'Macbeth', Extra Notes, Revision

‘Macbeth’, Extra Notes, Revision

Act III scene 4 –

• Macbeth goes over the brink, Lady Macbeth cannot follow.
• Where they separate emotionally and physically.
• P.53 (132) – Macbeth makes it clear he is willing to kill anyone/anything that gets in his way. > contribute to L. Macbeth’s loss of her mind? (Next time we see her she has gone mad).

Playing Lady Macbeth -

• Faint – fake.
• More interesting to play her as a strong character – she is the dynamo behind Macbeth.

Lady Macbeth in Context -

• Demon, or understand/
• Must look at attitudes of the day.
• Women = no right, merely their husband’s property.
• Quicker to support their husbands, through conditioning, in order to do well themselves.
• Cannot excuse her, but maybe she is more vulnerable.
• (Would rather dash her baby’s brains out than break a promise).
• Understand baby > understand L. Macbeth.
• ‘I have given suck’ – had a baby. If I’d promised to kill this baby (as Macbeth to Duncan), however awful it may be, I would do it.
• ‘Boneless gum’ – baby died young, raw memory.
• Memory of loss, pain = burning sense of injustice about the world.
• Trauma of loss = put her in a frame of mind where murder is not such a terrible thing.
• Trying to rectify / reassert a natural justice.

Macbeth: Bringing the witches to life –

• Power going in.
• Links with each other, connection with sisters.
• What stage do they ‘get to him’?
• Witches speak his darkest thought – then becomes tangible.
• Question of fate. Told fate – will strive to it.
• Always a weakness where someone will then agree.
• Witches’ power does not just lie in witchcraft – lies in knowing their man knowing how to tempt him with his own desires and how to plunge him into turmoil – ‘why do I yield to that suggestion?’

Macbeth: the role of the witches –

• Witches are meant to scare us, but in today’s society, witchcraft is diminished.
• Shakespeare’s day – burning witches at the stake – witch scenes would have had more impact if you come from a culture that believes in witches.
• Similarity between language of witches and street speak today. Both used creatively and exclude outsiders.
• Bend words to make different meanings – ‘fair is foul and foul is fair’, Macbeth’s first words echo the witches – ‘so foul and fair a day I have not seen’.

Section A, Practice Question Plans

1. What have you found striking about Shakespeare’s presentation of death in Macbeth?

• Lots of death – striking = pace.
• Banquo’s death – surprising because it goes as quickly (1 Act) then his ghost appears. Short one lines, death and revenge link in together. Also so surprising because it is his friend – thought it would take Macbeth a long time to build up the courage.
• Metaphorically = striking – not always physical and death of relationships. Noble character – expected to always be like this (faithful). However, first meet M in battle – death is all he knows.
• Death of relationships – Macbeth and Banquo – striking – see hunger for power that he will kill his friend. Macbeth and Lady Macbeth – both on different levels (LM has to insult M’s masculinity).
• Presentation – symbolically e.g. dagger soliloquy. Animals = foreshadowing < striking, Porter also foreshadow – reels the audience in.
• Gothic texts expect to have death, blood and gore.
• Death completes a circle – there at the beginning and kicks off a series of other deaths and ends with the inevitability.
• Presented through supernatural framework – witches = catalyst of death. Supernatural = fear of death.
• Darkness.
• Macduff’s family – their death is shocking – they’re innocent – unnecessary, unprovoked, ultimate downfall, happens on stage – Macbeth less secretive and out of control. Any sympathy toward Macbeth is lost.

2. Discuss the view that Shakespeare’s main interest is not the physical horror, but in psychological depravity.

• Physical horror is there – blood etc.
• Majority of gore is off stage – language describes it – leaves to the imagination, S manipulates the audience.
• L M off stage – main character – expected to die on stage, shows M is not thinking of her?
• Dagger soliloquy = longer than any physical gore – S makes more of psychological aspects.
• Murders lead to psychological depravity.
• Looking into the mind of a mad man – endlessly fascinating.
• ‘Unseamed from nave to chops’ – led to Macbeth’s depraved mind.

3. How far do you agree that Macbeth’s gothic elements are not relevant for a modern audience?

• Supernatural = not as shocking – we are not as suspicious as Shakespearian audiences would have been. BUT still relevant if we reinterpret them into a treatment of women, racism etc … fear of the unknown, media creating ‘folk devils’.
• Witches in enigmatic set up = chorus.
• Lady Macbeth – alienation = gothic element, seductress = gothic element – still relevant – femme fatale still features profusely today (critical anthology). She has power-perfect, represents how society has change, refreshing even though used in a negative sense.
• Harder to scare a modern audience – gothic has turned to grotesque horror.
• Psychological is still relevant.

