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.