NewIma Posted March 3, 2021 Share Posted March 3, 2021 We are going to study Macbeth in May. Do you have any favorite resources for studying Macbeth? Thank you in advance! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miss Tick Posted March 3, 2021 Share Posted March 3, 2021 I always recommend Asimov's Guide to Shakespeare. (That is a crazy price. Macbeth is in volume 2 if you find the standalone volume at a more affordable price.) In fact, I'm reading the section on Macbeth this week. Asimov's analysis is entertaining and insightful, without going through the play line by line. We also own the Oxford School Shakespeare which does go through and gloss line by line. If you decide to outsource Macbeth, Roy Speed is doing a 7 week study starting in the next few weeks. My dc have really enjoyed his classes. Asimov is such an interesting person! Last week I found myself reading his Shakespeare analysis, his book on Astronomy experiments for grade schoolers, and his short story about taxonomically classifying the platypus, for three different classes my dc are doing this year and next. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori D. Posted March 3, 2021 Share Posted March 3, 2021 We really liked using these 2 resources in conjunction:Brightest Heaven of Invention: Christian Guide to 6 Shakespeare Plays (Leithart) Thoughtful, in-depth, brings out the Christian themes in 2 tragedies (Macbeth, Hamlet), 2 comedies (Much Ado About Nothing, Taming of the Shrew) and 2 histories (Julius Caesar, Henry V). Cathy Duffy review .Parallel Shakespeare materials Secular, for middle and high school grades. It consists of 4 elements: parallel text, teacher guide, student workbook, teacher version of the workbook with answers to the workbook. We used the first 3 items. This is a very meaty program. I normally don't like workbooks, but this had a lot of good *thinking* questions with some guided analysis questions as well. The teacher guide is also very useful with a lot of background information about the author/times, explanation of themes, etc. The parallel text is a side-by-side original text on one page and the modern "translation" on the facing face. If you are cutting costs, you could use the free online No Fear Shakespeare at Sparknotes instead, but if you can afford it, I do recommend getting it as there is some great information in the parallel text book as well. Shakespeare: The Animated Tales: Macbeth You might also find it helpful to first watch this to get a feel for the story and characters. It is the original language, just condensed to 25 minutes, with animation for the visuals. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScoutTN Posted March 4, 2021 Share Posted March 4, 2021 The Play’s the Thing podcast (all Shakespeare) did six episodes on Macbeth in 2019. I enjoyed it and so did my then 8th grader. I too like the Oxford School Shakespeare. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LAS in LA Posted March 4, 2021 Share Posted March 4, 2021 If you’re anywhere near Staunton, VA, the Blackfriars will be performing Macbeth in May! https://americanshakespearecenter.com 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewIma Posted March 4, 2021 Author Share Posted March 4, 2021 11 hours ago, LAS in LA said: If you’re anywhere near Staunton, VA, the Blackfriars will be performing Macbeth in May! https://americanshakespearecenter.com That is actually our motivation!! We LOVE the American Shakespeare Center!! 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kokotg Posted March 4, 2021 Share Posted March 4, 2021 The Crash Course on Macbeth is good (as are all the Crash Course lit videos). And Ian McKellan has a one man show from the 80s, I think, called Acting Shakespeare. It's not just Macbeth, but Macbeth features prominently, and it's excellent (he does a great job near the end, if I remember right, breaking down the "tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow" soliloquy) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
royspeed Posted March 4, 2021 Share Posted March 4, 2021 Newlma: A number of useful resources: "The Weird Sisters," by Albert Harris Tolman. This essay appeared in Tolman's 1904 book The Views About Hamlet and Other Essays. It's wonderfully readable, despite its age — a model of fine literary analysis. Tolman delves into Shakespeare's use of the word "weird" in Macbeth, as well as the origins of the word in Norse mythology. Turns out that the word weird entered English because of its use in this play, and Tolman reveals that when Shakespeare calls the witches "the weird sisters," the term has a depth and resonance that most students will find stunning. (My students do.) "Shakespeare's Imagery in Macbeth," by Caroline F. E. Spurgeon. The piece comes from Chapter 15 of Spurgeon's amazing book Shakespeare's Imagery (1936). She writes in limpid prose of certain patterns in the imagery Shakespeare uses in Macbeth, claiming that his imagery in this play is in a class of its own, making Macbeth unique among the plays for the richness and variety of the images. — It's yet another model of clear, easy-to-read literary analysis, putting to shame today's obscure academics. Holinshed's Chronicles, Volume 5: Scotland (1577). This is Shakespeare's source for many of the events — and even the speeches! — in Macbeth. I love having students read aloud the antiquated English and discover, to their surprise, that when pronounced aloud, it's perfectly intelligible. Here's an excerpt:It fortuned as Makbeth and Banquho iournied towards Fores, where the king then laie, they went sporting by the waie togither without other companie, saue onelie themselues, passing thorough the woods and fields, when suddenlie in the middest of a laund, there met them thrée women in strange and wild apparell, resembling creatures of elder world, whome when they attentiuelie beheld, woondering much at the sight, the first of them spake and said; "All haile Makbeth, thane of Glammis..." You can access this portion of Holinshed here: https://shakespeare-navigators.com/macbeth/Holinshed/ Hope this helps, Newlma. My thanks to SusanC for plugging my Shakespeare courses, and yes, my own series on Macbeth begins on March 10! 2 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewIma Posted March 4, 2021 Author Share Posted March 4, 2021 Thank you all so much! I'm so excited for this learning adventure! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LAS in LA Posted March 5, 2021 Share Posted March 5, 2021 13 hours ago, NewIma said: That is actually our motivation!! We LOVE the American Shakespeare Center!! 👍 Hoping to use our ASC gift card soon! For those not close to Staunton, you might look into BlackfriarsTV (pandemic-initiated broadcasts by the aforementioned Shakespeare group). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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