Ideas for Leading Discussion

    by Tom Huber

No discussion at first but go around table letting each member of the seminar unload his or her Big Idea about the day's text.  That way you'll see that several (if not most) of them have the same idea and it can be the one that the seminar pursues.

Kinds of opening questions:

1. Analyze something a character says.  E.g., Is this an accurate statement?  Does Macbeth in fact have no other "spurs" but "ambition"?  And what kind of ambition is that?
2. Analyze an action that occurs.
3. Analyze language:  E.g., What's "valor" and what does it mean that Macbeth is called "valor's minion" and Lady Macbeth says she has valor in her tongue? 
   Or, How is this question, or this statement, ironic? 
   Or analyzing metaphors.
4. A question that starts by looking at the structure.  E.g., of what importance to the play is it that Duncan and Macbeth are first cousins?
5. Shock questions, e.g., Is Lady Macbeth an Eve figure?
6. Having a student read a passage and then calling for analysis of it.