Video: The witches (Part 1/2)

﻿Welcome to Miss Power's next "Macbeth" lesson, and today's lesson is all about the witches and their purpose in "Macbeth". For today's lesson, you will need paper or a book to write in, a pen, and your memory. It would be great if you could find somewhere quiet where you could work and not be disturbed, and additionally, it would also be fantastic if you could turn off any distractions or notifications. So are you ready? Let's go. Today's key question is, what is the purpose of the witches in the play? The lesson will be in five parts. Part one, I will share with you some key vocabulary and terminology. In part two, I will share with you an act summary. In part three, I will share with you some key moments and you'll answer some questions. In part four, you will apply your learning by completing a short writing task. And as always, we finish the lesson with a short review quiz. Part One: Key Vocabulary and Terminology. In this lesson, we will be revisiting the words supernatural and fatal flaw. The definition of supernatural is, forces believed not to be human, and beyond all logic, often associated with ghosts and paranormal activity. Here's an example. You either believe in the supernatural or you don't. Second example, some people believe that witches have supernatural powers and can predict the future and control the weather. Here is our next word. Fatal flaw. Now, fatal flaw is a fault in one's character that has severe consequences. The leader's fatal flaw was he was too trusting, so he was easily manipulated by those around him. Macbeth's fatal flaw was his ambition and his strong desire to become king. Part Two: Act Summary. Now, Act Four is a shorter act than the others, so I'm going to read it out to you. However, you can pause the slide, if you wish to copy the summary down into your notes. Macbeth seeks the witches out again. They tell him that he cannot be harmed by anyone of women born, and that he will be safe until Birnam Wood moves to the castle at Dunsinane. Macbeth decides to murder Macduff's family. Macbeth's murderers kill Lady Macduff and her children. Macduff and Malcolm discuss Macbeth's tyranny and Malcolm's kingly qualities. Macduff is told of his family's murder and they depart for Scotland with their army. True or false, the witches seek Macbeth out again. Three, two, one. That's false. That it's actually Macbeth that seeks the witches out again. True or false, Macbeth's murderers kill Lady Macduff and her children? Three, two, one. That's absolutely true. Last one then. Macduff and Malcolm think that Macbeth is a tyrant leader, true or false? Three, two, one. That's absolutely true. How many did you get right? If you got three out of three, that's super well done, and give yourself a good old pat on the back. Part Three: Key Moments. Now, I started off the lesson by saying we would look at the purpose of the witches, and they have three purposes. I'm going to share those with you. And then I will share with you some extracts that demonstrate this. Now purpose one is to trigger Macbeth's fatal flaw of ambition and highlight weaknesses in his character. The second purpose is to act as a narrative device, pushing the plot forward by controlling events, including the use of dramatic irony. And the final purpose is to create fear and tension for a Jacobean audience and serving as a warning against engaging with the supernatural. If you want to, you can pause the slide now and copy these down into your notes. So let's look at Act One, Scene One, and this is, we've looked at this a million times, so I'm not going to read it out to you again. But I will pick out the key parts of it for you. So straight away, in Act I, Scene I, there is thunder and there is lightning. Now, the stormy weather suggests that the witches control the disorder, that they're in control of the chaos. When they say "When shall we three meet again, in thunder, lightning, or in rain," this is proof that they are a narrative device, pushing forward the plot, and when they plan to meet Macbeth again. They are clearly planning something. They are going to meet Macbeth. It's a premeditated meeting. So it shows that they are controlling the plot and they are controlling the disorder. So further on in the act, they literally say that they are there to meet with Macbeth. And this implies that the witches can control and manipulate events and weather to trigger his fatal flaw. This creates a sinister undertone. And again, this all pushes the plot forward. And the famous line, "Fair is foul, and foul is fair." Well, this introduces the idea that the witches are going to drive the plot forward because they're going to cause chaos and disruption. They bring it with them. They encourage it wherever they go. And for an audience, this would create intense fear and tension because supernatural abilities would be really frightening for a Jacobean audience, and something to avoid at all costs. Then in Act Three, Scene Five, we have Hecate, the ruler of the witches, telling, basically, the other witches off for messing with Macbeth without her permission. "How dare you to trade and traffic with Macbeth in riddles of affairs of death, and I, the mistress of your charms, the close contriver of all harms, was never called to bear my part or show the glory of our art? And, which is worse, all you have done hath been but for a wayward son." So the witches are meddling and trying to move things forward, and they're ready to manipulate Macbeth. And Hecate is there to ensure that this happens properly this time. It won't just be messing around with his head. Something serious is going to happen. "Meet me in the morning, thither he will come to know his destiny, your vessels and your spells provide, your charms and everything beside. I am for the air, this night I'll spend unto a dismal and fatal end." So tomorrow he will know exactly what is going to happen to him. Now, remember, the witches always express themselves in a very confusing way. So we know, as an audience, that this is going to be not only a very horrific and scary