Please (re)Read the End of MACBETH!

I hope you are not scarred by the end of Polanski's film of Macbeth. 

(You can find the final scene on YouTube.com if you missed class today). 

HWK:

Friday - Read the end of the play and bring 3 questions to class. 

Monday - Bring a Hard Copy of your Journal #2 to class for peer review. 

Journal Entry #2: Macbeth

So you've selected a character from Macbeth...

Write a second journal entry that covers up to Act V  

Please include IMAGERY through two examples of figurative language: personification, metaphor, simile, euphemism, hyperbole, or litotes

Again - you must have two quotes - they can be by your character, about your character, or heard (via the grapevine) by your character.

Blend/Frame the quotes.

Don't start a paragraph with a quote or end a paragraph with a quote.

If you have questions on when to use a block quote...and when not to use a block quote.
(See the links above for helpful info). 

Be sure to cite them:  "quote!"(1.5.26-27)  

                            The 1 (the first number) is for the Act, the 5 represents the Scene, and lines 26-27.

MLA Format

Length: 1.3 page minimum to 2 pages maximum.

Wednesday Meet in Computer Lab - Write Your Journal Entry #2 - Finish it for Homework...

For Thursday, Submit HARD COPY OF YOUR JOURNAL ENTRY #2.....

And (if you haven't already done so) 

READ Act V to Scene VII (page 96 in most books). 

In class, we will act out the final scenes!

For Friday, read the end of the play again.

HWK for the week!

Wednesday Meet in Computer Lab - Bring your Macbeth.

By Thursday, READ Act V to Scene VII (page 96 in most books). In class, we will act out the final scenes!

For Friday, read the end again. 

FYI - If you want to checkout the end of the TED Talk that I shared today in class -- click here.

Scene Comparison "Out Damn Spot" - Act V Scene 1

What affect does guilt play on the mind of Lady Macbeth?

Great commentary on this scene in the documentary Macbeth Uncovered - at minute 40-43.

Read about Lady Macbeth and OCD:

"One is that OCD sufferers have a dysfunctional feedback mechanism: Their washing is meant to prevent harm to themselves and others, but they never get the signal that’s it’s worked—and that they can stop washing. They have a persistent sense of incompleteness, so they continue the moral cleansing. These findings suggest that the cleaning did lead to a sense of completion and relief—even if the effect is short-lived. The next step might be to help OCD patients develop more realistic and relevant ways of coping with guilt and moral threat, so that they—unlike the miserable Lady Macbeth—can break the cruel cycle of guilt and compulsive hand washing."

Macbeth and Grief

This post is inspired by Macbeth Uncovered:


Great questions from the Teacher Viewing Guide:

• Is the play’s action driven by Macbeth’s human-ness or by supernatural evil?
• Does Lady Macbeth turn her husband into a killer, or does he possess that power himself?
• What is the psychology of grief?

The last question resonates after our discussion yesterday about Malcolm and Macduff.  When you think of Macbeth, you think of ambition and murder, but it's also a play about grief for those left in the wake of those violent deaths. 

How does Macduff respond to the news of his families death? 

How does Malcolm cope with his grief? 

End of Act IV Scene III - Macduff learns his family has been murdered:

ROSS

Your castle is surprised; your wife and babes
Savagely slaughter'd: to relate the manner,
Were, on the quarry of these murder'd deer,
To add the death of you.

MALCOLM

Merciful heaven!
What, man! ne'er pull your hat upon your brows;
Give sorrow words: the grief that does not speak
Whispers the o'er-fraught heart and bids it break.

MACDUFF

My children too?

ROSS

Wife, children, servants, all
That could be found.

MACDUFF

And I must be from thence!
My wife kill'd too?

ROSS

I have said.

MALCOLM

Be comforted:
Let's make us medicines of our great revenge,
To cure this deadly grief.

MACDUFF

He has no children. All my pretty ones?
Did you say all? O hell-kite! All?
What, all my pretty chickens and their dam
At one fell swoop?

MALCOLM

Dispute it like a man.

MACDUFF

I shall do so;
But I must also feel it as a man:
I cannot but remember such things were,
That were most precious to me. Did heaven look on,
And would not take their part? Sinful Macduff,
They were all struck for thee! naught that I am,
Not for their own demerits, but for mine,
Fell slaughter on their souls. Heaven rest them now!

MALCOLM

Be this the whetstone of your sword: let grief
Convert to anger; blunt not the heart, enrage it.

