Melissa A. Dailey
In his article "Horrid Image, Sorry Sight, Fatal Vision: The Visual Rhetoric of Macbeth," Houston Diehl states that the Renaissance man saw a correlation between the material world and the spiritual world. Therefore, things that are seen with the eye are to be interpreted as having a spiritual significance. As a result, what we see is ethical. The influence of God or the devil, beings of the spiritual world, affects human beings through manifestations in the material world. The spirit world exhibits both good and evil signs in the material world. The individual's ability to interpret the spiritual in the material world therefore involves ethical questions of good and evil. For example, when Macbeth sees the witches, he must decide whether their words are true or not, and his choice will have serious ethical implications. Shakespeare was obviously aware of these values in his society and used them in his works. It would be an important point to make with students that he had an audience and purpose in mind when writing. Although students today do not necessarily make this connection between the tangible world and the spiritual, I believe that what we see still has ethical implications. The ethics of vision can be applied to the Internet and cell phone use as well as a Shakespeare play.
There are several reasons why Hamlet is an ideal central text for this project. The appearance of the ghost of Hamlet's father initiates both the action of the play and Hamlet's tortured inquiry into what the apparition means. Since Hamlet contains more soliloquies than any other Shakespearean play, the reader has many opportunities to observe and explore the connections between what Hamlet sees, knows, and puts into words. If words bring what we see to life, they also dictate our actions. The process of understanding what we see involves language. Hopefully, before acting on what he or she sees, the individual processes it with the use of language. Therefore, words are a step toward action. Hamlet is a perfect example of this. He talks through virtually everything he does before acting on it. Therefore, he gives students the opportunity to explore this idea.
In addition, Hamlet contains a great deal of spying. The characters spy on one another in an attempt to determine the reality of a situation. Their observations are supposed to bring the truth to light. Yet spying does not always do so, and in Polonius' case he dies as a result of spying. What the characters think they know or have been told taints their vision. For example, Polonius tells Claudius and Gertrude that Hamlet's madness is due to his unrequited love for Ophelia. Therefore, Polonius' words influence their observation of Ophelia and Hamlet. Hamlet spies on Claudius on several occasions. He spies on him during the play to determine Claudius' guilt and then observes him as he is kneeling. Claudius' reaction to the play confirms Hamlet's suspicion of Claudius' guilt while simultaneously alerting Claudius of Hamlet's knowledge of his guilt. Claudius now sees Hamlet as a serious threat. The vision of Claudius kneeling leads Hamlet to believe he is praying. Hamlet does not want Claudius' soul to be spared, so Hamlet does not act on his impulse to avenge his father's death. A misunderstood sight deters Hamlet from his endeavor to kill Claudius when Claudius actually struggles with prayer. Ultimately Claudius cannot pray, but Hamlet still does not act. What Hamlet thinks he sees causes him to act in a certain way. What he think he sees is not actually the case, therefore interfering with his accomplishing of his goal of killing Claudius.
In the case of Macbeth, Macbeth, Lady Macbeth and Duncan fail to interpret what they see with an accurate analytical eye. They are thwarted by their own selfish desires. Duncan perceives Macbeth as a worthy ally and Lady Macbeth as a hospitable lady in a charming home. He looks only at the surface and does not interpret the situation with any depth. Macbeth and Lady Macbeth plan and carry out the murder of Duncan.
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Duncan, preoccupied with his own prowess, perceives Macbeth and Lady Macbeth as loyal followers.
Lady Macbeth's complicated attitude toward vision deserves attention. On the one hand she seeks to deceive others with appearances. She wants Macbeth to fool Duncan by appearing innocent and friendly. On the other hand, Lady Macbeth does not see that visions have significance. She feels that if they are horrible as they are in Macbeth's case, they should be simply ignored. After Duncan has been murdered and when Macbeth sees Banquo's ghost, Lady Macbeth demands that Macbeth disregard the visions that he has. Of course, when Lady Macbeth sees blood on her own hands, she obsessively tries to wipe it off. The sight torments her and drives her mad. In this case, what she sees finally does have an impact on her ethically and therefore mentally. The morality of the situation finally affects her, and she loses her mind.
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Macbeth is preoccupied with his own needs and therefore does not interpret the ethical aspect of what he sees. When he sees a dagger, witches or apparitions, he follows them because they lead him toward his desires. If he were to look at them ethically, he would see that they will destroy him and the people around him. They are images of the devil or of death and destruction.
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In Hamlet and Macbeth, what the main characters see or think they see sets off life-altering and life-shattering actions.
