I have just experienced using Twitter for the first time! Thanks to the Macbeth Assignment #2 I was able to create a fake account in the name of the character Macbeth and tweet on his behalf of scenes/events that occurred in Act 2. I enjoyed playing around with twitter with this fake account as I believe I was able to get a good sense and understanding of how twitter works. I like how the media site is connected in the use of hashtags, it makes thing more organized as well as the way you can tag people like Facebook with the use of the @ sign. I think its really neat how a tweet may only consist of 140 characters and that you can basically tweet about anything. I was trying to go into detail but I ran out of room because of the character limit, this forced me to think more general and I was able to tweet major events with little explanation which was pretty cool. I was able to explore twitter outside of the assignment as well and learned that you can follow anyone in the world including the most famous celebrities, hollywood stars, athletes, businesses and more. I couldn't believe that I was actually reading tweets from the real Miley Cyrus or Ryan Gosling, now I can keep up with what the world is up to and follow the daily events of my favourite stars! I think that after playing around with twitter with this fake account I don't find this form of social media so intimidating and I might create a real account of my own. I think twitter is a great way to inform the world of what you are doing but I believe that everyone who uses this site must be careful what they put out on the internet just like any other social media website, as anything you post is out there for everyone to see and is almost impossible to take back once posted. Definatley a really cool assignment. Here is the link to my Macbeth Twitter account: Macbeth Twitter Account
Saturday, May 25, 2013
Macbeth Character Profile Act 1...
Macbeth is a young nobleman serving for King Duncan who is a very talented general and tactician in battle. He has won many battles and is known to all as “brave Macbeth” as they believe he deserves this name due to his loyalty to the crown. He is a determined courageous man who will not let anything get in his way from completing his tasks. The quote, “ Till he faced the slave; Which ne’er shook hands, nor bade farewell to him, Till he unseamed him from the nave to th’ chops, and fixed his head upon our battlements.” (1.2. 21-25) is told by a captain of King Duncan’s army to report his sights on the battle and how brave Macbeth stood on the battlefield as winning such a battle seemed so doubtful. I saw Macbeth as a humble man in the beginning of Act 1 as he tried to tell the witches and those that called him thane of Cawdor that the thane lives and they should not call him that. He did not immediately agree to take on the crown of thane of Cawdor as he claimed, “ The service and loyalty I owe in doing pays itself” (1.4. 25) showing that he does not require a reward for his services as he feels that his victories pay itself just by doing them in the Kings honor. However, once Macbeth is given the title thane of Cawdor he becomes convinced to further pursue becoming the King of Scotland as the witches predicted. His mentality turns evil and selfish as he plans to murder the King and Prince of Cumberland to achieve the crown. Overall I truly believe that Macbeth is a goodhearted man, its the influence of others words and evil persuasion that lead him into a cruel identity that he cannot unwind as time and evil events persist in the novel. Macbeth teaches readers like you and I to understand that we must remember who we are and be smart enough to know the consequences of letting something said or someone consume our minds and stop us from being the individuals we truly are.
Destiny, Fate and Influence...
I strongly believe that the witches play a vital role in the development of Shakespeare's Macbeth because they are the main trigger for Macbeth's actions to plan for King Duncan’s murder. They change Macbeth’s identity and they foreshadow a series of important events that bring the play together. The three weird sisters present Macbeth with the challenge to fulfill each prediction because he see's that they speak the truth when Macbeth becomes King of Cawdor. Macbeth wants to achieve the prosperous future that the witches speak of and he allows this to become his destiny. Macbeth is influenced by the witches and he turns into a murderer rather than a loyal nobleman, this determines his fate in the end as he lets evil override his goodness because of his need to achieve the pre-determined destiny told by the witches.
I don’t believe that we are all subject to a personal pre-determined destiny. Humans are in control of what they want life to be for themselves most of the time, except for cases like slavery and communist countries where you don't have the freedom of choice. People pay money to see card readers/palm readers to determine there futures and find out what lays ahead of them in life and these people, like Macbeth, take their predictions to heart and let it consume their minds making them either fear whats is ahead and stop them from living or encourage them to fulfill exactly what they are told in order to gain success bypassing other life events just to achieve one ultimate goal. We all have the power to turn a corner or take a different path in our lives, we are never assigned to one specific path of life. You control your life with your mind, emotions and actions, it’s determining the right turn or path that you can benefit from and will make you happy at the end of it all.
Whats Going on in Act 1 Right Now...
