20 'Macbeth' video/audio annotations

 

Here's a renewal of the ShowMe analyses of key moments in Macbeth, now moved to a new location. Each is short (2/3 minutes).

Swiss Army Knife quotations

 

A simple, low-preparation revision technique in classes.

Pupils should know quotations which have multiple uses, just like the famous knife. A good way to emphasise this in class is to choose one, and spend time ‘exploding’ it, getting as much out of it as possible, and interrogating every word. This is part of the process of thinking deeply about a text. It could be done in just 15 minutes.

Give out A3 sheets of blank paper (or if it’s a last minute decision just use the board, with pupils jotting down bullet points). Put the quotation in the middle (volunteered by a pupil, or chosen by the teacher). Then in pairs (ideally, but works with individuals) ‘interrogate’ the statement in a limited amount of time: say, 10 minutes.

Then come together as a class to share ideas, and get yet more out of the statement: put these ideas on the board/screen.

Above, an example from Lady Macbeth (PDF): the murder scene, Act II scene ii. A very simple and apparently banal statement which can reveal a lot. You can have a very rich discussion about the play based on it.

Questions could be asked in advance/afterwards, such as:

• If you had to highlight one word only, what, and why?
• Why does the character say this?
• Does she believe it?
• How is she similar or different to other characters?
• How does this echo anything that has already been said/happened?
• Can you connect anything later in the play to this?

Macbeth resources

Here is a summary of some resources for study and revision of Macbeth, starting with our own.  

(Updated April 2019)

• Seven revision podcasts, including:-
  
  • The crucial moment : the soliloquy in Act I scene vii before the murder.
  • The real Lady Macbeth.
  • King Macbeth - law and order in Scotland.
  • Malcolm the hero?
  • The Witches and the Supernatural.
  • A quotation auto-test.
  • Macbeth's tragic end - 'Tomorrow, and tomorrow ...'
  • And all seven are also on Soundcloud here.  
• 6 Quizlet quotation tests for retrieval practice (the 6th one combines all five Acts). 
• A series of 20 ShowMe analyses of key moments in the play, using video and audio annotation. 
• A quotation auto-test [written] to prompt some thoughts. 
• The Swiss Army Knife technique for embedding quotations.
• The whole text of the play in a variety of formats - put it on your computer/tablet/e-reader for easy access.
• Notes from a thought-provoking talk on the play given by the playwright Frank McGuinness at the Abbey Theatre.
• BBC Bitesize microsite for revision (level - GCSE).
• Shakespeare Searched: a 'Google for Shakespeare' - terrific resource for looking up quotations, self-testing and so on.
• Royal Shakespeare Company Learning Zone on Macbeth, with resources at different levels.
• 'Macbeth in Monaghan' series on RTÉ radio [podcasts].

Swiss Army Knife quotations: 'Macbeth'

To embed quotations and use them effectively in your revision, consider the Swiss Army Knife technique: choose a quotation which can be used flexibly in many ways, for several characters, for different themes. Firstly, make sure you know the quotation (use flashcards, ask a friend to test you). Then write it down and think about it: let your ideas spring out of it like a SAK. Below is an example from Lady Macbeth. Later, ask that friend to test you on the notes you wrote.

(mindmap: drag it around to see it all, and use the - and + buttons for sizing)
 

Macbeth quotation practice: all 5 Acts

This Quizlet combines all five previous quotation sets to provide 98 quotations for learning practice. In each case it is important that you also think about the use of each quotation in providing evidence on comments about characters, themes and ideas.

Macbeth quotation test, Act v Quizlet

Macbeth quotation test, Act 4 Quizlet

Macbeth quotation test, Act 3 Quizlet

Macbeth quotation test, Act 2 Quizlet

Macbeth quotations, Act 1 Quizlet

The first of five sets of Quizlet flashcards on Macbeth to embed knowledge of quotations. College pupils can also see these on Firefly.

Some basic principles of quotations -

• Quotations are the knowledge-base and evidence-base for all answering.
• Quotations are used to back up a point.
• Options: organise by scene / character / theme. Many quotations will have multiple uses.
• ‘Tag’ quotations with a system. Make connections.
• Re-reading quotations (and notes) is a bad learning strategy.
• Use flashcards / Quizlet / a questioning partner.
• Write down what you know. What gaps?
• Go back again and again over spaced time: embed them so you can retrieve automatically.
• Little and often. Keep going, especially while you’ve finished the play.

'Macbeth' revision: the end

The  last of seven discussions of key issues in Macbeth, via SoundCloud. You can listen via the computer, but can also download the free app for iOS or Android and listen on your phone/tablet. Listen to the full series here. 

This recording deals with Macbeth's end, and in particular his crucial speech about that end.

• in what way is Macbeth numbed by his experiences?
• how does he react to news of his wife's death?
• how does Macbeth look at the future now?
• what impact does the 'tomorrow' speech have on us?

'Macbeth' revision: 10 key quotations

The sixth of seven discussions of key issues in Macbeth, via SoundCloud. You can listen via the computer, but can also download the free app for iOS or Android and listen on your phone/tablet. Listen to the full series here. 

This podcast is a little difference: a series of quotations which you can test yourself on. Pause the recording after the quotation and write notes on the significance of these key lines.

Things to consider this time:

• what is the significance of fear in the play?
• in what way does blood permeate the whole story?
• how is the phrase 'unnatural troubles' central to the play?
• how is Macbeth conscious of the diseased nature of his own mind?
• how does Macbeth become steadily less free?
• why is Banquo a key figure in the way we look at Macbeth?
• what is the significance of the image of Duncan's horses? 