MACDUFF

O, I could play the woman with mine eyes
And braggart with my tongue! But, gentle heavens,
Cut short all intermission; front to front
Bring thou this fiend of Scotland and myself;
Within my sword's length set him; if he 'scape,
Heaven forgive him too!

MALCOLM

This tune goes manly.
Come, go we to the king; our power is ready;
Our lack is nothing but our leave; Macbeth
Is ripe for shaking, and the powers above
Put on their instruments. Receive what cheer you may:
The night is long that never finds the day.
Exeunt

Consider
The Five Stages of Grief:

From Kubler-Ross Foundation

Popularly known by acronym DABDA:

1. Denial — As the reality of loss is hard to face, one of the first reactions to follow the loss is Denial. What this means is that the person is trying to shut out the reality or magnitude of their situation, and begin to develop a false, preferable reality.
2. Anger — "Why me? It's not fair!"; "How can this happen to me?"; '"Who is to blame?"
   Once in the second stage, the individual recognizes that denial cannot continue. Because of anger, the person is very difficult to care for due to misplaced feelings of rage and envy. Anger can manifest itself in different ways. People can be angry with themselves, or with others, and especially those who are close to them. It is important to remain detached and nonjudgmental when dealing with a person experiencing anger from grief.
3. Bargaining — "I'll do anything for a few more years."; "I will give my life savings if…"
   The third stage involves the hope that the individual can somehow undo or avoid a cause of grief. Usually, the negotiation for an extended life is made with a higher power in exchange for a reformed lifestyle. Other times, they will use any thing valuable as a bargaining chip against another human agency to extend or prolong the life they live. Psychologically, the individual is saying, "I understand I will die, but if I could just do something to buy more time…" People facing less serious trauma can bargain or seek to negotiate a compromise. For example "Can we still be friends?" when facing a break-up. Bargaining rarely provides a sustainable solution, especially if it is a matter of life or death.
4. Depression — "I'm so sad, why bother with anything?"; "I'm going to die soon so what's the point?"; "I miss my loved one, why go on?"
   During the fourth stage, the grieving person begins to understand the certainty of death. Much like the existential concept of The Void, the idea of living becomes pointless. Things begin to lose meaning to the griever. Because of this, the individual may become silent, refuse visitors and spend much of the time crying and sullen. This process allows the grieving person to disconnect from things of love and affection, possibly in an attempt to avoid further trauma. Depression could be referred to as the dress rehearsal for the 'aftermath'. It is a kind of acceptance with emotional attachment. It is natural to feel sadness, regret, fear, and uncertainty when going through this stage. Feeling those emotions shows that the person has begun to accept the situation. Often times, this is the ideal path to take, to find closure and make their ways to the fifth step, Acceptance.
5. Acceptance — "It's going to be okay."; "I can't fight it, I may as well prepare for it."
   In this last stage, individuals begin to come to terms with their mortality or inevitable future, or that of a loved one, or other tragic event. This stage varies according to the person's situation. People dying can enter this stage a long time before the people they leave behind, who must pass through their own individual stages of dealing with the grief. This typically comes with a calm, retrospective view for the individual, and a stable mindset.

More From WebMD:

Think about how Shakespeare captures these 5 stages throughout the play. 

It never fails to amaze me how well Shakespeare captures the human condition - it's truths and complexities. These are not flat characters, but full beings in their range of emotions. 

Through empathizing with these characters, we learn what it means to be human. 


Perhaps a little awareness can help you or a friend...

The 5 Stages of Grieving the End of a Relationship

A breakup is a kind of dying — here's how we grieve.

Published on September 11, 2013 by Jennifer Kromberg, PsyD 

And to add a little levity to all of this talk of grief...

MACBETH: HWK for Monday Act V Scenes 1&2

Read Act V Scenes 1 & 2

More on Malcolm and Macduff dynamic can be better understood by watching this scene. Malcolm tests Macduff's loyalty by saying he'd be a worse king than Macbeth.  

What would Malcolm be like as King?





ACT V Scene 1:

Doctor

What is it she does now? Look, how she rubs her hands.

Gentlewoman

It is an accustomed action with her, to seem thus
washing her hands: I have known her continue in
this a quarter of an hour.

LADY MACBETH

Yet here's a spot.

Doctor

Hark! she speaks: I will set down what comes from
her, to satisfy my remembrance the more strongly.

