MACBETH - Soliloquies and Monologues
Performed by Judi Dench




Lady Macbeth, Act 1, Scene 5: "The raven himself is hoarse..." Timestamps - Opening: 0:00 - Introduction 0:32 - Soliloquies and Monologues 1:41 - End Sequence: 7:35

Self-led Learning Audio-Visual Series - A Companion to Shakespeare's Soliloquies and Monologues

Macbeth - Lady Macbeth's Soliloquies and Monologues - Part I
Performed by Judi Dench
1979 TV-Film - Directed by Trevor Nunn

Content:
Lady Macbeth, Act 1, Scene 5: "The raven himself is hoarse..."
Context: Lady Macbeth reads Macbeth's letter about the witches' prophecies.
Motivation: She immediately seizes on the opportunity to become queen and resolves to manipulate Macbeth into taking action. She is ruthless and ambitious, willing to sacrifice morality for power.

1979 videotaped version of Trevor Nunn's Royal Shakespeare Company production of the play by William Shakespeare. Produced by Thames Television, it features Ian McKellen as Macbeth and Judi Dench as Lady Macbeth. The TV version was directed by Philip Casson. Timeline chapters:

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Adapted by Maximianno Cobra, from Shakespeare's "Timon of Athens", the film exposes the timeless challenge of social hypocrisy, disillusion and annihilation against the poetics of friendship, love, and beauty.

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Christmastime during the Elizabethan and Jacobean eras was markedly different from contemporary celebrations. Rather than centring on December 25th, festivities spanned the 12 days of Christmas, from December 25th to January 6th, marked by social activities such as carol singing, dancing, and games. One popular pastime was “Hoodman’s Blind,” an early form of “Blind Man’s Buff.” Another was ‘wassailing,’ involving the communal sharing of hot spiced cider. Decorations also reflected the season’s greenery, with holm, ivy, and bay replacing the tinsel and baubles of today. Feasting was central to the celebrations, with wealthier landowners hosting tenants for grand meals that might feature woodcock, turkey, or swan, accompanied by bread and beer.

Thomas Tusser captured these traditions in his 1557 poem Five Hundred Points of Good Husbandry:
At Christmas we banquet, the rich with the poor,
Who then (but the miser) but openeth the door?
At Christmas of Christ many carols we sing,
And give many gifts in the joy of the King.

The Lord of Misrule presided over much of the revelry, orchestrating entertainment in both grand and modest households. This figure symbolized a temporary subversion of social order, embodying the festive spirit of mischief and merriment. In royal courts, festivities were elevated through theatrical performances. Queen Elizabeth I and King James I frequently engaged the Lord Chamberlain’s Men—later known as the King’s Men—to perform plays during the Christmas season. These performances often featured works by William Shakespeare. For instance, in 1597, the company performed Love’s Labour’s Lost at Whitehall Palace. Under King James’ patronage, additional plays were staged at Hampton Court, including The Merry Wives of Windsor, The Comedy of Errors, and Measure for Measure. Notably, King Lear was performed on Boxing Day in 1606, and Twelfth Night on multiple occasions, its themes of misrule aligning with the festive season.

The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust preserves evidence of these performances, including printed editions such as a 1608 version of King Lear, documenting its Boxing Day presentation at Whitehall. While not explicitly Christmassy, plays like Twelfth Night resonate with the spirit of the season through their humor, mischief, and references to old traditions. Today, these works remain associated with Christmas through performance practices, as demonstrated by the Royal Shakespeare Company’s recent stagings of Twelfth Night and The Merry Wives of Windsor.

Ben Jonson, a contemporary of Shakespeare, explicitly engaged with festive themes in Christmas, His Masque, also called Christmas His Show. This Jacobean-era masque was written by Jonson and performed at the English royal court at Christmas of 1616. Jonson’s masque displays the traditional folklore and iconography of Christmas at an early-modern and pre-commercial stage of its development. It celebrated the season with allegorical figures and humor, showcasing Jonson’s wit and mastery of form.

Modern Christmas theatre traditions also include adaptations of A Christmas Carol, reflecting Victorian customs like Christmas trees, as well as productions of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, inspired by C.S. Lewis’s 1950 tale of a winter world bereft of Christmas.

As these examples illustrate, the spirit of the season endures in both Christian and secular gatherings with a ritual of hope and love renewal.

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Julius Caesar is a 1970 film adaptation of William Shakespeare's play of the same name, directed by Stuart Burge. It was an independent production of Commonwealth United Entertainment, filmed in England and Spain. It is the first film version of the play made in colour.