Lady Macbeth is a Queen

Fei. They/She/He. Macbeth is amazing, and if you stick around, I’ll be the English teacher you never had.

[warpedmacbeth]

My take Macbeth - Scenes

Act 1

Act 1, scene 1

Act 1, scene 2

Act 1, scene 3

Act 1, scene 4

Act 1, scene 5

Act 1, scene 6

Act 1, scene 7

Act 2

Act 2, scene 1

Act 2, scene 2

Act 2, scene 3

Act 2, scene 4

Act 3

Act 3, scene 1

Act 3, scene 2

Act 3, scene 3

Act 3, scene 4

Act 3, scene 5

Act 3, scene 6

Act 4

Act 4, scene 1

Act 4, scene 2

Act 4, scene 3

Act 5

Act 5, scene 1

Act 5, scene 2

Act 5, scene 3

Act 5, scene 4

Act 5, scene 5

Act 5, scene 6

Act 5, scene 7

Act 5, scene 8

This is just to keep track of what the hell I'm doing, and to let you know what the hell I'm doing too, if you so wish. The ones without links are set to be requested, but I SHALL be doing all of these at some point (because it's fun and easy to do) some will be serious, some won't be, but all of them will be me gushing over Shakespeare's writing (and also Lady Macbeth, of course)

I'll be posting my takes every week on Saturdays, so enjoy!

[jackalopiel]

ask game: shakespeare edition

1. What’s your hamartia? Your tragic, fatal flaw? (Pride, arrogance, ambition, vanity, jealousy, rebellion, etc.)

2. Do you believe in ghosts?

3. How tenuous is your grip on reality?

4. Is all justified in the name of true love?

5. What are you not willing to do to get what you want?

6. Are you afraid of death?

7. “Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player / That struts and frets his hour upon the stage / And then is heard no more. It is a tale / Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, / Signifying nothing.” Do you think your life has meaning?

8. Would you die for those you love? Would you kill for them?

9. Are you overly cautious, or overly reckless, or neither?

10. Do you believe in fate? Are some things meant to be?

11. Have you been betrayed by someone you loved? Have you betrayed someone who loved you?

12. Are you loyal? What does a person have to do to earn your loyalty?

13. Are you religious? How? Why?

14. “Romeo, Romeo! Wherefore art thou Romeo?” Why are you the person you are today?

15. How close are you to insanity? What would it take to push you over the edge?

16. “Doubt thou the stars are fire, / Doubt that the sun doth move, / Doubt truth to be a liar, / But never doubt I love.” Are you in love? If not, do you know someone who you could fall in love with?

17. Do you glorify war (or combat in general)?

18. What Greek God or mythological figure do you see yourself the most in?

19. “I wasted time, and now doth time waste me.” Do you feel like you’re running out of time? Do you ever feel like your youth was wasted, or perhaps, stolen?

20. Favourite Shakespeare quote? Favourite play?

21. “The quality of mercy is not strain’d, / It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven”. Are you merciful? Or, if you do not know, if given the opportunity to forgive someone who had wronged you greatly, would you forgive them?

22. “And this our life, exempt from public haunt, / Finds tongues in trees, books in the running brooks, / Sermons in stones, and good in everything. / I would not change it.” Do you ever feel the urge to escape civilisation? To return to a place, wild and feral?

23. “There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, / Than are dreamt of in your philosophy.” What unexplainable thing do you want an answer to?

24. “Screw your courage to the sticking place“. Are you brave? Will you need your courage for something soon?

25. “To die, to sleep; / To sleep: perchance to dream”. What do you think comes after death? 

26. What taboo topic are you fascinated by, if any?

27. “The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars / But in ourselves, that we are underlings.” Do you seek power? 

28. “By the pricking of my thumbs, / Something wicked this way comes.” Do you think you are a good person? What does it even mean to be “good”, to be “wicked”? Could you be good? Could you be wicked?

29. Do you believe in magic or witchcraft, even just a little?

30. Are you true to yourself?

[warpedmacbeth]

My take Macbeth - Act 3, Scene 4

I forgot to do this last week, but never fear, I'm back! So, this week's scene is my apology, as it is one of my favourites - I legitimately cannot count the amounts of times I have said this, but alas, 'tis true, I adore it!

Ok, so, we start off with Macbeth being totally composed and normal, then he goes and talks with murderers, makes weak insults, and then returns (you can tell how much I'm trying to get to the good bit - sorry!)

Then he comes back, and Lennox is there (only mentioning this as I completely forgot he was a character - what? He's forgettable), right, and then tells Macbeth to sit.

