Wednesday, April 25, 2012
Macbeth Essay Prompts
Unlike the novelist, the writer of a play does not use his own voice and
only rarely uses a narrator's voice to guide the audience's responses to
character and action. Select a play you have read and write an essay in
which you explain the techniques the playwright uses to guide his
audience's respnses to the central characters and the action. You might
consider the effect on the audience of things like setting, the use of
comparable and contrasting characters, and the characters' responses to
each other. Support your argument with specific references to the play.
Do not give a plot summary.
The conflict created when the will of an individual opposes the will of
the majority is the recurring theme of many novels, plays, and essays.
Select the work of an essayist who is in opposition to his or her society;
or, from a work of recognized literary merit, select a fictional
character who is in opposition to his or her society. In a critical
essay analyze the conflict and discuss the moral and ethical implications
for both the individual and the society. Do not summarize the plot or
action of the work you choose.
Choose a complex and important character in a novel or a play of
recognizedliterary merit who might, on the basis of the character’s actions alone,
beconsidered evil or immoral. In a well-organized essay, explain both how and
whythe full presentation of the character in the work makes us react more
sympathetically than we otherwise might. Avoid plot summary.
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
The Plan
The AP test is coming up very quickly, and I need to be prepared. In order to do this I will focus first on memorizing the lit terms. I know a lot of them but there are also many that continue to give me problems. The lit terms will help me with the multiple choice portion of the test as well as the essay portion. Next I will go over my previous essays and the review the critique I have received on them so I am aware of what I need to do differently. I will also go over my previous literature analysis as well as those of other people so I have a sense of many different books. This will help me in the essay portion of the test.
Sunday, April 22, 2012
Macbeth Lecture Notes (continued)
Macbeth as King (continued)
-Macbeth cares less about killing others than he does about his own happiness
-killing becomes an addiction: he decides to kill Banquo and Fleance because he needs to kill, not because they are suspicious of what he has done
-Act 3, Scene 3, Lines 37-41
-Macbeth prays that God woudl remove all his human feelings so that he becomes dehumanized and is comfortable with killing
-This prayer comes true
-Macbeth is a killing machine that neither feels or thinks
-Macbeth has no more joy and doesn't care when his wife dies (act 5, scene 3)
-Macbeth uses the prophecy that he will become the Thane of Cawdor, (which comes true) to believe and prove that the witches are truthful
-There is no conclusion as to what happens to the witches
-Macbeth cares less about killing others than he does about his own happiness
-killing becomes an addiction: he decides to kill Banquo and Fleance because he needs to kill, not because they are suspicious of what he has done
-Act 3, Scene 3, Lines 37-41
-Macbeth prays that God woudl remove all his human feelings so that he becomes dehumanized and is comfortable with killing
-This prayer comes true
-Macbeth is a killing machine that neither feels or thinks
-Macbeth has no more joy and doesn't care when his wife dies (act 5, scene 3)
-Macbeth uses the prophecy that he will become the Thane of Cawdor, (which comes true) to believe and prove that the witches are truthful
-There is no conclusion as to what happens to the witches
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
Macbeth Lecture Notes
Macbeth tells the rise and fall of a great man
-he does not share his inner feelings
-the only humor could be found in the scene with the porter
-he is Shakespeare's most compelling character
-he has a tragic, critical flaw that leads to his demise
-fierce warrior, man of courage, honor, and growth, becomes alone and isolated
-loss of everything signifies his disintegration which was brought upon himself with no agent conspiracing against him
-he accelerates the process by trying to fix his insecurities
