It has been a busy first week back in Rowan class, especially in English where we have begun learning about Shakespeare’s Macbeth in English. First of all, we met the three witches and learnt their famous “Double double, toil and trouble” poem, writing our own rhyming couplets to add ingredients to their wicked potion.
We followed this by finding out about the social and historical context of the play, learning about the “Great Chain of Being” which everybody in Britain at the time believed in. It placed everyone in an order, with God and the king at the top, right down to peasants, slaves and witches at the very bottom. We represented this in groups, creating brilliant freeze frames.
Next, we we met Macbeth, a great hero and a ferocious warrior. We learnt about all the amazing things his friends call him (“brave Macbeth” and “peerless kinsman”), realising how great it must be to be Macbeth!
On his way back from battle, we learnt that Macbeth and his best friend, Banquo, met the three witches, who prophesised that Macbeth will be king but Banquo’s children will be king following this. We realised how different Macbeth’s relationship with Banquo changes and the stage is set for lots of intrigue and distrust as we continue to learn about the play!
