Lesson Overview - Is This a Dagger - Living Illuminated Text and  Macbeth Act I,II in-class reading 2

No Quiz today - the students are quizzed all the way through Act I - We will begin to read Act 2 - and this is actually great - it gives the students (and the teacher) a chance to see how students do in class with a "cold reading".  It is also interesting because the next lesson will have an Act 2 test - will the students at least get right the questions about the part that we do in class today?  If they don't - that is very telling, and helpful to the teacher.  See my page on Reading Quizzes.

The reading the play in class today will be divided into two sections.  At the beginning of class (remember no quiz), you will read Scene 7 of Act I - finishing the Act.  Then you will begin Act II - scene 1 - the scene with first Macbeth and Fleance (his son) then Macbeth and Banquo.  Some really important lines and actions happen here - and really lead up to today's activity.  I have put all my takeaways from the scenes that will be read today after the activity - of course, many more can be found in my play notes (also found below).

After the class reads (and discusses) line 43, you will do the activity below - Is this the Text that I See Before Me.  When they are done performing you will go back to the class reading and cover the rest of Act 2, scene 1.

Is this the Text that I See Before Me - A Living Illuminated Text

In this exercise, the students will be split into groups - 3 or 4 groups for the entire class is ideal.  The complete handout for this activity can be found below.  But here is the beginning part: You are to get in a group of 6 to 8 people.  You will take the following lines and act them out in a way that you (your group) believe best shows what is happening in the text.  Think of this as a moving living ILLUMINATED TEXT.  You don’t have to bring in knowledge of any other part of the play – and you haven’t yet read the Act (II) that the lines are from.

Everyone in the group must take an active part and you must be as imaginative and thoughtful as possible.  Don’t be afraid to be creative:  for instance, you could have different people playing the two sides of Macbeth (should he or shouldn’t he murder Duncan), or as parts of the dagger or whatever, as long as what you do directly illustrates the text.  Over the top is great – as long as it helps the rest of us make sense of the soliloquy (speech).

I usually gave students about 10 minutes to rehearse.  Remember - they have not read these lines before (they are from Act II).  As the students rehearse (usually one or two of them in the class and one outside the classroom) move among them encouraging them to "push themselves".   Every student  should be involved - they should each at least say one line - they the can do the whole things or strategic  parts as a choral reading.  I've had students carrying above their heads a student (be careful!) as a dagger - students forming two groups - the Angel Macbeth and the Devil Macbeth.  Whatever they end up doing - it needs to be creative and it needs to explicate the text.  It is a living Illuminated Text.  I've included below an actual Illuminated Text of this soliloquy that a student did for extra credit.

Remember - when students perform in class, the other students need to pay attention.  I usually remind them of this before each performance - they will want to keep rehearsing or coming up with ideas - but they need to watch!  (I probably need a whole page on in class performances).

Between Performances

Between each student performance, we usually go through a part of the soliloquy.  If there are 3 groups - I would go through about 5 lines.  See my play notes below for more but here are a few take aways that I'd go over between performances:

1-5: Do you show the dagger if you are putting this on?  What are the implications if you don't?  (It's all in his mind).  "Fatal Vision" - a title of a famous book about a murder - so many book titles come from Shakespeare.
5-10: Did the group "draw" a real dagger (a pencil for instance) - did they figure out what "draw" means here?  What is the dagger (imaginary or real) doing?
11-15: What happens to the dagger? (gets covered with blood).  What direction is it leading him to?  (to Duncan's chamber)  What has he decided to do?

Make sure you praise each group - and point out the brilliant insights that they've just shown the class!  

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): 

Continue Act I - begin scene 7 - page 39.  

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.

1. Act I Scene 7 lines 1-27 - This soliloquy ("If it were done") is so important.  Go over it thoroughly.  See my notes on the play (if you can read them) for a lot more - but here are some of the biggies...

2. line 5  - Have the students count how many times (including implied and contracted) the word "it" appears.  Rule #3 of understanding poetry (and this is verse after all) is know the meaning of every antecedent.  What is the antecedent of "it" in all 5 of these: Answer: "The murder".  So WHY do it that many times?  Answer: How much it is weighing on Macbeth. 

3. line 6-7 -WOW!  "Here on this bank of time" - This is what SO MANY STUDENTS can identify with.  Anxiety!  If only we didn't think about what was to come - but like Macbeth our students (and everyone) worries about the future.  This is a GIANT "to know we're not alone" moment.

4. line 11-19 - Macbeth says Duncan is in "double trust" than gives THREE reasons not to kill him!  This is Shakespeare.  This is what makes him great and why you never want to use a dumbed-down version.

5. Line 34 - Macbeth is trying to back out - his wife will not let him - but does he really want to?  Can we blame her?  Too easy!

6. Line 39 - A GREAT SELF-TEST for the students - have them explain about the "hope being drunk".  Why did he start all this if he didn't mean it?  Is he just trying to rationalize his way out of it - or put the blame on her?

7. Line 51-52 - What is she trying to do?  Answer: Shame him into action.  Emasculate him (be careful and thoughtful here).

8. Act II Scene 1 up to Macbeth's soliloquy:  Talk about Fleance - who is he?  What does this have to do with the witches's prophecy?  What about Macbeth and Banquo?  What is Banquo concerned about?  What is Macbeth concerned about with Banquo (see how your asking about the prophecy previously fits into this?)

9.  AFTER the Activity - Lines 59-77: talk about the rest of the soliloquy - read it aloud (students) - ask what the rest of it shows.

Remind students of what the next reading is (Act II next meeting) - 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.