William Shakespeare: The Tragedy of Macbeth · A biography of Shakespeare ... Some questions you...

© Pamela Cohen 2014

English Study Guide

William Shakespeare:

The Tragedy of Macbeth

Name__________________________________

Created and Compiled by Pamela Cohen




This study guide will assist you in preparing your Bloom’s Taxonomy

portfolio. Your portfolio must be handed in when after delivering your

presentation to the class. You will have two opportunities to hand in the

portfolio in draft form.

Items 1-5 on Friday 2 September 2005

Items 6-9 on Friday 9 September 2005

Bloom’s Taxonomy is a Multiple Intelligence theory that provides students

with the opportunity to evaluate their own learning by identifying the

sequence of the learning process. You will develop and use skills of

‘Knowledge’, ‘Comprehension’, ‘Application’, ‘Analysis’ which they will

‘Synthesise’ and ‘Evaluate’ in their oral presentation.

Your Oral presentations begin on Monday of Week 9 – 12 September 2005.

Portfolio Items - please check off as you complete:

1. A biography of Shakespeare (150 words) -Knowledge

2. Definition of Tragedy in Shakespearean terms with three references to

Macbeth (quotes) to support your understanding of the term (100 words) –

Comprehension, Analysis and Synthesis

3. Character study of Macbeth with three quotes (200 words) – Comprehension

and Analysis – use the table provided to assist you with determining the verbs,

adjectives and adverbs that provide the render with an understanding go Macbeth’s

motives and thought.

4. Crossword puzzle of characters and their roles in the text – Comprehension

5. A Mask of your favourite character from the play – Comprehension and

Application

6. Mindmap of characters: Who does what to whom? - Application and Analysis

7. Visual interpretation and analysis of five images relating to the text including

identifying the Act, Scene, context of the image and a supporting quote from the

text demonstrating an understanding of what is happening in the image; visual

analysis using Visual texts scaffold for each image - Analysis and Synthesis

8. Handout for your class presentation – Synthesis

9. All notes and research documentation and web site analysis scaffolds used for

your presentation – Synthesis and Evaluation




Portfolio Piece One: Biography of

Shakespeare

When researching your biography of Shakespeare examine at least three different sources. One

source from: the Internet, an Encyclopedia and a library book from the MacKillop College

Library. Ensure you reference each of your sources in a bibliography that will be attached at the

end of your portfolio.

You should identity the main features of a biography using the: who, what, where, when, how

and why research strategy. Some questions you MUST address in your biography are:

Who was William Shakespeare?

Who were his parents?

Who did he marry?

Who were his associates in the theatre?

Who were the major influences on his writing?

Who were the Queen and King that he wrote for?

Who were the audiences for his plays?

What does the evidence suggest about Shakespeare’s temperament?

What limitations were placed upon Shakespeare living at home?

What kind of work did Shakespeare do when he left school?

What was the name of the company Shakespeare formed in London?

What is the name of the theatre his plays were performed in?


What problems and issues plagued the theatre during Shakespeare’s lifetime?

What are the names of the theatre groups he was involved in?

What are the names of his plays?

Where was Shakespeare born?

Where did Shakespeare go to school?

Where did he live?

Where did he travel to?

Where did he write his plays?

Where were his plays performed?

When was Shakespeare born?

When did he marry?

When did he leave home?

When did he write his first play?

When was his first play performed?

When was his theatre built?

When did he die?

How did Shakespeare develop his writing?

How were plays received by the public?

How were his plays received by Royalty?

How much money did he earn from his plays?

How many tragedies did Shakespeare write?

How many comedies did Shakespeare write?

How many sonnets did Shakespeare write?

Why is studying Shakespeare important for students in the 21st century?

Why are his plays still so popular in the theatre?




Portfolio Piece Two: Definition of a

Shakespearean Tragedy

Shakespeare wrote comedies, histories and tragedies. He was also an

accomplished poet writing a number of sonnets.

SONNET 6

Then let not winter's ragged hand deface

In thee thy summer, ere thou be distill'd:

Make sweet some vial; treasure thou some place

With beauty's treasure, ere it be self-kill'd.

That use is not forbidden usury,

Which happies those that pay the willing loan;

That's for thyself to breed another thee,

Or ten times happier, be it ten for one;

Ten times thyself were happier than thou art,

If ten of thine ten times refigured thee:

Then what could death do, if thou shouldst depart,

Leaving thee living in posterity?

Be not self-will'd, for thou art much too fair

To be death's conquest and make worms thine heir.

Shakespeare wrote a range of works to expose the total experience of

humanity.

Create a 100 word definition of what a ‘tragedy’ is in Shakespearean terms.

You

Search terms you could use in Google are:

'Shakespeare' 'tragedy' 'definition'

Once you have defined what a Shakespearean tragedy is, relate it to Macbeth.

Locate three quotes that would identify the ‘tragedy’ of Macbeth and

synthesise them appropriately into your definition.




Portfolio Piece Three: Character Study of

Macbeth

You must provide a character study of Macbeth. Your study must provide

textual evidence (at least three quotes) to support any assertions you make

about the character development of Macbeth.

You may use the headings in the presentation list to assist you to develop an

understanding of the complex nature of characterisation.

You should identify and discuss:

Who Macbeth was – what are his various titles?

Where did he come from?

What was his role was in the Kingdom?

What did he do to the King, Banquo and others?

What (or who) influenced his actions?

What did he want to achieve?

What was his reaction and response when he achieved his ends?

What were his actions and what motivated them?

What caused his demise?

What he did not recognise in himself?

What he did not recognise about his wife and subjects?

What were the ramifications of his actions?

What was Shakespeare’s purpose in creating a character like Macbeth?

