macbeth ap lit essay prompts

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Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Suitable essay prompts for macbeth.

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William Shakespeare

Ask litcharts ai: the answer to your questions.

Welcome to the LitCharts study guide on William Shakespeare's Macbeth . Created by the original team behind SparkNotes, LitCharts are the world's best literature guides.

Macbeth: Introduction

Macbeth: plot summary, macbeth: detailed summary & analysis, macbeth: themes, macbeth: quotes, macbeth: characters, macbeth: symbols, macbeth: literary devices, macbeth: quizzes, macbeth: theme wheel, brief biography of william shakespeare.

Historical Context of Macbeth

Other books related to macbeth.

• Full Title: The Tragedy of Macbeth
• When Written: 1606
• Where Written: England
• When Published: 1623
• Literary Period: The Renaissance (1500 - 1660)
• Genre: Tragic drama
• Setting: Scotland and, briefly, England during the eleventh century
• Climax: Some argue that the murder of Banquo is the play's climax, based on the logic that it is at this point that Macbeth reaches the height of his power and things begin to fall apart from there. However, it is probably more accurate to say that the climax of the play is Macbeth's fight with Macduff, as it is at this moment that the threads of the play come together, the secret behind the prophecy becomes evident, and Macbeth's doom is sealed.

Extra Credit for Macbeth

Shakespeare or Not? There are some who believe Shakespeare wasn't educated enough to write the plays attributed to him. The most common anti-Shakespeare theory is that Edward de Vere, the Earl of Oxford, wrote the plays and used Shakespeare as a front man because aristocrats were not supposed to write plays. Yet the evidence supporting Shakespeare's authorship far outweighs any evidence against. So until further notice, Shakespeare is still the most influential writer in the English language.

73 pages • 2 hours read

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.

Act Summaries & Analyses

Character Analysis

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Discussion Questions

The play examines the corrupting power of ambition. Whose ambition functions as the driving force of the narrative , Macbeth or Lady Macbeth? Why?

How do gender expectations and perceptions intersect with violence in the play? To what extent do characters play into or fight against gender roles?

The weather is an ever-present force in Macbeth. How does the weather reflect the emotional state of the characters? Of the trajectory of the play?

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Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Possible macbeth essay prompts.

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AP English Literature and Composition

Put words under a magnifier, lct macbeth.

Objectives: Students will compare their interpretation of the witches’ scenes with what they have seen in the Macbeth stage performance.

Aim: How would you describe the effects of the witches in Macbeth performance we saw yesterday at LCT? Was that what you had anticipated?

Motivational Activities:

What do your imagined witches figure look like? Describe the image.

Texts: Act 1 Scenes 1 & 3, Act 3 Scene 5 ( 3rd murderer), Act 4 Scene 1

Learning Sequence

• Describe all you remembered about the witches in the stage performance of Macbeth.
• Respond: Did you anticipate to see the images to be portrayed in the ways you saw in the production? Why or why not?
• What was so amazing or shocking or surprising about the witches?
• What do you think their functions are in the play according to this particular production?
• Ink-Pair- Share.
• Share in class your responses.
• Find all the scenes abut the  witched in the play and identify words that you believe helped the director portray the witched the way he did. Be specific about the act, scene and line numbers. Make specific references to the words.
• Also identify evidence you believe that director went off with his own “interpretation” spree or scenes where Shakespeare does not mention in his play at all.
• Ink-Pair-Share.
• Share in class.

Homework: Write a full-page response based on the discussion. How effective is director with the portrayal of the witches? How does the depiction help reveal Macbeth’s character and contribute to the themes.

Objectives : Students will be able to respond to a specific part or element of the  stage performance of Macbeth they have seen at LCT

Aim : Which specific part or element of the Macbeth play still lingers in your mind and follows you everywhere? Why?

Motivational Activity

Let’s do  round robin  several times commenting on the play and each time we’ll use a sentence starter to begin our statement. You can comment on the staging techniques, props such as the rose bouquet, choice of actors, costumes, witches,, etc.

