Macbeth 11 - Act III finishes - a mini-lesson
"My former speeches have but hit your thoughts."
Macbeth 11 - Hitting our Thoughts - Act 3 finishes - reading and discussion: We finish what little is left of Act 3. We will not go over Scene 4 - the students have just spent two days going over it with a fine tooth comb. We will also skip Scene 5 - mainly because Shakespeare did not write it - and it is just there to appeal to the witchcraft loving public (and king). We will finish with the exchange between Lennox and his Lord. In my class, I often used the extra time we had to give out the Scene List for Macbeth Day - and let the students form groups. Macbeth Day is when they will put on their scenes from Macbeth - in front of each other.
Lesson Overview - Things Bad Begun - Macbeth Act 3 in-class reading
Reading through the play in class. See my page on Reading Plays Aloud in Class for more on this. Every student will read - and as they do their reading - you will stop them (hopefully at the completion of a line) and ask questions or point things out (questions are better). You also need to announce (probably every day) that they may also raise a hand if they are confused, have a question, or want to point something out. This last one may be especially true given that they read it on their own and taken notes on the reading. ADVISE (AGAIN PROBABLY EVERY DAY) THE STUDENTS TO USE A DIFFERENT COLOR PEN (OR PENCIL) TO TAKE NOTES IN CLASS - SO THEY CAN SEE WHAT THEY CAME UP WITH VERSUS WHAT THE CLASS CAME UP WITH (this is an invaluable idea - that actually came from a student a long time ago in my class).
Today's Play-Reading Agenda (this is for a 50 minute period):
Start Act II , beginning with Scene 5 - which I always skipped (explaining it was probably not written by Shakespeare) and then move on to Scene 6.
Important Takeaways (there are SO many more important things to point out - mainly through asking - see my Notes on today's reading for more). REMEMBER: Have students see these points for themselves by asking questions to get at these.
Scene 6, line 1-3 : Lennox talks about things being "strangely borne" - this of course connects to all of the strange and unnatural things that happened the night Duncan was murdered. Killing your king was the most unnatural occurence possible on earth. (It didn't hurt that these were - by this time - The King's Players)
line 7-9 - Fleance of course lives!
line 26 - Macduff "lives in disgrace" - this echoes what is to come. The murder of Macduff's family and the blame that he places on himself for this.
REMEMBER - There are so many important details that can be found in my script notes below
Remind students of what the next reading is and when it is due - and to follow their bookmarks.
The Folger Script for today's reading.
Please note that the Folger Online Edition of Macbeth will have the same corresponding page & line numbers that I reference. Also, the script is available to download from them as a PDF, Microsoft Doc, and with or without line numbers. My students had their own copies (which I strongly recommend) that they could take notes directly in - and which have so many valuable footnotes on the left side of the page. See my handout on Reading Shakespeare in my opening Macbeth Lesson.
This is my script - my "promptbook" if you will - that I follow while we do our in class reading. Please see the page on Reading Plays Aloud in Class. Note, the recording below will pick up earlier in the play - with the murder of Banquo. You can find those Play Notes in our last in class reading. The page numbering, pagination, and line number align with the Folger Edition above. There are notes that should prompt discussion (of course you will have your own as well) - but very often it doesn't go much beyond an underline or a word or two. I have included in the Lesson Overview above Five Important points in that day's reading.
Act3skipbanquetandfinish_2016.mp3Class Recordings
Audio - a recording of today's reading and discussion of the play.
A recording of the students reading the play and the questions, answers, and discussion that ensues. Note: This starts a little earlier than the Reading Notes - you can find those in our last class reading. There will always be variations and overlap in year to year. We pick up where we left off with Act III - and we skip the Banquet Scene that the students have just worked out for their prompt books. We have time left over so students are given the scene list for their performances and are given time to start forming groups. There is also an introduction to Macbeth Day and getting students into groups for what will be their big performances in about a month (after Winter Break).
Remote Teaching
See my page on Reading Aloud in Class. We did these lessons with students reading remotely - very successfully.
The Folger Library has an online edition of the play without the annotations - Shakespeare words (what appears on the right hand page in the paperback edition. It also includes in this online edition the very useful synopses that appear before each scene.
Here is the description from Amazon: "This volume of the Shakespeare Set Free series is written by institute faculty and participants, and includes the latest developments in recent scholarship. It bristles with the energy created by teaching and learning Shakespeare from the text and through active performance, and reflects the experience, wisdom, and wit of real classroom teachers in schools and colleges throughout the United States. "
Macbeth 12 - Something Wicked - Act 4 scenes 1 & 2: We begin by leaving our classroom and going to the bridge that connects two of our buildings (any dramatic setting will do). The students then use a Shakespeare Set Free handout and act out the beginning of the Scene 1 - the Witches incantation scene - by howling, hooting, and making sounds of the wind - while three students do the witches' spell. We then break into three groups - one for each apparition - the students are given time to plan their scene - and then we act it out (along with another student for Macbeth). We then go back into the classroom and read Scene 2 - the murder of Macduff's family - we then watch a film version of that scene - pointing out some of the clever choices made by the director and actors.
WHAT CAME BEFORE:
Thoughts on the Lesson
Always an awkward point in the play. You don't want to begin Act 4 (we have something real dramatic planned for that) - but you do want to go over Act III - put it all together and read the last scene. I always skip the Hecate scene - simply because I am always pressed for time.