1. Introduction to Macbeth
Ms. Westgate

2. MINDS ON:

3. The Language and Rhythm of Shakespeare
Akala - Hip-Hop & Shakespeare?
What makes the rhythm of Shakespeare so powerful?
Iambic pentameter mimics the rhythm of our heart beating
What does Shakespeare and Hip Hop have in common?

4. Conventions of A Tragedy
Rooted in the Greek dramas of
Aeschylus ( B.C., e.g. the Oresteia and Prometheus Bound)
Euripides (ca. 480?-405 B.C., e.g. Medea and The Trojan Women)
Sophocles ( B.C., e.g. Oedipus Rex and Antigone)

5. A Tragedy Must Have A protagonist who is better than the rest
Who falls from prosperity to misery
Because of their “tragic flaw” – their moral weakness which is often pride
Renaissance tragedies include
Blood and violence
Subplots
Ghosts
Rhetorical speeches (soliloquys)
Comic relief

6. The Parts of a Shakespearian Tragedy
STAGE 1: Encroachment
Protagonist takes on too much and makes a mistake that leads to their fall
The mistake is often blindly made
Overconfident in their ability to control their world
Or insensitive to others
Violates the norms of human conduct (in their society)

7. Parts of a Shakespearian Tragedy
STAGE 2: Complication
Build up of events that will lead to the tragic conclusion
The freedom the protagonist has at the beginning is destroyed by the consequences of their actions
Actions motivated by their tragic flaw

8. Parts of A Shakespearian Tragedy
STAGE 3: Reversal
It is clear that the protagonist (tragic hero) expectations are mistaken
Their fate will be the opposite of what they desire
It is clear to the audience and the hero that their actions have sealed their fate

9. Parts of A Shakespearian Tragedy
STAGE 4: Catastrophe
The limits of the hero’s power are exposed
Dramatizes the waste of his life
dead bodies everywhere illustrate that the forces unleashed are not easily contained
Subplots reinforce that the world is filled with evil

10. Parts of A Shakespearian Tragedy
STAGE 5: Recognition
The audience sees the larger pattern (the hero does as well sometimes)
If the hero sees what the audience sees
They recognize the irony of their actions
The tragedy becomes even more poignant

11. References
"Rowan Atkinson & Hugh Laurie - Shakespeare and Hamlet (1989)." YouTube, Web. 3 Oct <
"Shakespearean Tragedy." Cla.calpoly.edu, Web. 3 Oct <
"TEDxAldeburgh - Akala - Hip-Hop & Shakespeare?." YouTube, Web. 3 Oct <