Macbeth or Julius Caesar - Revisiting the Bard
Shakespeare’s imagery “takes us into the world of the play and the world of the character and
takes it into a very deep part of ourselves.”
- Cicely Berry, “Perspectives: Performing Shakespeare Today”
One of your early literary experiences here at BASH was reading a Shakespearean tragedy. Both
Macbeth and Julius Caesar present us with a man overcome with ambition and misguided
allegiance. Shakespeare’s works appear regularly on the AP Literature exam. We will read
another of his works together this year, but you should add to your repertoire the play you
previously studied.
It should take approximately the same amount of time to read a play as it takes to perform it.
Having already read this play should also speed you along in the text. As you read through it,
dwell on passages of strong imagery: sensory experiences created by descriptive details.
Consider how these images help to convey meaning in the play.
Choose three passages of imagery from three different Acts of the play. Determine the meaning
conveyed by the imagery. Then find a contemporary example of the imagery by searching
images on the Internet. You will quote the play’s passage. You will describe the newly
discovered image for grading purposes. However, in the fall, you will join other classmates who
also read your play to organize an imagery presentation. You will need to be able to share your
actual images with your group, so either print out your image or record the link somewhere safe.
Your inability to locate your image will invalidate your score for this assignment.
A separate chart for this assignment has been created for your use. Please fill it in with your
findings. When you are done with the assignment, click the “Turn in” button at the top of the
document. I am looking for appropriately selected images and convincing contemporary
examples. Your explanations of meaning need not be lengthy, but the connection between the
two should be clearly established.