What themes, issues, ideas and contexts t inform the development of his

character?

What can you, as students, learn from the development of the character?


Use the table provided to list the verbs,

adverbs and adjectives used to describe

Macbeth and his actions

Adjectives Verbs Adverbs




Portfolio Piece Four: Complete the Crossword

Dramatis Personae

.


Clues

ACROSS

1. "When shall we three meet again? / In thunder, lightning or in rain?"

5. "The moon is down; I have not heard the clock."

8. "We fail? / But screw your courage to the sticking place,/And we'll not fail. . . ."

9. "Faith, sir, we were carousing till the second cock . . . "

11. "Who was the thane lives yet, / But under heavy judgement bears that life / Which he deserves to

lose."

12. adverb meaning "in such a manner" or "very"

16. "This castle hath a pleasant seat; the air / Nimbly and sweetly recommends itself / Unto our gentle

senses."

17. "Do we but find the tyrant's power tonight, / Let us be beaten if we cannot fight."

21. "Ring the alarum bell! Blow wind, come wrack! / At least we'll die with harness on our back."

22. The __________ Doctor says, "Were I away from Dunsinane and clear, / Profit again should hardly

draw me here."

24. "Be lion mettled, proud and take no care / Who chafes, who frets, or where conspirers are / Macbeth

shall never be vanquished . . . "

25. "Thou hast it it now: king, Cawdor, Glamis, all, / As the weird women promised, and I fear / Thou

play'dst most foully for it."

26. A conjunction indicating an alternative is _________.

27. "His flight was madness. When our actions do not, / Our fears do make us traitors."

DOWN

2. "And now about the cauldron sing, / Like elves and fairies in a ring, / Enchanting all that you put in."

3. "Great Dunsinane he strongly fortifies. / Some say he's mad; others, that lesser hate him, / Do call it

violent fury

4. "The queen, my lord, is dead."

6. "Doubtful it stood, / As two spent swimmers, that do cling together / And choke their art . . . "

7. "There's but one down; the son is fled."

10. "The English pow'r is near, led on by Malcolm . . ."

13. The _________ man says, "'Tis unnatural, Even like the deed that's done . . ."

14. "So thanks to all at once and to each one, / Whom we invite to see us crowned at Scone."

15. Macbeth is speaking to a __________ when he says, "Avaunt! and quit my sight! Let the earth hide

thee!"

16. "To Ireland, I; our separated fortune / Shall keep us both the safer."

18. "Is ' t night ' s predominance, or the day ' s shame, / That darkness does the face of entomb, / When

living light should kiss it?"

19. "Those of his chamber, as it seemed, had done ' t: / Their hands and faces were all badged with blood .

. ."

20. "As I did stand my watch upon the hill, / I looked toward Birnam, and, anon, methought, / The wood

began to move."

23. "Not for their own demerits but for mine / Fell slaughter on their souls...."




Portfolio Piece Five: Creating a Mask

Create a mask of your favourite character – either as an historical or modern

representation.

Your ‘face’ must be able to demonstrate the multifaceted nature of your

character.

Examine the artwork below and determine how many faces Macbeth and his

Lady are presented as having. What is the meaning of the three faces – what is

symbolic about their being ‘three’ aspects to their personalities in the context

of the play?

Be prepared to decorate your mask appropriately, and to explain the process

of construction, choice of colours used to decorate and how these explore the

multifaceted context of your character as a practice for your oral presentation.




Portfolio Piece Six: Mindmaps of your

characters: Who does what to whom?

You are to create a series of mindmaps exploring the relationships between the

characters. You MUST create at least three.

Your mindmaps need to be based on themes in the text such as:

Power

Ambition

Fear

Death

Cruelty

Masculinity

Kingship

Tyranny

Use MUST use visual symbols to connect your characters. Symbols and motifs

explored in this text are:

Ghosts

Daggers

Blood

Knocking

Crowns

Babies

Wind

Drums

Candles

Fire

Trees




Portfolio Piece Seven: Visual interpretation

and analysis – five images.

You are to analyse the following five images using the following criteria:

Identify the Act and Scene they come from in the play

Identify the characters in the image

Identify and explain the action that is taking place

Use a quote from the play to support your assertion – your quote

must relate directly to the image

Complete a visual deconstruction of the techniques used including:

Centrality

Angle

Foreground

Background

Midground

Frame

Colour

Symbolism

Perspective

Salience

Size

Line

Vectors

Gaze

Social distance

Proximity

Layout




Image One


Image Two


Image Three

Image Four


Image Five




Portfolio Piece Eight: Creating a Handout for

your presentation.

You are to create a handout for your presentation. You may select the format

and it must be handed in to the teacher with your portfolio draft on 9

September to ensure being photocopied for the class in time for your

presentation.

The handout should contain:

The title of your presentation (try to use a pun, alliteration or clever

title relating to the topic you selected).

A brief (50 word) outline of the topic

An explanation as to how you have made this topic relevant to your

peers ( 100 words)

The main points your presentation will engage with

A visual image to support your presentation

A quote from the text that completes your presentation and proves

the significance of your presentation to the study of Shakespeare’s

The Tragedy of Macbeth.

A brief statement as to how studying this topic has provided you with

a deeper understanding of Shakespeare and highlights the value of

studying Shakespeare in English.




Portfolio Piece Nine: Notes, website

evaluations and research highlights for your

presentation.

You must hand in the following with your final portfolio:

All research notes

Research highlights (journal of pleasures and difficulties in locating

resources for your response – minimum of five entries 50-100 words

each))

Any images used in your presentation

Web site evaluations ( scaffold provided) for any websites you use to

research your topic ( minimum of three)

Final copy of your speech, typed, as represented on your palm cards

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