Shakespeare's Macbeth
"Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player, That struts and frets his hour upon the stage, And then is heard no more. It is a tale Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, Signifying nothing."
Why Macbeth? Well the play is one that every junior at my school used to do (before students were given the dubious opportunity the last two years that I taught - to opt out of British Literature). It is also the Shakespeare play that is in the students' text book - not that we used the textbook (see below). But I'm glad it was the play that I was stuck with some 35 years ago. I grew into it - and I can't imagine a better play for the students introduction (in my class - though most have read "Romeo & Juliet" before and possibly other plays in grammar school). It is perfect for our times - it is perfect for their time (15-17 years old). Because the culminating activity for the unit is planning and acting out a scene in front of all the junior classes that I taught - Macbeth is a wonderful candidate for having the students find a theme (from Rugrats to Breaking Bad) that makes sense for the play - and for their scene (all in the original Shakespeare).
Putting these lessons onto the website will be the most difficult challenge that I have faced to this point in creating this website. The first problem is that many of the activities that I use are taken directly from The Folger Shakespeare Library's wonderful and revolutionary, Shakespeare Set Free. I will not be reproducing those handouts here - and my instructions will only include general directions (unless I have created my own handout). By all means - purchase this incredible book! Right now it is almost half-price at Amazon - and it has so many useful, thoughtful - and perhaps most important - text-centered lessons. I was lucky enough to be both a student and a teacher at the Folger's Summer Institute for teaching Shakespeare. It is not an exaggeration to state that is completely changed (for - in my opinion - the infinitely better) how I taught. I went in to the program with ideas of models of the Globe Theatre, Renaissance Newspapers, and the dumbing down of the text - and left with the overreaching concept of (and not just in Shakespeare but in everything that I taught) all activities, discussions, and readings either beginning in or ending the actual text that was written.
The other difficulty in putting these lessons down is that so many of them are active. If you want to get students to understand Shakespeare - have them act it out - or act out the words - or examine the phrases. Have them plan scenes (based on the words) using a shoebox (from Shakespeare Set Free); have them push the tables together in the lunchroom to create a ship (this is for The Tempest - a Shakespeare play that I used to teach after Macbeth) and pantomime what happens during the scene - making sure that every word is reflected in their movements. Somehow I will try to convey these lessons - and will refer to the Folger handouts (buy that book!) when I used them.
Because the Folger is generous enough to make their copy of the plays available online (not the side with the footnotes - but Shakespeare's text). I will include a link to that section of the play in every lesson - as well as a copy of my notes on those pages. For the complete book (with the wonderful left-hand page filled with relevant notes) please get a copy of The Folger Shakespeare Library's Macbeth. It is a wonderful edition (see my handout on understanding Shakespeare). The book (play) is set up with the play on the right hand side and the relevant footnotes on the left hand side. This allows students (and teachers) to read the play unobstructed - but to seek out more information when needed (or on a second reading). I was lucky enough that at my school most of the students could purchase their own copy so that they could write directly on the pages.
Most everything that I am as a teacher comes from the Folger Shakespeare Library - and I am forever in their debt - and these Macbeth Lessons are dedicated to them - and to the creator of Shakespeare Set Free and the Folger Shakespeare Summer Institute, Peggy O'Brien.
In today's lesson, the students will hear some basic advice about Reading Shakespeare. They will also hear about - and say outloud some iambic pentameter. They will get up and march (and recite) to the iambic beat of Dr. Seuss's "Green Eggs & Ham" (thank you Janet Field Pickering). They will throw a Shakespeare Ball around in a small group to get even more of a feel for the meter (while simultaneously being exposed to some of the most famous and important lines in the play). We will also pass out the Reading Schedule on a bookmark.
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. "
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 of the paperback: "The authoritative edition of Macbeth from The Folger Shakespeare Library, the trusted and widely used Shakespeare series for students and general readers: "Freshly edited text based on the best early printed version of the play, Newly revised 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 up-to-date annotated guide to further reading "
Reading the play aloud in the classroom
In addition to the "on your feet activities" that we will do while studying Macbeth - we will also read (and sometimes act out) the entire play (skipping just a few lines [the ones that Shakespeare probably didn't even write). I have created a separate page on this website for How to Read Plays in your Classroom. To summarize - every student will read. I start at the first student in the class - the first row - and that student will read for the first character in that scene - the next student will read for the next character and so on. The student "owns" that character for an entire page - reading until the next page. If a line continues over to the next page - the student finishes those lines before the next student picks up that character. On the Reading Plays Aloud in Class page there are diagrams and examples.
I truly believe it is imperative to have all of the students read the text aloud (again see the page on Reading Plays Aloud). It's fine if they're not polished - it's fine if they mispronounce words - it is a much more active endeavor when they are doing the reading and it also keeps them on their toes - they don't want to miss their entrance... Especially when we get to enjambed lines!