Assignment #4

The End

Through the course of this unit, we have all read and thoroughly analyzed Shakespeare’s play Macbeth academically as a work. Although we have looked over aspects, both pertaining to the novel itself and its historical, societal context, we have never really expressed our opinion on the book. There was blood, there were tears, there was murder, and there were witches! The play was dark, and ultimately very depressing, but we loved it.

One of the most admirable things about Macbeth is how it appealed, 500 years later, to a contemporary audience. Shakespearean dialogue is definitely not something we are completely used to; nobody uses “thee” and “doth” in their day to day speech. However, the violence, the gore, and the carnage in the play are fit for the most gruesome of the latest Hollywood horror features, the most violent rap track on the radio. For this reason, we as adolescents in the 21st century find this production more interesting than the other Shakespeare plays we have studied such as Midsummer’s Night Dream.

On the whole, our unit of studying Macbeth was a unique and enjoyable experience. The blog was a fun assignment because it allowed us to share our knowledge with others, while reading what others have learned. Since we do not normally get such unusual assignments, this experience captured our attentions greater than any Shakespeare study in previous years. However, the most interesting component of this year’s study was comparing Macbeth to other forms of the play in different media. By examining the play from different viewpoints, we were able to develop our own opinions about characters and themes, and draw individual conclusions from the text.

Thanks for reading for the past couple months.