Macbeth Final Project: The Soundtrack
Once upon a time, a local radio station used to have listeners send in their five or six favorite songs, in other words, their “perfect album side.” Then, the radio station would play the songs along with the listeners' reasons why these songs were their favorites. Since Macbeth has five acts, we are going to do something similar.
The purpose of this project is to combine your love of music and lyrics, your creative talent, and your interpretation of the play. This assignment has two parts: the selection and representation of songs, and the written essay. You will choose one song to represent each of the five acts, and you will write one essay (1 page) for each act. The purpose of each essay is to analyze the tone, mood, and theme(s) of each act by correlating it to a song that shares the same tone, mood, and theme(s). Please see the example essay that I have provided for Act II.
The due date is Friday, Dec. 14 (the week before leaving for winter break).
Presentations of your project will take place throughout the week of Dec. 17.
Step One: As you think back and review acts 1-2, and as we make our way through act 5, determine what you feel is the tone/mood, and theme(s) of each act. In other words, what is the main emotion or feeling that you experience while you are reading, or after you finish reading each act?
Step Two: Select one piece of music that fits the theme, mood, and/or feeling(s) of each act from the play. When you choose songs, try to remember what the characters from the play were thinking, feeling, and/or doing.
· Copy, print from the internet, or type the lyrics.
NOTE: If your chosen song has more than two words that are not school appropriate, then that song is not appropriate for this project.
Step Three: Once you have finished selecting the songs, please compose a written explanation of why you chose each song—how the song relates to a specific part in the play. Each explanation should be approximately one (1) page typed.
· In bringing the song lyrics together with the text of the play, you should have at least one (1) specific reference to the song’s lyrics. Likewise, you should also explain at what point in the act you would have the song played. In doing this, you should also specifically reference text from the play. (Please see my example)
· Remember, when directly referencing another’s work in your our own writing, you MUST effectively, attribute, quote, & document that work.
Step Four: Creatively display your lyrics related to each act. You should have a lyric sheet and a written explanation of how the lyrics relate to a specific part of the play—five times.
How will your work be assessed?
5 songs/lyrics w/ written explanation: (see Standard Rubric reduced
to ½ value)
Creative display of your work: 5 points
Crystal Ball
—Pink
Songwriters: Mann, Billy; Moore, Alecia B;
Drinking wine and thinking bliss is on the other side of this
I just need a compass and a willing accomplice
All my doubts that fill my head are skidding up and down again
Up and down and 'round again, down and up and 'round again
Oh, I've had my chances and I've taken them all
Just to end up right back here on the floor
To end up right back here on the floor
Pennies in a well, a million dollars in the fountain of a hotel
Fortune teller that says maybe you will go to hell
But I'm not scared at all
The cracks in the crystal, the cracks in the crystal ball
Sometimes you think everything is wrapped inside a diamond ring
Love just needs a witness and a little forgiveness
And a halo of patience and a less sporadic pace
And I'm learning to be brave in my beautiful mistakes
Oh, I've felt that fire and I, I've been burned
But I wouldn't trade the pain for what I've learned
I wouldn't trade the pain for what I've learned
Pennies in a well, a million dollars in the fountain of a hotel
Fortune teller that says maybe you will go to hell
But I'm not scared at all
Of the cracks in the crystal, the cracks in the crystal ball
Irony, irony, this hate and love, hate and love
What it does to me? What it's done to me? What is done, done?
Pennies in a well, a million dollars in the fountain of a hotel
Broken mirrors and a black cat's cold stare
Walk under ladders on my way to hell, I'll meet you there
But I'm not scared at all, I'm not scared at all
'Bout the cracks in the crystal, the cracks in the crystal ball
Sample Explanation:
Claim: Confusion and desperation are two themes that come together to create what is the dark and tragic mood present throughout Shakespeare’s Macbeth. Interestingly enough, the same forlorn mood appears throughout “Crystal Ball,” a heartfelt song performed by the recording artist Pink. Lead-In/Attribution: In the song, “Crystal Ball” Pink states, Data: “All my doubts that fill my head are skidding up and down again / Up and down and 'round again, down and up and 'round again / Oh, I've had my chances and I've taken them all / Just to end up right back here on the floor / To end up right back here on the floor” Documentation: (“Crystal Ball,” Pink). Warrant/Follow-Through: In these lines, Pink talks about the turmoil she has faced in her life. The repetition used to illustrate her shifts in emotion (“up, down, around again”) and the outcomes of her actions (“end up…on the floor”) reveal her struggles. Transition into Play/Claim: Macbeth also experiences many emotional shifts and poor outcomes throughout the play.
Claim: One of the most tumultuous times for Macbeth is in Act II, Scene II—after Macbeth murders Duncan. Lead-In/Attribution: In speaking with his wife about the murder, Macbeth is appalled by the thought of his actions. He says to Lady Macbeth:
Data: I am afraid to think what I have done…How is’t with me, when every noise appalls me? What hands are here? Ha! They pluck out mine eyes. Will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood / Clean from my hand? No, this my hand will rather / The multitudinous seas in incarnadine, / Making the green one red. Documentation: (Shakespeare, 26-27)
Warrant/Follow-Through: Like Pink, as she gazes into her “Crystal Ball,” Macbeth demonstrates having a confused mind and desperate soul. Macbeth is questioning his very nature as a human-being, and his conclusions, like those of Pink’s, are quite hopeless. Both, Pink and Macbeth are fully aware of their actions, and neither can see a way of being forgiven, not even by themselves.
Macbeth Soundtrack Organizer
Macbeth—Use the chart below to organize your thoughts & data regarding the play.
ACT / Summary of Theme(s) (including Tone & Mood) / Primary Passage (Data/Evidence)ACT I
ACT II
ACT III
ACT IV
ACT V
Music—Use the chart below to organize your thoughts & data regarding your song choices.
Song Titles / Summary of Theme(s) (including Tone & Mood) / Primary Passage (Data/Evidence)ACT I
ACT II
ACT III
ACT IV
ACT V
Thesis Statements: In 1-2 sentences, communicate exactly what you intend to reveal about the Theme(s) and Tone/Mood of each act, and the correlation the act has with your chosen song. Use your "summary of theme" in the previous charts to guide yourself. (See Sample Essay)
ACT I; scene _____/Song: ______
ACT II; scene _____/Song: ______
ACT III; scene _____/Song: ______
ACT IV; scene _____/Song: ______
ACT V; scene _____/Song: ______
Conclusion/Final Warrant: In 2-3 sentences, reiterate the correlation that you have revealed between each act and your chosen song. Consider your "thesis statement" and "summary of theme" in the previous charts to guide yourself. (See Sample Essay)
ACT I; scene _____/Song: ______
ACT II; scene _____/Song: ______
ACT III; scene _____/Song: ______
ACT IV; scene _____/Song: ______
ACT V; scene _____/Song: ______