DAY 1 - CYCLE 7 - SEMESTER 2

Today, we finished Act IV, scene iii of Macbeth and watched the scene. Many lines were excised from the televised performance. Why? What effect was the director seeking? Did the Malcolm and Macduff we saw match the characters we created in our minds? By comparing the series on TV to that in your mind's eye, you can develop a better understanding of the text.

Here is all of scene iii, but it begins at the end of scene ii:

PART I




PART II



HOMEWORK
Read up through page 144 in Lord of the Flies. You will have a 20 question quiz on Monday covering the novel and Acts III and IV of the play. The quiz will include quotations and literary terms from both Acts. Those of you who have not made a meaningful contribution to the wikispace really ought to do so!

DAY 5 - CYCLE 6 - SEMESTER 2

Sorry for the late posting, everyone. I just got back from a series of late appointments.

Today, after I collected your paragraphs comparing the two witches scenes, we covered Act III, scene iii, a longer scene in which Macduff comes to England to solicit Malcolm's help in overthrowing Macbeth. We began the day by talking a bit about the dicey diplomatic situation in which these characters find themselves. There is a certain amount of distrust between the two, and until it is resolved, no progress can be made. Malcolm, fearing for his own safety, must make doubly sure that Macduff poses no threat, and he goes about it in a most interesting way.

To make sure you came away from the discussion with a full arsenal of understanding, make sure you can answer the following:

1. Macduff's opening lines are an example of dramatic irony: how?
   
2. Malcolm reveals the source of his distrust of Macduff. What led him to doubt his kinsman's intentions?
3. According to Malcolm, why would he be a worse ruler than Macbeth?
4. Is this true?
5. Why does he tell Macduff these things?
6. How does Macduff prove he can be trusted?
7. Who is the messenger who arrives?
8. List all the news the messenger brings
9. When does the messenger change the subject? Why?
10. There are a number of clues in the text of this scene that suggest how other characters must be speaking (pausing, rushing, showing some sort of emotion, etc.). Pay attention to these clues for they make it much easier to visualize what is happening.
11. NOTE: Notions of masculinity have been explored throughout this play. How does Macduff add to our understanding of that theme?

Whatever part of the scene we did not finish in class, we will read tomorrow, and then watch the scene performed.

HOMEWORK
Post 4 important quotes and 2 examples of literary terms from Act IV on the wikispace.

DAY 4 - CYCLE 6 - SEMESTER 2

PART ONE: THE QUIZ AT THE BEGINNING
Today, you took a 10 question quiz on Lord of the Flies, Macbeth and literary terms. So far, the scores for those quizzes range from 2 out of 10 to 10 out of 10. Some people's errors were concentrated; other people's were spread out. If you know you struggled on any portion of the quiz, take a look at these possible solutions. If these don't work, you should schedule time to see me.

Lord of the Flies

• Keep a character list in the front of your book and track major actions and dominant character traits.
• Set up your own spectrums: each character starts as WHAT and is becoming more WHAT?
• At the bottom of the pages where you see major events happening/critical moments of tension occurring, write a few key words and the names of the characters involved. This will help in review.
• When you come across particularly revealing quotes, highlight them.
• Create your own quotation study guide with your findings.

Macbeth Quotations

• Review the wikispace on a regular basis, adding to it as well.
• Preview scenes the day before class so that you have familiarity with the words, even if you don’t understand them well.
• Identify the words you don’t know and look them up.
• Paraphrase passages in class into your own words as we cover them and afterwards.
• Each night, go through the scenes we have covered, highlighter in hand, and highlight the quotes you think are particularly revealing.
• Review the blog consistently and make sure you can answer the review questions that are posted there.
• Try to relate quotations to larger themes (great chain of being, forcing the wheel of fortune, etc.). Think about what Shakespeare considered a virtue and what he considered a vice; use your studies of the early Enlightenment to inform your thinking. What quotes reveal these moral lessons?

