Macbeth Packet 1

Macbeth Packet
Included in this packet are all of the necessary items you need to succeed in this unit. Do NOT lose this packet!!!
Key:
Reading assignments in BOLD
Writing assignments are ITALICIZED
***Note: All assignments are due on the day they are written in the schedule! So, in other words, you need to have the assignment COMPLETE on the day it’s written down!

Unit(s): Macbeth
NOVEMBER - DECEMBER 2011
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
28
1. Goals Discussion
2.Anticipation Guide
3. Macbeth curse

29- LATE START
1. Macbeth Study Guide
2. Macbeth Reading Schedule
3. Different Lenses
- vote on lenses
4. Independent reading
30
1. Character Overview and background
2. Macbeth Act I sc. 1-2 film
3. Act I, sc. 1-2 and Lens example

1
Read Act I, sc. 1-2, pp. 7-13
1. Overview Act I, sc. 1-2
2. Predict for Act I, sc. 3.
2
Read Act I, sc. 3, pp. 13-25
1. Overview Act I, sc. 3
2. Film for Act I, sc. 4-5
3. Independent Reading
5
ONE PAGERS DUE
Read Act I, sc. 4-5, pp. 25-35
1. Overview Act I, sc. 4-5
6- MEDIA CENTER
Read Act I, sc. 6-7, pp. 35-45
1. Review Act I
- Meet in lenses
7
Quiz on Act I

8
Read Act II.1, pp. 49-53

9
Read Act II.2-3, pp. 55-73

12-
Read Act II.4, pp. 73-77
1. Independent reading

13
Read Act III, sc.1-2, pp. 81-95

14
Read Act III, sc. 3-4, pp. 95-109

1. Lens groups

15
Read Act III, sc. 5-6, pp. 111-115
Quiz on Acts II-III

16
Read Act IV, sc. 1- pp. 119-131
1. Thesis statement notes
JANUARY 2012
WINTER BREAK
- Read Act IV, sc. 2-3, pp. 133-157
- Initial thesis statements
- One-pagers
3- SCHOOL RESUMES
- Read Act IV, sc. 2-3, pp. 133-157
- Initial thesis statements due

4- ONE-PAGERS DUE
1. Outlining notes

5
Read Act V, sc. 1-3, pp.- 161-173
Work on outlines

LAB _______
6
Macbeth Outlines due

9-
Read Act V, sc. 4-7, pp. 173-185
Finish Macbeth in class

10
Work on rough drafts

LAB ______
11
Macbeth Rough Drafts due
Peer edit
12
Work on Final Drafts

LAB _______
13
Macbeth Final Essays Due
Discuss final and start studying

16- NO SCHOOL
17
Study for Final Exam
18- FINALS

E402 FINAL EXAM
19- FINALS
20- FINALS

Critical Lens Reading: An Overview

As much as I’d like for us to read Macbeth and stop to observe every cool think Shakespeare does with the language along the way, it’s not at all possible, time-wise. While there might be six different aspects of the writing I’d like you to focus on as you read, we don’t have time to read the play six different times…but we can be reading the play in six different ways.

Below is a list of several different critical lenses one might use to read the play Macbeth. Each one of you will choose ONE lens in particular for which you will act as a detective, looking for instances where your lens comes into play. They are as follows:

Gender roles (masculinity and femininity)
The deception of appearance (appearance vs. reality)
Fate vs. freewill
The burden of guilt/conscience
The line between being a leader and a tyrant
Light & dark imagery

Once you are assigned to a lens, you will periodically meet with other people in the class that are reading through the same lens as you, discuss your findings, and occasionally report out to the class about these findings. Any questions?!

Macbeth (Optional) Reading Guide

Act I

1. The play is set in what country? And, this country is at war with whom?

2. What kind of atmosphere is created in scene 1 with the witches? Why?

3. What is Macbeth’s title at the start of the play?

4. How is Macbeth characterized through the words of those that know him?

5. Who is the person that grants Macbeth the title of Thane of Cawdor (in addition to the one he already has)? How is this made possible?

6. What are the witches’ three predictions (or their three titles) for Macbeth? 1. 2. 3.

7. What do they predict for Banquo?

8. Who does the King name as heir to the throne?

9. When Duncan announces to the gathered noblemen his successor to the throne, what does Macbeth realize he must do if the witches’ predictions are to come true?

10. What “bigger idea” might the three witches symbolize?

11. Lady Macbeth’s comment that her husband is “too full o’ the milk of human kindness” indicates something about Macbeth’s character, but what quality of Lady Macbeth’s does it reveal?

12. How is Macbeth able to easily kill the King?

13. Why might we be able to call Macbeth ambitious?

14. Who does Lady Macbeth plan on blaming for the King’s death?

15. Explain the following quote by Lady Macbeth:

Come you spirits That tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here, And fill me, from the crown to the toe, topfull Of direst cruelty!

Act II

1. How can we tell that Banquo is nervous or fearful in scene 1?

2. What does Macbeth hallucinate that he sees before committing the crime?

3. How does Lady Macbeth prevent the servants from coming to King Duncan’s rescue?

4. Who is the one that commits the crime? How might this be slightly ironic?

5. Give an example of a line from the play that illustrates Macbeth’s guilt following the murder? (hint: There are a few of these in scene 2.)

