The plays and sonnets of
William Shakespeare are often approached by secondary English students with
apprehension due to their anxiety and uneasiness regarding the language of Shakespeare’s
time. In order to overcome students’ apprehension ICT tools can be implemented
by teachers to encourage enthusiasm for Shakespeare and to ensure students feel
confident when dealing with his texts. An example of an ICT tool to enrich
students’ study of Shakespeare is ‘Virtual Macbeth’ which is accessible through
the program Second Life. In Second Life students can create an avatar and
explore certain islands such as ‘Virtual Macbeth.’ Second Life is installed
quickly and without difficulty. To ‘transport’ to the ‘Virtual Macbeth’ island
students who have downloaded Second Life can do so by searching for the island
and clicking on the link called ‘Foul Whisperings, Strange Matters.’ For someone
new to Second Life it the ICT tool is fairly difficult to work out, after some
time I figured out how to move my avatar around and could click on objects to
bring up information about Macbeth. An example
of a portion of a ‘Notecard ‘ I found is below. Each ‘Notecard’ contains a variety
of activities for students to complete. I think that this tool could be
effective in the Secondary English classroom for students who have some
knowledge and ability to navigate their way around Second Life. I could use
this ICT tool to encourage students to investigate themes, context, technique
characters, dialogue and more. This tool could be used in class in general,
with students discovering Macbeth through their own exploration of the island,
or with the teacher (who is confident in using Second Life) guiding learning.
This tool could also be used for assessment with students completing the
questions on one ‘Notecard’ that they discover during their exploration of the
island. Students can also interact with each other through the island and work collaboratively
on completing the questions in a ‘Notecard.’ This tool would appeal to students
who prefer to learn through visual and auditory aids. Students would find this
exciting due to the technology and gaming nature of the program. A screenshot
is below to demonstrate the visual and game-like features of this ICT tool. All
in all this seems like an effective tool that I could use in y secondary
English classroom once I develop a better understanding of how to navigate
around the ‘Virtual Macbeth’ Island.
Object: Statue of Macbeth
Themes and keywords: Poetic
License
Alternative outcomes; choices in
real life; playwrights choices; reflection on the specific character of
Macbeth, notions of leadership & authority.
*Poetic license is also known as
artistic license or dramatic license.
Discuss examples in Macbeth
where Shakespeare has taken ‘poetic licence’ with the historical sources to
enhance the drama.
*When have you had to convince
some-one to do something they didn’t want to do? What happened? Did you
succeed?
*Do you believe in the occult?
Witches? Magic?
*Have you ever had your fortune
told?
*The Elizabethans believed in
the existence of witches. Why does Shakespeare begin the play with the
witches?
*The first scene with the
witches demonstrates Shakespeare practice of poetic license when it comes to
word usage and meaning - where the language choice is based not only on
creating meaning but meeting the demands of the verse structure. What verse
structure is Shakespeare using in this scene? And why?
Network
*Why do the characters sometimes
speak in prose? What is the dramatic effect of Macbeth switching from verse
to prose (and visa versa) when he meets with the murderers in Act 3, scene 1
?
*Discuss this dialogue between
Macbeth and Lady Macbeth.
MACBETH: If we should fail?
LADY MACBETH: We fail?
But screw your courage to the
sticking-place
And we’ll not fail.
Act 1, Scene 7
Lines 59 - 61
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