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.