1. Warming up with the lyrics of the Flobots and connecting them back to Macbeth's (self-?) destruction
2. Workshopping your thesis statements
3. Organizing your ideas into body paragraphs and composing topic sentences
HW:
1. For TOMORROW:
- Make revisions to your thesis and post it on TODAY'S CLASS BLOG.
- Finish composing your two topic sentences if you did not finish in class today.
2. For FRIDAY: IXL Writing Strategies, Level J: Correct Errors in Everyday Use (O.6)
HEADS-UP: Final draft of Word Trace essay due in Turnitin.com
by Thursday, Feb 28 (4:00 pm).
3. By March 4: Finish reading your banned book.
In Macbeth, Shakespeare uses the word hands to show that there is always a choice in every action and that sins can stay with a man his whole life.
ReplyDeleteFantastic thesis! My only suggestion is stylistic: You can eliminate either "always" or "every" to get it a tiny bit more concise. Also, will your essay focus on Lady Macbeth at all? If so, you will want to make your last phrase gender-neutral (but if you're focusing on Macbeth, it's fine).
DeleteIn the play Macbeth, Shakespeare wants the reader to understand that both human nature and mother nature are easily overtaken by destructive storms.
ReplyDelete-Nikolay
Looks great, but no worries if you realize you want to write about something else and need to alter your thesis (I don't want to put words in your mouth).
DeleteIn Macbeth by William Shakespeare, the motif heart is used to demonstrate unguarded guilt and murderous rage hidden within the lurking darkness in everyone’s soul.
ReplyDeleteI like the emotion and intellect coming through in your thesis. This will set you up for two strong body paragraphs! Great work.
DeleteThe use of the word eye in Shakespeare's Macbeth is a motif that demonstrates how human morals can be distorted as a sacrifice to gain power.
ReplyDeleteI really like the dual focus on distortion and sacrifice of morals as ways to gain power...I think this will be a very complex essay! One stylistic suggestion: I would eliminate "is a motif that".
DeleteThroughout Macbeth, Shakespeare uses night to portray a theme throughout the play of the presence of evil and the absence of guilt.
ReplyDeleteLooks great, but no worries if you realize you want to write about something else and need to alter your thesis (I don't want to put words in your mouth).
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteIn Macbeth, Shakespeare uses the motif of night to show evil by explaining it through supernatural beings that represent humans, and by predicting evil by horrible acts in which are performed by different people.
ReplyDeleteI like the specificity here. I'd still like to see you take one more step outside the play to address a Level 3 / universal idea. What does Shakespeare want us to understand differently or better about the nature of evil?
DeleteIn Macbeth, Shakespware uses night to express/show how evil is related to the dark midsets people with power have and how shame and feelings of loss that come with that.
ReplyDeleteI like the specificity and complexity of your points here. One stylistic suggestion: instead of "that come with that" you could just say "come with that" (or even "accompany that"). I hope that makes sense.
DeleteIn Macbeth written by Shakespeare, the author uses the word “night” to express opportunity for evil but also power doesn’t mean anything without honor.
ReplyDeleteStrong thesis! These are two distinct yet related points, and they're both complex. I especially like the second point about how empty power is without honor.
DeleteIn Macbeth, Shakespeare uses the motif of heart to show that traces of good can be found in evil and that traces of evil can be found in good.
ReplyDeleteI like the rhetoric of this--it's complex (and it just sounds cool). As we talked about it in class, let me know if you start feeling repetitive when you outline your body paragraphs. If the two points turn out to be too similar, we can adjust one of them.
DeleteIn Macbeth, Shakespeare uses the motif of night to show the significance of evil lurking within the darkness, and how evil can escape if we allow it to take over our internal battles.
ReplyDeleteThis looks great! It establishes two complex ideas and reveals how they relate to each other. One stylistic suggestion: What about "if we allow it to win our internal battles" instead of "take over"? Your choice!
DeleteThroughout Macbeth, Shakespeare uses the word sleep to show that your past can deprive you of your necessities and that the things you do can destroy your mental state.
ReplyDeleteThis is much more specific than your first draft--strong revision! Two suggestions: (1) Can you get even more specific that "the things you do"? What about "the selfish choices or your make" (or whatever you'd like to focus on)? (2) Try to replace "you" and "your" with "we" and "our" or "society."
DeleteIn Macbeth, Shakespeare uses the motif of eyes to show that people are vulnerable to manipulation and success is gained through deceit.
ReplyDeleteI really like the cause & effect concepts you have here...they're distinct yet closely related. You're ready to start drafting!
DeleteThroughout William Shakespeare’s Macbeth, the motif of sleep is used to represent that anyone’s mental state can be disrupted and that previous actions can haunt people in ways they wouldn’t imagine.
ReplyDeleteThese are two strong points, and I think you'll be able to defend them quite well in your body paragraphs. Here's one idea to play with: What if you replaced the "and" in the middle with a "because," so that it would read, "anyone's mental state can be disrupted because previous actions can haunt..."? Just something to consider.
DeleteIn Macbeth, Shakespeare uses the motif of the night to show the evil in the play Macbeth, this evil is influenced by outside forces and is created by the characters wrong choices.
