PREMIÈRE · UPPER SECONDARY · B1+ towards B2

Session 4: Acts III and IV: ghosts, tyranny and prophecies

Part 4. Why does Macbeth's power bring him no peace, and how do the witches deceive him?

Objectives

Warm-up

Shakespeare's dark side. Two paintings by Delacroix, from Hamlet, another tragedy of ghosts, death and guilt.
Eugène Delacroix, Hamlet and Horatio in the Graveyard, 1839, Musée du Louvre, Paris
Eugène Delacroix, Hamlet and Horatio in the Graveyard, 1839, Musée du Louvre, Paris. Public domain, Wikimedia Commons.
Eugène Delacroix, Hamlet Tries to Follow His Father's Ghost, lithograph, 1835, The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Eugène Delacroix, Hamlet Tries to Follow His Father's Ghost, lithograph, 1835, The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Public domain, Wikimedia Commons.
  1. Hamlet is dressed all in black, the skull of Yorick in front of him. What does the graveyard tell us about death?
  2. In the lithograph, Hamlet follows his father's ghost. Compare: Hamlet's ghost asks for revenge; what does Banquo's ghost do?
  3. What do the two plays share: ghosts, guilt, the night?

Documents

Upon my head they placed a fruitless crown, And put a barren sceptre in my gripe
William Shakespeare, Macbeth, Act III, Scene 1, Macbeth
Glossary: fruitless, barren: with no children to inherit · gripe: grip, hand
O, full of scorpions is my mind, dear wife!
William Shakespeare, Macbeth, Act III, Scene 2, Macbeth
Glossary: scorpions: poisonous creatures
Thou canst not say I did it: never shake Thy gory locks at me.
William Shakespeare, Macbeth, Act III, Scene 4, Macbeth to Banquo's ghost
Glossary: canst: can · gory locks: hair covered in blood
I am in blood Stepp'd in so far that, should I wade no more, Returning were as tedious as go o'er.
William Shakespeare, Macbeth, Act III, Scene 4, Macbeth
Glossary: wade: walk through water · tedious: long and hard · go o'er: go across
John William Waterhouse, The Magic Circle, 1886, Tate, London
John William Waterhouse, The Magic Circle, 1886, Tate, London. Public domain, Wikimedia Commons.
Double, double toil and trouble; Fire burn, and cauldron bubble.
William Shakespeare, Macbeth, Act IV, Scene 1, the witches
Glossary: toil: hard work · cauldron: a big pot
By the pricking of my thumbs, Something wicked this way comes.
William Shakespeare, Macbeth, Act IV, Scene 1, Second Witch
Glossary: pricking: a small sharp feeling · wicked: evil
for none of woman born Shall harm Macbeth.
William Shakespeare, Macbeth, Act IV, Scene 1, Second Apparition
Glossary: none of woman born: nobody born from a woman
Macbeth shall never vanquish'd be until Great Birnam wood to high Dunsinane hill Shall come against him.
William Shakespeare, Macbeth, Act IV, Scene 1, Third Apparition
Glossary: vanquish'd: defeated · Birnam wood: a forest

Activities

  1. "Fruitless crown": why does Macbeth now fear Banquo and his son Fleance?
  2. The banquet: Macbeth alone sees the ghost. Is it real or guilt? How should it be staged?
  3. "I am in blood": explain the metaphor of the river. What does it say about tyranny?
  4. The prophecies: underline the ambiguous words. How do the apparitions use equivocation?
  5. Intermediary task (interaction): a guest at the banquet and Lady Macbeth explain the scene to the other guests the next morning.

Sentence starters

Role play

Pairs: Lennox and another lord talk in secret about Macbeth's strange behaviour at the banquet and about Banquo's death. They must be careful: spies are everywhere.

Gap-fill worksheet

QR code to this worksheet
Word bank: apparition, banquet, tyrant, insecurity, ambiguous, cauldron, heir, ghost
  1. Macbeth sees Banquo's ______ at the banquet.
  2. A formal dinner is a ______.
  3. Macbeth has no ______ to inherit his crown.
  4. A cruel ruler is a ______.
  5. The witches stir a ______.
  6. The ______ shows Macbeth the future.
  7. The prophecies are ______: they have two meanings.
  8. Macbeth's ______ grows after each murder.
Answer key
  1. ghost
  2. banquet
  3. heir
  4. tyrant
  5. cauldron
  6. apparition
  7. ambiguous
  8. insecurity

Homework

Write the diary of a guest at the banquet (180 words), in the past tenses.

Watch the film at home

  1. The Tragedy of Macbeth (2021), directed by Joel Coen, with Denzel Washington and Frances McDormand, in black and white. Where to watch: JustWatch France.
  2. Macbeth (2015), directed by Justin Kurzel, with Michael Fassbender and Marion Cotillard. Where to watch: JustWatch France.
  3. DVD: ask at your local library or médiathèque.
  4. Scenes to watch: the witches on the heath (Act I), the dagger and the murder of Duncan (Act II), the banquet and Banquo's ghost (Act III), the sleepwalking scene (Act V).

Watch with English subtitles if you can. The films contain violence.

Assessment grid

CriteriaLevel 1Level 2Level 3Level 4
UnderstandingMisreadsPartialAccurateAccurate and nuanced
Comparison Macbeth / HamletNoneOne pointTwo pointsDeveloped comparison
InteractionRarely reactsReacts simplyReacts and arguesReacts, argues and rephrases
LanguageMany errorsSome errorsFew errorsAccurate and varied

Links reminder