 Here, I have taken a small portion of Shakespeare's Macbeth and recorded it in my own voice. I've illuminated it in a different way than the hypertext -- by adding music and sound effects to my reading. The text I chose is a short piece of Act V, Scene 5, where Macbeth muses about the sheer fultility of human life. It is a speech full of anguish and sadness.
In looking back at the process of producing this soundscape, I realized that what at first seemed to be a simple task was in the end one that required much thought and consideration. I spent hours deciding exactly what type of music I wanted and what sound effects would suit this scene best. Then, I had to make decisions about the volume of those sounds and of the music -- not to mention when each sound would occur and how long. When would the music start? Would it stop? Would it fade out? I realized that these decisions could give students undertaking a task like this a serious sense of ownership of a text. They could pick up where Shakespeare left off and make directorial choices. What a fun way to expand the meaning and value of Macbeth to our students.
Macbeth: Act V, Scene 5
MACBETH. Wherefore was that cry? SEYTON. The queen, my lord, is dead. MACBETH. She should have died hereafter; There would have been a time for such a word.-- To-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow, Creeps in this petty pace from day to day, To the last syllable of recorded time; And all our yesterdays have lighted fools The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle! 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. |