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