-his decision making is relate able
Murder of Duncan
-surface looks like a simple morality problem because of an ambitious drive
-Macbeth desires to be king (Act 1, Scene 7, lines 25-28)
-He does't question the prophecy because it may perhaps be responding to his innermost desires (Act 2, Scene 7, Line 49)
-Desire of being the king versus the actions it takes to become king torment him
-Macbeth is not hypocritical, he knows the cost is high, he doesn't evade issues and he has a sense of right and wrong
-killing Duncan kills every community belief
-Royalty does not seem worth it to Banquo, but obsesses and consumes Macbeth
-Lady Macbeth is an evil impulse and tool of destruction who taunts her husband; she has no conscious and amplifies Macbeth's desires
-animus: male psychology; anima-female psychology
-Macbeth never is entirely sure of killing
-He sees the dagger and has complete horror of what he will do although it pulls him towards killing
-He is reluctant but moving forward anyway
-After killing Duncan Macbeth is consumed with regret
Macbeth as King
-His tragic flaw becomes most evident and a slippery slope is evident
-least heroic of all tragic heroes (mass murderer)
-horrible determination; singularity of purpose
-heroic quality: won't compromise through overwhelming fear
-obsessed with removing inner torment
-Lady Macbeth's conscious eats her alive, all the way to suicide
-She has a lack of inner will to resolve feelings, the inability to separate herself from human nature, and is overcome with guilt (Duncan looks like her father)
-Macbeth and Lady Macbeth's relationship quickly falls apart beginning right before the coronation
-Macbeth procedes alone, both of them dealing with murder in separate ways
-he does not share his inner feelings
-the only humor could be found in the scene with the porter
-he is Shakespeare's most compelling character
-he has a tragic, critical flaw that leads to his demise
-fierce warrior, man of courage, honor, and growth, becomes alone and isolated
-loss of everything signifies his disintegration which was brought upon himself with no agent conspiracing against him
-he accelerates the process by trying to fix his insecurities
-his decision making is relate able
Murder of Duncan
-surface looks like a simple morality problem because of an ambitious drive
-Macbeth desires to be king (Act 1, Scene 7, lines 25-28)
-He does't question the prophecy because it may perhaps be responding to his innermost desires (Act 2, Scene 7, Line 49)
-Desire of being the king versus the actions it takes to become king torment him
-Macbeth is not hypocritical, he knows the cost is high, he doesn't evade issues and he has a sense of right and wrong
-killing Duncan kills every community belief
-Royalty does not seem worth it to Banquo, but obsesses and consumes Macbeth
-Lady Macbeth is an evil impulse and tool of destruction who taunts her husband; she has no conscious and amplifies Macbeth's desires
-animus: male psychology; anima-female psychology
-Macbeth never is entirely sure of killing
-He sees the dagger and has complete horror of what he will do although it pulls him towards killing
-He is reluctant but moving forward anyway
-After killing Duncan Macbeth is consumed with regret
Macbeth as King
-His tragic flaw becomes most evident and a slippery slope is evident
-least heroic of all tragic heroes (mass murderer)
-horrible determination; singularity of purpose
-heroic quality: won't compromise through overwhelming fear
-obsessed with removing inner torment
-Lady Macbeth's conscious eats her alive, all the way to suicide
-She has a lack of inner will to resolve feelings, the inability to separate herself from human nature, and is overcome with guilt (Duncan looks like her father)
-Macbeth and Lady Macbeth's relationship quickly falls apart beginning right before the coronation
-Macbeth procedes alone, both of them dealing with murder in separate ways
Macbeth Test Answers
Part 1
1. Macbeth won the respect of King Duncan by
A. slaying the traitor Macdonwald.
2. King Duncan rewarded Macbeth by dubbing him
B. the Thane of Cawdor him.
3. In addressing Banquo, the witches called him which of these?
"Lesser than Macbeth, and greater." (I)
"Not so happy as Macbeth, yet much happier." (II)
"A future father of kings." (III)
