GCSE English Literature / Drama: Macbeth - Act 2, Scene 2 - Bloody Daggers

Video summary

Macbeth has committed the murder and is overcome with guilt and fear.

Lady Macbeth tries to reassure him and to oversee the unfinished business of murder.

Noises and a knocking at the door unsettle them both.

PLEASE NOTE: This scene contains sequences which some people may find upsetting. Teacher review is recommended prior to use in class.

This short film is from the BBC series, Shakespeare Unlocked.

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Teacher Notes

This short film is essential viewing for students studying 'Macbeth', especially when considering the implications of this key scene.

Before watching the scene, ask your students to look out for personal moments of crisis for Macbeth and Lady Macbeth.

Ask them to also consider what the turning point of the scene is.

Ask them to share their observations after watching the scene. What do they feel the turning point is?

This short film is suitable for teaching GCSE English literature and drama in England, Wales and Northern Ireland and National 4/ 5 in Scotland.

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The cast explore how Lady Macbeth takes control as Macbeth struggles with his guilty conscience.

Act 2, Scene 2 - Hearing noises (workshop)

The cast discuss iambic pentameter and explore the rhythm of Shakespeare’s language.

Act 2, Scene 2 - Rhythm of the language (workshop)

The actors and director explore the Macbeths' very different responses to Duncan’s murder.

Act 2, Scene 2 - The king is dead (workshop)

The director and actors experiment with the staging of the sleepwalking scene.

Act 5, Scene 1 - Candle in the dark (workshop)

The doctor and lady-in-waiting witness Lady Macbeth sleepwalking.

Act 5, Scene 1 - Sleepwalking

The director investigates how knowledge of Lady Macbeth’s secret changes the lives of others.

Act 5, Scene 1 - Sleepwalking Queen (workshop)

RSC Head of Voice, Lyn Darnley, helps Aislín McGuckin through a series of voice exercises.

Act 5, Scene 1 - Unlocking the words (workshop)

A look at the production and how the design is informed by the period in which Macbeth was written.

About the 2011 RSC production

A look at the different ways of performing the scene when Lady Macbeth persuades her husband to kill the king.

Act 1, Scene 7 - Persuading Macbeth (workshop)

Macbeth debates the murder of King Duncan and decides against it. Lady Macbeth uses a battery of strategies to change his mind.

Act 1, Scene 7 - To Kill the King

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