1.  “I’m still thinking and talking about ________________in the Macbeth show because I ___________________________. It really helps understand/see that ____________.

2. It is strange that ______________________________________.

3. It is fascinating that ____________________________________.

4. I don’t understand why ____________________________________.

5. I think the director’s intention is _________________________ when he makes the choice of ___________________________________________.

Learning Procedure

Foe each activity, we’ll do ink-pair-share –

• Based on the round robin activities, which specific detail or element truly has made an impression on you? Describe it in details, for example, how is it seen or heard or felt or smelt etc.
• Locate the scene or lines in Shakespeare’s play that has given the director the inspiration or stage directions.
• Read the original lines or scene and compare the director’s intention or understanding with your own. How does the director effectively or ineffectively portray the scene or detail?
• How does Shakespeare’s language create the magic we see?
• (Introduction) What’s your overall impression of Macbeth after seeing the play? How does this play speak to you? Whom would you be if you were to select one of the characters in the play to represent you? Why?
• How do you feel about Macbeth and Lady Macbeth’s deaths? Triumphant? Pity? Purged? Poetic justice?
• (conclusion)How does the play change your views on certain worldly issues?

Enrichment Activity

Other suggestions  of Topics for Writing your LCT Responses to the Macbeth Stage performance

• Respond:  How does the “Tomorrow ,and tomorrow,and  tomorrow” soliloquy reveal Macbeth’s devoid of emotions and impasse to conscience?

2. The shadow as motif

3.Violence in Macbeth

4. Does Shakespeare use Lady Macbeth to warn people of the 1st sin? Shakespeare, uses Lady Macbeth to illustrate his belief ‘Frailty ,thy name is woman”?

5. Haunting images in Macbeth

6. Natural disasters in Macbeth

7. Macbeth’s Perversion of Manliness

8. Why Macbeth is Hitler or Stalin

9.Fear  in Macbeth

Homework:  Write a one or  two-page  response to show your in-depth understanding of  a specific detail or element  in the play  Macbeth . Be sure to mention how that detailed is portrayed by Shakespeare originally in the play and whether there are any differences between your interpretation and the director’s. How does this particular detail or element help you understand the play as a whole or Macbeth or Lady Macbeth as a character?

AP Lit Open-Ended Question

Identify a motif in the play Macbeth that contributes to the character and theme development. Be sure to describe the motif and how Shakespeare uses it to create a complex character and develop the theme.

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Other titles are well worth exploring.

From Orson Welles to Michael Fassbender : More than a dozen versions of “Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow” (V,v). Patrick Stewart all by himself in clip from PBS version.

Shakespeare Uncovered has a series of video clips wherein Ethan Hawke explores the character and the play. Very much a performance approach to the play. Sometimes difficult to get access to through PBS.

In Shakespeare’s Macbeth films , Paul Duncan presents a history of film versions in his 18-minute review. Serves as a good introduction to the play. Definitely full of spoilers.

Trailers are also useful for introducing a play:

• Welles (1948)
• Polanski (1971)
• Wright (2006)
• Goold PBS (2010)
• Royal Shakespeare Company (2011)
• Branaugh (2013)
• Fassbinder (2015)
• Cohen (2021)

Cliff Notes and SparkNotes each have a short overview/review.

Macbeth Rap by Flocabulary is surprisingly catchy.

TED Talk: “Why Should You Read Macbeth ?” -- great overview.

John Green offers Part I: Free Will, Witches, Murder and Macbeth and Part 2: Gender, Guilt and Fate

Thug Notes is one of those sites you love or you hate. Language may be inappropriate, but analysis is excellent.

Theater Guides

Teacher Guides developed by various Theater companies offer a different approach to the play. Many include excellent background material, as well as performance-oriented discussion and analyses. Even the interviews with actors and how they perceived their character and prepared for the performance can offer unique insights.