While teaching the texts and identifying these problems of vision, I draw connections to the students' own lives. Making such connections captures their attention, promotes discussion of the texts, and explores issues in the students' lives with an analytical eye. Identifying valid information on the Internet, predators on social networking sites, and sexting focus our exploration on issues relevant to students' lives. We will practice identifying credible sources on the Internet by looking at articles and information regarding the topics we are dealing with in this unit. For example, we search for background information on the texts we are reading in class as well as articles on social networking sites and sexting. In addition to deepening their critical evaluation of information, this research is a springboard for writing prompts and conversation. Discussions deal with a range of activities characteristic of today's students. They are notorious for posting incriminating or sexually provocative images of themselves on social networking sites. Students need to always be aware of the messages they sending as well as their potential audience and the way that they might interpret these images. Potential employers, for example, may view their pages to determine whether they are viable candidates for the position. This is just one example of an unintended audience for their postings. Communicating with people who are not what they present themselves to be in the Internet confronts students daily. These individuals are not always trustworthy. This can present dangerous situations for students. Finally, the issue of sexting, sending or receiving images of naked individuals, poses problems. Once a student forwards an image of an under-aged individual, they can be charged with the dissemination of child pornography. Students send such things because they do not see their ethical or legal implications. As a result, if they are caught, they can face serious charges that could be life shattering. The interpretation of what is seen on the Internet or on cell phones is crucial to students. This discussion will bring the issue of being a critical thinker and seer to life.
The discussion of the deceptive qualities of the Internet connects to Hamlet and Macbeth. At this juncture, students delve back into Hamlet to explore the play within a play. A great deal of spying occurs during "The Mousetrap," the scene in which Hamlet puts on a play. Characters spy on one another and therefore have an unintended audience. In both plays, people put forth false personas to get what they want. Hamlet and Claudius both wear masks in Hamlet. Although both men seek to deceive, they are not comparable, according to Jacqueline E.M. Latham in her essay, "the Imagery in Hamlet - Acting." Hamlet acts throughout the play. He feigns insanity. Claudius pretends to be loving toward Hamlet and concerned about his wellbeing. Hamlet works in an illusory, dreamlike world that inhibits his action, whereas Claudius puts himself in reality and action.
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In Macbeth, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth deceive Duncan. Students discuss whether the witches are deceptive and what the ethical implications of following their prophecies are.
The exploration of staging the plays is also crucial to the unit. For example, students will debate whether the ghosts in each play should appear on stage or not. This issue brings up questions about audience and purpose. Whom does the director want the audience to identify with? What does the director want the audience to see? How does the actual vision of an object affect the audience's interpretation of the characters and the plot?
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Another issue of staging deals with the set design. Students will view or read about different set designs for Hamlet and Macbeth. The different interpretations of the set will provide students with insight into what the audience expected and how the designer either catered to it or helped to determine what the audience expected. Students would be able to explore both of these issues. Some of the questions the students ask include the following: To what extent does the set design establish a vision? What does the audience see, and what is the point of each different representation? When students present their own skits, they are required to set the scene with props and wear costumes. They have to acknowledge the audience and purpose of what they want to present. They make choices about what they want the audience to see and how they want the audience to interpret what they see. They control the image.
In addition, the language of Shakespeare is visual. He uses imagery throughout all his works. In this unit students explore the use of language in its creation of a vision that does not exist in a real, tangible sense. A great deal of imagery connects to concepts or themes in the texts. For example, in Hamlet it deals with the theme of being constrained. As a result, much of the imagery in the text deals with shackles, slavery, and restraint. One message of the play is that we, as human beings, are limited in our ability to create our destiny. One of Hamlet's more famous lines is, "O, what a rogue and peasant slave am I!"
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Later he says, "Give me that man/ That is not a passion's slave."
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Clearly this imagery throughout the text makes a point about one of its main themes. It creates an image in the student's mind that reinforces what is being seen throughout the action of the play, providing yet another example of how language can be a catalyst for understanding what we see.
Hamlet's constant use of puns creates a double reality that one must perceive in order to appreciate the full meaning of the play. The use of figurative language throughout the text creates images in the reader's mind. Hamlet's puns generate images for the reader. In addition, the pun is referred to as antic or grotesque in Yasuriro Ogawa's article, "Hamlet and the Vision of the Grotesque." Hamlet's character and his use of puns are connected. The two antic entities reflect the grotesque nature of the text.
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Just as Hamlet's language reflects his nature, the language and character reflect the nature of the play.
The purpose of the unit is to encourage students to think critically about the world around them and base their actions on the truth as they understand it through attaining valid information. Students can access a wealth of information at the touch of a finger. The current climate requires that students are viewing life and Internet with a critical eye. Through guided search exercises, students will practice evaluating and finding valid sources. Students will also draw connections between their own lives and the lives of the characters, Hamlet and Macbeth. Just as the characters struggle to identify the reality of what they see, students struggle with the validity of what they see on the Internet. They will see that the struggle with what is seen is timeless. In Shakespeare's time the struggles with what was seen was more of a spiritual or supernatural nature. The tangible, visual world was more closely related to the spiritual world. Therefore the sight of something could be misinterpreted as a spiritual sign. Shakespeare in his plays took this concept so far as to include ghosts, witches and apparitions. Today, students can be deceived by the world of technology. Drawn into the visually problematic world of the Internet, students must think critically.