Following successful completion of this lesson, students will be able to:

  • read and interpret Act II of The Tragedy of Macbeth
  • identify and analyze the development of themes
  • compare and contrast two important characters
  • ACoS: 1, 2, 9, 19, 21, 22, 27, 39, 39a

Introduction

"There's Daggers in Men's Smiles"

Act II is very short but contains a lot of action. Notice the powerful images that Shakespeare uses to describe the events surrounding Duncan's murder - before, during, and after. Also, continue to watch for the development of the following themes:

  • appearances versus reality
  • reason versus desire
  • human response to the supernatural
  • causes of or motivations for actions
  • the effects of a person's actions
  • the importance of loyalty

Literary Devices

Theme is the universal message, central idea, or insight that the literature work portrays to the reader. This could be about life in general or even human nature. The readers don't have to agree with the theme, but they just need to be able to know how to identify it.

Ask yourself these questions:
What message is the author trying to give me?
What lesson am I supposed to glean?

The theme is revealed through the characters, plot, and setting that make up the story.

There are two types of theme: explicit and implicit.

Explicit themes are stated directly in the story or work of literature. This happens in children's stories more frequently than any others. Read "The Hares and the Frogs" Aesop's fable and identify the theme. This theme is explicit. It is directly stated as things are not so bad as they seem.

Implicit themes are implied; they are not stated in the text. All of the literature we will read will have implicit themes. Read another Aesop's Fables called "The Old Man and Death." The theme wasn't directly stated in the text; however, it was stated at the bottom for children to understand.

When you are reading Macbeth, or any other literary piece, you won't have a reference at the bottom telling you the theme, but rather use your background knowledge of literary devices, such as metaphor, simile, personification, imagery, tone, and symbols.

The theme isn't stated in some of Disney's classics, but I bet you could write a statement about each theme.

-What is the theme in Disney's Beauty and the Beast.?

-What is the theme in Disney's Pinocchio?

 

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