Macbeth: A Tragic Hero
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Threads
Why this why now
This unit builds on pupils' understanding of Macbeth's plot, characters and themes from 'Macbeth: Lady Macbeth as a Machiavellian villain'. In this unit, they move away from a study of Lady Macbeth, and instead apply their knowledge and analytical skills to Macbeth's role in the tragedy. This is a culmination of all the knowledge developed on Shakespearean tragedy from their earlier readings of 'Macbeth' and 'Othello'. This unit also prepares pupils for their second deep dive into 'Macbeth', when they will focus on the role of masculinity and how it precipitates Macbeth's tragic downfall.
Prior knowledge requirements
- Pupils know the plot of the play
- Pupils know the main characters in the play and their role in the plot
- Pupils have an understanding of the main themes of the play
- Pupils can structure arguments clearly, using thesis statements, topic sentences and single paragraph outlines
- Pupils have memorised a number of key quotations from the novella
- Pupils can identify the main motifs of the play - blood, sleep and nature
- Pupils know the historical and social context of the play
- Pupils can select a variety of quotations as evidence, to support their analysis
- Pupils use comparative language to compare characters' actions
- Pupils can use phrases such as 'more specifically' and 'more precisely' to add detail to their inferences
Threads
Why this why now
This unit builds on pupils' understanding of Macbeth's plot, characters and themes from 'Macbeth: Lady Macbeth as a Machiavellian villain'. In this unit, they move away from a study of Lady Macbeth, and instead apply their knowledge and analytical skills to Macbeth's role in the tragedy. This is a culmination of all the knowledge developed on Shakespearean tragedy from their earlier readings of 'Macbeth' and 'Othello'. This unit also prepares pupils for their second deep dive into 'Macbeth', when they will focus on the role of masculinity and how it precipitates Macbeth's tragic downfall.
Prior knowledge requirements
- Pupils know the plot of the play
- Pupils know the main characters in the play and their role in the plot
- Pupils have an understanding of the main themes of the play
- Pupils can structure arguments clearly, using thesis statements, topic sentences and single paragraph outlines
- Pupils have memorised a number of key quotations from the novella
- Pupils can identify the main motifs of the play - blood, sleep and nature
- Pupils know the historical and social context of the play
- Pupils can select a variety of quotations as evidence, to support their analysis
- Pupils use comparative language to compare characters' actions
- Pupils can use phrases such as 'more specifically' and 'more precisely' to add detail to their inferences
Literature
Macbeth: A Tragic Hero
In this unit, pupils analyse how Macbeth is presented as a tragic hero. They first deepen their understanding of Shakespearean tragedy and tragic heroes, and then use this knowledge to analyse key scenes from the play. Finally, they prepare an essay on how Macbeth is presented as a tragic hero.
7 lessons in unit
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