Notes on letters

Letter 1

In this letter you here a lot about what the person - Robert - has done. The theme knowledge really seems to be in this letter as he discusses with his sister all the experience he has had and all of his future plans. You also see what he is willing to sacrifice to get the knowledge he craves, he explains that he has 'endured cold, famine, thirst and want of sleep.' These are basic human needs and to go with out them could be seen as some sort of self-torture.
This letter includes alot of prolepsis as Robert seems to be just like how Victor was at the beginning stages. They both are out for knowledge and are both leaving their families to try and succeed. Both start with accomplishing small things but are setting out to go for the big goal.
Robert also seems to have the need for love like Victor. He discusses the fact that he is missing his home and family and really wants someone to spend the journey with. He also shares the close relationship with his sister and tells her at the end 'testify my gratitude for all your love and kindness.'

Act 5 Journal Notes

Act 5 Scene 1

Act 5 opens with what could be described as the downfall of Lady Macbeth. The reason being for this, is that this is the scene where you see that she to is going crazy and letting everything get on top of her. She starts to sleepwalk and during this she talks about the murders and how their hands will never be clean of the blood 'What, will these hands ne'er be clean?' The doctor and gentlewomen are there to witness Lady Macbeth's paranoia. The doctor who in those times would of had to deal with a lot of funny situations describes what he sees as ' This disease is beyond my practice.' Both of them are shocked at what they see and even more shocked at what they here when Lady Macbeth actually speaks Banquos name and admits to what they did 'Banquo's buried; he cannot come out on's grave.' The witnesses are very scared and know that they can not say anything about what they saw as they know the consequences they would face 'i think, but dare not speak.'

Act 5 scene 2

This is a rather short scene and is just put in to explain to the audience what is happening elsewhere e.g. the army coming to kill Macbeth. This is setting the audience up so that they know who is coming and so that they can start to put everything together and guess at what is going to happen.

Act 5 Scene 3

In this scene Macbeth is talking to the Doctor about his wife but only refers to her as the doctors 'patient' which seems a little disrespectful to his wife and also makes the audience believe that he doesn't really seem to care about her as he isn't even with her in her time of need. Furthermore, when talking to the doctor about what is wrong with Lady Macbeth he seems to be discussing more his problem and slyly seeing if there is anything the doctor can do to him. 'canst thou not minister to a mind diseased.' He's referring to himself to see if the doctor can take away his pain not his wives which makes him sound once again very selfish and makes the audience wonder if he really cares about Lady Macbeth.

Act 5 Scene 4

This scene is once again letting you have a sneak peek at the other characters and what they are doing. It also shows the audience how close they are to coming and how close Macbeth's downfall is. I think Macbeth put in these scenes to tease the audience as they know they are getting closer and closer but they don't know when it is going to happen. Scenes such as this one keep the audience on the edge of their seats waiting for the big finish.

Act 5 Scene 5

This is the scene where Lady Macbeth dies and we see Macbeth's reaction. I believe that Macbeth shows a very selfish negative response to Lady Macbeth's death. when told he doesn't seem to show any real compassion. Even though when you look in detail to his words it does seem like he cares it may - and probably is - just an act for the people around him. There is no real feeling behind the speech to make it seem real which is why i doubt he really means it. .

Act 5 Scene 6

this scene puts everything together for the audience. As the witches told Macbeth that he could not be brought down until woods come to the castle the solders then explain that they are going to cut down the trees and disguise themselves as the woods. The audience can then realise that this is the moment they have been waiting for as they go to kill Macbeth, this will be his ultimate downfall.

Act 5 Scene 7

This is the last scene in the play and sees everyone come together to kill Macbeth. This is the scene the audience have been waiting for. At the beginning when Macbeth is told that the woods is moving he starts to realise that he is in trouble and may not be as safe as he first thought. he then holds on to the only hope that he has which is that he can not be killed by any man women born. he still believes this strongly and convinces himself that this means he will survive that is until Macduff explains that he was born by Cesarean.

Why are the witches in Macbeth?

Like what has been said in lesson i believe that the witches are all part of the bigger destiny. Before they came along Macbeth had just come out of the war as a hero and his future was looking bright but then as soon as he saw the witches and they told him what his future could be he completely changed. He, with the help of lady Macbeth, turnt a little crazy and started killing everyone i believe that if the witches had never of planted those seeds in his mind then none of the murders would of happened. He was very loyal to the king and Banquo was a good friend so he wouldn't of had any reason to kill them. However, it shows that from the beginning Macbeth must have been a little power hungry or he wouldn't have jumped at their every word. If i met 3 mad women on my way home one night who started telling me that i would become queen i wouldn't break into the royal palace and kill her (i no he killed Duncan in his home its just an example) this just shows that he must of already be plotting out for these things.

