Writing Assignment #3: New School Meets Old School!
Pick ONE of these speeches, and write 2-3 pages on this question: How does Shakespeare use
personification, verbs and other ‘tools for meaning’ to shape/influence our understanding of what his
character says? What do the personification, verbs and other tools make the speech mean?
1. Act I, scene 5, lines 45-61. Lady Macbeth: “Come you spirits that tend on mortal thoughts…”
2. Act II, scene 1, lines 44-77. Macbeth: “Is this a dagger I See before me…?”
3. Act II, scene 3, lines 24-43. The Porter and Macduff: “Faith, sir, we were carousing till the second
cock…” This is actually a dialogue with speeches in it, but you can use it anyway.
With this essay you will attempt to combine your “new school” persuasive writing skills from this year
with your “old school” analytical writing skills from last year. In this essay, the way you word your ideas
will matter just as much as what you have to say. And Shakespeare is a good writer to try this approach
out with because he does the exact same thing. In fact, he is a prime example of the old proverb, “It’s
not what you say, it’s how you say it.”
1. Tues., 10/16
2. Thurs., 10/18
3. Mon., 10/22
4. Wed., 10/24
5. Fri., 10/26
Brainstormed ideas. Use the chart form on next page
Practice paragraph (1/2-1 page typed), integrating and analyzing quotes
(old school) and adopting a good narrative persona, with enhanced
persuasion techniques (new school).
Flow chart or outline
2 basically finalized body paragraphs – bring hard and USB copies
Full essay on Turnitin. Include a note on what you were trying to do at
each point in the essay and how you think it went
Grading
Grade
C level or
below
B level
A level
What you write about
This is the Critical Thinking part
Focuses just on the plot and neglects
both the deeper meaning and way of
writing (personification, verbs, etc), or
is confused or vague about them
Discusses meaning and way of writing,
but only in a general way, without
really looking at specific wording
Looks closely and satisfyingly at how
the way of writing shapes the meaning
Prep guide on next page
The way you write about it
This is the Creative Thinking part
Lacks persuasion techniques and lacks
thoughtful use of textual specifics. Numerous
awkward sentences. Hard to enjoy.
Brings in some specifics, but doesn’t fully
integrate them; has techniques, but is uneven in
using them or in quality of sentences
Combines of clearness and attention to detail of
old-school writing with the persuasiveness and
interest of new-school writing. Fun to read.
Writing Assignment #3: New School Meets Old School!
What to think about as you brainstorm:
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What is the LITERAL meaning of each phrase? People shortcut this part by describing the literal
meaning in a very general way. That’s a BAD idea. Figure out exactly what the literal meaning is,
word by word. If you can’t, then write down specific questions and come talk to me. If you don’t
really get the literal meaning, your figurative interpretation of the speech will be weak. Ps, to
understand the literal meaning, you probably need to think about the bullets below this one!!
When does Shakespeare use personification? Find all examples in your speech and make a clear
picture in your head of what the personified being might look and act like. Use your
imagination!!
What verbs does Shakespeare use? They are often associated with the personified beings, so
that the beings “do things” and have a sort of power. What are they doing? What power do
they have? How do verbs shape our feeling about the personified beings?
In what other ways (besides personification) does Shakespeare use imagery to feed our
imaginations? This might be setting descriptions, metaphors, or any other visual figures of
speech. Treat them the same imaginative way you treat the personified stuff.
What other ‘tools for meaning’ does Shakespeare have his character use? Examples include
contrasts/opposites, echoes, double meaning words, metaphors, and so on.
Having thought all this through, how does the line or phrase shape/influence the meaning of the
speech?
Brainstorming Chart
To do this chart usefully, you must first REALLY re-familiarize yourself with your speech. You need to
make a copy and then highlight-and-margin-note the heck out of the text before you fill out the chart. By
the time you are done you should have a minimum of TEN rows in your chart. Don’t shortcut. If your
chart looks weak, the first thing I’ll do is ask to see your marked up copy of the speech. Remember that
this is brainstorming, and in brainstorming we include anything that MIGHT be useful, even if we are not
sure. You’ll make decisions later on about which parts to actually use.
Quote. Highlight the key words.
Literal meaning. This is the
Figurative meaning. When you
Include act, scene and line #s.
hardest part and once you get explain, refer to the keys words you
it the figurative is easy. Don’t highlighted, showing what they add.
shortcut it. You must refer to
specific key words from the
quote in this part, or you are
wasting your time
Ps, the way to get more space inside a box is to hit enter when the cursor is in the box. The way to get
another row is to hit tab when the cursor is in the last box of the last row.