I was asked today about writer's methods in Macbeth -- how many to teach, what terminology, are some more essential than others...
So, some ideas for covering METHODS in Macbeth.
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So, some ideas for covering METHODS in Macbeth.
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On your first read-through I'd be pausing on MOTIFS. Specifically BLOOD and DARK / LIGHT imagery. This seems like it would provide some useful milestones to students still getting to grips with the play. Motifs are the lattice on which the play is hung.
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How has the symbolism of BLOOD changed from the opening description of Macbeth's bloodshed in battle in Act 1, to his realisation "Blood will have blood" in Act 3?
How has "stars hide your fires" led to "out, brief candle"?
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How has "stars hide your fires" led to "out, brief candle"?
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No doubt you'll be explaining some METAPHOR and IMAGERY in the course of reading the play:
- in blood stepp'd so far
- dark night strangles the travelling lamp
- life's but a walking shadow
And you might cover some PATHETIC FALLACY too.
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- in blood stepp'd so far
- dark night strangles the travelling lamp
- life's but a walking shadow
And you might cover some PATHETIC FALLACY too.
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Once students have a good grasp of the play, it's a good time to test their thinking with a couple of questions:
- How far do those features of tragedy -- HARMATIA, ANAGNORISIS, CATHARSIS -- fit with Macbeth? Can students identify them if indeed they're there?
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- How far do those features of tragedy -- HARMATIA, ANAGNORISIS, CATHARSIS -- fit with Macbeth? Can students identify them if indeed they're there?
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Another really important authorial concern:
Why does Shakespeare dramatise some incidents on the stage and some not?
Why don't we see Duncan's death? Why do we see Lady Macduff die but not Lady Macbeth?
A great question to consider once you know the text well.
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Why does Shakespeare dramatise some incidents on the stage and some not?
Why don't we see Duncan's death? Why do we see Lady Macduff die but not Lady Macbeth?
A great question to consider once you know the text well.
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Now you'll be into the revising and quote analysis stage...
Time to break out ANTITHESIS. It's going to feature in a lot of those quotes you want children to learn.
- Fair is foul and foul is fair
- Cannot be good, cannot be ill
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Time to break out ANTITHESIS. It's going to feature in a lot of those quotes you want children to learn.
- Fair is foul and foul is fair
- Cannot be good, cannot be ill
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You can start to explore some of the less obvious MOTIFS too: Hands, Time, Eyes, Animals...
REPETITION throughout the play, in individual lines and in the echoes between parts of the play, too.
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REPETITION throughout the play, in individual lines and in the echoes between parts of the play, too.
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For some extra challenge, this is a great time to explore METRE. Equip students with the ability to test out stresses and variations in Shakespeare's IAMBIC PENTAMETER, and this is a great foundation for thoughtful, very close readings of the play.
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And those ALLUSIONS in the play. Knowing what they allude to is one thing; developing an idea of why Shakespeare used them is another.
Why use the allusion to Tarquin at the point of Duncan's murder, thereby possibly reframing it as a rape rather than a murder?
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Why use the allusion to Tarquin at the point of Duncan's murder, thereby possibly reframing it as a rape rather than a murder?
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I hope this helps you think about writer's methods in Macbeth.
Night all.
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Night all.
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