeth's guilt.

Pause the video and get started on this task to track the motif of light.

Off you go.

Here's what you may have said.

So, Act 1, Scenes 4 and 5.

We have the quotes, "Stars, hide your fires, let not light see my black and deep desires," and, "Nor heaven peeked through the blanket of the dark." The significance in relation to guilt is that Macbeth and Lady Macbeth both use light imagery to show their guilt.

They wish their crimes to be concealed from God.

They recognise their wrongdoing and want to be protected from eternal punishment.

Act 2, Scene 4.

"Dark night strangles the travelling lamp." The brutal imagery could reflect Macbeth's descent into sin and tyranny and his loss of innocence in committing a sacrilegious murder.

Act 3, Scene 2.

"Come, seeling night.

Scarf up the eye of day, tear to pieces that bond which keeps me pale." Macbeth no longer wants light to conceal his sins so he can retain favour with God.

He wants to be consumed with darkness and he wants his innocence to be tainted, hence him saying he wants night to tear his friendship with Banquo, which keeps him pale or innocent.

This could suggest his moral compass is deteriorating.

So we see a huge difference from the Macbeth in Act 1, Scene 4, and the Macbeth in Act 3, Scene 2, because the Macbeth in Act 1, Scene 4, he cared about how God viewed him and he cared about protecting his conscience and protecting his innocence.

But the Macbeth in Act 3, Scene 2, has completely disregarded his own innocence, his conscience, and his bond with God.

And finally, Act 3, Scene 3.

"Who did strike out the light?" The complete absence of light in the scene where Banquo is murdered could symbolise that there is no chance of redemption for Macbeth.

In murdering the loyal and noble Banquo, a symbol of honour and innocence, he has destroyed all of his own innocence.

I hope you've enjoyed tracking the motif of light throughout the play.

Very well done.

Here's what we've learned in today's lesson.

In "Macbeth," Shakespeare repeatedly uses the motif of light alongside the themes of innocence, guilt, and sin.

Macbeth initially wants darkness to conceal his sin from God, demonstrating his guilt.

Shakespeare uses light imagery to describe the macrocosm, suggesting the wider repercussions of Macbeth's guilt.

As the play progresses, Macbeth's alignment with darkness may show his moral compass becoming tainted.

And the light imagery associated with the murder of Banquo could represent the murder of innocence.

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

I hope I'll see you in another lesson soon.