ReplyDeleteI like that you're addressing two different sources of evil; this could turn into a really interesting essay. One stylistic suggestion: Eliminate "in the play Macbeth" because you already state that in the beginning of the sentence. One grammatical suggestion: Replace your comma with a semicolon to keep this from being a run-on sentence.
DeleteIn Macbeth Shakespeare uses the motif of heart to demonstrate that the heart should be trusted over the mind and that if the heart is filled with guilt, it can drive a person insane
ReplyDeleteI like the complexity of these two points; they're distinct yet clearly related, and you're also demonstrating parallel structure. Well done!
DeleteIn Macbeth, Shakespeare uses the motif of nature to display that humans are pressured by their greed, but use ambition as a justification for atrocious actions
ReplyDeleteExcellent points! It sound like you'll explore in your first body paragraph how greed can control a person, but in your second body paragraph, you'll explore how a person controls / manipulates greed by disguising it as ambition.
DeleteIn Macbeth, Shakespeare uses the heart show that honor can be sacrificed for power and that a heart can turn from compassionate to evil with the blink of an eye.
ReplyDeleteI like the two points you're making here! You'll definitely have plenty to analyze in your essay. I have just one suggestion: You could make your point that "honor can be sacrificed for power" a little stronger by addressing the lesson we're supposed to learn here. For ex, you could say, "honor should never be sacrificed for power." Or, you could link your two points by arguing that when honor is sacrificed for power, a heart can turn from compassionate to evil.
DeleteIn Macbeth, Shakespeare uses the word hands to show the amount of choice each character thinks they have and the guilt the characters feel about their actions.
ReplyDeleteStrong thesis--you're connecting "hands" to two complex ideas quite well. One question: You say "the amount of choice each character THINKS they have..." Are you going to argue that they don't actually have a choice? If not, you might take that verb out and just go ahead and assert that they do possess that choice.
DeleteIn Macbeth, Shakespeare uses the motif nature to symbolize that going against a person’s nature causes them to destroy their morals, which then leads to selfishness and insanity.
ReplyDeleteI really like the cause and effect structure here. You're kind of implying here that people are inherently good, and that working against our own good nature is what leads to loss of morality and ultimately insanity. One stylistic suggestion: Maybe say that he "uses the word 'nature'" instead of "motif"? Your choice--just a thought.
DeleteIn Macbeth, Shakespeare uses the motif of night to show that in a short time, a person can choose evil over good and lose everything important in their life.
ReplyDeleteI like the two ideas that you're connecting to "night." I also like how you're highlighting the significance of choice here...people choose evil over good, and it's this choice that leads to loss. Well done!
ReplyDeleteThis was supposed to be a reply to Payton. :)
DeleteIn Macbeth, Shakespeare uses the motif of heart to show how emotions could be hidden but guilt is always there.
ReplyDeleteI like the dual nature of hidden emotions and revealed guilt. One thing you can analyze in that second body paragraph: Why is guilt harder to hide than other emotions?
DeleteIn the play Macbeth, Shakespeare uses the motif of nature to represent the connection of mental health to supernatural beings.
ReplyDeleteI'm intrigued by this idea, and I like the connection you're making between nature and mental health. Two suggestions:
Delete(1) Try to establish the two main points this essay will make (one for the first body paragraph and one for the second)
(2) Clarify what mental health has to do with supernatural beings.
ReplyDeleteIn Macbeth, Shakespeare uses the motif of Night to show how no one feels guilty in the night and no one talks about what happens in the night
I like the strong connections you're making the word "night." I'm wondering if you can take this one step further in terms of analysis, such as saying "...to show how night reveals how people try to escape from their guilt and how night conceals people's darkest actions." You don't need to use those words or ideas, but I wanted to give you a concrete example of what I was talking about.
DeleteShakespeare has many different moods for the word heart, such as showing betrayal, love, and even fear.
ReplyDeleteI like the different motifs you're connecting to "heart." Right now, you're setting yourself up for three body paragraphs (one one betrayal, one on love, and one on fear). If you're wanting to do two body paragraphs, you can choose the two strongest topics and turn in them into thematic statements (...showing how betrayal is the gateway to other evil actions, and fear drives people to irrational behaviors).
Deletein Macbeth Shakespeare uses night as a symbolic divide between guilt and lack of guilt
ReplyDeleteI like how clear this thesis and how it explores two sides of the same coin. My one suggestion is to try to use parallel structure here by turning "guilt" into a prepositional phrase so it matches "lack of guilt." For example, you could simply say "presence of guilt."
DeleteIn Macbeth, Shakespeare uses the motif of night to express the feeling of empowerment and to use the darkness of night as a cover to hide your sins.
ReplyDeleteFantastic ideas! Your thesis is clear, specific, and analytical. My one suggestion is to get rid of "your" at the end. I think you could actually delete it without replacing it with anything, and your thesis would still make sense.
DeleteIn Macbeth, Shakespeare uses the motif of heart to show that there is good and evil in everybodies intentions and they all come from the heart.
ReplyDeleteStrong connection! In terms of organization, are you going to take one body paragraph to talk about the presence of good, and one body paragraph to talk about the presence of evil? I think that could definitely work. One grammatical suggestion: everybody's
ReplyDeleteIn Macbeth, Shakespeare uses the motif nature demonstrated as thoughts within a person's mind determining whether a deed will be good or evil, rather than the nature we physically see.
Delete