British Literature
Monday
March 13, 2017
Day 40
ACTIVATOR:
Grab copy of the journal article from front table and answer questions
on your own sheet of notebook paper…
ACTIVITIES:
1. Discuss journal article & collect answers
2. Introduce Macbeth Unit (tragedy / drama)
- Background story and terms…
3. Last 10 Silent Reading
SUMMARIZER:
- what is a tragedy?
Elizabethan
Drama
Elements
and Staging
History of Theater
in England
 Originally, actors would perform in any open
area for spectators (halls, courtyards, taverns)
 1574 – English government decreed that
theaters must be licensed
 1576 – first permanent theater built outside the
city of London
 1592 – 1593: theaters shut down when the
plague infected London
 1599 – Globe Theater built in “red light” district
of London
History of Theater in
England, cont’d.
 Audiences varied from the wealthy
upper class to the lower class
 Plays were used for entertainment and
also to deliver political messages
 Actors were mostly men (who often
played women) and were not
considered celebrities or paid well
The Globe Theater
 Built in 1599 for The Lord Chamberlain’s Acting
Company of which Shakespeare was a
member (Shakespeare owned 10%)
 Made of wood
 Held 2,000 – 3,000 people
 1,500 seats were covered
 Room for 800 – 1,000 people to stand in the
“pit”, an uncovered area surrounding the stage
 No lights so all performances were held
between 2 – 5 pm
The Globe Theater,
cont’d.
 The stage was circular with all sides
open
 There was an enclosed building to
the side for costume changes
 No curtains so characters were
“announced”, acts and scenes
melted into each other, and dead
bodies had to be carried off the
stage
The Globe Theater,
cont’d.
 3 levels of the stage
* Main stage with small curtained
area in the rear
* Upper area (heaven) for balcony
scenes
* Lower area under the stage (hell)
accessible by a trapdoor on the
stage
The Globe Theater,
cont’d.
 The acoustics were poor so actors
had to shout and use exaggerated
gestures to be understood
 Because there were no curtains to
close at the conclusion, all tensions
had to be “cooled” before the end
of the play
The Globe Theater,
concluded
 1613 – burned during a
performance of Henry VIII when a
real cannon was fired onto the roof
 1614 – rebuilt
 1644 – Puritans destroyed it in an
effort to “clean up” the morals of
London
Scenery, costumes,
and props
 No curtains dictated that scenery be
kept to a minimum since no changes
could be made during a performance
 Costumes were elaborate and highly
decorated with hats and other
accessories
 Props were usually small and could be
carried on by hand by the actors
William
Shakespeare
His Life and
Work
Childhood
 Born to wealthy parents in StratfordUpon-Avon in 1564
 Few details are known about his
childhood
 Well-educated in grammar school as
evidenced by his references to classical
works, his knowledge of a wide variety of
subjects, and his extensive vocabulary
His Career as an Actor and
Playwright
 1589 – he wrote his first play (Henry VI, Part I)
 1594 – he became a member of The Lord
Chamberlain’s Men which developed into the
premier theater troupe in London, first as an
actor and then a playwright
 1598 – he became the principal comedic writer
and actor of the troupe
 1603 – he became the principal tragic actor
and writer of the troupe
His Career as an Actor and
Playwright, Cont’d.
 His success and good investments made
him wealthy and well-respected in
London society
 He wrote the epitaph for his own tomb:
“Good friend, for Jesus’ sake forbear
To dig the dust enclosed here.
Blessed be the man that spares these stones
And cursed be he that moves my bones.”
Macbeth
-An Introduction-
Macbeth: An Introduction



Macbeth is among the best-known of
William Shakespeare’s plays.
Shakespeare’s shortest tragedy.
Believed to have been written between 1603
and 1606.
Macbeth: An Introduction


It is frequently performed at both amateur
and professional levels, and has been
adapted for opera, film, books, stage and
screen.
Often regarded as archetypal, the play tells
of the dangers of the lust for power and the
betrayal of friends.
The Real Macbeth



king of Scotland
(1040–57).
He succeeded his
father as governor of
the province of Moray
c.1031
was a military
commander for
Duncan I.
(Right: portrait of Macbeth)
The Real Macbeth


In 1040, Macbeth killed Duncan in
battle and seized the throne.
Possibly of royal descent himself,
he acquired a direct claim to the
throne through his wife, Gruoch;
she was a granddaughter of
Kenneth III, who had been
overthrown by Duncan's ancestor
Malcolm II.
(Right: portrait of Duncan I)
The Real Macbeth



Macbeth represented northern elements in the
population who were opposed to the ties with the
Saxons advocated by Duncan.
Macbeth was defeated in 1054 by Siward, earl of
Northumbria, who regained the southern part of
Scotland on behalf of Malcolm Canmore, Duncan's
son.
Malcolm himself regained the rest of the kingdom
after defeating and killing Macbeth in the battle of
Lumphanan. He then succeeded to the throne as
Malcolm III.
The Real Macbeth
William Shakespeare's version of the story
comes from the accounts of Raphael
Holinshed and Hector Boece.
Holinshed’s Chronicles