C. I, II, and III
4. When Macbeth said, "Two truths are told / As happy prologues" he was referring to
A. his titles of Glamis and Cawdor.
5. "Nothing in his life / Became him like the leaving it" is a reference to
A. the traitorous Thane of Cawdor.
6. Duncan's statement, "I have begun to plant thee and will labour / To make thee full of growing" is an example of
B. a metaphor.
7. Lady Macbeth characterizes her husband as being
B. "too full of the milk of human kindness."
8. When Macbeth agonizes over the possible killing of the king, which of these does he say?
"He is my house guest; I should protect him." (I)
"Duncan's virtues will "plead like angels" " (II)
"I am his kinsman and his subject" (III)
C. I, II, and III
9. Macbeth's statement to his wife, "Bring forth men-children only" signifies that he
C. has accepted the challenge to slay the king.
10. As part of the plan to kill the king, Lady Macbeth would
A. get the chamberlains drunk.
11. Macbeth begins full of honor and glory but starts to unravel after the coronation and by the end of the play he is completely dehumanized.
12. Macbeth's desire to be king causes him to disregard what is right and to obsess with being king, no matter what it takes.
13. The witches give "permission" to Macbeth to do whatever it takes to become king. He uses them to excuse his actions.
14. Macbeth quickly believes the witches without questioning them, while Banquo is very weary of them and decides to take what they say with a grain of salt.
15. At the beginning of the play Macbeth and Lady Macbeth have a good relationship and confide their dreams and ambitions to each other. After the coronation you see this begin to disintegrate. Lady Macbeth first taunts Macbeth to kill and go after what he wants but by the end of the play they have no relationship and Macbeth does not care that his wife is dead.
Part 2
1. "Art thou not, fatal vision, sensible / To feeling as to sight?" is a reference to the
B. dagger.
2. Lady Macbeth confessed that she would have killed King Duncan herself except for the fact that
B. he looked like her father
3. Shakespeare introduced the Porter in order to
C. provide comic relief.
4. Malcolm and Donalbain flee after the murder
A. because they fear the daggers in men's smiles.
5. Macbeth arranges for Banquo's death by telling the hired killers that
A. Banquo had thwarted their careers.
6. Macbeth startles his dinner guests by
A. conversing with the Ghost of Banquo
7. The Witches threw into the cauldron
"Eye of bat and tongue of frog"(I)
"Wool of bat and tongue of dog" (II)
"Fang of snake and eagle's glare" (III)
A. I and II
8. The three apparitions which appeared to Macbeth were
An armed head. (I)
A child with a crown. (II)
A bloody child (III)
C. I, II, and III
9. In Act IV, Malcolm is at first lukewarm toward Macduff because he
B. suspects a trick.
10. Birnam Wood comes to Dunsinane when
B. the camouflaged soldiers make their advance.
11. By the end of the play, foul and fair are indistinguishable to Macbeth because he no longer has human emotions and doesn't see evil as wrong.
12. On the surface, Macbeth may appear to be a morality play. Macbeth has a strong ambition that leads to his ultimate demise.
1. Macbeth won the respect of King Duncan by
A. slaying the traitor Macdonwald.
2. King Duncan rewarded Macbeth by dubbing him
B. the Thane of Cawdor him.
3. In addressing Banquo, the witches called him which of these?
"Lesser than Macbeth, and greater." (I)
"Not so happy as Macbeth, yet much happier." (II)
"A future father of kings." (III)
C. I, II, and III
4. When Macbeth said, "Two truths are told / As happy prologues" he was referring to
A. his titles of Glamis and Cawdor.
5. "Nothing in his life / Became him like the leaving it" is a reference to
A. the traitorous Thane of Cawdor.
6. Duncan's statement, "I have begun to plant thee and will labour / To make thee full of growing" is an example of
B. a metaphor.
7. Lady Macbeth characterizes her husband as being
B. "too full of the milk of human kindness."
8. When Macbeth agonizes over the possible killing of the king, which of these does he say?
"He is my house guest; I should protect him." (I)
"Duncan's virtues will "plead like angels" " (II)
"I am his kinsman and his subject" (III)
C. I, II, and III
9. Macbeth's statement to his wife, "Bring forth men-children only" signifies that he
C. has accepted the challenge to slay the king.
10. As part of the plan to kill the king, Lady Macbeth would
A. get the chamberlains drunk.
11. Macbeth begins full of honor and glory but starts to unravel after the coronation and by the end of the play he is completely dehumanized.