Macbeth Literary Terms

• Review the wikispace regularly and add to it.
• Make note cards of the terms, their definitions, and examples that you can understand easily.
• At the end of class, spend a few minutes going through what we studied in class, and look for examples of terms. Underline them in the text and write the name of the term next to it.
• When looking at the wikispace, be able to explain why a certain passage exemplifies a term. If you can’t explain it in your own words, your understanding of the term is not yet complete.
  
  When the solutions above are not yielding the results you’d like to see, schedule extra help with me.

PART TWO: THE READING OF ACT IV; SCENES i AND ii
Then we read Act IV, scenes i and ii. Here, Macbeth, tormented by the fear and paranoia that consumes him and robs him of rest, goes to consult the witches. There, they show him four images, which lead him through a series of emotions. At the end of the scene, he makes a plan about Macduff & family. The second scene takes place at the Macduff castle in Fife, where Lady Macduff is none too pleased. In her conversations with Ross, we learn quite a bit about the political climate of Scotland under Macbeth.

REVIEW QUESTIONS: if you cannot answer these, you need to go back to your text and clarify your understanding.

1. What do the ingredients of the witches' brew tell us about them?
2. What cost is Macbeth willing to pay to get answers from the weird sisters?
3. What are the four apparitions that Macbeth sees? Know exactly what they are.
4. What exactly does each apparation tell him?
5. What is his emotional response to each of the apparitions?
6. What does Macbeth decide he will do after he hears the second apparition? Why?
7. What does he learn after the witches disappear?
8. What does he decide to do in response to this news?
9. What is Macbeth saying when he states "From this moment/The very firstlins of my heart shall be/The firstlings of my hand"?
10. Why is Lady Macduff so angry at her husband?
11. What is Ross trying to tell her in a thinly veiled way?
12. What does the conversation Lady Macduff has with her son reveal about the political climate in Scotland?
13. What has the messenger come to say?
14. NOTE: In the opening of the scene, Ross tells Lady Macduff that "Cruel are the times when we are traitors/And do not know ourselves" (IV, i, 18-19). At the end of the scene, Lady Macduff says, "I remember now/I am in this earthly world, where to do harm/Is often laudable, to do good sometime/Accounted dangerous folly." First, make sure you understand how these quotes show the world in opposition with itself. Then, consider: how might this relate to our larger understanding of the natural order of things, and of the play's larger theme about appearance and reality?

HOMEWORK

Write a paragraph comparing Macbeth's meeting with the witches from the first act with his meeting in the fourth act. Exactly how has Macbeth changed? Give specific details in your paragraph, incorporating quotes. This may be hand-written or typed, and should be about a page in length.

DAY 3 - CYCLE 6 - SEMESTER 2

After I collected your creative journals, I designated today as a reading day in preparation for tomorrow's BRIEF quiz which will contain:

• 5 multiple choice questions on Lord of the Flies;
• 3 quote identifications on Macbeth, Act II;
• 2 literary terms identifications on Macbeth, Act II.

Your homework for tonight is to add 4 important quotes for Act III to the wikispace, and 2 examples of literary terms in action. Don't go for monologue/solilioquy. Go for the more complicated ones that involve more interpretive skills to discern, OK?

DAY 2 - CYCLE 6 - SEMESTER 2

Today, we watched the remainder of Act III of Macbeth. We saw two versions of the banquet scene.



and



There's another version that's quite different. Roman Polanki's shows the ghost and shifts the order of the lines dramatically. To good effect? You decide.



You should have a good understanding of Lennox's sarcasm in scene vi and know what Macduff has gone to do.

HOMEWORK
First, choose one of the following:
A. Design a costume for Macbeth in the banquet scene that captures the essence of his character and suggests what's going on in his mind. You may use design elements from ANY era. Give a written explanation for your choices (a few sentences will do). You may draw the costume or write up a description of it.
OR
B. Design a set for any scene in Act II that calls attention to the themes of that scene. You may use design elements from ANY era. You should explain in writing why your set is suitable to the play's themes (a few sentences will do). You may draw your set or provide a written description.