When they showed Macbeth the three ghosts i think they were secretly setting him up as they did tell him the truth but they also spoke in riddles which confused Macbeth and lead him to other conclusions. I think after the higher witch Hecate came in during Act 3 scene 5 to tell them off for getting involved they had to think of a way to stop him before he got to powerful and killed to many people. to me it was like they realised their mistake and was now trying to stop him and they did this by tricking him in to thinking that he was unstoppable.

Reading journal act 3

Act 3 Scene 1

This scene makes Macbeth look very two-faced as at the beginning he is talking to Banquo and inviting him to the feast which he is holding in the afternoon. He also discusses his plans and wishes him a safe journey on his horses however, once Banquo has left Macbeth talks to the men who he is about to set out to kill him and his son. When Macbeth tells Banquo ' i wish you and your horses swift and sure foot' this is rather ironic as he knows they won't be safe as he is sending men after them. Towards the end of the scene Macbeth seems to begin to talk alot about spirits and souls, ' Banquo, thy souls flight, if it find heaven, must find it out tonight.' In some ways this statement could be to make himself feel better as he says 'if he finds heaven' so he may be thinking that Banquo has a chance of going to hell maybe he is trying to convince himself that Banquo deserves it.

Act 3 Scene 2

In this scene the power seems to swap between Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. it appears that Macbeth is now in power as he is planning to kill Banquo and has not told Lady Macbeth about it. 'Be innocent of the knowledge' he isn't telling Lady Macbeth and in some ways this can make the audience believe that maybe Macbeth is the one who is planning all of these evil deeds not Lady Macbeth which it seemed in Act 2 when they set out to kill Duncan. However, in this scene Lady Macbeth does seem to be the one with the most self-control as Macbeth is not letting go of the murder Lady Macbeth acts as if she does not care.

Act 3 Scene 3

This scene features the 1st murder which happens to Banquo. Macbeth at first sends 2 people to kill of Banquo and his son but at the last minute decides to send someone else to help them, this shows that he is making sure that nothing can go wrong and that Banquo and his son are definitely murdered. This fact and also as it's one of Macbeth's good friends and is such a violent murder shows the audience how far gone Macbeth is and also what he is willing to sacrifice to stay at the top. You can also see the moment in this scene when Banquo realises that it is Macbeth who has sent them to kill him as he says 'o, treachery!' and he knows that it is because of the threat he and his son hold to Macbeth. Also when the second murderer says at the end 'we have lost best half of our affair' Macbeth has told them that he needs Fleance dead as he is the real threat he is just killing Banquo to cover his back and ensure that he can't have anymore children.

Act 3 Scene 4

This is the scene where the rest of the cast except Lady Macbeth gets to see Macbeth go crazy. Its the feast dinner and he begins to see Banquos ghost 'our graves must send those that we bury back.' You can tell that he is finally getting a real conscience and that the murder is playing on his mind. I think he didn't do the murder himself as he knew it would be to hard and also i think that he thought it wouldn't necessarily be his fault as it wasn't his hand that did it but this shows that it is actually effecting him more. This scene seems to be showing everything get on top of Macbeth and him finaly turning completely crazy. It also shows Lady Macbeth regaining her power as the stable one of the two covvering up for Macbeth at the feast and taking him outside to talk some sense into him.

Directors Blog

Act 1 Scene 5

Setting: Lady Macbeth is sat down in her personal office at work, shes surrounded by mountains of paper work and is working on her computer.

Costume: In a casual black suit with a skirt, a white blouse with her hair done up in a tight bun.

Lady Macbeth is sat at her desk working on the computer when the phone rings, she casualy answers it. When she hears the voice at the other end she quickly gets up, shuts her office door, closes the blinds and sits back on her chair. She listens to the other voice patiently but as she listens you can see her facial expressions change from shock to confussion to excitment. There is then a knock on the door, she quickly jumps up and ends her phonecall she then starts speaking to her fellow collegue. When she realises he to knows of the important news she hurrys him in and makes him shut the door. After listening to him she gives him instructions to carry out and sends him on his way. Thinking about everything she has just been told she sits back in her chair, cross legged, looking rather happy and starts talking to herself, considering all the possiblities. When she realises how good her news is she opens the blinds with a big smug smile on her face. Then she sits down and carries on with her work as if nothing happened.

Reading Journal notes

Act 1 Scene 1

This scene introduces the three witches, just in their short speech you realise that they already know what is going to happen. they even mention Macbeth's name the only reason for the meeting is to insure that all three of them are clear on the arrangements. this shows that Macbeth from the very beginging is a Gothic play as witches themselves come into the gothic genre, the chants and curses they talk about add in the extra gothic elements.

