Macbeth Dialectical Journals

Name: Date: Period:

I. Directions: Here are some guidelines for writing a dialectical journal:

 Using a word processing program, construct a table.

 TYPE the quotation in one column. In the other column, type your response.

 Identify the speaker of the passage.

 Remember to cite the Act, scene, and line number(s) in MLA format!

 Your response should be at least five sentences in length.

 Your response should analyze and reference specific language from the passage.

 Remember that your response is not a summary. Address the passage with insight and depth.

 Finally, all journals must be uploaded to Turnitin.com.

II. Sample Journal:

Quotation Response:

“That which hath made them drunk hath made Lady Macbeth uses contrasting syntax and me bold;/ What hath quenched them hath gloomy imagery to express her excitement over given me fire. Hark! Peace!/ It was the owl King Duncan’s impending death. When she that shriek’d, the fatal bellman,/ Which gives exclaims, “That which hath made them drunk the ster’st good-night” (II.ii.1 – 5). hath made me bold,” she speaks with an effective contrast. In other words, the possets Lady Macbeth drugged the guards, yet Lady Macbeth appears intensely alert, if not giddy. (She certainly does not experience the same level of fear that characterizes Macbeth’s behavior!) In fact, Lady Macbeth further increases her contrasting syntax through diction, as she feels intensely motivated by “fire.” At the same time, she recognizes the dark nature of her actions as she claims to hear an “owl that shrieked.” The imagery of the owl was commonly perceived by the Elizabethan audience as a sign of impending doom. Certainly, the owl’s cry was an ill omen for King Duncan. For the Macbeths, however, the owl’s shriek promised their increase of power and influence. III. Number of Journals: (one from each act) Due: