Macbeth Big Ideas + Work Times

When we first started Macbeth, we discussed many big ideas seen throughout the play. I think one of the most important of which is violence. Violence is a huge part of the play, and basically makes the play. If there was not violence in the play, I think the dark and horror aspects of the play would be completely gone.

We first see this image of violence when Macbeth brutally kills Duncan and Duncan's men. He is stabbed to death, and there is blood all over when finished. We see violence again during Banquo, Lady Macduff, and Macduff's son's deaths. After each death, we get a gory image of how each death happened, and it definitely makes the play. In the scene where Lady Macbeth is sleep walking, she thinks she still has blood on her hands from Duncan's death. So, blood and violence basically go hand-in-hand in this play, and is a major theme throughout the course of the play.

Working times
5/6- Portfolio (Writing Remix/Hits and Misses)- 45 minutes
5/7- Portfolio (Cover Letter)- 1 hour
5/8- Portfolio (Revision of Remix and Cover Letter)- 30 minutes

Total- 2 hours and 15 mins

Macbeth Quote + Reading/Work Times

I chose the quote, "Yet do I fear thy nature;/ It is too full o' th' milk of human kindness/ To catch the nearest way." (Act I, Scene 5, Lines 16-18). Lady Macbeth is performing her soliloquy after reading Macbeth's letter to her addressing his prophecy. The meaning of this line is that Lady Macbeth doesn't think Macbeth is able to actually kill Duncan; she thinks he is too nice.

I think this quote is significant in the play because us as the readers don't think he will be able to follow through with his plan either. We also see Lady Macbeth's dark side. However, as we all know, Macbeth actually does follow through with his plan to kill Duncan to become king.

Work Times
4/30- 60 minutes- Things Fall Apart
5/3- 30 minutes- Portfolio Project
5/4- 60 minutes- Portfolio Project
5/4- 45 minutes- Read Macbeth

Spring Break/Regionals

This spring break may not have been the absolute best spring break ever, but it was alright. I couldn't go anywhere really because we had regionals for tennis on Wednesday and Thursday, with practices on Monday and Tuesday. I was very nervous for regionals because I wanted to go to state so bad. When we arrived at Episcopal at 7:30 on Wednesday morning, I was so nervous. When I heard my draw, I felt better about my chances of making it to state. Since I had a later match (not 8:00), some people on the team stayed and hit so we could get the best warm up possible. We then all headed to Forest Park to watch some matches and play our own. After about an hour and a half of watching teammates, it was finally my turn to play. I walked onto the court and I was so nervous. I did end up doing really well in that match, winning 6-0, 6-1. After my match, Coach Stevens and Dr. Hawking told me that was all I needed to do to qualify for state, and all my other matches would just help my seeding at the state tournament. So, of course I was excited. After that match, there was about two hours just sitting in chairs under a tent with the whole team talking. Finally after my long wait (I didn't play again until 1:30), it was time to play the #3 seed in the quarterfinals. I won that match, 6-2, 6-0. After that match, I finally got to go home.

On Thursday, only the #1 doubles team and I continued onto the semis, as the rest of the girls played tough opponents and did not make it to the semis. I played the #2 seed, and started off playing well, I won the first set 6-3. I then kind of lost concentration and lost the second set 5-7. Since we were playing in a tournament, we had to do full three set matches (we usually do a 10 point tiebreak as the third set, if necessary). The third set was very intense as some members of both the girls' and boys' team came to watch some of the set. I was down 3-5, but came through to win 7-5. That was about a  three hour long match, lasting from 8:15-11. Needless to say, I was exhausted. The people from the tournament only gave me a 30 minute break in between the semis and the finals, and I was playing one of the best players in the state in the finals, so it was very hard. I did lose in the finals, but overall, I did much better than everyone expected, and hope to do well at state next week!

Work Times
4/25- Worked on Portfolio Project- 35 minutes
4/26- Things Fall Apart- 2 hours

Response to two statements + Working Times

"Ambition is a positive, desirable trait in a person."
I would agree with this statement because most people who are successful in life had to be ambitious and had to work for everything they got. Being ambitious is definitely a desirable and positive trait, because you know the person will work hard for whatever they want. This statement connects to Macbeth because Macbeth is ambitious, and he would do anything to succeed and be king, as shown by the fact that he kills people.

"Some things are destined or fated to happen."
I agree with this statement because your destiny is your destiny. It's like in Romeo and Juliet, everything that happened was fate, and there was nothing that they could have done to change the situation. It was fate that the messenger was quarantined while on the way to tell Romeo the plan with Juliet. I think this connects to Macbeth because it is destiny that Macbeth will be king.

Working Times
Wednesday- 1.5 hours of Nervous Conditions project
Thursday- 1 hour of Nervous Conditions project
Sunday- 2 hours- Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe

Work Times this week

Reviewed meter- 15 minutes Thursday
Worked on research paper- 45 minutes Saturday
Studied for test- 30 minutes Saturday
Studied for test- 90 minutes Sunday
Total- 180 minutes

The Park

Grass around me, so green.
I feel my head telling me to go to sleep.
People laughing, people playing frisbee.
The frisbee smiling as it whizzes past me.
Sky as blue as the ocean, so blue.
How, I ask myself, do I move?

The people around me
One man with a hat on his head, his clothes baggy.
I wonder, how can someone stand having their pants that saggy?
A woman with a child walks by.
How, oh my, can a child be so happy,
When everything around him seems so dull?


In this poem, I used a lot of end-stopped lines. Also, I used personification talking about the frisbee smiling, and in the same line, I used an onomatopoeia with the word whizzes. In the second stanza, there is an end rhyme in baggy and saggy. There is an internal rhyme in "A woman with a child walks by./ How, oh my,.../.

Working Times
2/11- 10 minutes in class (Allegiant)
2/12- 10 minutes in class (Allegiant)
2/12- 30 minutes- Working on final draft of paper
2/13- 10 minutes in class (Allegiant)
2/14- 10 minutes in class (Allegiant)
2/16- 60 minutes (Allegiant)
Total: 130 minutes

Jay-Z and Rihanna- Umbrella

Link to song: http://www.metrolyrics.com/umbrella-lyrics-rihanna.html


While evaluating this song, I noticed many poetic devices. I first noticed an internal rhyme with "Let it rain, I hydroplane in the bank" These lyrics come up in Jay-Z’s part of the song. Also, there was assonance when Jay-Z says, “comin’ down like the Dow Jones”, with the repetition of the O sound.

In Rihanna’s portion of the song, there is a repetition of “under my umbrella,…” which creates an assonance with the repetition of the U’s at the beginning of the words under and umbrella. Also, the umbrella could be used as a symbol of a good-standing relationship. I found this song to be pretty easy to analyze, and had a deeper meaning past umbrella, ella, ella, ay, ay, ay.