11/14/19 Riya Agrawal Period 5

11/14/19
Sophomores 2020
Riya Agrawal
Period 5
Blog #33

Aim: What are the major symbols in Macbeth and how do they create allusions and connections?

Today in class, we began reading Scene 2 while keeping in mind some of the symbols we had learned about yesterday.

The readers stood in front of the room and began reading the scene out loud. In just the first five lines of the second scene, we noticed two symbols. The first, being the torch that Fleance was holding. This symbol represents good while darkness represented evil. This told us that Fleance was a righteous and ethical character.

In the next couple of lines, Banquo talks about how the moon sets at 12. Yesterday, we learned that multiples of 3 symbolize the supernatural so we were able to predict that supernatural occurrences would show up later in the scene.

In the next lines, Banquo notices that something is wrong in the heavens and something feels wrong. Essentially, he is saying he has a hunch that something bad is going to happen. As the readers, we know that Macbeth is plotting to kill Duncan and that is why Banquo feels so uneasy.

Continuing, we read that Duncan gives Lady Macbeth a diamond as a gift for her hospitality. This shows that Duncan is oblivious to Lady Macbeth's true intentions. He is unsuspecting of anything that Lady Macbeth might be doing to harm him. This idea ties into what Lady Macbeth had said earlier in Scene 1, "Look like the innocent flower but be the serpent underneath." Lady Macbeth seems innocent in Duncan's eyes but as the readers, we know that she is planning to get his guards drunk so that Macbeth can kill him.

Next in the scene, Banquo talks about how although physically he doesn't, emotionally and mentally he feels tired and exhausted. He wants to sleep but he is unable to. Sleep was another symbol we looked at yesterday and it represents, "little death" and a daily process. Banquo can't sleep because of nightmares. This also gives readers and Banquo a sense that something evil is going to happen.

We read Macbeth's soliloquy next. Afterward, we discussed in out-groups what we think it means.

My group discussed how in it, Macbeth hallucinates an image of a dagger which represents the weapon he will use to kill Duncan. He also sees blood on the dagger. I think this represents his uneasiness at killing Duncan because he is starting to realize the consequences and the immediate effects of stabbing Duncan. Even though blood on the dagger is a small consequence, it still shows how Macbeth is thinking about what will happen once he stabs Duncan. But before, he can think more and talk himself out of it, Lady Macbeth rings the bell signaling Macbeth to continue with the murder.

We stopped reading there and Ms. Fusaro put up the play for the end of Scene 1 and the beginning of
Scene 2.

We ended the lesson by talking about an activity we will prepare for on Monday called Hot Seat. We will have some of our classmates act as characters in the play while the rest of the class asks them high-level questions while maintaining the tone and style of speech of a talk show host. Ms. Fusaro gave the example that we might ask Macbeth, "Why is Lady Macbeth telling you what to do when you're the man of the house? Who's really wearing the pants in this relationship?"

My Reflection:
Today in class we learned about how Shakespeare puts symbols in his plays that are oftentimes easy for readers to miss but can give an idea about characters and what they might be thinking. They can also foreshadow events for both the characters and the readers. This is important for the rest of the book because most of these symbols were hidden. For example, the number 12 usually doesn't have a significance but it represented the supernatural in this scene which would have been really easy to skip over. These symbols help give a deeper understanding of the plays beyond just what is happening. It helps us understand character traits and the thoughts of the characters.