Macbeth

Click on the image to watch the video ⇓

Lo sapete che mancano solo poche ore al compleanno di William Shakespeare? Eh sì, perché il 23 aprile in tutto il mondo si celebra la nascita del grande drammaturgo e poeta inglese.

La mia passione per il Bardo di Stratford-upon-Avon non è certo un mistero. Di Shakespeare adoro tutte le opere, quelle drammatiche e non, anche se ho una vera predilezione per le tragedie e, tra queste, per Macbeth, che mi è capitato di rileggere proprio di recente.

Senza svelare troppo, in Macbeth Shakespeare esplora temi davvero affascinanti, alcuni dei quali ancora molto attuali, purtroppo, come l’ambizione sfrenata e la sete di potere, che portano il protagonista, un valoroso soldato all’inizio della storia, a macchiarsi di crimini orribili.

Questa versione carinissima della tragedia è stata realizzata dal British Council nell’ambito dell’iniziativa Shakespeare Lives. È semplificata, ma è perfetta per avvicinare all’opera del Bardo anche quanti non hanno ancora un livello avanzato di conoscenza dell’inglese, ed è utilissima per mettere alla prova le nostre abilità di ascolto.

A tal proposito, dopo aver guardato il video, provate a mettere i seguenti eventi in ordine cronologico (troverete la soluzione alla fine del post):

1. After a battle, Macbeth and his best friend, Banquo, meet three witches.
2. Macbeth kills Duncan and becomes the new King of Scotland, but he is worried that Banquo knows his secret.
3. Lady Macbeth feels terrible and understands that it is wrong to kill.
4. The witches tell him that everything will be fine.
5. Lady Macbeth is excited about the idea of becoming the Queen of Scotland, so she encourages Macbeth to kill King Duncan.
6. The people know that Macbeth killed Duncan and an army attacks his castle.
7. The witches tell Macbeth that he will be the new King of Scotland.
8. After seeing Banquo’s ghost, Macbeth goes to ask the witches if he is in danger.
9. Macbeth is killed and the people now have a new king.
10. He orders his servant to kill Banquo.

Ho scelto questo video anche perché ci dà l’occasione di vedere insieme alcune espressioni e aggettivi legati a emozioni e stati d’animo:

– frightened = scared, feeling fear = terrorizzato -> Macbeth: “I am very frightened about killing Duncan”.
– worried = anxious, having or characterised by worry = preoccupato -> Macbeth: “I am worried people will know my secret”.
– (to) feel bad = experience regret, sadness, embarrassment -> Macbeth feels bad about killing him.
– (to) feel terrible =feel extremely unhappy, very bad -> Macbeth: “I feel terrible about killing Duncan and Banquo”.

Ma nella storia ci sono anche altri aggettivi, tra i quali:
– brave = having or showing courage -> Macbeth and his best friend, Banquo, are brave soldiers.
– ugly = unattractive, horrid or unpleasant especially to the sight -> Three ugly witches come out of the fog.
– wrong =immoral, bad = sbagliato -> Lady Macbeth understands that it is wrong to kill.

Se occorre, qui sotto potete trovare la trascrizione del video.

“Macbeth and his best friend, Banquo, are brave soldiers.
One day, after a battle, three ugly witches come out of the fog.
‘Macbeth. You will be the new King of Scotland! He, he, he, ha, ha, ha!’
‘Me? The new King of Scotland?’

Macbeth writes a letter to his wife, Lady Macbeth. He tells her what the witches said.
‘Yes! If he is the king, I will be the queen!’

King Duncan comes for dinner and sleeps at Macbeth’s castle. When Duncan is asleep, Lady Macbeth tells Macbeth to kill him.
‘I really want to be king. But I am very frightened about killing Duncan. He is a good king …’
Macbeth sees a knife in front of him. He knows it is wrong, but he decides to kill Duncan. ‘I must do this quickly.’
Duncan is dead but Macbeth feels bad about killing him.
‘It’s OK. Nobody will know our secret.’

Macbeth becomes king but he is worried that his friend Banquo knows he killed Duncan. He decides that Banquo must die too and he orders his servant to kill him.
‘I am king, but I am not happy. I feel terrible about killing Duncan and Banquo and I am worried people will know my secret.’

Macbeth sees Banquo’s ghost in front of him. He’s very frightened. He goes to see the witches again. Macbeth asks the witches if he’s in danger.
‘Don’t worry. Everything will be OK.’
‘Yes, everything will be fine.’
Macbeth believes the witches, but they were lying. ‘He, he, he, ha, ha, ha!’

Lady Macbeth is sleepwalking. She wanted to be queen but now she feels terrible. She understands that it is wrong to kill.
An army comes to attack the castle. The people know that Macbeth killed Duncan.
‘The witches said I was safe. They lied to me!’
Macbeth is dead and now the people have a good, new king.”

Mentre qui potete trovare alcune attività da fare sulla storia.

E a questo punto non mi resta che augurare: buon compleanno, Shakespeare! J

Soluzione: 1., 7., 5., 2., 10., 8., 4., 3., 6., 9.