AND DO THE FOLLOWING
C. In writing, explain how YOU would direct the ghost sequence. How would you represent the ghost and why would you do it that way?

DAY 1 - CYCLE 6 - SEMESTER 2

Today, we read a "parallel" version of Act III, scenes i-iii. In these scenes, I asked, Macbeth plots the murder of Banquo and his son Fleance, and discusses some of his concerns with his wife. In scene three, the murderers kill Banquo, but Fleance escapes. I asked you to consider Macbeth's and Lady Macbeth's emotional states while we read, and the state of their relationship.

You should be able to answer the following questions about the first three scenes. If you cannot answer these, you need to review the material.

• What does Banquo suspect?
• For what does Macbeth ask Banquo to return that evening?
• Where is Banquo going?
• What news does Macbeth report about Malcom and Donalbain?
• Why doesn't Macbeth enjoy being king?
• What has been the cost for Macbeth in "helping" Banquo's descendents?
• What do the murderers blame Banquo for?
• How does Macbeth convince the murderers to murder Banquo? How do his arguments resemble Lady Macbeth's? HINT:Why does Macbeth spend time talking about dogs?
• What reason does Macbeth give for not killing Banquo himself?
• Why doesn't Lady Macbeth enjoy being queen?
• Lady Macbeth complains about what tendency that Macbeth has?
• Why does Macbeth envy Duncan?
• How do Lady Macbeth's and Macbeth's speeches resemble one another?
• Both Lady Macbeth and Macbeth tell each other to do what?
• What is Macbeth's brain full of? Isn't that an incredible image for describing mental stress?!
• For some of the lines to make sense, you need to consider the listening character's facial expressions. Identify those lines and imagine the expressions.

We watched some of Ian McKellen/Judy Dench's Royal Shakespeare version of Macbeth in class. We shall watch the rest of Act III tomorrow.

HOMEWORK:

Preview the remainder of Act III. You should have a very firm handle on what happens in each scene, the identity of the characters involved, their emotional states, and some assumptions about what they think about one another.

DAY 5 - CYCLE 5 - SEMESTER 2

Today, we took a break from Macbeth today to discuss Lord of the Flies. We began the class with a 12 question quiz and then opened discussion on the novel with three basic prompts:

• Who GETS power? Why?
• Who WANTS power? Why?
• WHO DESERVES power? Why?

I asked you to take notes on the discussion and to substantiate claims with evidence. The three classes had quite different discussions, but ultimately arrived at some conclusions about power sharing and the perils inherent in establishing order in a group. Some classes got farther than others, connecting ideas in the book to their understanding of democracies, authoritarian regimes, oligarchies and republican (not the party) forms of government. Review your notes from today. Add to them. Jot a comment to this blog post, if so moved. Your insights are fantastic.

Each class investigated Piggy, Ralph and Jack's competencies, shortcomings, and challenges, and each class got around to talking about what the following items symbolize in a larger consideration of exercising power within a society:

• conch - rule of law, authority. Note that it has (through sound) the ability to call everyone together, but it can also be broken--it is fragile.
• fire--power. When controlled, it can be life-sustaining; when uncontrolled, it is a destructive force.
• glasses--Tekne, insight. Remember your studies of Greek history? This helpful tool is critical in establishing the infrastructure everyone relies on, and is a reflection of Piggy's intuitive understanding of what needs to be done (count the children, use the conch, recognize dangers, ask for names...).
• knife--militarism, violence, criminal element. Note that Jack is the one who carries the knife, who almost kills the pig, and who wants lots of rules so he may punish those who break them.
• little 'uns --society at large as well as its weaker members. Those in power are not only morally responsible for caring for them, they must do so effectively to maintain power.

There were a wide variety of questions that came up during the class:

• Why doesn't Jack kill the pig?
• What makes a person or a group "civilized?"
• Why are Piggy's suggestions dismissed, ignored, or criticized?
• What are deciding factors in the battle between civility and savagery? Are we predisposed toward one?
• What do our observations from today tell us about the nature of power?