• Acting Company of America
• American Players Theater
• Atlanta Shakespeare Company
• Chicago Shakespeare Theater
• Sandra Feinstein-Gamm Theater
• Guthrie Theater
• Hartford Stage Company
• Lincoln Center
• National Arts Center
• New Jersey Shakespeare Society
• Oregon Festival
• Royal Shakespeare Society
• Stratford Festival
• Utah Shakespeare Festival
• The Young Company

Films / Videos

Shakespeare’s Macbeth Films by Wordsmith -- An introduction to the play and an historical overview of several major film versions (Welles, Polanski, Kurosawa, Kurzel, etc.).

Roman Polanski (1971) is famous for his adaptation’s copious amounts of bloody gore, expert use of location settings, and Lady Macbeth’s nude sleepwalking scene. Despite those warnings, students find it interesting. It would be wise to screen it before you show it.

Royal Shakespeare Company’s Macbeth (1979) stars Dame Judi Dench and Sir Ian McKellen. Acting is excellent but staging is bare bones and the pace is slow.

Macbeth (2006) uses a modern-day Melbourne gangster setting, and the actors deliver the dialogue in Australian accents, but it largely maintains the language of the original play. Young actors and dark settings interest kids, but it is sometimes very hard to find. A major Australian version with dedicated teacher guide .

Macbeth (2010) presents Patrick Stewart’s compelling performance as the ambitious general, with Kate Fleetwood as his coldly scheming, seductive wife. Modernized setting includes some really gruesome images.Kids love it. PBS broadcast the entire play, with an excellent teacher guide . Select scenes available for free. Entire play available on Amazon Prime or Apple TV+. New York Times review of performance.

MacBird by Barbara Johnson is more for teachers, and older ones at that. MacBird is a 1967 political satire that superimposed the transferral of power following the Kennedy assassination onto the plot of Shakespeare’s Macbeth . This counter culture work depicted President Lyndon Johnson as Macbeth, and his wife, Lady Bird Johnson, as Lady Macbeth. Obviously controversial. (Note: If you have a new pristine copy, it could sell for $843 on Amazon.)

Adaptations

Giuseppe Verdi’s Opera is accessible to students, available in many different versions. My favorite is Macbeth (2005) by the Glyndebourne Opera, which is readily available. Several complete operas are also available on YouTube, including this one with English subtitles . Four operatic houses have provided extraordinarily detailed and rich teaching guides: Michigan Opera ,  Minnesota Opera House ,    Pacific Opera . and  The Metropolitan . English translation of Verdi .

Yes, there is a Simpsons version called MacHomer . Just a clip .

MacHomer has evolved (or devolved) into a short play, with a dedicated website, videos and and study materials. Kidtoons Video Stories , each less than five minutes, introduce Shakespeare and explain the play. Each Teacher Guide is 10+ pages of activities and handouts for younger students, but which are really fun, regardless of the student’s age.

• Introducing Shakespeare • The Language of Shakespeare -- Teacher Guide • Shakespeare Out Loud • Why Study Shakespeare? -- Teacher Guide • The Power of Words -- Teacher Guide
• Shakespeare’s Time • Going to the Theater -- Teacher Guide • Being an Actor -- Teacher Guide • About William Shakespeare -- Teacher Guid e
• Shakespeare’s Macbeth • About Macbeth the Play - - Teacher Guide • About Macbeth the King -- Teacher Guide • The Curse of Macbeth

This frequently-performed play has inspired powerful posters. Some of these were designed for theater performances, identified by theater; others for films, identified by director; a few are art projects, identified by artist. Write an art analysis of your favorite, focusing on what the poster reveals about the play itself. (Click each poster to see a larger image). Remember: What is the effect of the poster and how is that effect produced?

If you download or print anything from this site, please consider making at least a $10.00 donation through PayPal. I can maintain and expand this website only with your help.

Back to Assignments or Home . Updated 23 February 2024.

Macbeth AP Literature Q2 Prose Essay Prompt

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