lenny

What's Power's Price?

Lesson Plan

Power's Price Lesson Plan

Students will analyze Macbeth’s ‘Is this a dagger’ soliloquy to identify how ambition and power shape his choices, annotate key language devices, and connect themes to personal experiences through discussion and reflection.

Understanding Macbeth’s ambition-driven actions helps students develop close-reading skills, interpret literary devices, and draw connections between classical texts and modern decision-making, fostering critical thinking.

Audience

10th Grade

Time

30 minutes

Approach

Close reading, annotation, discussion, and reflective writing.

Materials

Prep

Teacher Preparation

10 minutes

Step 1

Warm-Up

5 minutes

  • Pose the question: “What motivates people to seek power?”
  • Have students write a quick response in their notebooks
  • In pairs, share responses and identify common motivations
  • Invite 2–3 pairs to share highlights with the class

Step 2

Contextual Mini-Lecture

5 minutes

  • Display Shakespeare Context Mini-Lecture Slides
  • Briefly cover the historical backdrop of Macbeth and the role of soliloquies
  • Highlight the central themes of ambition, power, and internal conflict

Step 3

Soliloquy Reading & Annotation

10 minutes

  • Distribute Macbeth Soliloquy Excerpt and the Soliloquy Annotation Worksheet
  • Read the soliloquy aloud once; then have pairs read it together
  • On the worksheet, annotate examples of ambition, imagery, and rhetorical devices
  • Identify lines that reveal Macbeth’s inner conflict and discuss briefly in pairs

Step 4

Class Discussion

7 minutes

  • Facilitate whole-class discussion using guided questions:
    • How does Macbeth’s ambition drive his actions?
    • Which language devices intensify his turmoil?
    • How do these themes relate to choices you’ve seen or made?
  • Encourage students to cite specific lines as evidence

Step 5

Exit Ticket

3 minutes

  • Hand out the Power Reflection Exit Ticket
  • Prompt students to describe a moment when ambition influenced a decision and compare it to Macbeth’s experience
  • Collect exit tickets as students leave
lenny
0 educators
use Lenny to create lessons.

No credit card needed

Slide Deck

What's Power's Price?

Exploring Ambition & Power in Shakespeare’s Macbeth

Welcome students and introduce the lesson title. Explain that today we’ll explore how ambition shapes Macbeth’s actions and what price comes with power.

Learning Objectives

  • Analyze Macbeth’s “Is this a dagger” soliloquy to see how ambition shapes his choices
  • Identify imagery and rhetorical devices in the text
  • Connect themes of power and ambition to personal experiences

Review each objective aloud. Encourage students to keep these goals in mind as they read and discuss.

Historical & Literary Context

  • Written by William Shakespeare c. 1606
  • Soliloquies reveal a character’s private thoughts
  • Central themes: ambition, power, internal conflict

Briefly present historical context: Macbeth was written around 1606. Define soliloquy and its purpose. Highlight key themes.

Soliloquy Excerpt: Act 2, Scene 1

Is this a dagger which I see before me,
The handle toward my hand? Come, let me clutch thee.
I have thee not, and yet I see thee still.
Art thou not, fatal vision, sensible
To feeling as to sight? or art thou but
A dagger of the mind, a false creation,
Proceeding from the heat-oppressed brain?

Read the soliloquy aloud once, then have a volunteer pair read together. Ask students to listen for words that signal ambition and conflict.

Annotation Focus

  • Underline words/images that reflect ambition or power
  • Circle figurative language (imagery, metaphor)
  • Highlight lines showing Macbeth’s inner turmoil
  • Write brief margin notes on his state of mind

Distribute the annotation worksheet and excerpt. In pairs, have students annotate, marking ambition, imagery, and internal conflict.

Class Discussion Questions

  1. How does Macbeth’s ambition drive his actions in this soliloquy?
  2. Which language devices intensify his inner turmoil?
  3. How do these themes compare to decisions you’ve made or observed?

Use these prompts to guide a whole-class discussion. Encourage students to cite specific lines as evidence.

Exit Ticket

Describe a time when ambition influenced a decision you made or witnessed. How does that compare to Macbeth’s experience?

Pass out the exit ticket. Collect responses as students leave to assess their understanding of ambition’s impact.

lenny

Worksheet

Soliloquy Annotation Worksheet

Name: ____________________________ Date: ____________

Instructions

Using the excerpt from Macbeth Soliloquy Excerpt, work individually or in pairs to annotate the text. Follow each part and write your responses in the space provided.

A. Identifying Ambition

  1. Underline three words or phrases in the soliloquy that show Macbeth’s ambition.
  2. For each, explain in one sentence how it reveals his desire for power.
  1. Word/Phrase: ____________________________

    Reason: ____________________________________________________________



  2. Word/Phrase: ____________________________

    Reason: ____________________________________________________________



  3. Word/Phrase: ____________________________

    Reason: ____________________________________________________________



B. Analyzing Imagery and Figurative Language

  1. Circle two examples of imagery (visual, tactile, auditory, etc.) or metaphor in the excerpt.
  2. For each example, write what sense it appeals to and what effect it creates.

Example 1: ____________________________________________________________
Sense & Effect: _________________________________________________




Example 2: ____________________________________________________________
Sense & Effect: _________________________________________________



C. Exploring Inner Conflict

  1. Highlight two lines where Macbeth’s hesitation or fear is clear.
  2. In the space below, quote each line and explain how it shows inner turmoil.

Line 1 (quote): ________________________________________________________
Explanation: _______________________________________________________




Line 2 (quote): ________________________________________________________
Explanation: _______________________________________________________



D. Reflection

In a short paragraph, consider how Macbeth’s ambition and conflict in this soliloquy relate to choices people make in real life. Use evidence from the text and, if you like, your own experience.













__________________________________________________________________________

lenny
lenny

Reading

Macbeth Soliloquy Excerpt

Act 2, Scene 1

Is this a dagger which I see before me,
The handle toward my hand? Come, let me clutch thee.
I have thee not, and yet I see thee still.
Art thou not, fatal vision, sensible
To feeling as to sight? or art thou but
A dagger of the mind, a false creation,
Proceeding from the heat-oppressed brain?

lenny
lenny

Activity

Power Reflection Exit Ticket

Name: ____________________________ Date: ____________

Prompt: Describe a time when ambition influenced a decision you made or witnessed. How does that compare to Macbeth’s experience in the “Is this a dagger” soliloquy?











lenny
lenny