Lab 8

March 31, 2018

Rhetoric in Acts 3-4 of Macbeth

This week in Professor Waits English 1302 1st Period class, we discussed Act 3 and 4 of Shakespeare’s Macbeth on Monday and Friday, Although, on Wednesday, all juniors had to take the SAT; therefore, we had class online on that day where we read Act 4. In class, we spent time practicing acting exercises and reading lines for Act 1 of Macbeth. Additionally, there were no chapter pages to read this week. Rhetoric is used in Macbeth Act 3 and 4 with many lines. For example, when Macbeth states “We have scorched the snake, not killed it” (Shakespeare 1129), he uses figurative language: a metaphor. When Banquo says “Ay, my good lord. Our time does call upon ’s” (Shakespeare 0992), he is using personification, a type of figurative language. Macbeth uses an allusion when stating “My genius is rebuked, as it is said/Mark Antony’s was by Caesar. He chid the sisters/When first they put the name of king upon me/And bade them speak to him” (Shakespeare 1013 -1016) knowing Banquo may defeat him, such as Caesar defeated Mark Antony. Macbeth foreshadows Banquo’s murder to the audience with the lines “It is concluded. Banquo, thy soul’s flight,/If it find heaven, must find it out tonight” (Shakespeare 1113-1114).

This week I noticed rhetoric and argument in Act 3 and Act 4 of William Shakespeare’s play Macbeth.

Constructing my own Rhetorical Piece: Question/Problem: In William Shakespeare’s Macbeth, Why did Macbeth kill Banquo? Answers/Solutions: In William Shakespeare’s Macbeth, Macbeth killed Banquo because Banquo was suspicious of Macbeth for murdering King Duncan.

Work Cited:

Shakespeare, William. “The Tragedy of Macbeth.” Folger Digital Texts, Edited by Barbara A. Mowat & Paul Werstine, Folger Shakespeare Library, http://www.folgerdigitaltexts.org/html/Mac.html. 

Warne, Russell. “Toil and Trouble for the Echo’s MACBETH.” Utah Theatre Bloggers, 4 Oct. 2014, utahtheaterbloggers.com/19601/toil-and-trouble-for-the-echos-macbeth.

“Macbeth Act 3 Literary Devices.” Quizlet, quizlet.com/210772694/macbeth-act-3-literary-devices-flash-cards/.