'Frankenstein', Extra Notes, Revision

Frankenstein, Extra Notes, Revision

Characterisation

Women as victims –

Can be argued that the principal women exist largely to be rescued to suffer and to die:

• Caroline, V’s mother is rescued by his father
• Caroline rescues Elizabeth, but dies after developing Scarlet Fever
• Justine is rescued from a wretched childhood, only to be put on trial and executed for the murder of William (V’s brother)
• Elizabeth is murdered by the monster on the night of her marriage to Victor

Why are the women victims? – The passivity and victimisation of J and E can be seen as both

• a function of Victor’s character
• an outcome of his obsession with the monster

Justine dies:

• direct consequence of the monster’s resentment of the circumstances of his creation.
• monster’s despair at his creator’s rejection.
• monster’s desire to take revenge on Victor for depriving him of a normal life.

Elizabeth dies:

• Victor’s preoccupation with his work causes him to delay their marriage
• Monster’s intervention to deprive Victor of a relationship he himself has been denied.

If we assume Victor has created the monster and made a second, uncontrollable version of himself, the following points emerge:

• the creature could be seen as acting as Victor’s instrument, as acting on his behalf.
• at some level, Frankenstein wills Elizabeth’s death because of his own fear of sexuality.

• Justine and Elizabeth suffer the consequences of a man with tunnel vision who does not allow the distractions of sexual love and family obligations to distract him from a pursuit of knowledge.

During the months the monster spends watching the de Laceys, the story shows:

• a lesson in human iniquity
• a lesson in family solidarity and fidelity – love and strengthen and enable individuals to triumph over adversity.

The monster then destroys this safe haven.

Walton:

Shares similar characteristics with V –

• masculine desire to explore, discover, conquer and control.
• pitches himself against nature – search for a northern sea passage.
• hopes to acquire fame.

These characteristics also have similar effect to V:

• lack of a permanent home
• lack of lasting relationship.

Walton longs for companionship – fails to find a friend among his crew – none can live up to his requirements – seeks someone like himself.

like humanity cannot live up to V’s ideas          V? recognises someone like himself

Victor Frankenstein:

• Begins the novel with; high intellectual ideas, desire to increase his knowledge and contribute to the benefit of mankind.
• As the novel develops his personality becomes increasingly obsessive and self-absorbed; as he pursues his ambition, he loses ethics and morals, his secrecy leads to loneliness.
• Overwhelmed by a narcissistic self-love
• Each time he shows signs of ‘breaking out’, he visits his family, or seeks solace in the world.
• One obsession (create monster) is replaced by another (desire to destroy monster) – always driven.
• Links with Prometheus > defies the supreme being and continues to pursue knowledge until it has fatal consequencies. P steals fire, F uses lightening to harness the monster.

Victor fears sexuality:

Chapter 4 –

• Victor runs from the lab and hides in bedroom where he falls asleep. He dreams he embraces Elizabeth, but she then transforms into the decomposing body of his mother and when V wakes, the first thing he sees is the monster.

• sex, death and the creature are linked in a single image.

• establishes a link between V’s avoidance of sexuality

(Margaret Homans) – V creating monster, he is excited, but when it is ‘born’ he rejects his own ‘child’. This motif relates to Mary Shelley’s own anxieties about childbirth – difficulties of her own pregnancies and deaths of 3 infants.

Henry Clerval

• Serves as a faithful friend.
• Powerless to save Victor from himself.
• Also eager in pursuit of knowledge, but it is more humanistic (languages) and can balance it with other aspects of life.
• When in Clerval’s company, V leads a more balanced life and is temporarily distracted from his science.
• Clerval’s death is a punishment for V failing to keep a promise.
• He is doomed to be destroyed, like V’s other friends.

The Monster

Can he be considered a Character?

YES

• Goes through stages of human maturity.
• Feelings and motivations are influenced by his conclusions of his own identity.

NO

• His humanity is in doubt.
• Hard to think of him as we do other characters in fiction.
• He is a mechanical creation.

• He is like Adam and Eve before the Fall; without knowledge of sin and guilt.
• OR
• HE is like Adam and Eve after the Fall – immediate guilt simply for being what he is.

