S4 National 5 Macbeth

Here is the link to Ian McKellen's exploration of Macbeth's 'Tomorrow' soliloquy. We will finish up with the imagery (and the play!) tomorrow with a view to writing on the whole play next week.

Ian McKellen Macbeth

N5 Macquestions

National 5 Macbeth questions... created by you!

Choose THREE and write short (3-4 paragraph) responses to each.

DUE Monday 29th September

National 5 1.3

Today we discussed our upcoming Macbeth trip a little further. We have provisionally booked 20 pupil tickets, and are sorting out travel arrangements.

We also looked at C2C Book Club, and you were encouraged to buy books. If you want to do this online, the web address is http://schools.scholastic.co.uk/dingwallacademy and we need orders to be placed by 22nd September.

We then moved on to the challenge:

Having written your paragraph on our first impressions of Macbeth in 1.2, use 1.3 to investigate and discuss how our perceptions of this character change as we progress through Act 1.

National 5 Macbeth... continued

Today we attempted to finish digging for our golden quotes. We wrote one paragraph on how Macbeth is characterised in 1.2.

Some of the quotations:

"For brave Macbeth — well he deserves that name — 
Disdaining Fortune, with his brandish'd steel, 
Which smoked with bloody execution,
Like valour's minion carved out his passage 
Till he faced the slave." I. ii. 16-20. 

And again, Ross speaks of him as 
"Bellona's bridegroom, lapp'd in proof." I. ii. 54. 

"As sparrows eagles, or the hare the lion." I.ii.35

"What he hath lost noble Macbeth hath won. I.ii.67


I also introduced you to www.shmoop.com/macbeth/, which is an excellent revision site, and for those of you who struggled with reading the play in its entirety, it may well be the lifeline you are looking for. Check it out!

National 5... in case you missed it...

Today we were working on Macbeth 1.2.

We watched: this summary and then worked with Table F's notes.

Our main aim was to look how Macbeth is characterised by Shakespeare in the opening scenes, with the understanding that this characterisation is in no way fixed. We began to 'dig for gold': finding and explaining quotations (at least 5) in the scene which tell us that Macbeth is at this point considered a great man.

Most groups were at one or two quotations, so we will finish this activity in the first period tomorrow before going on to 1.3, where we will similarly look at the portrayal of Macbeth, Banquo and the witches.

National 5 Macbeth

It has just come to my attention, thanks to Sophie's mum, that Macbeth is coming to Eden Court. It's a little different: an operatic version!

You can access the Eden Court page HERE

Let me know if you think you'd like to attend. It's an evening performance, and I'm happy to arrange it if we have a decent number of students wishing to go.