Lesson Overview - When Will We Three Meet Again?   - Macbeth Act I in-class reading 1

The Quiz: Students will be quizzed on Act I at the very beginning of the class period.  Because this reading is longer - as well as very important, it will count for 200 points (most reading quizzes are 100 points).   The great thing about this first quiz is that we've already gone over (including watching) a few of the scenes - in The Macbeth Circle and Shoebox Macbeth.  This should give them a good grounding.  They have also been completing reading quizzes for nearly 2 quarters at this point - so they should be comfortable with them. 

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): 

1) Read Act I, scene 1 (all of p 7 - see the Folger Script, page & line numbers are the same) - then skip (already read in Shoebox Macbeth)
2) Read Act, scene 3 - up to line 30 (on  p 15) - then skip lines 31-92 (p 21) - these skipped lines were covered in The Macbeth Circle.
3) Read Act 1, scene 3 (pg 21) from line 93 thru the end of the scene (p 25). 
4) Read Scene 4 (p 25- 29)
5) Read the beginning of Scene 5 (p 31 - up to line 33) and stop for the day.

Six Important Takeaways (5 is such a random number - 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.

1. Act I Scene 1 - Ah - we get to see what the witches were up to BEFORE the Macbeth Circle - now it makes a wonderful kind of sense - and YES students love seeing it in this order - being able to "get it" from their own inference.

2. Act I Scene 3 (lns 1-30) - In their telling of revenging the one sister's wrong - we see the vindictiveness - the double meanings - the impossibles (sailing in a sieve) that will mark what happens later.

3. Act I Scene 3 (line 113) - Ah - a great place to point out what enjambed lines are (see my Reading Aloud in Class page).  Also WHY they are used.  Ask the student - "Why does Banquo step on Ross's lines?"  Answer: Because he hears one of the witches' prophecies coming true.  Once students learn about enjambed lines - they have a great time trying to outdo each other in reading them without pause.

4. Act I Scene 3 (line 126) "The greatest is behind".  Make sure the students know what an aside is - and ask them how an actor would show that on stage.  NOW - Ask them "Did you stop to figure out this line when you reading?"  - of course they have a footnote (on the left side of their Folger editions).   The footnote says what it means but it doesn't explain "HOW" it means.  Take the time and have the students figure it out.... Answer: There are 3 predictions for Macbeth - Thane of Glamis, Thane of Cawdor, and king hereafter.  Now - with this line - 2 of these have come true.  So 2/3!  So cool!

5. Act I Scene 4 lines 13-14 "There's no art/ To find the mind's construction in the face."  SO IMPORTANT!  Ask the students what this means.  Thank goodness there is no footnote.  Art=Talent (students should know this from our Shakespeare's Sonnet lesson).  Their first answer will probably be: "There is no way that you can tell what a man is thinking by looking at that man's face."   HOWEVER: Is that the only meaning?  Read the same line yourself - this time with a scoff in front of it - and put stress on "There's" and "art".  Ahhhh. Now ask them what it means.  Answer: "It is incredibly easy to see what's in a man's heart or mind by looking at their face".   Point out that the line "deconstructs" - and ask them what they think that means: Answer - "Upon close examination, the line is found to have multiple meanings."  

This is important for multiple reasons.  1) It shows the students the power that the actor has in shaping the story (through subtext).  It shows that an oral reading is different than reading silently.  And it shows that some things are just not knowable (this will really come to play in Literary Criticism and Deconstruction) 

6. Act I Scene 5 lines 1-14 - Macbeth's letter to his wife.  Ask - What's diffrent?  Answer: "It's in prose".  Ask your students why you think that is.  Be accepting of all possibilities - but I really think the best answer is that it is a LETTER.  By putting it in prose - it sets it apart.

 Remind students of what the next reading is and when it is due - and to follow their bookmarks.

Macbeth - Folger Shakespeare Library Edition  Paperback
Macbeth - Folger Edition - Text Only 

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.