• Displays more humanity (early in novel) than his creator – full range of emotions; anger, fear, pity.
• Initially his feelings to others are positive.
• He is also formed by the treatment of his creator.
• All images of the monster are conveyed to us in his own words / by Walton and Victor.
• No detached 3^rd person narrator.
• Our understanding of what the monster is like has to be composed from what we can understand of other narratives.
• May require us to be critical of W/V.

'Dr. Faustus', Extra Notes, Revision

Dr Faustus, Extra Notes, Revision

Themes –

• Religion and Politics – the main political satire is directed at Charles V. Faustus and Mephistopheles visit his court which reveals Charles’ excessive family pride. Has no dignity > easy target for F and M’s tricks.

• Humanism – about human aspirations and potential and human aspirations but also human limitations.

Characters –

Mephistopheles – subtle manipulator – knows when to respond to Faustus, e.g. appearance of 7 deadly sins for amusement. He is an honest character – always says the truth about the outcome. Marlowe uses M to show ‘hell’ is also an inner psychological state that delivers its keenest pain mentally: ‘my fainting soul’.

Faustus – his intellect is his strength and his weakness. He is arrogant enough to think he has power over M. Doubts the reality of hell – ‘I think hell’s a fable’ – naïve. Is F the epitome of the new Renaissance scholar? – has command of new branches of knowledge and is familiar with recent learning and geographical discoveries. Asks for knowledge after asking for a wife – shows another side of his nature; his love of sensual pleasure.

Good and evil angels – they are external, visible embodiments of the two impulses that are at war within Faustus’s mind. They contest for F’s soul. Often appear when F is wavering.

The Old Man – key character as F is now being appealed to by a fellow human being. Previously F was appealed to by non-human beings. The Old Man brings warnings to F. Uses the word ‘sweet’ more than once – demonstrates that the Old Man retains his faith in F whose soul might be redeemed.

The Character of Mephistopheles

When hearing of hell and of devils, the thoughts that come to people’s minds are often dark and terrifying. Yet, in my opinion, Mephistopheles does not appear to be as menacing as one would first think. Faustus conjures Mephistopheles and Mephistopheles does not tempt Faustus into the pact. This is the complete opposite of what a hellish creature is traditionally believed to do – they tempt people away from the innocent. However, we do see Mephistopheles’ character change at intervals within the play, for example with Robin and Rafe; he changes from the almost obeying servant to the typical devilish being. Mephistopheles never shows any joy, so his facial expressions and actions on stage should be conveying constant pain, as he is unable to escape his own fate of being damned to hell.

When we first meet Mephistopheles in Act 1, scene 3, his first line is a question: ‘Now, Faustus, what wouldst thou have me do?’ If it was unclear who Mephistopheles was, it could appear that he is Faustus’ servant. This is a confusing aspect of the character of Mephistopheles – is he not meant to be a fearing devil who people cower from? However, it may be introducing the fact that Faustus is not like other humans, rather than Mephistopheles is not like other devilish creatures. In addition: ‘I charge thee’, ‘Speak.’ – Faustus’ demands demean Mephistopheles into the servant persona. In the traditional biblical story, the devil tempted man with its powers, but here, Faustus is tempting the devil. Mephistopheles may be stood on stage as a menacing character, but it could be portrayed that Faustus is oblivious to this, just as he is oblivious to the pact he makes. On the other hand, a more terrifying idea would suggest that this is part of the devil’s plan – trick Faustus into believing he is powerful and, under false pretence, he will make the deal with even more ease and satisfaction.

Furthermore, Mephistopheles does show to have great power and influence over others in the play, so allowing Faustus to make his demands in order to trick him is a valid argument. When Robin and Rafe, the two comedy characters of the play call on Mephistopheles, the first instance of anger from the character appears: ‘Monarch of hell, under whose black survey Great potentates do kneel with awful fear’. On stage, Mephistopheles can be surrounded by smoke and flashing lights to show his hostility towards Robin and Rafe. His voice should boom out with maybe an echo to make him seem more fearful. It can show that the devil is within him and if he is unhappy, there are consequences. Yet, contradicting this view is that there are many less instances (one or two) where this side of Mephistopheles appears, rather than seeing him as the obeying right hand man. If he is a true devilish character, this persona would show much more readily. We must question why Mephistopheles is like this.

