My English Final (June 9) is gonna be about Macbeth;
5 paragraph Quotation Explication choosing 1 of the 4 quotes my teacher provided
instructions:
"Quotation Explication asks you to analyze a specific passage from the text, situate it in the context of the entire plot, and then come up with an argument for what Shakespeare intended to express in this passage in order to comment on the themes of the story. Your evidence for the essay for your essay will ONLY come from the passage that you choose to write about."
We hardly practice explicating quotes in class, let alone essays, so I have very little understanding of this type of essay.
I need help choosing the right quote and explicating it, finding a compelling thesis, and knowing what topic I should have in each body paragraph.
teachers instructions for 'explicating the quote'
a. underline all important words (evidence)
b. brainstorm ideas/impressions derived from those words
c. locate speakers, purpose, occasion, and tone
d. write a short interpretation of the quote
The second and fifth quotations both look like they would be fairly easy to write on. Once you have picked a passage, start by coming up with a list of themes in Macbeth. Then, you can begin to think about how images and phrases in the passage connect to those themes. After that, just follow the instructions, and you'll soon have a draft you can post here for more feedback.
Only you know how familiar the play is to you and which scenes make the most sense to you. Of the quotes, choose the one that you understand best.
Then -- and this is most important: Follow your teacher's instructions. Do exactly as s/he says in the order you were directed to do those things:
a. underline all important words (evidence)
b. brainstorm ideas/impressions derived from those words
c. locate speakers, purpose, occasion, and tone
d. write a short interpretation of the quote
The teacher has a method that s/he believes will work best for you to do this assignment. And it is a good method. Most importantly, if you fall short in any way and did not complete the assignment by the method directed, your teacher will be much less forgiving.
So, choose the quote. Underline all of the important words. Brainstorm on the basis of those words -- what images or ideas come to mind when you think of them? Identify the speakers, purpose, occasion, and tone. Then organize all of the data from those steps into an outline and then an essay.
Lets say I wanted to write my essay about Macbeth's greed for power.
I originally chose the first quote (ACT II, scene 1) because it was the easiest to understand (which isn't entirely a good reason).
My thesis was:
Shakespeare's Macbeth suggests greed can be the motivation to success, yet the fault that brings ones downfall as well.
My teacher's (woman) commented:
"So how does Macbeth react in the passage that demonstrates these two sides?"
Essentially, I need to elaborate more and go even more in-depth.
Only I don't know how.
How would I integrate the quote as my evidence/support??
Do I put bits of it into each body paragraph?
You've gotten ahead of yourself, choosing a thesis before analyzing the passage. The thesis must flow from the analysis of the passage, not vice versa. Again, I say, Follow your teacher's instructions. Underline all of the important words in the passage. Do some brainstorming based on those words and phrases... what ideas or images do they evoke. Next, jot down the speaker, purpose, context, and tone of the passage. Finally, look at everything you've written down to find your thesis about the quote.
This is why I suggested coming up with a list of themes, too. The passage you have picked has very little to do with greed (or more properly ambition), even though the nature of ambition is one of the themes of the play. Not every passage deals with every theme. The first passage deals more with the devastating effects of guilt. The second passage, which I recommended originally, does, however, deal with the nature of ambition, if that is a theme you would like to explore. Once you have chosen a passage, and have figured out which themes it deals with, then you can follow Simone's excellent advice, which is to do exactly what the teacher asked of you. With a theme in mind, your brainstorming will tend to result in insights that will be relevant to the final interpretation of the quotation that you have to write.
"The tragedy of Macbeth" by William Shakespeare - Is this a good thesis?
In the play "The tragedy of Macbeth" by William Shakespeare the characters Lady Macbeth, Macbeth and the three witches represent the manipulation of gender roles throughout the development of the plot.
The prompt is to talk about a motif from Macbeth and explain how it works throughout the play.
In "The Tragedy of Macbeth", a play by William Shakespeare, Lady Macbeth, Macbeth, and the three witches represent the manipulation of gender roles throughout the development of the plot.
this is better worded. however, there are many more motifs in the story such as hands that are extremely easy to write a paper on.
also, throw the genre into the thesis to include a TAG (title, author, genre).
