IAMBIC PENTAMETER
RESOURCE 4
Name ...............................................
Mark the stressed and unstressed syllables in the lines below:
‘Good things of day begin to droop and drowse,’
‘Macbeth, Macbeth, Macbeth, beware Macduff,’
‘Thy bones are marrowless, thy blood is cold.’
‘I’ll fight till from my bones my flesh be hacked.’
This pattern of an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed
syllable is called an IAMBIC pattern.
Try to have an ordinary conversation about the weather, stressing the
iambic pattern. e.g.
❍
/ ❍ / ❍
/ ❍ /
It’s quite a sunny day today
Repeating the pattern five times is called IAMBIC PENTAMETER.
Most of Shakespeare’s plays are written in iambic pentameter.
Not every line is written in iambic pentameter. That would be boring!
- sometimes the pattern of an unstressed syllable and stressed syllable is
changed e.g.
Nature seems dead, and wicked dreams abuse ...
- sometimes there are extra syllables e.g.
We would spend it in some words upon that business
- sometimes there are fewer syllables e.g.
To you they have showed some truth.
- sometimes Shakespeare uses rhyming verse, for example in songs or spells e.g.
Eye of newt and toe of frog,
t me
me
They
in the
and
Wool of bat and tongue of dog,
f
day o
d
rne
e lea
I hav
than
them
re in
e mo
v
a
nI
h
Whe
they
dge.
owle
n
n
k
l
estio
morta
to qu
esire
d
in
d.
e
ed
nish
burn
ey va
er, th
th
r
fu
in the
them
rapt
tood
from
ives
es I s
il
h
miss
W
ame
c
it
f
er o
wond
ess,
succ
Sometimes Shakespeare uses prose because it is more
ordinary and less formal.
Prose can - show closeness between characters
- show a relaxed, friendly relationship
- show characters are of a lower class.
The Shorter Shakespeare: Macbeth - Resource Book © Carel Press
35
CANNOT BE ILL, CANNOT BE GOOD
RESOURCE 6
Name ...............................................
After he has been told that he is to become Thane of Cawdor,
Macbeth’s state of mind becomes very confused.
This is shown in his speech starting ‘Two truths are told’.
What the witches ha ve told me
must be a good thing because...
What the witches ha ve told me
must be a bad thing because...
Write in Macbeth’s opposing thoughts
in your own words
What do YOU think?
Are the witches ill or good?
Is what they promise Macbeth ill or good?
Do you think Macbeth is used to being so
uncertain? How can you tell?
The Shorter Shakespeare: Macbeth - Resource Book © Carel Press
49
MY HANDS ARE OF YOUR COLOUR
RESOURCE 20
Name ...............................................
Macbeth has blood on his hands because ______________________________
______________________________________________________________________
Match the correct quotation by drawing arrows to the pictures about blood.
‘No, this my hand will rather
The multitudinous seas incarnadine,
Making the green one red.’
‘Will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood
Clean from my hand?’
‘Look on ’t again, I dare not.’
Blood is a sign and symbol of guilt.
Give Macbeth a score out of 10 for
how guilty he seems to feel.
MACBETH
/ 10
The Shorter Shakespeare: Macbeth - Resource Book © Carel Press
67