English Literature: "Macbeth"

As to the Subject  "English Language and Culture" in the Liceo Scientifico traditional Curriculum, or "English as a Second Language" in the Cambridge IGCSE Curriculum,  students start the study of English History and Literature at their 3rd year. The Programme covers  the Anglo-Saxon period to Shakespeare's time.  The Teaching Unit I have devised will  focus on one of the most gripping of Shakespeare's tragedies, Macbeth, also exploiting the great popularity it has recently gained through its 2015 film adaptation by the Australian film-maker Justin Kurzel, starring M. Fassbender and M. Cotillard.

Every Teaching Unit I have devised within the Erasmus Plus Project 2016-1-IT02-KA101-023229 "On the Horizon", including this one, was analysed, checked and discussed with the teachers from the Stafford House London, where my training in English Language and C.L.I.L. methodology took place in July-September 2017.

Each Unit begins with a brief overview of the themes and topics and Use of English areas that students will listen to, read, talk and write about. In this Unit the themes are human passions, such as ambition, greed for power, murder and guilt. The Use of English areas are related to the glossary of Shakespearean language and to certain grammatical aspects of his archaic form (doth-does, thou-you, canst-can, thy–your, hath-has, etc).

Introduction

Shakespeare’s shortest tragedy, Macbeth was probably written around 1606 because various references in the play correspond to events which occurred in that year, soon after the Gunpowder Plot. Composed to satisfy King James I's concern with witchcraft and to celebrate his Scottish ancestry, its principal literary source is Raphael Holinshed’s Chronicle of England, Scotlande, and Irelande (1577), though Shakespeare freely adapted many historical events to increase its drama. Such a dark tragedy around the downfall of an ambitious and controversial character needs students to be aware of the main characteristics of the typically  Elizabethan "tragedy"  and then study this time period, focusing on history of the eleventh-century Scotland. The main objectives of this Teaching Unit will be to make students extensively read the tragedy and write about it, attempting to act out some of its most famous scenes and soliloquies, also using their own words and expressions. The final target will be to introduce students to the history of drama during Shakespeare's time through one of the most fascinating of his tragedies, where he shows the murderers of a king tormented by their own guilt and driven to their doom. The Elizabethans believed in "The Great Chain of Being", i.e. the idea that everyone was ordered by God into his allotted place, with the king at the head. By killing the king and taking his place, Macbeth was subverting this natural order, and the result was inevitably the disorder in human affairs. The viewing of the latest Justin Kurzel's film adaptation starring Michael Fassbender and Marion Cotillard will be the conclusive moment of the unit, when certain aspects of the play and film will be further explored and thoroughly analysed.  

Class Specification

This unit is designed for a 3rd class of Liceo Scientifico,  both of traditional or Cambridge IGCSE courses.  In that grade, William Shakespeare is a fundamental topic in the English Literature Syllabus. Students are generally interested in his works, although they may need lots of exposure and activities in order to understand his archaic language. The opportunity to act out scenes in class will allow students to memorize some texts,  understand them better and engage in productive class discussion and sharing of ideas.

The Power Point Presentation of this Teaching Unit of  Literature is here