'Macbeth' revision: the supernatural

The fifth of seven discussions of key issues in Macbeth, via SoundCloud. You can listen via the computer, but can also download the free app for iOS or Android and listen on your phone/tablet. Listen to the full series here. This podcast deals with the supernatural in the play, particularly as it influences Macbeth's own thoughts and actions. It concentrates on the witches' influence in the early part of the play.

Things to consider this time:

• in what way is the play distinctly 'theological'?
• just what is the relationship between the supernatural and the human?
• how are the witches 'catalysts'?
• what does Macbeth's 'start' at the witches' prophecy signify?
• what are Banquo's words that might be 'the most perceptive in the play'?
• how do we see the unnatural 'taking hold'?
• how does Macbeth become reckless and plunge further into a moral abyss?
• how much is Macbeth responsible, compared to the witches, for what happens?

'Macbeth' revision: Malcolm as hero?

The fourth of seven discussions of key issues in Macbeth, via SoundCloud. You can listen via the computer, but can also download the free app for iOS or Android and listen on your phone/tablet. Listen to the full series here.

Things to think about this time:-

• Why does Shakespeare allow the scene in England with Malcolm and Macduff go on so long?
• What is the importance of speed in the play? How is it manifested?
• What do we learn of Malcolm in IV iii?
• In what way might we have mixed feelings about Malcolm?
• What is the importance of this for the central tragedy of Macbeth himself?

'Macbeth' revision: law and order in Scotland

The third of of seven discussions of key issues in Macbeth, via SoundCloud. You can listen via the computer, but can also download the free app for iOS or Android and listen on your phone/tablet. Listen to the full series here.

Some things to look out for and think about:-

• how does Macbeth embody the views and values of Shakespeare's society?
• what was man's place in the 'great chain of being'?
• in what way was 'order' crucial?
• what was the nature and origin of the King's power?
• how is Scotland disordered at the start of the play?
• what sort of a King is Duncan?
• what is the importance of a new King?
• what kind of monarchy does Scotland have?

The real Lady Macbeth

As we start on Macbeth revision prior to the Leaving Certificate, here is the second of seven discussions of key issues in the play, via SoundCloud. You can listen via the computer, but can also download the free app for iOS or Android and listen on your phone/tablet. More in the coming days. Listen to the full series here.

Here, Lady Macbeth is the subject. Things to listen out for and think about this time:-

• in what ways is Lady Macbeth complex and fragile?
• where do we see that she is very conscious of herself as a woman?
• how is she a 'moral being'?
• where do we see examples of her loneliness and isolation?
• what does Harriet Walter mean when she says Lady Macbeth tries to suppress her imagination?
• how does she become less and less important?
• what does the sleepwalking scene say about her state of mind?

'Macbeth' revision: the crucial moment

As we start on Macbeth revision prior to the Leaving Certificate, here is the first of seven discussions of key issues in the play, via SoundCloud. You can listen via the computer, but can also download the free app for iOS or Android and listen on your phone/tablet. More in the coming days. Listen to the full series here.

This talk deals with the crucial 'If it were done' soliloquy in Act I scene vii, and here are things to listen out for and think about.

• why is this the crucial turning point of the play?
• how is Macbeth's confusion expressed in the speech?
• what are the key words?
• how is the idea of 'jumping' or 'leaping' an important one here and elsewhere?
• what is the significance of the word 'But' on line 7?
• by the end of the speech, what is he very clear about?
• how can Lady Macbeth change his mind so apparently easily, given what he has said here?

'Macbeth' resources

Here is a summary of some resources for study and revision of Macbeth, which will be updated frequently during the year. It's on the lines of our much-visited Hamlet page.

1. Seven revision podcasts, including:-

• The crucial moment : the soliloquy in Act I scene vii before the murder.
• The real Lady Macbeth.
• King Macbeth - law and order in Scotland.
• Malcolm the hero?
• The Witches and the Supernatural.
• A quotation auto-test.
• Macbeth's tragic end - 'Tomorrow, and tomorrow ...'
• And all seven are also on Soundcloud here.

2. The whole text of the play in a variety of formats - put it on your computer/tablet/e-reader for easy access.
3. Notes from a thought-provoking talk on the play given by the playwright Frank McGuinness at the Abbey Theatre.
4. BBC Bitesize microsite for revision (level - GCSE).
5. Times Educational Supplement resources, including our own podcasts [requires registration].
6. Shakespeare Searched: a 'Google for Shakespeare' - terrific resource for looking up quotations, self-testing and so on.
7. 'Macbeth in Monaghan' series on RTÉ radio [podcasts].
8. A series of ShowMe analyses of key moments in the play, using video and audio annotation. 
9. Newbridge College 'resource pack' on the play. 
10. Evelyn O'Connor at LeavingCertEnglish.net has a series of posts on the 'Blame Game' in the play here. 
11. A quotation auto-test [written] to prompt some thoughts...

More coming...

'Macbeth' quotation auto-test

For pupils preparing Macbeth for their exams, here is a quotation auto-test (below, or direct link here). There are 20 quotations, and as each slide comes up you can think who said the words, in what context, and what wider importance they might have, before an 'answer' appears on the next slide. The idea here is primarily to make you think. Give yourself marks...

For lots more Macbeth revision resources, click here.

Macbeth 20: Act 5 scene 5 - 'sound and fury'

This is the 20th and final post in a series of analyses of key moments in Macbeth using the iPad app ShowMe. 

Macbeth expresses his final philosophical understanding of the meaninglessness of life.