Category: 11 ENG 1

I apologise for the fact that I am away today, something has come up that I need to attend to. In my absence I would like you use the netbooks to access your Google Doc and tidy up what you have done so far.

1. Have all study questions been answered?
2. Are there any obvious errors that you need to correct?
3. Looking at the feedback I have posted about common analysis errors, can you see how you could improve what you have done?

Please make sure you attempt to address all of the above. Be sure to attend tomorrow’s class, as we are going to view most of what is left of the film in double.

• Which phrases in Lady Macbeth’s soliloquies suggest that she has already decided that they have to kill Duncan?

• What else do Lady Macbeth’s speeches reveal about the kind of person she is and the kind of relationship she has with Macbeth?

It is clear that Lady Macbeth is well versed in the art of deception when she tells her husband how best to ‘beguile the time.’ Shakespeare gives the impression that for her it is easy to conceal the truth; she acknowledges, however, that Macbeth finds it difficult, mocking him for his face being like a ‘book’ that can be easily read. She encourages him to look like a harmless flower while in reality waiting for the time to strike like a ‘serpent under’t.’ She is the strong one in her relationship at this point in the play and shows her power of persuasions to be great.

Act 1 Sc.7 — Study Questions

1. What inner conflict is revealed in Macbeth’s soliloquy?
2. What methods does Lady Macbeth use to persuade her husband to kill Duncan?

He is sort of greedy, as he is told by the three sisters he is going to be crowned king if he killed different people.

This is factually incorrect: the witches may have drawn out Macbeth’s past intention to kill the Duncan, but nothing in their prophecies explicitly encourages Macbeth to kill anyone.

We know that there is a fatal flaw in Macbeth’s personality, as he drew the attention of the three evil witches.

Suggesting that Macbeth shows himself to be fatally flawed is an excellent point to make – it shows an understanding of the play as a classic tragedy; however, Macbeth’s flaw is reflected in the fact that his is so ‘rapt’ by what the witches tell him. By being caught up in the thought of becoming king so quickly, we see that he already holds ambitions of becoming king. Perhaps the fatal flaw was his unspoken desire to become king that attracted the witches to Macbeth rather than the fact that witches chose to target him.

Act 1 Sc. 5 Study Questions:

1. Which phrases is Lady Macbeth’s soliloquies suggest that she has already decided that they have to kill Duncan?
2. What else do Lady Macbeth’s speeches reveal about the kind of person she is and the kind of relationship she has with Macbeth?

Today we are going to begin reading Macbeth. We are going to read through Act 1 Sc. 1 & 2.

Your spot test on literary vocab may have to happen during tomorrow’s double, depending on time.

Your study questions for today are:

Act 1 Sc 1 – ‘Fair is foul and foul is fair’. What kind of world are we being introduced to?

 

Act 1 Sc 2 – What do we know about Macbeth so far? Think about how his physical courage and his capacity for violence are described.

 

You are expected to write answers to both questions in the Google Doc you created yesterday. Please share your updates with me (den@mwsc.vic.edu.au). This needs to be done tonight. 

Last lesson we looked at some words that will be useful when writing about Macbeth. These words were:

aside                                                       dramatic irony

prologue                                                 soliloquy

blank verse                                            monologue

epilogue                                                  tragic hero

allusion                                                   antagonist

epilogue                                                  protagonist

dramatic Irony

Tomorrow we are going to have a spot test on all of them, so make sure you have revised their meaning.

Today we are going to get ourselves organised for the group work aspect of the next few weeks.

You need to get into groups of four (two girls and two boys, as far as possible) and create a Google Doc folder entitled Macbeth in which you are going to make notes of each scene.

I am going to show you how to do this.

If you have issues logging in to Google Apps, you will need to go to the library and speak with Mr Steinkamp or email him (smh@mwsc.vic.edu.au).

In narrative, a motif is any recurring element – such as images, spoken or written phrases, structural or stylistic devices, or other elements like sound, physical movement – that has symbolic significance in a story. Through its repetition, a motif can help produce other narrative (or literary) aspects such as theme or mood.

To distinguish between a motif and theme a general rule is that a theme is abstract and a motif is concrete.

A theme is an idea or concept that is central to a story, which can often be summed in a single word (i.e., love, death, betrayal).

An example of a motif in the movie Inception is the totem:

• The Spinning Top
• The Dice
• The Casino Chips
• The Pawn

They don’t reveal the main idea of the film, but they carry symbolic meaning that help us understand what the theme of the movie might be. What do you think the totems mean?

In Shakespeare’s play Macbeth, he uses a variety of narrative elements to create many different motifs. References to blood and water are continually repeated. The phrase “fair is foul, and foul is fair” is echoed at many points in the play, a combination that mixes the concepts of good and evil. The play also features the central motif of the washing of hands, one that combines both verbal images and the movement of the actors.

By the end of studying this play we should have good idea of what these motifs symbolise.

Today we begin our study of Shakespeare’s Macbeth. The approach that will be taken involves close reading of the most important scenes and answering short interpetive questions at the end of each scene.

Close reading of important scenes will allow us to explore Shakespeares writing in more detail and give us time to gather quotes for our writing. Answering short interpretive questions at the end of each scene will give us a chance to practice writing about the actions and words of characters and how they connect to the big ideas Shakespeare explores.

Let’s begin by reading p. 27-29

Prompt for alternate task students:

The powerless can never do anything to prevent conflict from happening

Timing for Oral Presentation:

• 2 minutes, 30 seconds – knock on desk
• 3 minutes – timekeeper says “time”
• 3 minutes, 30 minutes – presenter is stopped
• Marks lost for being under or over time

If a student refuses or is not prepared to present when called…

• Students receive a second chance to present but lose a whole grade (i.e. C+ = D+)
• If the student presents during the next lesson (i.e. at the second opportunity), their maximum grade can only be a B
• The articles MUST be submitted with the pro-forma – this is essential for students to receive an S!

One the day – Presentation Procedure

• All students should be ready to begin presenting from the second English lesson in the first week of term – immediately after the holidays!
• A completed proforma with articles should be ready to hand in before delivering speech
• Call for volunteers – allow the volunteers to go first (however, they do not receive any extra grades for volunteering).
• Once all volunteers have presented (or if no one volunteers), begin to pull names out of a hat (or other random selection process).  Names should only be pulled out for that lesson – students should be ready for each English lesson that they attend in case that is the day.

It helps to see what I have said to students in the past about their issues oral. Have a look at past SAC comments to find out what good students did well and what weak students missed out.

Holiday homework

1. Have oral written and memorised, and have all supporting documentation ready to present
2. Read plot summaries and character information on Macbeth. You DO NOT need to read the play. Good plot summaries and character analysis can be found on this blog for those that are interested (click here).