12. Macbeth's desire to be king causes him to disregard what is right and to obsess with being king, no matter what it takes.
13. The witches give "permission" to Macbeth to do whatever it takes to become king. He uses them to excuse his actions.
14. Macbeth quickly believes the witches without questioning them, while Banquo is very weary of them and decides to take what they say with a grain of salt.
15. At the beginning of the play Macbeth and Lady Macbeth have a good relationship and confide their dreams and ambitions to each other. After the coronation you see this begin to disintegrate. Lady Macbeth first taunts Macbeth to kill and go after what he wants but by the end of the play they have no relationship and Macbeth does not care that his wife is dead.
Part 2
1. "Art thou not, fatal vision, sensible / To feeling as to sight?" is a reference to the
B. dagger.
2. Lady Macbeth confessed that she would have killed King Duncan herself except for the fact that
B. he looked like her father
3. Shakespeare introduced the Porter in order to
C. provide comic relief.
4. Malcolm and Donalbain flee after the murder
A. because they fear the daggers in men's smiles.
5. Macbeth arranges for Banquo's death by telling the hired killers that
A. Banquo had thwarted their careers.
6. Macbeth startles his dinner guests by
A. conversing with the Ghost of Banquo
7. The Witches threw into the cauldron
"Eye of bat and tongue of frog"(I)
"Wool of bat and tongue of dog" (II)
"Fang of snake and eagle's glare" (III)
A. I and II
8. The three apparitions which appeared to Macbeth were
An armed head. (I)
A child with a crown. (II)
A bloody child (III)
C. I, II, and III
9. In Act IV, Malcolm is at first lukewarm toward Macduff because he
B. suspects a trick.
10. Birnam Wood comes to Dunsinane when
B. the camouflaged soldiers make their advance.
11. By the end of the play, foul and fair are indistinguishable to Macbeth because he no longer has human emotions and doesn't see evil as wrong.
12. On the surface, Macbeth may appear to be a morality play. Macbeth has a strong ambition that leads to his ultimate demise.
Monday, April 16, 2012
Macbeth over Break
Act 1
-the three witches open and foreshadow that Macbeth will be king
-Macbeth is portrayed as a blood thirsty man
-Macbeth becomes thane of Cawdor, the first part of the witches' foreshadow
-Lady Macbeth hears the news and decides to kill the king so that her husband may take his place
-at first Macbeth does not want to follow through with the plan but eventually he agrees
Act 2
-Macbeth continues to be tormented about killing the king
-He goes through with the plan then freaks out cannot finish
-Lady Macbeth finishes through and frames the guards by smearing blood on them
-Macduff and Lennox find the king's body and are suspicious of his death
-Macbeth kills them both
-The king's sons Malcolm and Donalbain escape the kingdom so they aren't punished for the death of the king
Act 3
-Banquo thinks that Macbeth killed the king and Macbeth thinks that Banquo will share his ideas
-Macbeth hires people to kill Banquo and his son but his son escapes
-During a gathering Banquo's ghost appears to Macbeth
-Macbeth begins to act crazy because of the ghost
-Lady Macbeth tells the guests that Macbeth has these type of fits often
-Macduff goes to England because he thinks that Macbeth killed the king and he needs help to take care of it
Act 4
-The witches show Macbeth more visions and prophecies
-Macbeth sees these and comes to the conclusion that he is basically immortal and he has nothing to worry about
-He sends people to England to kill Macduff and his family
-Macduff finds the kings son, Malcom, and tries to convince him to go back and seize the throne from Macbeth
-Malcolm makes Macduff prove his loyalty and realizes that Macduff is honest and wants the best
-Malcolm decides to go to war with Macbeth with the aid of his uncle
Act 5
-All of the murders and death have caused Lady Macbeth to go mad.