**Watch the Act 1 scene 1 of the three witches here**
In Act 1 there is big news because Macbeth, the Thane of Glamis, has won a great battle and King Duncan is very impressed with his nobility and powerful efforts. King Duncan, the king of all of Scotland orders the execution of the rebel thane of Cawdor so that he can grant Macbeth a higher stature of power as a reward for his great success and services. Meanwhile, three mysterious witches prepare to meet Macbeth to give him news that he will be crowned not only the thane of Glamis but also thane of Cawdor and then king afterwards! When Macbeth encounters the three witches he is intrigued to know what the ugly creatures are as they don't appear to be woman of the earth. He pressures them to find out what foul creatures they are and find out what they are doing in the hills. The witches are pleased to have Macbeth in their presence as they tell him their predictions and also add that Banquo, Macbeth's fellow warrior and great friend will have two sons that will become kings. Macbeth does not see how the witches can be speaking truth as he is only thane of Glamis, not of Cawdor or for that matter, the King of Scotland! He explains to the witches that the thane of Cawdor lives and that such things cannot be true, however he demands witches to tell him more along with their reason for saying such things, but its too late the witches have said what they had planned and they vanish. Banquo and Macbteh are stunned not only by the magical disappearance and of the witches but also by their vague predictions. Soon after the witches are gone, Ross and Angus appear and give notice to Macbeth that the king has received the news of Macbeth's great success in battle and that they have been sent to give the kings thanks and news that he has been rewarded with the title thane of Cawdor. Macbeth and Banquo are shocked as the witches have spoken the truth and the first of their predictions has commenced. Macbeth insists on telling Ross and Angus that the thane of Cawdor still lives and that they cannot fool him into becoming something that is already taken, but Angus explains that the thane of Cawdor was suspected for treason and he deserved to lose his title, giving it to Macbeth for wear. Macbeth turns to Banquo and they both realize that this is not a joke, to the side Macbeth is convinced that two of the deeds have been done and now all that is left for him to achieve is King of Scotland! Macbeth journeys to the Kings Castle and is greeted by the king who thanks him personally for his loyalty and service and Macbeth reply by saying that it he does "everything safe towards your [king's]love and honour." (1.4.30) King Duncan announces his intentions to have his son Malcolm, the Prince of Cumberland succeed him as King and set out to see Macbeth at his fortress in Inverness where they will celebrate his knighting and battle accomplishments. Macbeth hearing of King Duncan's plans to have his son take up the crown realizes that this will stand in his way of becoming King himself. He is convinced that the only way to become King as the witches have predicted is by killing the King himself and his son afterwards. The trigger behind this evilness is the fact that two of the three predictions have come true and gives Macbeth a bigger urge to complete the third prediction. Macbeth keeps these thoughts internal and he welcomes the arrival of King Duncan at Inverness as he leaves the Kings castle. Macbeth then writes to his wife Lady Macbeth at Inverness of the Kings visit and his meeting with the witches. Lady Macbeth reads the letter fearing that Macbeth will not have the fearlessness to fulfil the deed of murdering the King, she calls upon the evil inside of her to help complete the predictions fully and help her by giving her the title as Queen. When Macbeth arrives home to Lady Macbeth in Inverness she assures him that she will have everything prepared for the Kings arrival and that he has nothing to worry about as she will make the preparations to allow the murder of Duncan to go very smoothly. When Duncan arrives at Inverness Lady Macbeth greets him and escorts him to dinner where Macbeth awaits him. Macbeth starts to contemplate whether his plans for murder are evil and terrible, he cannot be found in the chamber and Lady Macbeth demands why he is not in the presence of their guests and King. Macbeth tells her that he will go no further in their business and Lady Macbeth mocks him of his foolish fears and tells him her plan. She informs Macbeth that he must kill the King when he is asleep by intoxicating his guards with wine and entering his bedroom for the kill. Macbeth becomes more sure of the plan and agrees to continue with the murder.
I think Macbeth is a good nobleman who is brave and does have a good kind heart but he is side-tracked when he hears the witches predictions finding them to be true and he develops a need for success and greater stature more and more - even if it requires him to complete horrible acts that he is not accustomed with. I believe Macbeth's wife has a major influence on him poisoning his mind with the reasons for him to continue with their plans at times when he believes that the murder is not a good idea. I think Macbeth should continue to serve himself with success on the battlefield and not by piercing the heart of his own King.
I believe Shakespeare has started the play with a interesting and very active beginning, a lot of this plays major conflicts are introduced in this act and gives the audience or readers a need to read more because the next act will answer many of the problems that Shakespeare wrote.
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