Skip to main content

Juniors ~ Macbeth

As we begin the study of Macbeth, I thought it might be useful to include a list of resources. In addition to the following links, some students have found a side-by-side translation useful. Even better, buy a version of the play with annotations. Although your textbook does include marginal notes, they are not as extensive as they could be.
I like the The Annotated Shakespeare series, which includes an introduction and annotations by Burton Raffel and an essay by Harold Bloom. You can find the book locally at Windows.
The following sites are related to Macbeth in particular:
As noted in class, we will read and watch portions of the play. There are several good versions of the play on film, including the Polanski version that we are watching in class; perhaps the most critically acclaimed version of the play is from Japanese director Akira Kurosawa: Throne of Blood. Two recent films can be rented locally -- Macbeth (2006) and Scotland, PA.
Disclaimer: I cannot officially recommend either of these because of their R ratings. Please don't hold me responsible for anything that offends.
Finally, upcoming posts will concern your major project for the play -- filming a scene, creating a work of art or writing an essay.

Popular posts from this blog

O Brother, A Response Paper

Hello Freshmen... Your assignment for the weekend is to write a 250-word (one page) response paper on O Brother, Where Art Thou . Please type and format according to MLA. You may choose from the two topics below: (1) Respond to the lyrics of one song from the film. Using your lyric sheet (or the internet ), connect the lyrics of one song to the movie's characters/setting/events. In other words, explain how the lyrics are relevant to the film. (2) Choose one of the historically relevant elements of the movie and look up an article on Wikipedia . Print out the article; then, summarize it and connect it to the movie's characters/setting/events. Be careful not to plagiarize the article, which should be stapled to your reponse. Ideas discussed in class include The Great Depression, con artist, chain gang, Populism (George Wallace, Huey P. Long, W. Lee O'Daniel), Ku Klux Klan (William Joseph Simmons), and George "Babyface" Nelson.

ACT Prep

Good luck on the ACT tomorrow, those of you who are taking it. To help you prepare, and for future reference, here are some materials for you to work with at home: ACT Prep - from the official site - including sample tests Test Prep Review - has "self-assessment modules" in several subjects ACT Sparknotes ACT Test Questions

Career Search

A good place to start with your career search is a personality test. There are several online to choose from, and there are many career aptitude tests, as well. Generally speaking, my advice is to look for a career that combines your interests and your aptitudes (both in your personality and your skill set). Look through the following and see if any are helpful: 16 Personalities (based on the Meyers-Briggs ) Skills Profiler (from the U.S. Department of Labor) Princeton Review Career Quiz Free Career Aptitude Tests (a list from The Balance ) Later this week, we will try to match up your aptitudes and interests with a career by looking at College Board's BigFuture site. We will also look at the ACT in detail ( Planning Your Future e-book ). Finally, we will explore the Occupational Outlook Handbook to see more thorough descriptions and projections.