November 19, 2013

The movie version - Macbeth by Roman Polanski -

This movie focuses much more on the power of the supernatural - the play leaves it a little more up in the air in a way - this is strange, since the play was written when people believed in that malarkey.

This movie focuses more on Lady Macbeth being weaker and less vigorous in her manipulation. She is a little more “standard” in her femininity. Again, this seems weird, because in the play (hundreds of years earlier) she comes off a bit rowdier.

Adds a weird twist - Ross is dirty back and forth son of a B! He backstabs, traitorously turns on TWO kings, arranges murders and sets up terrible deeds. In the play, he does none of those things. Something to remember.

The movie makes the witches and those visions much more vivid and more powerful. YES, you may use this information in any essay. This is not unlike the play, but it’s more obvious and understandable.

Same with the battle scene at the end. YES, use any of that in your thinking about Macbeth - his fearlessness, his power in fighting, the way he dies. This is good stuff.

In the movie, we see his back and forth (I AM evil! What have I done!?) and his suicide wish/I will live like this forever! much more overtly, which is also good to use.

Specific Expectations:

One of those areas of focus we discussed - turn one of those into a thesis statement

Process! Remember that list of processes? Group thesis work, research, exchange versions, show me draft, build new draft, submit final, etc...

Intro - with those parts Body - with that Point-Proof-Explanation Conclusion

References - specific - explained - make sense - relevant

Evidence of editing and revising (errors removed)

Show your reasoning - show your logic - WHY and HOW

Three pages seems like a good average - 750 words and up.

No more than 1250 words - 5 pages

Your areas of discussion should be really locked into your thesis - PROVE your thesis

November 18, 2013

This week we have several KEY tasks in which we will engage:

ESSAY - this is a huge mark in this class - it becomes ever more valuable as we move forward (this could be a mark that replaces later marks)

Finish soliloquies (why these are important to plot, character)

Character analysis - Mac or Lady Mac - characterization as per usual - character motivation in detail - psychology - character arc (of change)

Some kind of artistic representation (of any sort) that captures, explores, examines, shows off, exemplifies or reveals some aspect of the play - thematic in particular

5. Macbeth notes have been taken (and will be used for exam prep)

November 14, 2013

Lobb’s Patented Essay Structure Guide

• this may or may not be the greatest thing to help you write an essay
• it may or may not be the most original essay planning tool you can find
• it IS guaranteed to work in this class, however

Intro

Body

Conclusion 

All obvious, everyone knows, no worries. 

Intro - 

-basically, you are stating a thesis and then briefly summarizing the way(s) in which you will prove it to be true

• however, some people have learned that you want to start with a sentence that is a grabber, that isn’t your thesis statement
• some call it a hook. 
• I would call it a “way in” to the subject matter
• eg - if the essay is about Macbeth, and the thesis is a specific aspect of that character’s journey as a tragic hero, the hook statement could be about Macbeth the play, the character, the idea of a tragic hero, or the idea of a hero, etc. 
• what might be a good hook for the “Lobb is a bad teacher” essay? 
• The hook is probably something about teaching in general, or maybe about GOOD teaching, and then you’re going to go ahead and contrast the info about Lobb.
• The hook could also be about the student experience and the needs of young people and then we show how those needs aren’t being met. Another contrast!

Intro then has:

1. hook (some people put at definition in here) *don’t always do that*
2. thesis statement 
3. directional statements (how you will prove thesis as true

Conclusion:

• summarizes the thesis as proven - 
• may sometimes start with a “By looking at...” “After examining...” in terms of logic - you may not actually use those terms, but that’s what you’re doing
• RESTATEMENT is the key - you’re going “See? I did it. Now give me my cookie. Or marks. Or love me, as I have no internal sense of accomplishment.”
• sometimes, the last thing in a conclusion is a capper or a spin into a new area related to the subject matter - this is not easy to explain
• What about the Lobb is a bad teacher example? 
• why wouldn’t we talk about what could happen to a student with a bad teacher? kind of looking at the consequences of the bad teaching? 
• It’s kind of a think about, take away, oh, yeah...

Body:

• we’re at the most challenging part of writing an essay
• this is the whole raison d’etre of doing this
• the body IS the essay
• the body IS the thinking
• the body IS the application of the structure and the implementation of the knowledge

Some body sections have THREE Areas of Discussion 

This is the essay you learned in other grades

Put your best AoD at the end, your second best first and the middle one is weakest

This is okay, but it’s simplistic. It’s a good way to think about an essay, but not the best way to write one.

Better is to think about the structure of writing that goes into each AoD

This is the Pattern:

Make your point. 

Define your point. 

Make the reference from the work - novel, play, story, poem - that shows your point in “action”

THEN - MONEY TIME 

• you need to explain your point, 
• show how it fits into your thesis, 
• make the connection of your logic and reasoning (make your thinking obvious) 
• show how it is important. 

