Macbeth by William Skakespeare

Look like the innocent flower,

But be the serpent under it. - Lady Macbeth

There 's daggers in men's smiles - Donalbain

Concepts to Consider as you read:

Tragedy - what is a tragedy? Who is the tragic hero in this story?

Shakespeare/Theater in the Round/Elizabethan England

The Power of Words

The Quest for Power

A character's FATAL FLAW

The role of nature in the play

The role of the witches/supernatural

Morality/Conscience/Guilt

Gender Roles

Blog Posts re: Macbeth and Shakespeare (ie. Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, Shakespeare as an author)

Literary Devices used in the tragedy:

  • Allusions
  • Figurative Language
    • Personification
    • Alliteration
    • Simile
    • Metaphor
    • Hyperbole
    • Symbol
  • Foreshadowing
  • Dramatic Irony

Check out the Class GLOG for links to BBC Videos: http://rmacvay.edu.glogster.com/macbeth/

Shakespeare's Sonnets (details in our literature book starting on page 543)

14 lines = 3 quatrains and 1 rhyming couplet (abab, cdcd, efef, gg)

10 syllables per line, iambic pentameter rhyme (ba BOOM ba BOOM ba BOOM ba BOOM ba BOOM)

Quatrain 1: Present a problem

Quatrain 2: Complicate problem

Quatrain 3: Complicate problem

Rhyming Couplet: Answer to riddle, problem solved

Themes: Brevity of life, beauty fades, desire

BBC Animated Tales

Macbeth Act 1

Act 2

Act 3