One argument would suggest that as Mephistopheles has been damned and essentially been through what Faustus’ fate will be, he is cautious of Faustus making the deal, and when he does he is saddened by this. ‘Why, this is hell’ – Mephistopheles explains that even the physical world is hell; nothing can ever be like heaven. This could be Mephistopheles warning Faustus to not make the pact, so he can experience the wonders of heaven. Mephistopheles sounds saddened rather than angry – does he regret his actions? If he does, Mephistopheles becomes a more human entity than Faustus – Faustus arguably does not regret his actions unless he is probed into it by another character.  

In order to study the character of Mephistopheles, it is vital to study the character of Faustus. It can be argued that Faustus is mentally ill, which is the reason he is so unafraid of the pact and why he so easily conjures up something which so many others fear. Mephistopheles and Faustus develop a close relationship with each other and Faustus refers to him as ‘sweet Mephistopheles’. ‘Sweet’ is in fact the opposite of what a devilish being is, so the audience do have to consider why Faustus calls him this. It can be concluded that Mephistopheles is Faustus’s alter-ego. Evil spirits take advantage of this and drag Faustus down to hell. This idea is reinforced through the parallels that are made between the characters – the old man calls Faustus ‘sweet Faustus’ and then Faustus again calls Mephistopheles ‘sweet Mephistopheles’, all in Act 5, scene 1. Finally, Faustus’ final words before he is dragged down to hell are ‘Ah Mephistopheles!’ We must question why Mephistopheles is his last thought. It could be that it is a cry for help from his ‘friend’, or it could be that Mephistopheles was inside his mind all along.

In conclusion, I believe that Mephistopheles is not the typical devil character that one would first assume. He does show a menacing side, but he shows a more ‘friendly’ side more often – he offers Faustus a dagger, which could be seen as a gesture to help Faustus take control of his death personally. Mephistopheles could be played as a voice over on stage and not actually as a presence on stage. This could therefore leave the audience to interpret whether or not Mephistopheles is a spirit, a servant of the devil, or purely a figure of Faustus’ mind and imagination.

Reading Journal, Act 5, 'Dr Faustus'

Scene 1:

• Wagner reveals that Faustus is nearing the end of his 24 years. He is sharing a last supper – parallels with the Bible, but yet this is the complete opposite. Faustus is going down to hell, rather than up to heaven.
• ‘Belly-cheer’ – associated with the lower class, Faustus is going ‘back to his roots’. Also the theme of greed again – ‘glutted’ etc.
• ‘Belike the feast is ended.’ – metaphorical for Faustus’s life.
• Faustus is asked to conjure up Helen of Troy.
• An Old Man enters. He could be the morality figure of the play as he is focussed on God and decency and resists the devil.
• ‘Where art thou Faustus?’ – Faustus is having an epiphany? Yet he could also be sarcastic due to the punctuation used.
• Mephistopheles hands him a dagger – this could be an act of kindness. He is allowing Faustus to take control of his death – he can choose when he dies, rather than waiting on Lucifer.
• ‘I go sweet Faustus’… ‘Sweet Mephistopheles’ – the characters are closer than ever. Comparable qualities or personalities they share?
• Helen of Troy is conjured again.
• Faustus makes the most beautiful speech within the play; full of beauty and emotion – we have never seen this aspect of Faustus’s personality before. Is this his desperation to be ‘human’?
• However, this part of the scene is upsetting as Faustus can only raise a vision, not the actual person. His pleasure is unfulfilled.

Scene 2:

• The scholars ask what ails Faustus.
• ‘Faustus’ offence can ne’er be pardoned’ – Faustus knows what will come of him and has lost all of hope of ever trying to regain his humanity.
• ‘The serpent that tempted Eve’ – Biblical reference, fall of humanity – just as Faustus has done. He was tempted by the idea of knowledge and power.
• The scholars promise to pray for Faustus – could also be morality figures of the play. Show forgiveness and hope.
• Page 109 – Faustus’s speech links with his first speech through the quoting of Latin, yet they are both drawn apart from the hugely different situation.
• ‘Thunder and lightening’ – typical Gothic convention of the weather. Pathetic fallacy.
• ‘My God, my God’ – Faustus’s vision which show him he is moving further and further away from heavenly bliss into eternal torment.
• ‘Adders and serpents’ – the devils in monstrous form that have come to take him.
• ‘Ugly hell’ – the entrance to hell itself.
• ‘Ah Mephistopheles!’ – Faustus’s last cry before he is dragged down to hell. Is this him calling out to his companion to save him?