NOW, Macbeth starts to do some..things. He starts shouting about all sorts of things, and the people in the room grow very uncomfy and say, nah, we'll just come back later.

Cue Lady Macbeth swooping in saving the day (as is custom), and then says a very iconic line:

Are you a man?

Which is an amazing thing for her to ask, as she is basically telling him to grow up (as she should, honestly) - but also, I like to think the implications of the statement indicate she believes she is more of a 'man' than him, since she knows what man-like qualities are, further proving the gender-fluidity of our favourite queen.

Alternatively, you could believe she's just saying he's weak and she knows it as she's seen it, but why would you want to?

Anyways, he complains, she dismisses it, and he regains control of the situation. And promptly loses it within less than five minutes.

Lady Macbeth's right, huh?

She covers for him, he stops again, and (like a boss) she tells him he's ruined everything (honestly, she's right, I'd be weirded out if someone did this at a dinner party too), and they talk.

Ross gets nosy™️, and she kicks him out, like he deserves. (I mean, it wasn't just him she kicked out, but still)

Macbeth starts saying things that are absolutely irrelevant and weird:

Blood will have blood

Like, yeah, that's kind of the point, it is blood??

But this all adds to the poetry of the moment, so I guess it's ok. Then Macbeth decides he needs advice, and instead of consulting his wife, who is right there, he (in true Jacobean fashion) decides he'd rather visit some sketchy witches, even though she's just helped cover for him.

Because that makes total sense.

Lady Macbeth tells him to sleep (which is ironic since they've both said they can't) and he agrees.

So, overall, Macbeth is a dumbass (which we knew), Lady Macbeth is sidelined (which is new), and Lennox is remembered (which is due)

[warpedmacbeth]

My take Macbeth - Act 1, Scene 6

Ok, sorry I'm late with this, I've had an awful week. Anyways, to make it all better, I'm choosing this scene, one of my favourites (Ignore the fact I say this every time)

So the scene is basically the one after the other act 1 scene I've analysed (here if you want to remind yourself), and basically contains Lady Macbeth lying for England (well, Scotland, anyway.)

It all kicks off with Banquo and the king being very fake, basically like guests in any house (the bitchin'll start later on - that kind of thing)

Also, do I see a lil' bit of foreshadowing in here with 'the air is delicate'? Banquo really did have his eye on the ball.

Anyways, then Lady Macbeth, hearing Banquo about to spill all the tea, comes rushing out, just in time to giggle and laugh and be all stupid like women are supposed to be (except we already know she's none of those things)

Macbeth's off scene for this one, which we can only assume means he's crying about having to kill the king (especially if you hear the following scene)

Lady Macbeth successfully convinces everyone, because she's brilliant at acting, and also they're stupid enough not to notice a plot against them if she was literally holding a knife to their throats.

So basically, the usual stuff, everyone except Lady Macbeth is dumb, and Macbeth's crying in a corner somewhere.

[warpedmacbeth]

I feel really cheated on the Macduffs. I feel like we didn't go into nearly enough details about them. We didn't even get to know the kid's name, or about the others, and Lady Macduff's character definitely needs to be explored more - what was their relationship like? How ambitious was she? Is she like Lady Macbeth, in reverse, or is she more like Banquo and Fleance? I just want CONTEXT.

[warpedmacbeth]

My Take Macbeth - Act 5 Scene 1

This scene is one I’ve talked about a lot lately, and I’LL DO IT AGAIN!

So basically this is the doctor and the nurse talking about Lady Macbeth while she’s in the room (at least they’re not talking behind her back, right?)

To be fair to them, she isn’t actually in the room to start with, so I guess that’s ok. They have a l’il chat where the doctor denies that anything’s happening, because apparently he notices nothing, although he’s been watching for the same amount of time as the nurse - like, what has he been DOING?!

So, after this, Lady Mac comes on scene, mumbling about everything, completely lost, and rhyming impeccably for an insane person, the nurse gets savage about it, with this line:

“I would not have such a heart in my bosom for the dignity of the whole body.”

..aand the doctor nopes out of it all quicker than Ross switched sides

[warpedmacbeth]

Shoutout to the gender ambiguous witches from Macbeth, who never did anything wrong, and only told Macbeth pure facts : You are an inspiration, I adore you ❤️ 

[warpedmacbeth]

If I've learnt anything from Macbeth, it is that you can love your worst enemies and hate your best friends but you will always hate Ross.

[warpedmacbeth]

So, let’s talk about the Doctor from Macbeth. He came in, found out what was going on and just said: “plausible deniability y’all, she’s insane.”