Raphael Holinshed (d. 1580)
was an English chronicler.
He was given the ambitious
project of chronicling
British history from the
time of the Great Flood
(approx. 4000-3000BC) to
Queen Elizabeth (reigning
1558-1603).
Holinshed’s Chronicles
Raphael Holinshed. The first and
second volumes of the Chronicles,
comprising 1 The description and
historie of England, 2 The description
and historie of Ireland, 3 The
description and historie of Scotland:
first collected and published by
Raphaell C, William Harrison and
others: now newlie augmented and
continued (with manifold matters of
singular note and worthie memorie) to
the yeare 1586 by John Hooker alias
Vowell Gent and others. London:
printed [by Henry Denham] in
Aldersgate street at the signe of the
Starre, 1587.
Holinshed’s Chronicles
“‘We care about Holinshed's Chronicles because Shakespeare
read them’ was the 1968 verdict of Stephen Booth, who,
along with his academic contemporaries and predecessors,
felt this great work was of little intellectual value, a vestige of
erratic medieval historiography. Its importance for several of
Shakespeare's plays - it underpins all the conventional
English history plays, as well as King Lear, Macbeth and
Cymbeline - has long been understood, but until late in the
twentieth century it was overlooked as an object of serious
study”.
-Jenny Alder, Information Assistant,
Foyle Special Collections Library, King’s College London
Hector Boece




Lived 1465-1536
A Scottish philosopher
Wrote Historia Gentis
Scotorum (1527)
Shakespeare used this text
as a basis for the character
of Macbeth
“The Scottish Play”


A large mythology has built up surrounding
this superstition, with countless stories of
accidents, misfortunes and even deaths, all
mysteriously taking place during runs of
Macbeth (or by actors who had uttered the
name).
Many actors will not mention the name of
the play aloud, referring to it instead as "The
Scottish play".
“The Scottish Play”:
A Chronology of Misfortunes
When performed in Amsterdam in 1672, the
actor playing Macbeth substituted a real
dagger for the blunted stage one and with it
killed Duncan in full view of the entranced
audience.
“The Scottish Play”:
A Chronology of Misfortunes
During its 1849 performance at New York's
Astor Place, a riot broke out in which 31
people were trampled to death.
“The Scottish Play”:
A Chronology of Misfortunes
In 1937, when Laurence Olivier took on the
role of Macbeth, a 25 pound stage weight
crashed within an inch of him, and his sword
which broke onstage flew into the audience
and hit a man who later suffered a heart
attack.
“The Scottish Play”:
A Chronology of Misfortunes
In the 1942 Macbeth production headed by
John Gielgud, three actors -- Duncan and two
witches -- died, and the costume and set
designer committed suicide amidst his
devilish Macbeth creations.
“The Scottish Play”:
A Chronology of Misfortunes
The indestructible Charlton Heston, in an
outdoor production in Bermuda in 1953,
suffered severe burns in his groin and leg area
from tights that were accidentally soaked in
kerosene.
The Witches

They tell Macbeth that he is destined to be
king, and urge him to do bloody things.
The Witches


Their character is
modeled after Norse
mythology- the Norns
(three Fates)
the name Urðr (Wyrd,
Weird) means "fate" or
simply "future",
The norns- by Arthur Rackham
Images of Macbeth
Creation Theatre CompanySummer 2006 production,
Oxford, England
Roman Polanski’s 1971 film
British Literature
Tuesday
March 14, 2017
Day 41
ACTIVATOR:
make sentence corrections on back of combining page from last week…
ACTIVITIES:
1. Discuss sentence correction handout
2. Introduce unit 4 words - quiz Friday
- complete cartoon captions by Wednesday (2 words each)
3. Macbeth - Act One reading
4. Silent Reading!
SUMMARIZER:
- What is a tragedy?
British Literature
Wednesday
March 15, 2017
Day 42
ACTIVATOR:
underline subject and circle verbs on sentence corrections handout
ACTIVITIES:
1. Sentence correction handout (s/v identifications)
2. Share / submit vocabulary 4 cartoon captions
3. Macbeth - Act One reading
- complete study questions
4. Silent Reading, Baby!
5. n
SUMMARIZER:
- What does “aside” mean?
British Literature
Thursday
March 16, 2017
Day 43
ACTIVATOR: (4-6 sentences, S.E.E.D. format)
Are kids today BETTER or WORSE than previous generations?
Explain…
ACTIVITIES:
1. Discuss / collect journals
2. Review for vocabulary unit 4 quiz (tomorrow!)
3. Macbeth - Act One reading
- complete all study questions from packet
4. Last 10 Silent Reading!
SUMMARIZER:
- what is a tragic flaw?
British Literature
Friday
March 17, 2017
Day 44
ACTIVATOR:
- Complete a “ONE PAGER” for article from front table to turn in…
ACTIVITIES:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Discuss and turn in one-pagers
Vocabulary Unit 4 QUIZ, baby!
Macbeth – Finish Act One (cartoon review)
Last 10 Silent Reading
SUMMARIZER:
- What are three characteristics of a tragedy?