June 20

ELA B10 June 20/16 Sample Obituaries for your Obit Writing

You know you’re tasked with writing an Obituary celebrating a character’s life from the play Macbeth. To get an idea of what this type/form of writing is like, here is a website with a collection of unique Obituaries. Read them to get a sense of:

  • tone
  • how each celebrates the deceased in some way
  • quirky elements – the uniqueness of each is mentioned
  • loss
  • one sample tries to find meaning in a tragic loss of a son to suicide – it’s worth skimming for ideas (tragic loss of many in Macbeth)

Here’s the link to the web page.   

Sample Obituary Writeups - website

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June 9

June 9/16 ELA B10 Fault or Fate – Introduction Discussion

We’re about to start studying a famous Shakespeare play called Macbeth. It’s known for being one of the bloodiest of his tragedy plays. But this isn’t a 400 year old story with no relevance to today – it has every relevance. Many of the popular shows in media in the last handful of years follow a type of formula for anti-hero protagonists in tragic circumstances.

The video examples below are evidence of the ultimate question that surrounds these types of plot lines: is it the character’s fault or fate?

Breaking Bad – Walter arrives to rescue Jesse from relapsing in his drug addiction and, while there, an event happens. Is Walter guilty of the results of the scene or was he a victim of cruel fate and poor timing?

 

The Path – A story of a cult-like community whose leader is away receiving the rest of the messages from God that will direct their future path. Another young leader, Cal,  knows the truth, though, that the leader is in a South American hospital dying, and Cal, believing himself to be the next chosen leader, is trying to direct fate so that he’ll lead on. Confronted by someone else who knows the truth of the dying leader, and recent circumstances having literally put a broken vase in Cal’s hand, he reacts in a moment and kills another.

Without fate setting up the circumstances and timing of this event, there would have been no murder. Again, is it fault or fate?

 

 

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