Act 1 Scene 2

This scene gives us a look in to the background of Macbeth and the current affairs that are going on in Scotland. It tells us about how the old Thane of Cawdor betrayed the king by fighting against him and becoming one of the enemys. It also tells us how Macbeth faught in the war and shows us how well Macbeth is seen by others in power. This scene is very Gothic from the begining as it starts with a discription of a bloody, hurt solider and goes on to discribe the war in detail.

Act 1 Scene 3

Starts with the witches again and their stories of who they have been messing with, this is a gothic moment as it discusses their powers and the curses which they use. When Macbeth and Banquo come in the witches start to chant, they predict the future for the two men mainly Macbeth. The witches vanish when asked for more information this is a gothic element in itself. When a messanger Ross comes in to tell Macbeth that he is now Thane of Cawdor he starts to think back to the witches as they had predicted this, he begins to think forword and what the power could be like for him.

Act 1 Scene 4

This scene starts gothic with the King discussing the execution of the original Thane of Cawdor. Macbeth enters and the conversation moves on to congratulating him, this leads to him asking the King to his house for a banquet to celebrate. This puts him in more favour and you can see Macbeth slowly thinking more and more about himself.

Act 1 Scene 5

This scene introduces Lady Macbeth, from the start you can tell that she is power hungry. when reading her husbands letter you can see her thinking ahead and making a plan to insure that what the witches predicted comes true one way or another. Lady Macbeth herslef seems to be an ideal gothic character as she is talking to the gods asking them to give her strength to carry out the tasks- these tasks being to kill the king- which she sees necessary. She is also the one trying to convince Macbeth in to her way of thinking. She seems to be the most gothic character at the moment.

Act 1 Sceen 6

This scene is the King arriving at Macbeths house and complimenting how nice the house and they are. However this scene also shows how clever Lady Macbeth is as she greats the king and plays the innocent hostess, all the while shes secreatly scheaming his death.

Act 1 Sceen 7

This scene is very gothic as Macbeth and Lady Macbeth discuss their plans of killing the King. At first Macbeth is against it but once Lady Macbeth convinces him he starts to get a little power hungry, like his wife, imagining what it would be like to have everyone answering to him. They then start plotting how they will carry out the murder and get away with it. They describe it very well creating a strong imagine in your head.

HW- Update on my essay

My essay is about the books Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare and New Moon by Stephanie Meyer, in the essay i will discuss the topic Forbidden love. I will talk about the factors that make love forbidden and how some we can control while others our out of our hands.

As the books were written so far apart i am also going to discuss forbidden love over the years, i am going to see if i can find anything that still gets in the way or if it is totally different factors that can cause problems.

What is Literature??

I believe that literature varies from person to person, i personally believe that any story/novel can be seen as literature but some are just better then others. I think when it comes to 'classics' they also depend on a persons point of view. For example, William Shakespeare is seen as a 'classic' writer and all his plays are seen as 'classic' pieces of work however, i believe that maybe it is now time to let other people be well known and studied. Newer writers always seem to be compared to the 'classic' writers and due to this their books don't always get considered as good literature but maybe its time to spread the title and let other writers and genres be considered.
Plus william shakespeare wrote in plays and i don't personaly see that as good literature as it isn't a book its more like a script which doesn't give you much insight and discription like a good book should.

Marxist Critism- Romeo and Juliet

In Romeo and Juliet the two families at war- the Montague's and the Capulet's- are going through a power struggle, the fact that they are both of higher class so they rival each others power. Both families are in conflict of each other, both trying to become the highest class, to climb the social ladder because of the great importance of connections (e.g. closest to the royal court, most favourable by the Prince of Italy).

The Capulet's youngest daughter Juliet is of age to marry and start having children and they decide to try and match her up with a man named Paris, he has decided he would like Juliet as his wife 'The vailiant Paris seeks you for his love' this proves how much little power women had over these decisions in those days as it is him who has asked for her so now she must agree. This also shows that her parents should have the power as they tell her who shes going to marry and when she is ready to marry 'Well, think of marriage now' they have the final say over their childrens affairs. It is not Juliet who has to agree to Paris proposal it is her parents this again shows how little power she has as a women. That is until she falls in love with Romeo (Montague's youngest son) at the ball and she decides its time to take her life into her own hands. They plan to run away and get married this flips the power to the children as now they are finding ways of making all the decisions themselves, but because they are of higher class, their behaviour is seen as unruly and they risk being disowned by their families.

change in books!!

after starting to read Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde i decided i didn't really like it and i couldn't really understand it so I've decided I'm going to change my books to New Moon by Stephanie Meyer and Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare. I'm going to write about forbidden love and the obstacles that you have to overome for love.

English Lit books!!

i have decided i am going to do The Host by Stephanie Meyer i am going to read Dr Jekyll and Mr hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson to do with the link of empowerment and struggling with emotions.