William Shakespeare Macbeth

William Shakespeare (five interesting facts)

1. Shakespeare introduced almost 3,000 words to the English.
2. Suicide occurs an unlucky thirteen times in Shakespeare's plays.
3. The cause of Shakespeare's death is a mystery.
4. Shakespeare, one of literature's greatest figures, never attended university.
5. Shakespeare lived through the Black Death.
6. When he was 18, he married a farmer’s daughter, Anne Hathaway. She was 8 years
older than he was.
7. Queen Elizabeth I was a big fan of Shakespeare’s plays. She would often hire his
company to perform at the royal court.
William’s famous plays
1. Hamlet
2. Romeo and Juliet
3. Macbeth
4. Julius Caesar
5. The tempest
6. King Lear
The globe theatre (five facts)
1. The first Globe Theatre was built in 1599
2. The Theatre Was Named After Their Herculean Feat
3. There were no female actors.
4. The first performance at the reconstructed Globe (in 1993) was in German! It was performed while the
theatre was still being built.
5. The reconstruction of the Globe Theatre was not the idea of London’s mayor, or the government. It
was the idea of an American actor, Sam Wanamaker.
6. William Shakespeare and his company built TWO Globe Theatres - on 29 June 1613 there was a fire
at the original Globe and the theatre burnt to the ground within two hours. A new Globe was quickly
re-built in 1614.

7. Different colored flags were used to advertise the themes of plays which were to be performed at the
Globe Theatre. A black flag indicated a tragedy, a white flag indicated a comedy and a red flag
indicated a History
Act 1:
We are introduced to the characters Banquo and Macbeth who return from war.
Upon return, they meet three witches (theme of superstition) then the witches
predict that Macbeth will be future king. The witches also predict Banquo’s
descendants will be kings even though he will not be one.
Type of themes:
Theme is a recurring idea, philosophy or image in a play.
Themes is Macbeth:
1.Ambition and power
2. Guilt
3. Kingship and tyranny
4. Good and evil
5. Fate
6. Death
Vocabulary:
1. Connotation: a feeling or idea that is suggested by a word.
Understanding the plot:
Set in Scotland after the battle between the King’s forces and rebel armies from Ireland and
Norway.
Macbeth and his friend Banquo encounter 3 witches on their way home together from battle.
The witches prophesied that Macbeth will be Thane (lord) of Cawdor and eventually king.
King Duncan makes Macbeth Thane of Cawdor for fighting well.Macbeth wonders if the rest
of the prophecy will come true and after a discussion with his wife, Lady Macbeth, decides to
kill the king when he visits their home.
Macbeth is made King of Scotland. He orders men to kill Banquo but his son gets away.
Macbeth is plagued by Banquo’s ghost and visits the witches for guidance who tell him that
no man born naturally can kill him.