Lesson video

Hi everyone, welcome to another lesson with me, Ms. Chu.

In this lesson, we are going to be analysing some clips from the animated tales of "Macbeth".

Now in these clips, we're going to be watching really carefully, because we have to deduce or infer from the clips what Macbeth's character is going to be like.

Okay, so we're going to look at his personality, and so by looking at his personality, we will need to think of some adjectives to describe him.

Okay, so make sure you're in a quiet space, you have all the things that you need, and then you may begin the lesson.

Things you'll need in this lesson.

Something to write with, something to write on, and you're thinking heads.

Switch to on.

What's the agenda for today? Well as always, a writing warm up to get us ready for the lesson.

Vocabulary check, check if we understand what the words mean.

And then we are going to analyse some film clips.

What's the writing warm up? In today's writing warm up, we will write each sentence with the most appropriate adjective at the beginning of the sentence.

You can choose one of the three adjectives I have put up on your screen.

I would like you to repeat the word after me.

My turn and then your turn.

So ambitious.

Regretful.

Ruthless.

Let's check what each of those means.

Ambitious means having determination to succeed.

Regretful, a feeling of sadness or disappointment.

Ruthless, having no pity towards others.

Here are the sentences.

Three sentences with a space at the beginning for you to insert the appropriate adjective.

So for example number one.

Hmm, comma, Lady Macbeth did not let anything stand in her way.

Number two.

Mm, comma, a shaken Macbeth collapsed to the ground in a heap.

Number 3.

Mm, comma, the Thane of Cawdor wanted to be king.

Which of those adjectives listed at the top of the screen would be appropriate at the beginning of each sentence? Pause the video and have a go.

Okay, so the first sentence.

Mm, Lady Macbeth did not let anything stand in her way.

She could be ambitious.

She could be regretful, but the most appropriate adjective here is ruthless, because ruthless means that you are not considering anyone's feelings and you're just getting what you want.

So mm, a shaken Macbeth collapsed to the ground in a heap.

The most appropriate adjective would be regretful.

Regretful, comma, a shaken Macbeth collapsed to the ground in a heap.

So it's showing you how he feels.

The action of collapsing to the ground shows that he is regretful.

And the final one, of course, would be ambitious, comma, the Thane of Cawdor wanted to be King.

Let's now check for the meaning of some adjectives that would be appropriate to use in our lesson today.

I will say them first and then you can say them.

So my turn, your turn.

Okay, triumphant.

Victorious.

That means having won a battle.

Okay, so if you're triumphant or victorious, you've just won something, you've won a battle in this example, because we're talking about Macbeth.

Ambitious.

That means that you're determined to succeed.

You have determination to succeed.

You want to gain something.

You want to be successful.

Bloodthirsty.

This means showing a desire to kill.

Hopefully this isn't too scary for any of you.

Ruthless.

Having no pity towards others, showing no compassion, no thought towards others.

Courageous.

Brave, it's a synonym for brave.

Savage.

means violent.

Okay, strong.

Exerting huge force.

Powerful.

Having control or influence over something.

Fearless.

Showing a lack of fear.

Guilty.

You feel responsible for something that you've done wrong, responsible for a wrongdoing.

Regretful.

A feeling of sadness or disappointment, feeling like you wish you hadn't done it.

Okay, now that you know the meaning of the words, I would like you to have a go at sorting these words that are on the screen into two categories.

Adjectives to describe Macbeth as being good and adjectives to describe Macbeth as being bad.

On a piece of paper, you may draw two ovals or two circles that overlap each other, because in the middle you might want to put a word or words that could be good and could be bad, depending on the context.

So the words that we have here, adjectives that we have on the screen, you can say them after I say them.

Savage.

Ruthless.

Ambitious.

Triumphant.

Fearless.

Courageous, and victorious.

Pause the video and have a go at placing them on this Venn diagram.

If you have forgotten the meaning of some of these words, you may rewind or go back to the part of this lesson where I explain the meaning of these words.

Off you go! Brilliant, hopefully you've had a chance to sort the words into their two categories of good and bad adjectives to describe Macbeth.

I thought victorious, triumphant, and courageous were good adjectives to describe Macbeth, because they are showing what he's like at the beginning of the play when he has just won the battle.

The words savage and ruthless I thought would fall in the bad category, because to be savage and to be ruthless would describe Macbeth as not having good characteristics.

And then I thought for fearless and ambitious, although normally to be ambitious would be a good thing, however, in this case Macbeth's ambition to become king actually becomes his downfall, makes him become a bad character.

