02 Macbeth Act 1 Scene 3 Full Commentary and Analysis

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This video is a line-by-line walkthrough guide for William Shakespeare’s Macbeth: Act 1, Scene 3.

I provide a close reading of the entire scene, including:
— Detailed explication
— Commentary
— Literary analysis

All commentary is supplemented by in-text, line-by-line study notes designed to help students:
— Prepare for GCSE, A-Level, IB, and AP evaluation
— Prepare for general high school and college quizzes, exams, and essays
— Generate ideas for analysis essays
— Participate knowledgeably in class discussions
Click here to download the annotated text of Macbeth: https://sites.google.com/view/shakespeare-walkthrough/home

This video discusses :

PLOT:
— The witches’ 3 prophesies

CHARACTER:
— Witches as spectacle; as resentful “Jokeresque” nihilists
— Banquo as character foil; wise; tempted but possessing strength of character
— Macbeth: ambitious; foolish; lacking self-knowledge; morally aware but weak; passive aggressive

THEME:
— The root cause of evil = resentment, bitterness, desire for revenge
— Appearance vs reality, equivocation
— Manhood
— Borrowed robes: Macbeth’s unsuitability for the role of king
— The necessary paranoia of the tyrant
— Panic attacks