After our discussion, I asked you to take a look at the three initial quotes again: in an ideal world, what would the answers to these be?

Tomorrow, we'll be heading back into Macbeth. Tomorrow and Friday, we'll be looking at a video performance of Act III.

HOMEWORK

Post FOUR important quotations and TWO literary terms on the appropriate pages on the wikispace. Be sure to study the literary terms closely. The majority of you need some review on those!

Group 2: Quotes Lit Terms

Group 4: Quotes Lit Terms

Group 6: Quotes Lit Terms

DAY 4 - CYCLE 5 - SEMESTER 2

Today, we covered Act II, scenes iii and iv in Macbeth, where Duncan's murder is discovered. Shakespeare spends much of his time suggesting how the Great Chain is being inverted more and more. As a rock thrown into a lake makes ripples, so too does this murder have ongoing repurcussions: the weather is a mess, domesticated animals are rebelling, day is night, owls are attacking falcons, etc. It's a mess! In addition, we get to see Macbeth and Lady Macbeth's actions in the wake of their misdeeds. I asked you to consider whether Macbeth is a good liar (you said no), and if Lady Macbeth really fainted (you said no again; she was creating a diversion!).

Questions to consider as you review your understanding from today's class:

1. How do you know Macbeth is a bad liar?
2. What prompts Lady Macbeth to "faint"?
3. Why is it ironic that Macduff hesitates to tell Lady Macbeth about Duncan's murder because he fears her sensibilities are to delicate for her to hear the news?
4. Why do Malcolm and Donalbain flee?
5. Why do people believe they bribed the guards?
6. What happens in Colmekill? Scone?
7. Where does Macduff go at the end of Act II? Why is this choice significant?

Homework:

Pretend you are a servant in the Macbeth household during the time of Act II. Write a letter to a friend explaining some of the bizarre happenings from your own, limited perspective. You'll need to study the Act carefully to determine what a servant might reasonably know. You do not need to write it in Shakespearean prose.

DAY 3 - CYCLE 5 - SEMESTER 2

Today, you took a quiz on Act I. The quiz contained five quotes and five quotes demonstrating literary terms in action. Because we have not spent as much time on the literary terms as on the play itself, if the literary terms section of the quiz averages below 80%, I will drop that portion of the quiz.

Afterwards, we looked at Act I, scenes i and ii. Here, Macbeth starts telling lies. He lies to Banquo, saying he never thinks of the witches, and he lies to his servant saying that Lady Macbeth is to ring the bell when his "drink is ready." That, of course, is her terrible signal to do the deed. In addition to deceiving his friend, he shows other signs of undoing. He hallucinates a dagger, which grows bloody as he watches and beckons him toward Duncan's sleeping chambers while he draws his own dagger. He gives himself a pep talk and off he slinks. The next scene finds Lady Macbeth excited but nervous, claiming that she herself would have done the deed had Duncan not looked like her father as he slept.

Macbeth returns from the murder, greatly troubled. He clutches the daggers, knows that he shall never sleep again (you can see how he mourns the loss by his listed and rich descriptions of sleep), and claims that to wash his bloodied hands in the oceans would not cleanse them, but turn all of the waters red. Wow. Lady Macbeth takes charge, marches off with blades in hand, and comes back as bloodied as he. As the couple hears knocking at the castle gate, She states that a "little water clear us of this deed," and marches her husband-gone-tharn off to change into his nightgown so they may look as though they were in bed.

Afterward, I had you play "Mr. & Mrs. Macbeth visit the marriage counselor." In that activity, you enthusiastically berated your spouse for his/her failings; he's too wimpy, she's too controlling; he's too indecisive, she's too ambitious; he's too virtuous, she's too callous; he's too timid, she's too over-reaching. You brought up his femininity, her masculinity. The Great Chain of Being is now toppling!

HOMEWORK
Continue reading in Lord of the Flies.

DAY 2 - CYCLE 5 - SEMESTER 2

This will be short and sweet. Today was a reading day for Lord of the Flies, and you have your quiz on Act I tomorrow. See yesterday's post for sample questions, and PLEASE use the wikispace study guides to review!