So that's why I've got them in the good and the bad, and I explained that it depends on the context.

And the word fearless I thought could be good or bad, because if you're fearless in battle, that shows that you could win it.

It could also mean you're courageous.

If you're fearless, you could win the battle.

But if you're fearless, it could also be bad, because that if you're fearless it could cause you to do things that you might regret.

Right, now we're going to watch this short film clip.

You've got to watch carefully, because you've got to infer or deduce.

That means using your detective skills, you've got to try and work out, because it won't be obvious, you've got to work out what kind of character is Macbeth.

How could we describe him using the adjectives that we looked at in the previous slides.

So that requires you to watch closely, because in the part after the video clip, you are going to be writing down or shouting out some adjectives that you think are relevant to this part of the clip.

So when you're ready, we can watch it.

Can the devil speak true? Glamis, and Thane of Cawdor.

The greatest is behind.

Oh worthiest cousin! Sons, kinsmen, Thanes, and you whose places are the nearest, know we will establish our estate upon our eldest, Malcolm, whom we shall name hereafter Prince of Cumberland.

The Prince of Cumberland.

That is a step on which I must fall down, or else o'erleap.

For in my way it lies.

Stars, hide your fires.

Let not light see my black and deep desires.

Very interesting.

So at the start of this clip, you can see here the still image is the king.

And he is actually rewarding Macbeth, because he has won the battle.

But then later on in the clip, it sort of changes.

And look at this picture here.

Macbeth's face has changed.

The way he looks, the way he speaks tells us about his character.

Okay, so now I want you to shout out or write down the adjectives that you think are relevant to the clip.

Was he triumphant, was he victorious, ambitious, strong, bloodthirsty, determined, ruthless, bold, brave, fearless, gallant, guilty, savage, or regretful? Let's do a quick check to see if you remember what some of these words are.

Victorious, if you were victorious, you would be scheming because you've won or triumphant because you've won? Triumphant because you've won, yes.

If you were regretful, you would be feeling sad and disappointed or feeling angry and aggressive? Feeling sad and disappointed.

So just in case, we needed a quick recap just in case you didn't know what those words, some of these words mean.

Now would you be able to shout out or write down the adjectives? Pause the video and have a go.

Right so I think that at the start of the clip he appeared triumphant and victorious, because he had just won the battle.

However, as the clip progresses, we see that he becomes ambitious, so you can see his sort of face is scowling, and he's plotting, and he's thinking.

Because he's ambitious, and he's determined.

Okay.

Are there any other adjectives that you came up with? Could you pause the video and have a go at writing some of your own adjectives down? Now we're going to analyse the second clip.

So in the same way as we analysed clip number one, we are now going to do the same thing with the second clip.

Using our detective skills, we are going to infer or deduce Macbeth's character from this clip.

What is it he does, what is it he says that can tell us about him as a person? Watch now closely and have a think.

Host, who should against his murderer shut the door, not bear the knife myself.

We will proceed no further in this business.

Art thou now fear'd? If we should fail.

We fail, but screw your courage to the sticking-place and we'll not fail.

Go, bid thy mistress, when my drink is ready, she strike upon the bell.

Is this a dagger which I see before me? I have thee not, a dagger of the mind, a false creation.

I go, and it is done.

The bell invites me.

Hear it not, Duncan, for it is a knell that summons thee to heaven or to hell.

Hmm, interesting.

What do we know about Macbeth in this clip? What adjectives do you think now are relevant to the clip we just watched? Is he still triumphant and victorious? Is he strong or does he become bloodthirsty, ruthless? I want you to pause the video.

Have a look at those adjectives.

I want you to write them down or shout them out at the screen.

What's happening now to Macbeth? What adjectives could we use to describe him in this part of the play? And can you think now of your own ones? I thought of hesitant, because he wasn't sure.

These are all synonyms. He was unsure, he became doubtful, he became uncertain.

What other adjectives do you have? Pause the video and write them down or say them to the screen.

Quick vocab check, if you are ruthless you are lacking pity towards others or you are jealous of others? That's right, you are lacking pity toward others.

Let's now look at clip number three.

The next part, Macbeth changes, so you need to watch carefully, and we're going to again infer or deduce from this clip.

I have done the deed.

My husband.

Methought I heard a voice cry, "Sleep no more, Macbeth does murder sleep." "Glamis hath murdered sleep," "and therefore Cawdor shall sleep no more." "Macbeth shall sleep no more!" Why did you bring these daggers from the place? They must lie there.

