Macbeth Active Reading Notes

• enter the witches: that famous "Double, double, toil and trouble" line

• enter Hecate ('witch boss'), next Macbeth (another famous line: "...Something wicked this way comes")
• Macbeth is seeing things again:
• an armed head (Macduff?) 
• a bloody child; none born from a woman shall kill Macbeth
• a crowned child holding a tree; 
• ***Beware of Macduff

• enter eight kings, the last king with a glass in his hand; ghost of Banquo follows
• the news that Macduff has fled to England is released/told

• Ross and Lady Macduff discuss why Macduff would leave to England and leave his family
• Lady Macduff speaks to her son about how long will he go on without a father?
• She assumes her husband is a guilty man, one who committed the murder, because he fled to England. Surprisingly, unlike all of the others, she is not suspicious of Macbeth
• the three murderers enter, they call Macduff a traitor to his son which upsets the son. One of the three murderers stab Macduff's son and kills him (stab-die!)

• Macduff speaks to Malcolm; Malcolm says he can understand everything that has been going on but Macduff disagrees with his opinion
• Doctor enters
• "what's this disease he means?"/"'Tis called the evil" reference to Macbeth?? 

• Scotland's suffering big time

• Ross returns and tells Macduff that his wife and kids are okay. They converse and then Ross becomes weak and fesses up that Macbeth has murdered his wife and kids. Macduff becomes very upset and angry/sad. "not for their own demerits, but mine"Macduff feels guilty because he feels that they were killed because of him and his actions
• Malcolm and Ross tell Macduff to man up and fight Macbeth for all that he has done and created. The men manipulate Macduff to get him angry so that he will agree to fight and win. King Edward says he will provide an army to fight Macbeth
• Macduff ensures ross that he WILL get revenge upon Macbeth for killing his beloved family.