-Doctors cannot help her and she is no longer powerful or angry.
-Some of Macbeth's lords believe that Macbeth is mentally unstable and that they should help Malcolm fight against him.
-Macbeth is not worried about the war because he thinks he cannot be killed due to the witches.
-Macduff kills Macbeth, who was not born naturally by his mother (prophecy)
-Malcolm becomes the king of Scotland.
-the three witches open and foreshadow that Macbeth will be king
-Macbeth is portrayed as a blood thirsty man
-Macbeth becomes thane of Cawdor, the first part of the witches' foreshadow
-Lady Macbeth hears the news and decides to kill the king so that her husband may take his place
-at first Macbeth does not want to follow through with the plan but eventually he agrees
Act 2
-Macbeth continues to be tormented about killing the king
-He goes through with the plan then freaks out cannot finish
-Lady Macbeth finishes through and frames the guards by smearing blood on them
-Macduff and Lennox find the king's body and are suspicious of his death
-Macbeth kills them both
-The king's sons Malcolm and Donalbain escape the kingdom so they aren't punished for the death of the king
Act 3
-Banquo thinks that Macbeth killed the king and Macbeth thinks that Banquo will share his ideas
-Macbeth hires people to kill Banquo and his son but his son escapes
-During a gathering Banquo's ghost appears to Macbeth
-Macbeth begins to act crazy because of the ghost
-Lady Macbeth tells the guests that Macbeth has these type of fits often
-Macduff goes to England because he thinks that Macbeth killed the king and he needs help to take care of it
Act 4
-The witches show Macbeth more visions and prophecies
-Macbeth sees these and comes to the conclusion that he is basically immortal and he has nothing to worry about
-He sends people to England to kill Macduff and his family
-Macduff finds the kings son, Malcom, and tries to convince him to go back and seize the throne from Macbeth
-Malcolm makes Macduff prove his loyalty and realizes that Macduff is honest and wants the best
-Malcolm decides to go to war with Macbeth with the aid of his uncle
Act 5
-All of the murders and death have caused Lady Macbeth to go mad.
-Doctors cannot help her and she is no longer powerful or angry.
-Some of Macbeth's lords believe that Macbeth is mentally unstable and that they should help Malcolm fight against him.
-Macbeth is not worried about the war because he thinks he cannot be killed due to the witches.
-Macduff kills Macbeth, who was not born naturally by his mother (prophecy)
-Malcolm becomes the king of Scotland.
Sunday, April 15, 2012
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
Macbeth Notes
-written in 1606
-violent family
-based on Raphael Holinsheds "Chronicles" but more exciting
-survival of the fittest lifestyle
-Banquo and Fleance never existed
-written to please King James and entertain him
-what is a real man?
-to usurp the throne is a nefarious crime against all of humanity
-Macbeth is a tragic hero, with motivation, intelligence, ambition, and spirit
-Macbeth receives prophecy from 3 witches that he will be King of Scotland
-he murders the king and continues to kill to prevent suspicion, causing him arrogance, madness, and death
-dark tone
-themes include kingship vs tyranny; arrogance
Sunday, April 1, 2012
The Best of the Best
My top 3 favorite blogs of the moment include...
Katie Enstad~ http://kerhsenglitcomp.blogspot.com/
Cody Kiniry~ http://ckrhsenglitcomp.blogspot.com/
Trenton Class~ http://tacrhsenglitcomp.blogspot.com/
They are full of information and are presented in an interesting and clear way!
Katie Enstad~ http://kerhsenglitcomp.blogspot.com/
Cody Kiniry~ http://ckrhsenglitcomp.blogspot.com/
Trenton Class~ http://tacrhsenglitcomp.blogspot.com/
They are full of information and are presented in an interesting and clear way!
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