Page 89 - The Bellfort - Summer 2015

English Literature Enjoying English singing voice is particularly relationship for this era as Literature! tuneless! upper class people didn’t necessarily marry for love; 12L1 studied ‘Macbeth’ for they married for status, Controlled Assessment in money and power. Upper Year 11 and 12. Pupils class women could not le- worked hard to explore the gally inherit money or prop- time period in which Shake- erty therefore for them to speare wrote ‘Macbeth’ have any security they and to develop their essay needed to make a marriage writing skills. Later in the to someone of an appropri- year they compared Shake- ate status. This makes Lady speare’s writing with an Macbeth’s greeting a typi- Irish writer—James Joyce. cal one for a lady of her sta- tus at that time - after all her future was directly bound up with her hus- An Extract from Controlled band’s promotion. Assessment: The relationship between Did you Macbeth and Lady Mac- know… beth is one of the most de- structive relationships in all literature. Lady Macbeth Actors only ever speak of greets her husband by his Shakespeare’s Macbeth as titles: “the Scottish play” be- cause mentioning its title On 23rd April 12L1 had a “Great Glamis, while in a theatre is said to short break from essay Worthy Cawdor”. bring bad luck. Some claim writing to celebrate Shake- Shakespeare himself curs- speare’s birthday! This cel- This implies that she is ed the play after learning ebration was limited to eat- more concerned about his that Kings James VI didn’t ing cake as Mrs Dempsey’s status than his health and enjoy it. Others say there welfare because he has was an accidental death been away at battle for during one early perfor- months. To a modern audi- mance – the play has many ence this would be consid- fght sequences where ered an abnormal relation- swords fy. ship between husband and wife and is an early indica- Another explanation for tion of her greed and hun- the curse is that Shake- ger for power. Although in speare used the spells of Shakespearean England real witches in his play! this could have been per- ceived as normal. This would have been a normal THE BELLFORT SUMMER 2015 89