Monday, 3/31 - Finish Act 4 of Macbeth?

Malcom and Macduff

• P&P

• Ladies and gents, let's try to finish Act 4 of Macbeth today. I'd really like to finish it by Wednesday so we can test on it on block. The test will be short, comprised of eleven quotes. Then we will move on to some comedy (glory!).

• There is no J12; you must, however, finish reading the final section of Leithart and take notes.

HW: Begin finishing the final Macbeth reading in Leithart and take notes of what you believe important.

Wednesday, 3/26 - In the good ol' days, the dead stayed dead!

A truly scary LMB (and Patrick Stewart, of course)

• P&P

• Check seniors' J11

• Let's see if we can get through the Banquo . . . I mean, the banquet.

HW: Juniors, finish J11 before we depart for lunch (no early release Thursday since seniors will be mousing around).

Tuesday, 3/25 - Ceremony

Macbeth meets with the murderers

• P&P

• Continue Act 3 Scene 1 - Macbeth meets the murderers

HW: Finish J11 (due tomorrow for seniors; juniors can work on it in class on Thursday ; )

Monday, 3/24 - The Milk of Human Kindness

• P&P

• Discuss J10

• Begin Act 3

HW: (due Wednesday)

J11 - Macbeth: Acts 3-4

1. What does MB mean by his “fruitless crown” and “barren scepter”?
2. Shouldn’t MB be satisfied that he is now king? Why or why not? and how does this affect Banquo?
3. What does the feast symbolize, and what makes a feast different from a common dinner?
4. How does MB behave at the feast and why?
5. What effect does MB’s behavior have on the feast, and how does this reflect the situation in Scotland?
6. What does MB mean when he says, “Blood will have blood”?
7. How do you know that MB does not intend to repent of his bloody course?
8. How do the three apparitions link to the theme pertaining to equivocal communication?
9. Why does Malcolm tell Mcduff how evil he (Malcolm) is?
10. How does scene 3 highlight MB’s tyranny? (there are two ways)

 

Block, 3/20 - Macbeth, a Gunpowder of a Play

Gunpowder Plot Conspirators

• P&P

• A little historical background to Macbeth 

• Continue with Act 2

• Begin J10 

HW: J10 (due Monday)

J10 - Macbeth: Acts 1.5-2.4

1. Describe the biblical typology of Macbeth (MB) and Lady Macbeth (LMB). Who are they?
2. What details link LMB to the weird sisters, the witches?
3. What is important about both the location and the content of MB’s soliloquy?
4. What are some of the consequences that attend the “life” of the wicked, the guilty?
5. How do MB’s and LMB’s views of guilt differ?
6. What is significant about the “knocking” that begins just after the murder?
7. How does nature’s order reflect that of Scotland?
8. How does MB first “gild” his deathly deed?
9. Why do Duncan’s sons respond to the murder of their father in the way they do, and how might it be misinterpreted?
10. Why would Shakespeare write a play in which the “climax” occurs in the second act? In other words, what does he intend to show happening during the remainder of the drama?

Monday, 3/17 - Macdeath

• P&P

• Discuss J9

• Begin drama

Block - THICE and J9

• P&P

• THICE on Hamlet (and Julius Caesar)

HW: Read Leithart's intro and material on Macbeth. J9 is due Monday.

J9 - Macbeth: Act 1.1-4

1. How does Shakespeare's drama change the historical particulars of Holinshed's Chronicle of Scottish History?
2. What are the three spheres that suffer when one attacks “the proper order of things” (and give one example of each)?
3. What are the two views of manhood that the play addresses?
4. Is power inherently evil? Why or why not? What is its purpose?
5. How does opening the play with witches serve to advance Shakespeare’s dramatic agenda (there are several answers)?
6. What is the political situation in Scotland when the play opens?
7. Explain Macdonwald’s—Thane of Cawdor—immense importance for introducing, foreshadowing, and foiling Macbeth’s character.
8. Why are Macbeth’s first words important?
9. What is Banquo’s reaction to the witches’ predictions?
10. What effect does Duncan’s announcement—that Malcolm is his heir—have on Macbeth’s plans?

