English 12A

Download the documents from the class website under U3.

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• You will read Shakespeare's tragic tale of the rise and

fall of Macbeth.

• As you read, you will analyze and interpret the

dramatic structure of Macbeth, define words in

context, and compose a persuasive essay.

• Analyze the theme of corruption of power.

• While reading Macbeth it would be wise to obtain a

video of the performance as you will be asked to

watch scenes from the play throughout this unit. This

will also aide in understanding the play as you read.

• Macbeth Study Guide • Questions about the play can be found in the Macbeth Study Guide.

These questions are designed to measure comprehension and

help you engage with the story.

• Discussion (U3L3) - Modern Soliloquy - DROPPED

• It will still show up in your lessons, but know that you are NOT doing the

discussion.

• Portfolio (U3L6 & L11) – Persuasive Essay – TOPIC CHOSEN

FOR YOU

• Does power corrupt automatically? Apply this famous expression to the

events and characters in Macbeth. You can focus on a single character or

several. You may take the position that it always corrupts, never corrupts,

or sometimes corrupts, but be sure to provide textual support.

What is an aside?

• An aside refers to words spoken by

a character that cannot be heard

by those around him and that

reveal his innermost thoughts and

preoccupations.

• Occasionally the stage directions

will say “aside to [another

character]” and in these

circumstances, only the other

character hears these words.

• This is true even if the character is

surrounded by a crowd on stage.

What is a soliloquy?

• A soliloquy reveals a character’s

innermost feelings and thoughts.

• The character is alone on stage

when he utters his remarks.

• The soliloquy reveals important

nuances about character and

motivation to the reader or

audience.

• Act I – Exposition

• characters and situations introduced

• The Witches’ predictions - Macbeth meets the witches and hears his

prophecy

• Act II - Rising Action

• complications introduced

• The murder of Duncan - Macbeth kills Duncan and his guards, is crowned

king, and has Banquo murdered.

• Act III – Climax

• turning point

• The murder of Banquo - Murderers kill Banquo and Banquo’s ghost

appears at the banquet. Macbeth begins to act irrationally.

• Act IV - Falling Action

• all events following the climax

• The murder of Lady Macduff - Macduff and Malcolm gather forces;

Macbeth foolishly places his faith in the witches’ predictions

• Act V – Resolution

• the ending You have to read and find out!

• Macbeth - Scottish general ambitious enough to commit regicide to become king

• Lady Macbeth – Macbeth’s wife; ambitious; later remorseful

• Banquo - General, murdered by hired killers

• Fleance - Banquo's son

• Duncan - King of Scotland

• Malcolm - Eldest son of Duncan, Prince of Cumberland

• Donalbain - Youngest son of Duncan

• Macduff - General, dedicated to the good of Scotland

• Ross - Cousin to Macduff

• Lennox - Nobleman, loyal to Duncan

• Seyton - Lieutenant to Macbeth

• Siward - English Earl, supporter of Malcolm

• Young Siward - Bravely faces Macbeth though he is killed in battle

• Three Witches - Predict Macbeth's ambitions will soon come true; later predict his downfall

• You will write a persuasive essay by taking a firm stance on the

prompt and write a 5-paragraph, double-spaced essay

supporting your position. Make sure that you have a strong

thesis statement at the end of your introduction and clear topic

sentences in each body paragraph that provide arguments in

support of your thesis. Be sure to provide textual support for

each of your claims.

• Text: Macbeth by William Shakespeare (found in online

textbook)

Does power corrupt automatically? Apply this famous expression to the events and characters in Macbeth. You can focus on a singlecharacter or several. You may take the position that it always corrupts, never corrupts, or sometimes corrupts, but be sure to provide textual support.

Unpack the prompt:

• What is the prompt asking you to do?

• How many characters are you going to focus on?

• What position are you going to take? Always, never, or sometimes?

• How are you going to support your reasons?

• Rough Draft Submission is worth 10 points

• Submit in Lesson 6

• Persuasive Outline

Thesis Statement:

Topic (Title/Author of text) + Claim (Your position) + Main Points (reasons to support) = Thesis

• A thesis is a direct statement that explains the topic of your

essay, what you believe about that topic, and why you believe

it.

• A thesis statement is made up of three parts:

• Topic: Identify what you are talking about. When writing a literary thesis,

this will be the title of literature and the author.

• Claim: What do you believe about the topic based on the question or

prompt?

• Direction: What are the 3 main reasons you can support your claim? This

will basically outline the body paragraphs of your essay. In a literary

essay, you will need specific examples from the text to support each

reason.

• Identification of Topic (title and author) + Claim (belief about

topic) + Direction (reason 1, reason 2, and reason 3)

Identification of Topic (title and author) + Claim (belief about

topic) + Direction (reason 1, reason 2, and reason 3)

Topic - Identify it Claim - What position

are you going to take?