Example - thesis - Mr. Lobb is a bad teacher who harms his youthful students. 

Big AoD - Mr. Lobb creates a negative environment for student learning and achievement. 

NOW WE NEED TO:

POINT - Lobb sometimes leaves the room, which results in chaos when students behave inappropriately and become distracted 

PROOF - November 14, Lobb left the room to get the attendance sheet and Kieran Melady began rubbing everyone, Ally Hulley was tweeting about how much she missed Field Hockey, and, in general, students were unable to focus. 

EXPLAIN, LINK BACK, SHOW LOGIC - show how that situation proves that Lobb is a bad teacher - you say because he left, he wasn’t there to decide how people show act, and they are too immature to decide for themselves

the point inside this stuff might be that he doesn’t know what his students need and what he should be doing to fulfill that need. 

Reasoning? 

Logic? 

Link back? 

Macbeth is crazy. 

AoD - Hallucinations, visions and delusions. 

References. 

Then, show how are those things crazy.  

That’s where the essay is. 

What you’re always looking to do is this:

A + B = C

Soliloquies in Macbeth

1. Translate into YOUR OWN WORDS.
2. Decipher any particularly tricky bits. 
3. Show (briefly) the importance of this soliloquy. 

November 13, 2013

Macbeth

Issues for Essay Writing

Macbeth is being manipulated by___________________

Macbeth is responsible for his actions and deserves what happened to him.

Macbeth is not mentally fit, so it’s not his fault.

Lady Macbeth is the true evil in this play.

The characters are victims of supernatural forces which control them.

The problems in the play come from the inversion of the Natural Order.

How to Proceed?

Find a group of similar essay writing pals. (same area of focus)

Maybe generate a thesis statement in a group.

Do a rough version in a specific order:

thesis - collect notes and research - collect references - make connections - explain ideas - show peers - show Lobb - do a draft - show peers - show Lobb - get marked - do a final

Note - The Process is the Point of this

The mark is not a big deal. You can always resubmit.

Okay - Lobb is a terrible teacher and a bad influence on the young.

Make some rough notes on this for an essay in groups to present.

I will see how well you plan an essay and then I will know what to teach.

Three Points -







Sexist
single girls out and treat them like they’re inconvenient in the class
use girls as examples for negative attributes or situations

Scary and Disturbing
say creepy things - “little girl” “naughty chair” “come see Daddy!”
tell horror stories that might interrupt sleep - Alyssa, for example suffers this
emotionless and possessed of a strange disaffect - sociopath?
shows disturbing images, videos and songs (Aphex Twin “Come To Daddy”)
negative attitude towards holidays

Creates a Bad Grade-Getting Environment (this could be it’s own thesis)
goes off-topic too often and CHANGES the direction of learning -
tends to be cruel to students in a meaningful and guiding way
doesn’t seem to care about student achievement - marks, credit, attendance - TRUE, but shouldn’t YOU care about that?

Promotes Illegal Drug Use
suggest psychedelics as a spiritual gateway
told students to test drugs to “check immunity”
talked about using Ibogaine as a heroin/cocaine stopper

Racist Against White People
points out problems with whites in a predominantly white group
constantly shows other races as “victims” but never does the same for whites

Observations:

Everyone uses the Three Paragraph Body structure.

Which fits into the Five Paragraph Essay - Intro, Three Body, Conclusion

Each body paragraph is under the heading of a “point” and then the body of that paragraph appears to be supports that show the point is true

A “point” could be a one-word idea or a more specific phrase.

Mr. Lobb’s Points on Essays from Observations

You don’t need to have three body paragraphs!

Our “points” may need to be carefully balanced - not too specific and not too wide - you need to really consider what your “points” are - maybe, the best points are a mix between general and specific (tricksy)

Let’s not call them points - let’s call them - Areas of Discussion

November 6, 2013

A feast is set according to rank - close to the king = higher status

Far away, low status.

The group around him is the very group he NEEDS to impress. 

Macbeth is NOT entirely responsible for his actions because he is suffering from emotion and mental problems. 

Lady Macbeth is the key part of Macbeth’s problem. She is the manipulator, she is the planner, she is the decider that leads her husband into his crimes. And, once they’re committed, she keeps him in line to keep going. The way she’s doing all this is by breaking the natural order and attacking the very things that make Macbeth strong. 

Macbeth is being manipulated by external forces that are supernatural in nature. 

1. the witches misleading prophecies
2. IF LM is indeed supernatural, then you could include her (but that would have to proven FIRST)
3. demons, ghosts and vision
4. being WITHOUT the guiding hand of God! (and yet, he is to be the Instrument of God, as the king)

Maybe, there’s an essay that could discuss how the inversion of the Natural Order has led to a complete chaos and destruction of everything, starting the king and going down from there. (how could you do this without just making a list? what would the “so what?” be?) Maybe this play is about keeping the Status Quo. Maintaining the Order. This play is kind of a warning. 