LADY MACBETH

Out, damned spot! out, I say!--One: two: why,
then, 'tis time to do't.--Hell is murky!--Fie, my
lord, fie! a soldier, and afeard? What need we
fear who knows it, when none can call our power to
account?--Yet who would have thought the old man
to have had so much blood in him.

Doctor

Do you mark that?

LADY MACBETH

The thane of Fife had a wife: where is she now?--
What, will these hands ne'er be clean?--No more o'
that, my lord, no more o' that: you mar all with
this starting.

Doctor

Go to, go to; you have known what you should not.

Gentlewoman

She has spoke what she should not, I am sure of
that: heaven knows what she has known.

LADY MACBETH

Here's the smell of the blood still: all the
perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little
hand. Oh, oh, oh!

Doctor

What a sigh is there! The heart is sorely charged.

Gentlewoman

I would not have such a heart in my bosom for the
dignity of the whole body.

Doctor

Well, well, well,--

Gentlewoman

Pray God it be, sir.

Doctor

This disease is beyond my practise: yet I have known
those which have walked in their sleep who have died
holily in their beds.

LADY MACBETH

Wash your hands, put on your nightgown; look not so
pale.--I tell you yet again, Banquo's buried; he
cannot come out on's grave.

HWK for Friday

Read Macbeth ACT 4 Scenes 1-3

Ask three questions in your notes.

Watch this scene from Roman Polanski's Macbeth


 Who was Shakespeare?
In your notes, what did you find most interesting about Shakespeare?

HWK: Act III Review - Answer these 6 questions!

ACT III Scene 1 Macbeth's Soliloquy

To be thus is nothing;

But to be safely thus.--Our fears in Banquo

Stick deep; and in his royalty of nature

Reigns that which would be fear'd: 'tis much he dares;

And, to that dauntless temper of his mind,

He hath a wisdom that doth guide his valour

To act in safety. There is none but he

Whose being I do fear: and, under him,

My Genius is rebuked; as, it is said,

Mark Antony's was by Caesar. He chid the sisters

When first they put the name of king upon me,

And bade them speak to him: then prophet-like

They hail'd him father to a line of kings:

Upon my head they placed a fruitless crown,

And put a barren sceptre in my gripe,

Thence to be wrench'd with an unlineal hand,

No son of mine succeeding. If 't be so,

For Banquo's issue have I filed my mind;

For them the gracious Duncan have I murder'd;

Put rancours in the vessel of my peace

Only for them; and mine eternal jewel

Given to the common enemy of man,

To make them kings, the seed of Banquo kings!

Rather than so, come fate into the list.

And champion me to the utterance! Who's there!


QUESTIONs: - please write your answer in your notes:
1. What imagery do you see in your mind's eye?
2. Why is Macbeth upset?
3. Where does the tone shift?


(Click for full 2010 movie)



Excerpt from: ACT III Scene IV

MACBETH

Thanks for that:
There the grown serpent lies; the worm that's fled
Hath nature that in time will venom breed,
No teeth for the present. Get thee gone: to-morrow
We'll hear, ourselves, again.
Exit Murderer

LADY MACBETH

My royal lord,
You do not give the cheer: the feast is sold
That is not often vouch'd, while 'tis a-making,
'Tis given with welcome: to feed were best at home;
From thence the sauce to meat is ceremony;
Meeting were bare without it.

MACBETH

Sweet remembrancer!
Now, good digestion wait on appetite,
And health on both!

LENNOX

May't please your highness sit.
The GHOST OF BANQUO enters, and sits in MACBETH's place

MACBETH

Here had we now our country's honour roof'd,
Were the graced person of our Banquo present;
Who may I rather challenge for unkindness
Than pity for mischance!

ROSS

His absence, sir,
Lays blame upon his promise. Please't your highness
To grace us with your royal company.

MACBETH

The table's full.

LENNOX

Here is a place reserved, sir.

MACBETH

Where?

LENNOX

Here, my good lord. What is't that moves your highness?

MACBETH

Which of you have done this?

Lords

What, my good lord?

MACBETH

Thou canst not say I did it: never shake
Thy gory locks at me.

QUESTIONs: - please write your answer in your notes -
4. What does Macbeth see?
5. And how does he react?
6. What excuse does Lady Macbeth make for her husband?

Watch this clip for answers and an intense performance by Ian McKellan  and Judi Dench



Plus - A 1961 TV version with Sean Connery as Macbeth

Test Wednesday!

