due Fri Nov 1: none, nada, rien, empty set

agenda Wed/Thurs Oct 30/31: changing relationships

exercise based on 96 #4–distributed in class

hand completed sheet to Mr. Brown

start reading Act Four

due Wed/Thurs Oct 30/31

In your Macbeth journal, take notes that help you answer the question in exercise #4 on page ninety-six.  In your journal, write the “several sentences” requested in this  exercise. We will do an in-class activity based on your notes and sentences.

agenda Tues Oct 29

present significant lines from yesterday’s exercises (66#1, 68#1, 72#1)

read aloud together rest of Act 3

with partner(s), preview question for block class writing re relationship

due Tues Oct 29

Finish reading–aloud to yourself or with another–the rest of Act 3.

Once you have, preview exercise #4 on page 96; if you like, start marking lines that help you describe the changing relationship between the Macbeths.

agenda Mon Oct 28

With one or, if necessary, two partners, go through as many of these exercises as possible–but thoughtfully so.  Mark lines that come to and stay in your attention, as you study these lines, in this sequence; these are lines that you consider especially significant.  (Be ready to explain their significance.)  Do a satisfactory job with one exercise, before you move on to the next:

page 66 #1

68 #1

72 #1

agenda Fri Oct 25: poem near the center

In the recent sophomore reflections, several people expressed a wish to write more “creative” pieces.  To honor those voices, and to inject variety in my absence, start an original short story of a thousand words or less, using these guidelines:

general instruction: a story with a poem near its center  (the generally-stated instruction of “near its center” intentionally enables various interpretations; the poem may be yours or a published poem by anyone in the world from any time in history)

see raw materials/writing prompts/creative prompts for suggested first lines

TODAY’S CLASS IS SIMPLY A CHANCE TO START YOUR STORY; DO NOT EXPECT TO FINISH IT.  SEVERAL SUGGESTIONS FOR STORIES OF THIS LENGTH:  FOCUS ON ONE OR TWO CHARACTERS ONLY; HAVE A SPECIFIC CONFLICT OR TENSION AT THE CORE OF YOUR STORY; HAVE FUN CONSIDERING VARIOUS WAYS IN WHICH A POEM MIGHT APPEAR “NEAR THE CENTER” OF A STORY.  FOR EXAMPLE, DO WE NEED TO SEE THE WHOLE POEM, OR ANY OF IT, FOR IT TO BE “NEAR THE CENTER”?  WOULD THE STORY BE SPOILED, IF READERS WERE TO SEE THE WHOLE POEM?

THIS IS AN ONGOING PROJECT–A BIT LIKE A LITERARY SKETCH BOOK.  MAKE A START, WHATEVER THAT MEANS FOR YOU.  WE WILL HAVE MORE TIMES TO WORK ON IT.  ALSO, WE WILL FIND WAYS FOR YOU TO RECEIVE CLASSMATES’ FEEDBACK ON YOUR MANUSCRIPTS.  WHO KNOWS, WE COULD EVEN PRODUCE A COLLECTION OF STUDENT SHORT STORIES FOR THE LIBRARY, AND ELSEWHERE.  ENJOY.

due Fri Oct 25

Read and mark Act 3 Scene 4 of Macbeth.  Mark lines that particularly catch your attention.

agenda Wed/Thurs Oct 23/4: Thou hast it now, King

start reading Act 3 aloud together, each person assuming a role

agenda Tues Oct 22: “Thou hast it now, King”

present findings from “presence/absence of conscience” table:

What is the group’s most significant row of the table and what does it suggest about Macbeth’s and Lady Macbeth’s eventual emotional response to Duncan’s murder?

Review sequence of events (the plot) around the time of Duncan’s murder: who does what when

Begin reading Act 3, starting with Banquo’s suspicions