Starter 1.10
To-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow,
Creeps in this petty pace from day to day,
To the last syllable of recorded time;
And all our yesterdays have lighted fools
The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle!
Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage
And then is heard no more. It is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury
Signifying nothing.
— Macbeth (Act 5, Scene 5, lines 19-28)
What does Macbeth mean? INTERPRET the passage.
- Do you agree with Macbeth? Why or why not?
- Macbeth may have been an early existentialist...
He suffered from an “existential attitude”, defined by Robert C. Solomon as “a sense of disorientation, confusion, or dread in the face of an apparently meaningless or absurd world.”
4 Corners
- Everything happens for a reason.
- Humans are at the center of the great cosmic mystery.
ANALYSIS OF BOLESLAW PRUS
TOGETHER: Read "Mold of the Earth" by Boleslaw Prus
IN PAIRS: Discuss this story and “Shades.” (Same author!)
- Compare “Mold of the Earth” and "Shades.” What might be the theme or message of each story?
- JOURNAL 1.10 REACTION TO PRUS (as individuals, based on your work with your partner): What do you think Prus might believe about the place of humans in the great cosmic mystery?
MAJOR ASSIGNMENT: Into the Wild Literature Circle