J10 - Macbeth: Acts 1.5-2.4

1. Describe the biblical typology of Macbeth (MB) and Lady Macbeth (LMB). Who are they?
2. What details link LMB to the weird sisters, the witches?
3. What is important about both the location and the content of MB’s soliloquy?
4. What are some of the consequences that attend the “life” of the wicked, the guilty?
5. How do MB’s and LMB’s views of guilt differ?
6. What is significant about the “knocking” that begins just after the murder?
7. How does nature’s order reflect that of Scotland?
8. How does MB first “gild” his deathly deed?
9. Why do Duncan’s sons respond to the murder of their father in the way they do, and how might it be misinterpreted?
10. Why would Shakespeare write a play in which the “climax” occurs in the second act? In other words, what does he intend to show happening during the remainder of the drama?

J11 - Macbeth: Acts 3-4

1. What does MB mean by his “fruitless crown” and “barren scepter”?
2. Shouldn’t MB be satisfied that he is now king? Why or why not? and how does this affect Banquo?
3. What does the feast symbolize, and what makes a feast different from a common dinner?
4. How does MB behave at the feast and why?
5. What effect does MB’s behavior have on the feast, and how does this reflect the situation in Scotland?
6. What does MB mean when he says, “Blood will have blood”?
7. How do you know that MB does not intend to repent of his bloody course?
8. How do the three apparitions link to the theme pertaining to equivocal communication?
9. Why does Malcolm tell Mcduff how evil he (Malcolm) is?
10. How does scene 3 highlight MB’s tyranny? (there are two ways)

Tuesday, 3/12 - Hamlet THICE (Take Home In Class Essay)

• P&P

• Begin getting ready for your Hamlet THICE (4 or 5 paragraphs). You may choose your prompt, write a thesis, snag some topic sentences, compile your support, which should include quotes (from Hamlet--and Julius Caesar if applicable--not from Leithart), and bring your heavy artillery (outline) to class Thursday. Please do NOT go online to scour secondary sources; I will be double-checking anything that feels like an internet oil slick. Here are your prompts:

1. Hamlet or Brutus? Who is the more tragic character and why?

2. What theme is Shakespeare developing about “acting”? In other words, what is Shakespeare saying about the nature of “drama”?

3. Examine how and why Shakespeare develops one of his key image clusters: A) poison-venom, B) death-decay-rottenness, or C) any other you find revealing. What is he saying with these images?

4. Throughout Hamlet, Shakespeare uses body imagery, real bodies, and the body politic. Consider the nature of these different "bodies" and try to figure out what the bard is saying.

5. Shakespeare wrote Hamlet just after Julius Caesar. That said, what is Shakespeare saying about women with his Gertrude-Ophelia and Calpurnia-Portia duos? Does he reduce women to one lowest common denominator, or is he multi-perspectival? If extremely different, why the differences? For what purpose?

6. If you have a thesis/prompt that you think you'd like to pursue that is not here, please run it by me first and I'll consider letting you pursue it with a vengeance ; )

Tuesday, Wednesday, and Block, 3/4, 5, and 6 - Lettuce begin Act 4 ; )

Reno as Hamlet, during my "heavier" phase

• P&P

• Begin Act 4 . . . and J8 (due next Monday, 3/11)

• Order of coming events:
• Mon - J8
• Tues - test
• Thurs - THICE (Take Home In Class Essay)

J8 - Hamlet: Acts 4-5

1. What are several ways in which Shakespeare shows chaos following in the wake of Polonius's murder? 
2. How is Ophelia's confusing of Hamlet and Polonius in her songs doubly significant?
3. How does Laertes mirror Hamlet? How is his mirroring significantly different, specifically as regards his philosophy of revenge?
4. How is Claudius like Hamlet's father's ghost?
5. How does Claudius plan for Laertes to take revenge on Hamlet, and what is significant about this method?
6. What is the purpose of Act 5 beginning in a graveyard . . . with Hamlet talking to a skull?
7. Why is it fitting for the play to end with a fencing match?
8. What is significant about how the major characters die in the final scene? 
9. What is Fortinbras's situation at the end of the play and why is this significant?

Monday, 3/3 - Act 3 . . . again ; )

• P&P

• Check J7 (Act 3)

• Try to finish Act 3

HW: None (finish J7 if you have not yet finished)