Epilogue:

• The Chorus tell us of Faustus’s wasted potential.
• The Chorus treat Faustus’s fate as a warning to the audience – the Chorus could now also be the morality figure of the play?

Reading Journal, Act 4, 'Dr Faustus'

Chorus:

• The Chorus explains Faustus is now famous.
• He is a common celebrity among people in Germany. This is risky – Faustus could use this in a negative way, or in a positive way. We’ve seen Faustus do ‘good’ acts – climbing Mount Olympus, but also ‘bad’ acts – teasing the Pope.

Scene 1:

• ‘I am ready to accomplish your request’ – Faustus is drunk on power.
• The Knight sees straight through Faustus, but Faustus punishes him by causing horns to sprout from his head – F could do anything in the world, yet he has resorted to playing cheap tricks – makes him unlikeable. Yet, Faustus has showed he has seen and learnt almost everything there is to know, so we cannot blame him, as there is nothing left for him to do.
• ‘Calls for the payment of my latest years’ – F knows time is running out, saddening.
• Faustus agrees to sell his horse for forty dollars and warns the man not to ride through water, the horse-courser then returns having ridden the horse into water, the horse-courser pulls at Faustus’s leg, which then comes off and the man then agrees to pay forty dollars more.

Scene 2:

• Faustus meets the Duke of Vanholt – does Faustus need human interaction after being in the company of Mephistopheles for so long?
• ‘If it like your Grace…’ – this speech emphasises Faustus’s great intelligence.
• Faustus is ‘nice’ in this scene – he brings the Duchess grapes, however, it is impossible to truly like him because his deeds are really purely the work of the devil.
• The Duchess’s stage presence is symbolic – as she is pregnant, it represents new life, innocence and fertility. Faustus lost all of these since he made his pact.
• ‘Come Master Doctor, follow us and receive your reward.’ – what is Faustus’s reward? – is it his fame? Is it money? Or is it imbued irony foreshadowing that Faustus will get what he deserves?
• Faustus in this scene is drunk on invincibility.

Reading Journal, Act 3, 'Dr Faustus'

Chorus:

• Wagner gives an account of Faustus’s travels to see the world – he tells of a lot of achievement which indicates there has been a jump in time.
• ‘Did mount himself to scale Olympus’ top’ – Faustus is still reaching high, this is where the Gods are so Faustus is given a God-like power.
• ‘Yoky dragons’ necks’ – theme of fire is continued, shows Faustus’s fate drawing ever closer.
• ‘He now is gone to prove cosmography’ – F is using his power to carry on his intellectual enquiry. This is a ‘good’ act and we can admire him for not committing evil with his abilities.
• ‘To see the Pope’ – faith does not like to be challenged by science. Faustus wants to talk about intellectual aspects and wants the opportunity to redeem himself. It could also be a way of him completing Lucifer’s deeds on Earth. 

Scene 1:

• Faustus tells us of the sights he has seen. He is clearly amazed by the world – ‘passed with delight’, ‘are set with groves of fruitful vines’, ‘fair and gorgeous to the eye’. Faustus is not worrying about the deed because of all the joy it is bringing him at this moment in time. 
• Faustus and Mephistopheles discuss how they can be involved with the celebration of ‘holy Peter’s feast’. This is a quick change from only a short time ago when Faustus was amazed by the wonders of the world. Has he seen everything and is now bored? Again, his behaviour resorts back to a childlike state.
• The Pope part of this scene would have been comedic to the audience. However, in reality, being haunted by a ghost and an invisible being is most people’s worst nightmares. Particularly in the Elizabethan era, with much focus on witches, the supernatural played an important role. Marlowe here makes something that would have been terrifying into something funny.
• This is a different side to Faustus that we haven’t seen before.
• ‘How? Bell, book, and candle, candle, book and bell’ – this can be seen as a joke, yet it also sounds similar to a chant due to the rhythm of the words. Parallels with the witches in Macbeth.

Scene 2:

• Another Robin and Rafe scene to parallel the events that Faustus involves himself in.
• These scenes can be seen to be ridiculing, blaspheming and mocking tradition.
• ‘Enter to them Mephistopheles’ – the crossing over, Faustus descent into sin.
• Mephistopheles has been pleasant to Faustus – in this scene we see a different side to him. However, is this the ‘real’ Mephistopheles? This makes Robin and Rafe less comic.
• Robin and Rafe are pleased to be turned into a dog and an ape – helps us to appreciate how deluded Faustus is to be satisfied with being turned into a spirit, (Act 2, scene 1, line 97).