DAY 1 - CYCLE 5 - SEMESTER 2

Today's post begins with a poem by Edward Arlington Robinson. This famous poem is an excellent example of situational irony. I present it simply because the clarity of this example is so stellar.

Richard Cory
by Edwin Arlington Robinson, 1869-1935

Whenever Richard Cory went down town,
We people on the pavement looked at him;
He was a gentleman from sole to crown,
Clean favored, and imperially slim.

And he was always quietly arrayed,
And he was always human when he talked;
But still he fluttered pulses when he said,
“Good-morning,” and he glittered when he walked.

And he was rich—yes, richer than a king—
And admirably schooled in every grace:
In fine, we thought that he was everything
To make us wish that we were in his place.

So on we worked, and waited for the light,
And went without the meat, and cursed the bread;
And Richard Cory, one calm summer night,
Went home and put a bullet through his head.

Sad, yes. But it makes excellent use of situational irony to snap us out of our assumptions about our own lives and the lives of others. When used well, situational irony often has this startling effect that makes us see anew.

Today in class, we finished Act I. In scene vi, Lady Macbeth welcomes Duncan into her home, and the two exchange pleasantries. Rich in subtext, this passage shows Lady Mabeth become the very serpent under the flower she asks her husband to be. In scene vii, Macbeth shows his hesitation. In his opening soliloquy, he lists several reasons that counsel against the act of murder. Can you remember what they are? Summrize them in the margins of your text if you didn't do so already. Then, Lady Macbeth enters. Macbeth tells her they "will proceed no further in this business, but she gets him to change his mind and commit to murder. He offers himself LOGICAL arguments against the act. What types of arguments does she offer?

We all agreed that Lady Macbeth is a real piece of work, a person whose evil is jaw-dropping in scope. Henry P. raised a good point in group 2, however. It's not like Macbeth didn't spur her on with his letter. He planted the seed in her mind just as the witches planted it in his. (Looked at in this context, that's in interesting introversion of the "Eve/female as temptress" mythos.) Summarize her arguments to Macbeth in your margins.

HOMEWORK:
At the close of class, I asked you to indicate the 5 literary terms you found in your homework for today. Your homework for tonight is to add those to the wikispace (group 2/group 4/group 6). This is due by the start of class on Tuesday.

Add FOUR important quotes for Act I to the wikispace as well (group 2/group 4/group 6). This is due Tuesday by 6:00 PM!

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENTS
There will be a quotes based quiz on Act I of Macbeth on Wednesday of this week.
Sample questions:

• Who is described in the lines: "If I must say sooth, I must report they were as cannons overcharged with double cracks, so they / Doubly redoubled strokes upon the foe?"
• Who says, "Her husband's to Aleppo gone, master o' the Tiger; / But in a seive I'll thither sail, / And, like a rat without a tail, /I'll do, I'll do, and I'll do."
• Who asks "...have we eaten on the insane root / That takes the reason prisoner?"
• Ross tells Macbeth, "...As thick as hail / Came post with post..." This is an example of what literary term?

We will begin Lord of the Flies as an Outside Reading Book this week. The majority of your outside homework will be to keep up with the reading there. Note that I did not say ALL your homework, so you should still expect additional responsibilities for Macbeth outside of class. Please see the reading deadlines to the left of the post.

There will be a TEST on Macbeth on Friday, March 13th (seems fitting, no?).

DAY 5 - CYCLE 4 - SEMESTER 2

Today, we met the inimitable Lady Macbeth, whose personal ambitions make her husband's look like child's play. In Act I, scene v, the three characters involved are Lady Macbeth, a messenger, and Macbeth himself. As you read through the scene aloud, I checked your homework (the literary terms sheet).

