A friend of ours is teaching MacBeth to his junior high school class. When they complained about the difficulty of the play, he had them put their heads on their desks and asked who didn't want to continue. Only three raised their hands.
Upon encountering the line, "he unseamed him from the nave to the chops," one student took a second to vizualize what was being described and blurted, "He gangster."
Note: The poster is from a Royal Shakespeare production. I know with books using the cover is a tacit fair use. Is this true with theatrical posters?
Timely. I just finished Macbeth with my high school seniors today. I can't imagine trying it with junior high students -- although there's little I can imagine teaching to junior high students from my perspective. Although I do think I'm going to use the line "he gangster" next year.
Posted by: Kootch | December 11, 2007 at 08:04 PM
Oh no he di'int.
That is one of the best lines in Macbeth. IMHO.
Posted by: Keith | December 12, 2007 at 07:22 AM
Ha! He totally gangster. That's brilliant.
Posted by: amy | December 12, 2007 at 08:58 AM