[warpedmacbeth]

My take Macbeth - Act 4, Scene 3

(Requested by @therainbowwillow)

Ok, so this scene is directly set after the last scene I did, where Macduff's wife and child were killed, and this is where he finds out.

Firstly, let me talk about Malcolm and Macduff for a hot second. They're talking about how awful Macbeth is and how amazing it'll be when he's gone, right.

But then Malcolm turns around, and says that he'll be a terrible king, because, of course, no-one in this play is above being dramatic, and possibly also because he wants to know how loyal Macduff is, possibly because he doesn't trust himself, and possibly just because he's bored of being royal.

Anyways, the drama continues, Macduff roasts Macbeth, and then Malcolm suddenly trusts Macduff and his doubts are gone (honestly these people trust way too much, he should've taken more time but there it is) and suddenly he doesn't mean anything anymore.

So, Ross comes back, and speaks a little about Scotland, and then does the thing that makes me hate him the most out of the whole play:

Macduff: How does my wife?

Ross: Why, well.

Macduff: and all my children?

Ross: Well too.

NO THEY ARE NOT WELL, THANK YOU VERY MUCH!

And I mean, I know I hate Macduff, but GOD, you let him believe they were fine!

In my opinion, this is worse than the murder, as he gives Macduff security, and then rips it away from him brutally. I know Ross is supposed to be an insignificant character, but this is just downright cruel, no matter which way you view it.

And sure, maybe he couldn't cope with the reality.

But that does NOT mean you can do that to your OWN COUSIN.

Moving on (because otherwise I'll be here all week), Macduff does get told, and then MALCOLM says this:

"Be comforted: Let's make us medicines of our great revenge, To cure this deadly grief"

I mean, could he be any LESS comforting? His family was just destroyed, and he goes: oh yeah, let's just go get revenge and everything'll be fine!

NO. NO IT WON'T. His family are dead. They are not coming back, and it probably won't help very much at all.

Luckily, Macduff CAN stand up for himself, and does tell Malcolm to go the f*ck away because he also has a right to be sad, and good for him, to be honest

To sum up: No-one validates Macduff, and although he left them, and probably caused this, and also he's very dramatic and annoying, I don't wish this on anyone, and Malcolm and Ross (especially Ross) need to learn how to be more compassionate about everything.

[warpedmacbeth]

Did you notice how many people Lady Macbeth killed? 0. The amount of wills to live I have. The amount of socks I have, most days, The amount of people who have responded to my email chain

No-one. She may be guilty by association, but the fact remains that she is innocent. 

Lady Macbeth never killed anyone, and you have minimal evidence to the contrary. 

No further questions, your honour. 

[warpedmacbeth]

Reverse Macbeth: In which Duncan is immortal and murders Macbeth.

[warpedmacbeth]

Macbeth, but Lady Macbeth punches someone every time they act dumb.

[warpedmacbeth]

My Take Macbeth - Act 4, Scene 2

Ok, so I promised myself the second scene I did would NOT be Lady Macbeth related, so I opened my book to a random page, and landed on this one. It's kind of unfortunate it's a murder scene, but hey, we work with what we're given.

First, let me pick out my favourite quote from the scene (and arguably the play):

First Murderer: What, you egg!

(Stabbing him)

(Yes, I realise this isn't funny because it's a murder, aside from the fact that it's frickin' hilarious)

Lady Macduff is an icon in this scene, telling Ross that Macduff's 'Flight was madness', AKA why's he being so dramatic, GOD!

Ross is a backstabbing traitor to everyone, as always, and he's in the scene, so he deserves a mention.

And then there's the Son, who doesn't even get the decency of a name and is largely unimportant other than defending his god-awful father.

Lady Macduff goes OFF on Macduff, but then stands up for him, which is sweet (and actually reminds me way too much of my parents for my liking), and I'm kind of sad that she died without much of a role because I'd like to find out more about her (although arguably, we didn't SEE her die, so she could be alive...)

So, to sum up, Ross is awful, the Son is unimportant, Lady Macduff is amazing, and the murderer is hilarious.

[warpedmacbeth]

To my teachers in school, I'm sorry for writing exclusively about Lady Macbeth when we were writing essays about the relationship between Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. I just had no idea what the purpose of Macbeth was.

[warpedmacbeth]

I strongly believe if Lady Macbeth existed in this time period, she’d have taken over half the world by now.

[warpedmacbeth]

One of the best things about Shakespeare plays is that you can prove pretty much anything using one of his quotes. Like I am legitimately sure I could prove that Macbeth is actually a feral chicken escaped from a government controlled lab. Would it do any good? Probably not. But still.