Then we parsed out the scene, looking at the progression of Lady Macbeth's emotions. She reads aloud the letter Macbeth sent in which he calls her "partner." In her first monologue, she criticizes her husband for his shortcomings (stupid virtues!), and wishes he were there so she could scold him for being virtuous. Then, she learns that Duncan will stay the night at her castle. After that, she seeks specific changes in herself, calling upon the agents of darkness to bring them about. Then, Macbeth enters, and she says "Leave everything to me!" In this short scene, Lady Macbeth has willfully placed herself above her husband (with his help!) in the Great Chain. What might this lead to? As we figured out exactly what she says, I asked you to keep two questions in mind:

1. What changes is she asking for in herself? In Macbeth? For what purpose?
2. On both pages 27 and 31, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth make a specific appeal to the heavens. What is that appeal, and how does it relate to our understanding of the Great Chain of Being?

Afterwards, I asked you if you thought whether or not Macbeth and Lady Macbeth had any control over their actions. Do they have any say in what plays out? Is there a difference between the two?

YOUR HOMEWORK:

This scene contains a number of examples of the literary terms you looked up for today. Now, I want you to apply that knowledge by identifying FIVE (5) examples of literary terms in action within the scene. You should write out the example and an explanation of HOW it shows the term in action.

Also, next week, we will begin Lord of the Flies as an out-of-class reading experience. That's about a group of boys whose plane crash lands on an uninhabited island and what happens to them in this Eden of no adult supervision.

DAY 4 - CYCLE 4 - SEMESTER 2

Today, you translated Macbeth, Act I, scene iv into modern English. To help you, I handed out two sheets of some basic vocabulary and translated words. These materials came to me via hardcopy from Chicago Shakespeare, so I do not have them in electronic form (anyone feel like earning some in school service hours by typing them up?). Those who were absent today will find them in their mailboxes.

In rough, rough terms:

Duncan: Is Cawdor dead yet? Have the executioners returned?

Malcolm: Sir, they're not back yet, but I heard that it looks like Cawdor admitted his crime, begged forgiveness, and died with dignity.

Duncan: Well, you can't tell what a man's mind is from the way he looks. I trusted that guy completely...Macbeth, Banquo, Ross and Angus enter... Oh! Macbeth! I cannot thank you enough for all you've done for me.

Macbeth: My pleasure. Just doing my job.

Duncan: Well, I'll make sure you're rewarded for your help to me. Banquo, I feel the same way about you, too.

Banquo: Well, any help you give me will be sure to benefit you.

Duncan: Wow, well, I am just crying tears of joy here. All of you know that Malcolm here is the Crown Prince, but those who deserve it will gain in nobility (suggesting that Macbeth is in store for even more titles). From here, let's go to Macbeth's castle so we can build our relationship further!

Macbeth: Well, then, the only thing left to do then is to prepare for your arrival. I'll go tell my wife you're coming. She'll be so happy! Excuse me, then.

Duncan: Thank you, Thane of Cawdor!

Macbeth: aside - So Malcolm's Crown Prince. Great. I've either got to give up my ambitions because of that or figure out a way around it. Heaven above, don't watch what I'm about to do, and may I have the werewithal to do it. Macbeth leaves.

Duncan: Oh Banquo! He's such a great guy; I love hearing about him! Let's follow him to his house. What a guy! There's no one quite like him.

We then talked about dramatic irony, in which the audience knows something that the character in the play or movie or story does not know. Horror movies use this all the time. We know the crazed axe murderer is hiding behind the bunk bed, but the dippy teen counselors sneaking into the cabin do not. It's a way of adding tension.

There's plenty of dramatic irony throughout this little scene. As soon as Duncan says you can't judge a book by its cover, who should happen to show up? Macbeth! And what has he been thinking about? Murder! Woo-wee: awkward! I then asked you to block out the scenes in such a way that your gestures, facial expressions and postures would heighten this dramatic irony.

Your homework:
It helps to know the literary terms that can explain some of the dynamics in the play, so I've asked you to look up a number of literary terms I passed out on a worksheet. One of the terms is "Apostrophe." I DO NOT MEAN THE PUNCTUATION MARK! Please look up the terms and provide brief definitions on the sheet.