Part I. Matching:

20 Wordly Wise Vocab: (click) Lesson 7 & Lesson 8 

Part II. Word Bank and Quote ID

10 Macbeth Vocab - Quotes selected from Quizlet!
There will be a word bank of vocabulary words, but you will want to know the characters names!

Only words from the first 3 Acts.
FYI - search the words via MIT Online Shakespeare of Macbeth

Part III. Passage analysis - 3 passages:

Explain the significance of any 3 of the previous quotes from the quote ID!


FYI - From Shakespeare Online:

Who is Hecate in Macbeth?

Hecate is the goddess of witchcraft, and one can view her as the ruler of the Three Witches. In Act 3, Scene 5, Hecate appears before the Witches and demands to know why she has been excluded from their meetings with Macbeth. 

She tells them Macbeth will be back to know his destiny and she proclaims that he will see apparitions that will, "by the strength of their illusion" lead him to conclude that he is safe. She plays an important role in the play because of the lines she utters at the end of the scene: "And you all know, security/Is mortals' chiefest enemy." She reveals in these lines that Macbeth's belief that he is untouchable will ultimately result in his downfall.

Metonymy, Iambic Pentameter...and Homework

1. Metonymy

What are examples of Metonymy in Jane Eyre? Macbeth? And other books & movies you've seen?#JaneEyreEA pic.twitter.com/DzH7GfUfzO
— Mr. O'Brien (@kobenglish14) February 12, 2014

2. Iambic Pentameter: Examples in Macbeth



3. HWK:

For Tuesday, Read ACT III Scenes 5 & 6 (very short) plus Review Act II & ACT III

TEST WEDNESDAY!

Macbeth Vocab Test Next Wednesday

HWK: 

For Wednesday: Continue Reading Act III Scenes 3 & 4
Again annotate and ask 3 questions in your book/notes.

In class, tomorrow and Tuesday we will ACT and DISCUSS!

Feel free to watch any of the film versions to help your understanding (See previous posts).
We will not be watching the play in class anymore - I expect you to watch at home or at school during free periods.

ALSO study vocabulary via Quizlet - sign in so I can see your activity!

DOWNLOAD the APP to your mobile devices if you haven't done so already.




FYI - Your test next Wednesday:

Part I. Matching: 
20 Wordly Wise Vocab Lesson 7 & Lesson 8

Part II. Word Bank and Quote ID
10 Macbeth Vocab - Quotes selected from Quizlet!

Only words from the first 3 Acts.

Part III. Passage analysis - 3 passages:
Explain the significance of any 3 of the previous quotes from the quote ID!


Note to the wise: Cyber Days

With more Snow days possible (this Thursday!), you must continue to READ - and study!

Take ownership of your learning.

You should know that some schools have turned to virtual school days online, so students can continue to learn while school buildings are closed and roads are hazardous. One article that resonated included this quote:

“It also provides them with experience in asynchronous learning, an activity they are likely to encounter after high school.”

For example, do you know what a MOOC is? Checkout free courses taught by top professors at top universities on Coursera.com and see this complete list of MOOCs.

Listen to this:

How will college change for you? Anant Agarwal of edX on MOOCs, MIT and new models of higher ed http://t.co/VwujFvRqdR #blendedEd @TEDtalks

— Mr. O'Brien (@kobenglish14) February 11, 2014

MACBETH: More on Dramatic Irony

Dramatic Irony: when the audience know mores than one or more of the characters in a scene.





Well, what is situational irony?





MACBETH lies to everyone - Can you spot a liar? 

Can Macduff? Can Banquo?

Macbeth Meets Braveheart

HWK: for Monday, finish reading ACT II - annotate and ask 3 specific questions in your text.

For Tuesday, Read ACT III Scenes 1&2 - annotate and ask 3 specific questions. 



Here's a more traditionally set MACBETH (1997) - if you liked the movie Braveheart

Brainpickings! Teacher as Curator: Student as Curator

Intellectually curious?

@brainpicker "our restless “FOMO” — fear of missing out" "the way of gleaning knowledge" Curation: info to insight to knowledge to wisdom
— Mr. O'Brien (@kobenglish14) February 8, 2014

This year I've been thinking and reading more than you can imagine about the changing role of teaching due to the Internet and "information overload."

Consider this: in just last the two years, we have created 90% of the data that exists.
With every tap of the keyboard, I blog and add to that data - that exponential growth of information - that is available on the World Wide Web.