Always, never, or

sometimes?

Direction - 3 reasons to support

claim

1. __________________

2. __________________

3. __________________

Thesis:

Example: In Macbeth by William Shakespeare, power always corrupts as shown through

Lady Macbeth by 1st main point, 2nd main point, and 3rd main point.

This is my topic sentence. This is a sentence introducing my quote.

“First quote from text” (citation). This is a sentence of commentary about

why the quote is important and provides explanation. Now write a

sentence of analysis to lead into your second quote, which works as a

support to your topic sentence. “Second quote from text” (citation). This is

a sentence of commentary about why the quote is important and provides

explanation. This is another lead-In to introduce your third quote, which

supports your topic sentence. “Third quote from text” (citation). This is a

sentence about why the quote is important and provides explanation. This

is my concluding or wrap-up sentence, tying all ideas together; do not end

with a quote.

Intro – Blue

Signal – Red

Quote – black

Analysis - Green

• What is a quotation?

• Any information copied directly from a source; you use the

exact words of the writer. Each time you quote, you must

acknowledge that you have done so by putting the writer’s

words in quotation marks and by following the quotation with

a citation.

• A quotation is brief and relevant to your point.

• What is a paraphrase?

• A restatement of the author’s information in your own words

and in your own style. A paraphrase should capture the

meaning of what a writer said but shouldn’t use his/her

language or sentence structure.

• Parenthetical documentation should look like this (III.iv.155-158)

or (ACT.scene.line numbers).

• Place the end punctuation of the sentence after the final

parenthesis.

• The only thing within the parentheses is the Act, scene, page

number or line number.

• When quoting more than four lines from Shakespeare, use block

quotation:

“I will tomorrow,

And betimes I will, to the Weird Sisters:

More shall they speak, for now I am bent to know

By the worst means, the worst.” (III.iv.155-158)

• You must keep the same format as in the play, meaning the lines

must read the same.

• From Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare

At the start of the play, before she has met and fallen in love

with Romeo, Juliet is a dutiful daughter, willing to take direction

from her elders. When Lady Capulet asks her if she can like

Paris, she responds agreeably, “I’ll look to like, if looking liking

move. But no more deep will I endart mine eye than your

consent gives strength to make it fly” (1.3.103-105). Juliet’s

willingness not only to accommodate her mother’s request that

she meet Paris but also suspend judgment on him until she

receives her mother’s approval is surely the mark of an

obedient daughter.

introduction blue, signal phrase red, quote black, explanation green

• From Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare

At the start of the play, before she has met and fallen in love

with Romeo, Juliet is a dutiful daughter, willing to take direction

from her elders. When Lady Capulet asks her if she can like

Paris, she responds agreeably, “I’ll look to like, if looking liking

move. But no more deep will I endart mine eye than your

consent gives strength to make it fly” (1.3.103-105). Juliet’s

willingness not only to accommodate her mother’s request that

she meet Paris but also suspend judgment on him until she

receives her mother’s approval is surely the mark of an

obedient daughter.

In the play Romeo and Juliet three of the main characters are very impetuous.

Romeo is always in a hurry to do things before he thinks them out. He shows this when he

wants to get revenge for Mercutio's death. Soon after Mercutio dies, Romeo goes to look for

Tybalt. When he finds him, he says, "Now Tybalt, take the villain back again / That late thou

gavest me, for Mercutio's soul/ Is but a little way above our heads / Staying for thine to keep

him company" (III.ii.96-99), meaning that he's challenging him to a fight. They fight, resulting

in Tybalt's death and Romeo's banishment. Romeo was banished for acting too fast and not

thinking of what might happen. Second, Capulet is always rushing to get things done. For

instance, he wants Juliet to marry Paris five days after she has met him. He says that Juliet

should be proud to marry Paris, but the only person that Capulet has been thinking about is

himself. Capulet wants Paris's title; he's a count. That is the reason he wants Juliet to get

married so soon. He's afraid that Paris will find a new love and will not want to marry Juliet.

Juliet herself is impetuous. She doesn't want to marry Paris, so she rushes into taking the

potion that will make her look dead. If she's dead, she can't marry Paris. When Friar

Laurence tells Juliet of the potion, she says, "Give me, Give me! 0, tell not me of fear!"

(IV.i.121). She reaches out for the potion. Her rushing to take the potion results in Paris's

death, then Romeo's and last hers. All of the deaths are a result of impetuous behavior. The

point that is being made is that doing things too fast will sometimes result in bad things

happening.

• Worth 24 points

• Submit in Lesson 11

• Persuasive Essay with CheckMyWork link attached

• No link = No grade

• Always start by going to the Class Website

• Use the 3B4Me policy to see if you might answer your own

questions first

• Contact me! Call, text, WebMail, or book an appointment

https://nca-dunham.weebly.com/english-10.htmlcrystaldunham.youcanbook.me