DAY 3 - CYCLE 4 - SEMESTER 2

I began the class today by passing out a map of Scotland. The map comes from Isaac Asimov's Guide to Shakespeare: Volume 2. No, you needn't memorize it; it's simply quite useful to see where things are taking place. Please refer to it as we continue our reading of the play. If you missed class today, you may find a copy of the map in your mail box at school. The map is part of a larger essay that does a great deal to explain the historical and cultural context of many lines, and if you are interested, I would be delighted to make a copy of the essay for you.

We worked on creating our own cultural context today by looking at the Elizabethan world view, focusing chiefly on two things: the Great Chain of Being and the Wheel of Fortune. This handout is composed predominantly of pictures associated with each concept, and they can help us to understand the principles.

The Great Chain of Being, above all else, suggests that there is a hierarchical order to the universe, and everything within the Chain has its place. From God down to the lowly rock, all things have their purposes, and their limitations.
God
Angels
----Seraphim
----Cherubim
People
----King
----Nobles
----Merchants
----Serfs
----Slaves
And within each of these subsections, all people are ranked by gender and age, too.
---------Men
---------Women (beneath men because, as Aristotle said, "their thinkers are broken")
---------Children
-----------Boys
-----------Girls
Beasts
----Elephant is king of non-carnivorous animals
----Lion is king of carnivorous animals
----Dolphins are kings of the sea
Plants (and you know their order from your work in biology!)
Elements (fire, air, water, earth)
Dirt/minerals

Even the skies themselves are ordered into different spheres, with the dome of heaven being visible to us. This is why Robert Frost's lines in the poem "Birches" are suggestive of so much more than mere icestorm: "Soon the sun's warmth makes them shed crystal shells/Shattering and avalanching on the snow-crust/Such heaps of broken glass to sweep away/You'd think the inner dome of heaven had fallen." His reference here is not simply to the appearance of ice, but to our sense of the universe crumbling into chaos. (And the poem is clearly not just about trees, either. I recommend you read it. You will find interesting things in it. Keep reading it every few years; you will find that you keep finding more in it, and more in yourselves, too. It's a wonderful touchstone, that poem.) When the order is disrupted, because someone tries to break rank, disorder and strife ensue. Humans seem unable to learn this lesson.

Whenever you come across ANY reference to stars, plants, or nature in general, Shakespeare is telling you something about the order of the world. Look with a critical eye: is that order threatened? Solid? Being restored? What is the source of the threat or protection? What is happening to the Great Chain of Being?

Think of what happens when you pluck a string; the whole thing vibrates, of course. Apply this principle to the idea of a chain; mess up one part and the whole thing is under threat, right? How does this chaos and strife come about? What plucks the string, as it were? By messing with the Wheel of Fortune! Fortuna was the Roman goddess of fortune, modeled after the Greek goddess Tyche. For a fine picture of a statue of Tyche, click here (it takes a while to load, but it's worth it!). Whereas the Greek version of the goddess is my role model, er, I mean, quite cruel at times, the Roman goddess was eventually tamed by Christianity, and she was a functionary in God's master plan. This is why she often appears to be leashed. She is also unpredictable, demonstrated by the fact she (often) stands upon a sphere. There are four stations on the wheel she spins, and these stations are actually ones we recognize in our own lives:

Regno (I reign)
I get to use the eighth grade stairs because I am King/Queen of the Middle School!
Regnavi (I reigned)
Well, 8th grade graduation sure was nice, but I am nervous about meeting my Big Brother/Big Sister
Sum Sini Regno (I have no kingdom)
Oh no. My Big Brother and Big Sister are about to introduce me on stage and give me my stupid sailor hat.
Regnabo (I shall reign)
Junior year was great! When do we find out who our Little Brother and Sister are and when can I ask them to bake cookies for me?

It's when people try to force the wheel to turn in their favor that they disrupt order, and thus the Chain of Being. And when THAT happens, evil prevails. You know this to be true as well. What happens when juniors try to boss freshmen around, or when a 6th grader tries to use the 8th grade stairs? Heads roll and people get very, very angry! These are very useful concepts to apply to Macbeth.

