EA 190 Shakespeare & Japan Discussion Notebook Questions Week 5

READING Questions (you do not need to answer these in writing):

1. Make sure you read Mikiso Hane's chapter on pre-17th Century Japanese history.

2. We will be considering how time works in Macbeth compared to Throne of Blood. See what information/sources you can find on the Judeo-Christian concept of time (tending to be linear, eschatalogical) versus Buddhist and Neo-Confucian concepts of time (tending to be cyclical).

MESSAGEBOARD FORUM DISCUSSION: Compare the hag in Throne of Blood to the Weird Sisters in Macbeth. Is the Hag/Forest Crone in Throne of Blood unambiguously evil in the same way as the Weird Sisters? Why or why not? Do you think she has more responsibility or less responsiblity for Washizu's actions compared to the Weird Sisters and Macbeth? Cite scenes and pg. #s to support your points.

DISCUSSION NOTEBOOK QUESTIONS (i.e. answer these in writing):

#1 Prophecies Comparison (answer this)

Compare the prophecies and images that the Weird Sisters present to Macbeth, versus the prophecies and images that that Hag of the Forest presents to Washizu. How are they similar? How different? Does equivocation/doubling still play a role? How do Macbeth and Washizu interpret those prophecies? Where do each of them go wrong?

#2 Character Comparison (choose ONE of the following to analyze)

a. Macbeth versus Washizu

Questions to consider:

1) How does changing Tzuzuki Kuniharu's and Banquo's characters, and eliminating the Macduff subplot, affect our understanding of Washizu's actions? Is he now more or less culpable/responsible than Macbeth?

2) Washizu clearly does not have Macbeth's way with rhetorical imagery (it would not have been out of line for a samurai in this period to be an excellent poet and even dabble in Noh theater composition, but Kurosawa does not go in that direction). But does he still have a vivid imagination? How does Kurosawa convey this?

3) Competing ideals of manhood are an important theme in Macbeth. How is manhood represented in Throne of Blood? What is the implicit standard? How does Washizu measure up?

4) Anything else you think is important!

b. Lady Macbeth versus Asaji

Questions to consider:

1) How is Asaji's relationship with Washizu different from Lady Macbeth's relationship with her husband? How is that relationship conveyed visually?

2) How do plot changes (Asaji's pregnancy, the character of Tsuzuki Kuniharu etc) affect our understanding of her character? How does this affect our sympathy?

3) How is Asaji related (visually and aurally) to the uncanny old Hag of the Forest? How does this compare with the relationship of Lady Macbeth and the Weird Sisters? Again, how does this affect our understanding/sympathy for her?

4) Compare the sleepwalking scene with the mad scene in Throne of Blood.

5) Anything else you think is important!