Go, carry them and smear the sleepy grooms with blood.

I'll go no more.

Give me the daggers, if he do bleed, I'll gild the faces of the grooms withal.

For it must seem their guilt.

What hands are here? Ha, they pluck out mine eyes.

Will all great Neptune's ocean wash this blood clean from my hand? Retire we to our chamber.

A little water clears us of this deed.

Wake Duncan with thy knocking! I would thou couldst! Okay so this image here, the still image is actually a really good example of what happens to Macbeth.

And I've got it on this slide as well.

You can see here that he's changed.

So what adjectives would you now use to describe him here? Are there any from the list that you could use? Are there any of your own that you can think of? How would you describe Macbeth here? Pause the video and have a go.

I've come up with some, because I think that in this clip he is feeling regretful.

He feels remorseful, he feels ashamed.

He's conscience-stricken, and he's contrite.

So these are all synonyms that you could use for this part of the play.

Now we're going to have a look at the last clip.

By now, I'm sure you have all become incredibly great detectives, because now you must be so good at inferring or deducing what his character is like just by watching these clips.

Because you've had a really good go at doing three.

Now we're on to our final one, and I'd like you to watch carefully and closely, because you're going to tell me how you would describe Macbeth.

May it please your highness sit.

Where? Here, my good lord.

Which of you have done this? Thou canst not say I did it.

Never shake thy gory locks at me! Gentlemen, rise, his highness is not well.

Sit, worthy friends, my lord is often thus.

Pray you, keep seat.

Are you a man, shame itself.

Why do you make such faces? When all's done, you look but on a stool.

Come, love and health to all, and to our dear friend Banquo, whom we miss.

Hence, horrible shadow, unreal mockery hence! I pray you, stand not upon the order of your going, but go at once! Hmm, interesting, so you can see that in this clip, look at this picture, he starts to see things, he starts to see the ghosts of the people that he has murdered.

Okay, so how would you describe Macbeth? I'm not going to give you a list of adjectives.

I think you could come up with your own.

How would you describe him here in this picture now? Pause the video and have a go.

Okay, so I would say that because of his guilt, he's gone from regretful, he regrets what he's done.

He now feels guilty, and because of his guilt, he begins to see or to hallucinate things.

And this is part of his conscience.

It's part of the feeling of guilt and regret.

And he starts to hallucinate and he starts to become a little bit psychotic.

And that's when Lady Macbeth thinks that he's become ill, he's fallen ill.

So now what I'd like you to do, is I'd like you to split your paper into three sections just like I have here on the screen.

So I've drawn two lines down and then one line at the top, because at the top we're going to put headings in, three headings.

The three headings are going to be Macbeth at the beginning of the play, Macbeth when he visits Lady Macbeth, and after Macbeth kills Duncan.

So you're going to pause the video, right, draw your lines, write the headings at the top, and then I'd like you to pop your adjectives into the relevant columns or sections of your piece of paper.

For example, I had written down victorious.

So I would say that Macbeth was victorious at the beginning of the play.

So that's where I would put the word victorious.

I have the word ambitious.

I've got it written down here on my piece of paper, or I have it in my head, because I know I've talked about it quite a few times.

And I would put that in the middle column, because I know that when he visits lady Macbeth he is feeling ambitious.

And then a word that I have written down is regretful, and I know that Macbeth feels regretful after he kills Duncan.

So that will go in the after Macbeth kills Duncan column.

Pause the video and have a go at writing all the adjectives that we've learned today or that you've generated with yourself, and put them in the relevant sections of your piece of paper.

So hopefully you've had a chance to do that.

I've put, you've put these adjectives in the first column.

I've said that Macbeth at the beginning of the play was brave, fearless, powerful, and victorious.

When Macbeth visits Lady Macbeth, he becomes ambitious but then is hesitant, he's unsure, he's uncertain.

And then after Macbeth kills Duncan, he feels so remorseful, ashamed, conscience-stricken, contrite.

Amazing, and a big well done to you.

In this lesson, you have learned to write sentences in your writing warm up.

You have learned the meaning of some words, we did a vocabulary check.

And we have really, really used our detective skills to analyse four clips in the animated tales of "Macbeth".

Congratulations, we have completed the lesson together.

If you would like to share your adjectives or your table with your three columns, please do so with a parent or a carer.

I am sure they would love to see the learning that you have done today.

And I look, I really, really look forward to teaching you your next lesson.