October 30, 2013

Hey, why does he go ahead with all the planning? 

Act, sc vii, he clearly shows that he knows better. 

We see some VACILLATION - going back and forth in extremes of thought

What the heck? Going back and forth in emotional extremes may, in fact, be a sign or symptom of something. 

This may fit into our INVERSION theme!

A mental problem? Bipolar would sound like exactly that! (you can look this up)

It could be also the effect of the witches and the spells clashing with his inner morality and conscience!

Macbeth is creating the problem from which he is suffering

The actual problem doesn’t exist!

Things we think can become very real.

 Macbeth is arguing with himself, building up a case for doing something horrific. Something he KNOWS he shouldn’t do. 

The process of trying to convince YOURSELF of doing something, or the process of justifying something you did, is called RATIONALISATION

We build a structure of reasons, bargains and excuses to make ourselves feel better about doing things that actually make us feel terrible. 

Shakespeare was a very accurate observer of human behaviour. 

Hey, remember COGNITIVE DISSONANCE - the mental problem of trying to hold two or more competing/conflicting beliefs or concepts in our minds at the same time - we will go to weird lengths to deal with the pain of this

Hey. This sounds like what could happen to someone trying to rationalize things they see or experience that don’t make sense in a logical way!

What is real? 

How do we know what is real? 

Do you believe in the supernatural? 

Do you think there is any truth to the idea that there is some kind of “life” outside of our normal lives? 

October 28 2013

Clothing Imagery 

• references to aspects of wearing, having, using clothes as a way of showing character or internal situations (feelings, thoughts, etc)

There is the other little motif (a repeated image, idea, series of ideas, symbol, etc) about having a disconnect between what you show and what you think

Modern culture - we almost assume persona and thinking are different

In old times, people assumed that inner and outer were more linked. ie remember me saying that “bad guys LOOK LIKE bad guys”?

Another little situation of contrast - some characters are capable of hiding what they are.

There’s something thematic in here about what we think based on the surface of things and what is true about the reality of things. 

(Frankenstein is all about this)

Drama is enhanced by making something REALLY good and then smashing into something REALLY bad

Dramatic Irony - when characters are ignorant of something that the audience knows

Tragic Hero

A hero who starts on a HIGH note, in the peak of his/her life and career and, due to some horrible flaw in him/herself, has a terrible FALL that takes him/her to a miserable death. 

The flaw is called HUBRIS. 

This idea comes from ancient Greek theatre. 

Hubris is the sin of PRIDE in oneself. A sense of one’s greatness that is not in balance with what is deserved. 

Sometimes, hubris results in AMBITION that is beyond what is earned or deserved. (this sounds like Macbeth)

Read the intro of Lady Macbeth (Act 1, Sc V) and add her soliloquy to your translation list. “The raven himself...Hold, Hold.”

Be prepared to keep a log of her character attributes for a possible character study. 

Lady Macbeth is referring to a quality that leaders need that allows them to make very brutal and difficult decisions (or so it seems)

In her mind, he is too kind and gentle and EMOTIONAL.

Evidence for this? The way he treats his wife. 

“pour my spirits in thine ear” manipulation

Maybe sexual. - tongue, ear, spirits, and also the idea of his great love for her would play into this

Maybe something alcoholic - spirits = drugs, liquor?

Maybe magic! spirits = demons, ghosts! 

There is a definite link to the witches here!

HEY! Potions? Drinks? Spirits? 

Sexuality might be a component in witchcraft as well. 

OR we see the obvious - she is more powerful than him and EXPECTS to be able to control and manipulate him - PERIOD - one way or the other, she thinks she’s better and smarter than him

retinue - the king’s attendants - many servants, hangers on, etc

Host Rights and Responsibilities

• in the old days, there was literally a religious nature to host responsibilities
• for Lady and Mac, it is their DUTY to honour and protect and treat their guests with the utmost respect - “putting on the dog”
• her plan to kill their guest is an abhorrent sacrilege - AWFUL
• add to it - he’s the king - Divine Right
• add another layer - he’s a kinsman - FAMILY
• add another layer - the king is a symbolic father - PATRICIDE

Lady Macbeth is shocking the audience and breaking rules of culture and society - breaking the STATUS QUO (the way things are)

HOWEVER, there is a good precedent in religious culture for her behaviour (and everyone in the audience in the old days would know it)

• witchery - women of power who are “outside of male dominance”
• Lilith - symbol of a powerful and controlling woman - independent
• Eve - foolishly ambitious or greedy or manipulative woman who steers her man wrong

Next soliloquy!

start of Act 1, Sc vii