Started Teaching with Gleeditions Macbeth

Hello!

This week I started teaching with the Gleeditions Macbeth to my Advanced Composition/Critical Thinking class at Santa Monica College. I'm using it as our primary text, and projecting it on a big screen in a "smart classroom." For the first day I had students print out Act I so we could read parts aloud and get the rhythm of the play. Students were able to not only print the text, but also the vocabulary by dragging the annotations into the printable area (something I actually didn't realize was possible), so it worked out great!

Before we read the play, I showed the class the Background in Brief section, to provide context for the tragedy. We looked at the real Macbeth, Scotland in 1040, witchcraft and supernatural beliefs in medieval and Renaissance Europe, and the Gunpowder Plot. Students were impressed by the graphics, and surprised to learn the violent history of ascension to the British throne, as well as the belief in the supernatural.

Once we read through the play, we went back to some key passages and dissected them with the help of the Gleedition. For example, we looked at the character traits of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth, and discussed some major themes, such as Appearance vs. Reality, Ambition, and Ambiguity. We related these to similar themes in The Great Gatsby, which we just finished, because my students are going to compare these texts in their final research paper (I'll post more on that later).

Although the majority of students were a little apprehensive about tackling Shakespeare, most seemed very comfortable once we started. Because of the annotations, they were able to really understand what was going on, and as a result, were able to engage in a higher-level discussion about it (rather than merely trying to figure out the plot). We were able to take our discussion of the underlying issues to a deeper level and really dig into the character traits and motivations. For example, they tied the theme of ambiguity to an earlier discussion we had about moral relativism, and discussed how Macbeth and Lady Macbeth rationalized their way to plotting murder. We also discussed the role of free will versus fate in decision-making, and whether or not Macbeth's decision was part of his destiny or an exercise of free will. It was good stuff!

For our next class, I am having students investigate the concepts of the divine right of kings, Renaissance humanism, and women's rights and roles in medieval and Renaissance Europe. I also asked them to write discussion questions from the play and annotations in three categories: character traits, vocabulary, and theme. My goal is that next time we will add more context to the discussion, and students will delve deeper into the evolution of the characters Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. I also want to discuss vocabulary and style so that they become more familiar with the layers of meaning through close reading of the passages. My first impression is that the Gleedition seems to facilitate the latter very nicely.

So far, so good... Stay tuned!