Class began with sharing the illustrations of Shakespeare's imagery as assigned last class.
Next students consider the words: hand, blood, night, and sleep. Students made a list of connotations for each of the words then wrote and shared a story based around all four of them.
Each student then randomly choose one of the four words and was given the assignment posted at the end of this entry. Students will decide which Act they are responsible for next class.
The class then watched Act I of Macbeth Great Performances / Patrick Stewart production paying special attention to the use of the word that they have been assigned.
Next students consider the words: hand, blood, night, and sleep. Students made a list of connotations for each of the words then wrote and shared a story based around all four of them.
Each student then randomly choose one of the four words and was given the assignment posted at the end of this entry. Students will decide which Act they are responsible for next class.
The class then watched Act I of Macbeth Great Performances / Patrick Stewart production paying special attention to the use of the word that they have been assigned.
Tracing
a Word in Macbeth
During the study of Macbeth,
you will be responsible for keeping a “word journal” in which you identify how
the meaning of specific word is shaped by the situation in which it is used and
the character who uses it.
Starting at the beginning of the act you are assigned (II
or III), find the word every time it
appears. A concordance or computer program is a great help here, but if these
are not available to you, reading the act and scanning for the word is fine.
Each time you find the word, make an entry in your word journal. Your journal
is due four school days after you have been assigned to complete an Act. Due Date is two classes after the class has
finished the act. Highlight your act and word at the bottom of this page.
Guidelines
for Entries
- Write out the passage that
contains your word and give act, scene, and line numbers (e.g. 2.3.16-18
or II.iii.16-18). Record enough of the passage to make its meaning clear;
avoid cutting it off in mid-thought. Identify the speaker.
- Paraphrase the passage
--clarifying the meaning of the passage by putting it into your own words.
- Draw conclusions about how
the word is used. For example, compare the passage to one you recorded
earlier by explaining how the meaning of your word is affected by the
character who uses it and the situation in which it is used.
- At the end of your act, use
your observations and analysis to draw conclusions: What character uses
the word mot often? How does the denotation and connotation of the word
change from character to character? Is there an unusual use of the word?
How does this word affect the act you studied?
Sample
Word Journal Entries
This is
what an entry might look like for the word blood
in Act I.
Quotation 1—Duncan: What bloody man is that?
He can report, / As seemeth by his plight, of the revolt/ the newest state.
(1.2.1-3)
Paraphrase—Who is that bloody man? It looks
like he has been fighting against the revolt and can give us the latest news of
the battle.
Clarification—King Duncan is on or near the battlefield
and wants to know how the fight is going.
Conclusions—First quote; no comparison yet.
Duncan trusts a bloody solider whose blood gives him the authority to report on
the battle.
Quotation 2—Captain: For brave Macbeth (well
he deserves that name), / Disdaining Fortune, with his brandished steel, /
Which smoked with bloody execution, / Like valor’s minion, carved out his
passage / till he faced the slave … (1.2.18-22)
Paraphrase—In spite of our troops; back
luck, brave Macbeth carved his way with his executioner’s sword through the
ranks of rebel soldiers until he faced the traitor who led the revolt.
Clarification—The captain reports to King
Duncan that Macbeth fought fiercely to spill the blood of the traitors who
rebelled against Duncan and Scotland..
Conclusions—In the first passage, the loyal
Scottish captain is bloody because of the rebels’ uprising. Because of his
bravery, fierceness, and loyalty, Macbeth makes the rebels bloody.
Quotation 3—Lady Macbeth: Make thick my
blood. / Stop up th’ access and passage to remorse… (1.5.50-51)
Paraphrase—Make my blood thick so I can be
cold-hearted and feel no sorrow or guilt about planning this murder.
Clarification—lady Macbeth wants to convince
Macbeth to kill Duncan. In order to do so, she hope to become more mannish and
heartless.
Conclusions—Early in the play, soldiers get
bloody as they try to overthrow Scotland. Then Scottish soldiers get bloody
overthrowing the rebels. Lady Macbeth want to overthrow King Duncan, so she is
going to have to get bloody too. But before she can make Duncan’s blood flow,
she is going to have to changer her blood – slow it down, make it cold. She
talks as if she can change her personality by changing her blood.
General Conclusions for Act I:
1: In
Act I it is a good thing to be bloody, especially for men to be bloody—the king
trusts the bloody soldier, and people admire Macbeth because he has a bloody
sword and has killed lots of soldiers. Lady Macbeth thinks it might be good for
her husband to be bloody—she wants to slow down her blood and be like a man and
make Duncan’s blood flow.
2. Even
before we meet him, Macbeth is bloody—he comes onstage with a bloody sword.
Approximate Frequency Count Per Act
Night Blood/ Bloody Hands Sleep
Act I 9/10 11 6 10?
Act II 10 10/11 6-7
5/6