When the witches give their predictions, they are suggesting Macbeth's station on the wheel, and he is presented with a temptation: spin the wheel faster! Banquo urges caution, but Macbeth, before even seeing the king, is already thinking about murder. These thoughts cause his heart to pound "against nature" and make his hair stand on end. Clearly, he is NOT comfortable with the idea. And yet he thinks it. And thinks it. And thinks it some more. As we go through, ask yourself, is this guy really in control of his fate? What are his choices and does he have the power to effectively make a choice? I am giddy at the prospect of talking about this!

Your homework for tonight:
Read Act I, scene iv. Look for references to nature & the heavens. What is Shakespeare pointing out to you? Yes, the text will be confusing. THAT'S OK! Wrestle with it a bit to get meaning out of it. That's how you train your brain to be worth anything, so avoid the outside resources.

DAY 2 - CYCLE 4 - SEMESTER 2: Macbeth I:iii

Today, we looked at how to decode Shakespeare's lengthy statements so they make more sense to us. This is actually where sentence diagramming helps, because the same logic you use to tease apart sentences for a diagram are the very same skills you'll use to aid comprehesion here.

We stated by looking at the following lines of text (from I, ii, 16-23):
1. For brave Macbeth
2. —well he deserves that name—
3. Disdaining fortune,
4. with his brandish'd steel,
5. Which smoked with bloody execution,
6. Like valor's minion
7. carved out his passage
8. Till he faced the slave;
9. Which ne'er shook hands,
10. nor bade farewell to him,
11. Till he unseamed him from the nave to th’ chops,
12. And fixed his head upon our battlements.

12 people in each class were handed a line, and the remaining people had to organize them so that the key ideas (the same things that would go on top of the horizontal line in a sentence diagram) were in front, and the modifying phrases were lined up behind the appropriate main idea.

Then, we talked about some of the odd conventions Shakespeare uses (I' = in, 's = us, o' = of, ne'er = never), and addressed the questions you had about the scenes we covered on Friday. The first place you should look when you have a question is the left hand side of the page, as quite often, the book will offer an explanation of the more obscure or complicted references.

After that, we looked at the rest of scene iii, where Angus and Ross tell Macbeth that he has been made Thane of Cawdor. We studied Macbeth's reaction to this news, and Banquo's reaction to Macbeth's reaction, looking carefully at the warning Banquo gives him, and Macbeth's response. We also tried to figure out what Macbeth thinks about when he hears this news.

Macbeth and Banquo seem to respond to the witches' prophesies in different ways.
PHASE 1: During and immediately following the encounter with the witches

• BANQUO: Curious, distanced, wary, interested but uninvested
• MACBETH: Scared, spellbound ("rapt"), curious, invested, eager, disbelieving, hopeful, excited

PHASE 2: During and immediately following the encounter with Ross and Angus

• BANQUO: Leery, cautious, disbelieving (cleary distrusts the source="Can the devil speak true?")
  MACBETH: Reckless, ambitious, mesmerized with more concrete images of Duncan's death, eager, seeming to rationalize.

These two have just been in battle together and are good friends. What does this difference in responses, and the increasing divergence between them, tell us about their relationship?

Then, in your table "pie pieces" groups, I had you do two things:

1. Write stage directions for the types of facial expressions and gestures both Macbeth and Banquo would use from lines 104-146 of scene iii.
2. Make conjectures about what Banquo will say to Ross and Angus when he pulls them aside for "a word."

Your homework for tonight:

Go to the following websites and prepare a brief summary (one page in length) about the Elizabethan Worldview. You may focus on any aspects that seem relevant to you.

http://www.montreat.edu/dking/milton/significantideasofseventeethcentury.htm

http://faculty.up.edu/asarnow/GreatChainofBeing.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Chain_of_Being

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rota_Fortunae

http://web.cn.edu/kwheeler/Tillyard01.html

http://guildofstgeorge.com/chain.htm

http://f01.middlebury.edu/FS010A/STUDENTS/n076.htm