conversation, but also possibly, possibly misleading. "Shall raise such artificial sprites as by the strength of their illusion shall draw him onto his confusion. He shall spurn fate, scorn death , and bear, he hopes, both wisdom, grace and fear. And you all know, security is mortals' chiefest enemy." So she says they're planning to create illusions and apparitions to influence Macbeth. Macbeth's fatal flaw leads him to being tricked by the witches' ambiguity. Part Four: Applying our Learning. Here is a key question. What is the purpose of the witches? I would like you to write a short response, about 15 minutes, including your planning and proofreading time, answering the question. You must include the words supernatural and fatal flaw. I'd really like you to include all of the pink quotations, but if you can use all four quotations, then that would be even more impressive. So I really, really hope you try your very best to do so. If you're already to start independently, off you go. If not, then please move on to the next slide, where I've provided you with some sentence starts. So sentence starts are the same as usual. Shakespeare, the audience, Shakespeare creates, Shakespeare includes. Remember to include as many or as few as you wish. It is entirely up to you. Just make sure that you plan it before you start, so you get a variety. Please pause the video now to start your task. Here is an example answer. The witches arguably served three functions in Macbeth. They are used to exploit the audience's fear of witches, they provide a narrative function, in terms of moving the plot forward, and creating dramatic irony, and lastly, they are used as a trigger for Macbeth's fatal flaw, and as a device for exposing further weaknesses in Macbeth's character as the play progresses. The idea of the witches being used to exploit the audience's fear and belief in witches is first established in the very first scene of the play, when they plan to meet Macbeth. Shakespeare begins the play with thunder and lightning and the presence of the witches, conveying a sinister tone from the start of the play. The witches clearly want to cause disruption. "Fair is foul, and foul is fair." And so fear and tension has been created by Shakespeare from the very outset of the play. When Macbeth meets the witches, they trigger Macbeth's fatal flaw and move the plot forward as all of Macbeth's actions in the play are a direct result of the witches. Shakespeare uses the witches to create dramatic irony with the scene featuring Hecate. She makes it clear that they plan to lure Macbeth into a false sense of security, stating that security is mortals' chiefest enemy. Here is a more developed answer. The witches arguably serve three functions in Macbeth. They are used to exploit the audience fear of witches, thus creating tension. They provide a narrative function in terms of moving the plot forward and creating dramatic irony. Lastly, they're used as a trigger for Macbeth's fatal flaw, and as a device for exposing further weaknesses in Macbeth's character as the play progresses, as well as highlighting the relative strength of Banquo's character. The idea of the witches being used to exploit the audience's fear and belief in witches is first established in the very first scene of the play. Shakespeare begins the play with thunder and lightning and the presence of the witches, conveying a sinister tone from the start of the play, which is likely to have been particularly alarming at the time when the play was first performed because of the audience's belief in evil spirits and the supernatural. It also lays the foundation for the dramatic irony which will follow as the witches clearly have plans for Macbeth. The witches state their intention to meet with Macbeth, and so the audience is well aware that there is no chance, sorry, it is no chance encounter with Macbeth, and Banquo engage with the witches on the heath, coupled with the audience's knowledge of the witches wanting to cause disruption, "Fair is foul and foul is fair," fear and tension has been created by Shakespeare from the very outset of the play. Macbeth's reaction to the witches, rapt by their prophecies, rather than distrustful, as Banquo is, is the first instance of Shakespeare using the witches to expose Macbeth's fatal flaw, ambition. As the witches trigger Macbeth's fatal flaw, they also move the plot, their art, forward as all of Macbeth's actions in the play are a direct result of the witches. Shakespeare further exploits the audience's fear with the inclusion of the scene with Hecate, who is the leader of the witches. The presence of Hecate suggests that the influence of evil spirits goes beyond the three the audience have already met and coupled with the unnatural events already occurring as a result of Macbeth's disruption of the natural order, creates a sense of foreboding. In addition, once again, Shakespeare uses the witches to to create dramatic irony. Hecate makes it clear that they plan to lure Macbeth into a false sense of security, stating that security is mortals' chiefest enemy, which makes the audience doubt Macbeth's belief that no man of woman can harm him. So how does your response compare to this one? Are there similarities? Are there some differences? Are there some things that you need to work on? If there are, make a list, because remember, it's always good to set yourself some targets to improve on. So we've made it to Part Five, which is the review quiz. You now need to complete five very short questions and you'll be given your score straight away. So that's really fun and really powerful because you'll know what you've managed to retain. All that's left to say for me is, goodbye for Miss Power. It's been a pleasure to teach you today and I'll see you next lesson.

Exit Quiz: The witches (Part 1/2)

Completed: The witches (Part 1/2)

Across two lessons, we will explore the purpose of the witches and the many roles they play. In addition to this, we will examine two key moments related to the witches.

English

The witches (Part 1/2)

Video

Final Quiz

Lesson Complete