6. What does Lady Macbeth say is the reason she was unable to kill the King herself?

7. What do you think is the main purpose of the scene with the porter (scene 3)? Keep in mind, it comes right after the murder.

8. Why do Malcolm and Donalbain flee the country once the murder of their father becomes known?

9. What is to take place at the town of Scone (refer to scene 4)?

10. What evidence do we have at the end of Act III of Macduff’s opposition to Macbeth?

Act III

1. What can we can we infer is Macbeth’s plan (or next move) from his soliloquy in scene 1?

2. Why is Macbeth so insistent on Banquo’s death?

3. Why does Macbeth decide to hire murderers to kill Banquo as opposed to doing the deed himself?

4. By scene 2, what is now Lady Macbeth’s attitude about her newly-gotten crown?

5. Why is it ironic that Macbeth scolds Banquo for being absent from the banquet?

6. In scene 4, what does the ghost of Banquo likely represent?

7. How does Lady Macbeth react to Macbeth’s “episode” during the banquet?

8. Who is Hecate? Why is she angry with the witches?

9. The audience learns that Macduff has gone to England to do what?

Act IV

1. Why does Macbeth return to the witches?

2. What or whom do they conjure up? Also, what are the three warnings/prophecies?

1. 2. 3.

3. How is Macbeth encouraged by the witches’ prophecies?

4. Why does Macbeth decide to kill Lady Macduff and her children? How are their murders different from those of King Duncan and Banquo?

5. How does Malcolm lie to Macduff at first? Why does he do this?

6. When Macduff asks about the welfare of his family, Ross replies that “they were all at peace” when he last saw them. How is this partially true?

7. What does Macduff then set out to do?

8. How has Macbeth changed as a person over the course of the play?

Act V

1. What has Lady Macbeth been seen doing late at night?

2. What do the words of Lady Macbeth during her most recent “episode” reveal about her feelings?

3. Why is Macbeth not worried when he receives word that the Scottish nobles, along with thousands of English troops, are marching toward the castle? Which part of the witches’ prophecy does he overlook?

4. What do the marching soldiers do to conceal their numbers and camouflage themselves?

5. What is the point of the following lines and what do they reveal about Macbeth’s attitude by the end of the play:

Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player That struts and frets his hour upon the stage And then is heard no more. It is a tale Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury Signifying nothing.

6. How does Macbeth die? What is the loophole in the witches’ prophecy?

7. Why is it said that Young Siward dies with honor?

8. How was Macbeth viewed differently by the other characters at the end of the play than he was at the very beginning?

9. What sort of moral or lesson can we gather from the play’s action?
MACBETH FINAL ESSAY:
You are to only choose ONE prompt to respond to in a formal, TYPED essay.
Option #1
A tragic hero in literature typically exhibits the following qualities:
- The tragic hero is a character of noble stature and has greatness.
- The tragic hero is not perfect.
- The hero's downfall is triggered by some error of judgment or some character flaw that contributes to the hero's lack of perfection. Often the character's flaw involves hubris (which is defined as a sort of arrogant pride or over-confidence).
- The fall is not pure loss. There is some increase in awareness, some gain in self-knowledge, some discovery on the part of the tragic hero.
In a well-written essay, argue whether or not you feel Macbeth qualifies as a tragic hero based on the above criteria. Be sure to analyze the way Macbeth meets or fails to meet each of the different qualities of a tragic figure. Avoid mere plot summary.

OR…

Option #2
While some works of literature try to pass off characters or situations that are either clearly all good or all bad, we know this is not true of real life. In the opening scene of Macbeth, the three Weïrd Sisters declare that “fair is foul and foul is fair.” What exactly does this mean, and how is this shown throughout the play? In a well-written essay, discuss in detail the way that their words prove to be true for both the characters and situations the reader encounters in the play. Avoid mere plot summary.

OR…

Option #3
Over the course of our study of the play, you have been working in critical lens groups in order to more closely examine certain aspects of Shakespeare’s writing (appearance vs. reality, fate vs. free will, etc). Select ONE (1) of our critical lenses from this unit, although it need not be the lens you worked with. Then, in a well-written essay, discuss the significance of that particular lens as it contributes to the play as a whole – in other words, how does this LENS help the author convey an important MESSAGE? Avoid mere plot summary.

…but no matter WHICH essay you choose:

Your essay should include introductory and concluding paragraphs (both of which should clearly explain what you are arguing), as well as body paragraphs that each have a clear main idea, evidence from the play, and an explanation of how your evidence relates to your main idea and overall argument. Your explanation of the quotes’ relevance will be the aspect of the writing I look at most – in your mind, how did each of these quotes show the reader something important?

**Each body paragraph should contain an absolute minimum of ONE (1) quote from the text (cited like in the example below). However, do NOT begin or end a body paragraph with a quote. Use the quotes in the body paragraphs to support the main idea of each body paragraph.

Sample citation: (V.iii.315-319)

act scene line number(s)
Although the essay is not graded solely on spelling and grammar, you must, of course, proofread the piece to check for errors.