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).   Since they have done Shakespeare before - and been quizzed on Shakespeare before - and because this is a comedy - the scores for these content quizzes are often higher than they were with Macbeth.

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  - there, that's simple enough

Some Takeaways ( there are SO many more important things to point out - mainly through asking - see my Notes on today's reading for more - there will be notes on most pages).  REMEMBER: Have students see these points for themselves by asking questions to get at these.

1. Act I Scene 1 -The famous opening lines - "If music be the food of love..."  There is a lot here - but as always (see my rules on poetry): LITERAL BEFORE FIGURATIVE.  Go through Orsinio's metaphors - what exactly is he saying?  You reall can do or understand anything else until you do.

2. Scene 2 (line 7) - Viola asks the Captain if there is a chance that her brother was saved - and he tells - yes - as possible as the fact that you were saved.  What a great line - what a great sentiment.  Really a statement of empathy - and one that can be found in so much of this play.

3. (lines 59-64) - Note how these lines that Viola gives - of what she will do - echo and answer the lines spoken by Orsino at the beginning of the play - including using music as a metaphor for love.

4. Scene 3  Notice how we are in Prose here.  Why?  The students - after Macbeth should be somewhat of experts on this.  Perhaps because the speakers: Maria, Toby, et al are fools - perhaps because they are coming off of drunken spree (think The Porter from Macbeth).  You may end up skipping parts of this (when I do - I always have the students read outloud the summary of Scene 3 appearing on the left hand side of their Folger Editions.  

5. (lines 44 onward)  - You definitely want to read these aloud.  The humor is tangible, outrageous, and the kids will get it.  A lot of the humor sounds like modern movies or sitcoms - and once again you are given the chance to show that things have not really changed that much.   Line 91 - with Andrews' "What is this porquoi" - after having been described as this incredible superintelligent renaissance man (who knows French) - and he doesn't even know "porquoi" - "Why" you may ask....  The end of scene 3 with his dance demonstration reminds me alot of Elaine dancing on Seinfeld...

6. Scene 4 (lines 23-24) - notice how Orsinio's "clamorous and leap" is a great connection to the dance instructions just given in the previous scene by Sir Andrew.

7. Scene 5 (64-70) - The fool's trick of ideas and words proving that Olivia is the fool - because she is mourning the death of her brother - and yet she believes in heaven IS SO MAGNIFICENT.  It also serves a great foundation for much of what is in this play about identity and the irony of how we speak and believe versus how we act.

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

Twelfth Night - Folger Shakespeare Library Edition  Paperback

Here is the description from Amazon:  The authoritative edition of Twelfth Night from The Folger Shakespeare Library, the trusted and widely used Shakespeare series for students and general readers, includes:-Freshly edited text based on the best early printed version of the play, Full explanatory notes conveniently placed on pages facing the text of the play, Scene-by-scene plot summaries, A key to the play’s famous lines and phrases, An introduction to reading Shakespeare’s language, An essay by a leading Shakespeare scholar providing a modern perspective on the play, Fresh images from the Folger Shakespeare Library’s vast holdings of rare books, An annotated guide to further reading, Essay by Catherine Belsey.