With all that is out there for students to read, why read this simple blog of musings and links and tweets and youtube clips?
At times, I have felt it has been in vain - few students go to the blog.
Some will say candidly, "I don't want to waste my data plan" which is telling...and even disheartening if I were to take it personally.

But frankly, if you are reading this, yes, you, just you, I feel a sense of validation.
My hope is that you is plural, and you are using free WiFi, yet I will get to the point:

Be intellectually curious.

In order to become truly educated, take ownership of your learning: make connections - become a curator, a creator, a publisher, an educator... and yes, a tweeter, a blogger, a tumblr. 

From Brainpickings:

My friends at Percolate and m ss ng p eces (♥ ♥ ♥ ♥), who share that belief, produced this fantastic short film on what “curation” really means, in which I was humbled and honored to join far worthier minds like my wonderful studiomate Tina Roth Eisenberg of Swiss Miss, the inimitable Edith Zimmerman of The Hairpin, Peter Hopkins of Big Think, Anthony de Rosa ofSoup Soup, and more.

Consider the time you spend online - what do you have to show for it?

Likes on Insta or FB?
Retweets and favorites on Twitter?
Yet what have you learned?
Who do you follow?
Who are your friends?
What have you truly shared?

In curation, you take information - glean insights - that with further study becomes knowledge, and through meditation becomes wisdom.

Click here to read more!

If you do one thing this weekend, follow Brainpickings - on Facebook or better yet Twitter (create a public "professional" Twitter handle - create a free gmail in order to do so if you need another email).

@Brainpickings by Maria Popova @brainpicker will set an example of learning via blogging that makes connections between information - gleaning the best insights and stitching them together with knowledge. In reading her blog, you will find wisdom with contemplative cognition.

Or you can get back to your "shows" for another six episodes where you idly pass away your time...
Watching shows is passive entertainment.

Blogging is active learning.
Read more. Listen more on Twitter.

Think about these quotes by these bloggers:

A good curator is thinking not just about acquisition and selection, but also contextualizing.” ~ Joanne McNeil

People really respond to other people’s enthusiasm about things.” ~ Edith Zimmerman

Ideas are the most valuable thing. Good ones make all the difference; bad ones can hold us back, maybe even destroy us. If we can focus on finding the right ones, helping distill them, and transfer them as quickly as possible, we can get more of that. Curation is that means to the end.” ~ Peter Hopkins

Then after time online, go talk about what you have learned face to face with a friend or family member.

But remember: while we connect online - true connection is in real time in the real world in conversation.

So make the most of your time online and have something to show for it - curate.

Optional...if you're bored...

I hope you have heat and power!

With school closed again - if you're bored - and you want to get a better understanding of Shakespeare and Macbeth...

check out the following:


1. You might find it interesting to watch MACBETH by Orson Welles.

Follow along with your book open and annotate the many changes that Welles makes; it is a fun challenge since he breaks up various monologues and soliloquies and changes the sequence of scenes.

Why does Welles make so many changes? What is lost? What is gained?

You can turn off the Spanish subtitles - but the can be helpful if it's your foreign language ;)




Additionally, if you're interested in the life of Shakespeare... here's a couple takes by Hollywood!

2. On Netflix- Disclaimer: Rated R...




3. Not on Netflix - PG-13...




4. Finally an excellent documentary...
Actor Ethan Hawke researches the part of Shakespeare’s murderous Macbeth.
On Netflix - and click here for full episode on PBS...

Tuesday (Post snow day)

Today we will...

1. Word Web - And Poem!
2. Share journal's in class - be sure you have a hardcopy of yours - stapled!
3. Start reading Act II in class.

Hwk for Wednesday:

Listen to: Act II Scene 1 - Macbeth's famous soliloquy



Question: What is the famous first line of this soliloquy?

Question: What line resonates the most with you?

Question: Is Macbeth mad? or is he under the spell of the witches?

Watch Act II Scene 2


Question: What imagery is created through figurative language in this scene? Give one example.

Question: What does Macbeth say about sleep?

Question: What is said about shame? How has shame and guilt played a role thus far?

Watch Act II Scene 3 (First part with porter)



Question: Why does this scene follow Act II Scene 2?

Question: What does drink do according to the porter?

Question: How is Macduff cast? What is his attitude toward the porter?

Please write your answers in complete sentences - either in your notebook by hand or typed.