TASK 3 : CRITICAL ESSAY

I was looking forward to this course TSL 1064 Drama in English since last semester
when Madam Rovena told us that the chosen drama for us is Macbeth. This is due to in
Form One, one of the poems included in our syllabus was Lifes Brief Candle and at that
time I was really impressed by William Shakespeares timeless messages conveyed within a
few lines, which is life is short and unpredictable and we should learn to use time wisely and
to the fullest to ensure a successful life. The poem teaches us that we must also set goals in
life and make life meaningful, so that we know what we want to do in life which had made
me knew something about life at the young age.
Because of the eagerness to learn more about the play Macbeth, actually I had
started to read the play during school holiday. However, I faced problem in understanding
the Shakespearean language because for me, it looked strange and different from English I
have learnt before. When the second semester starts, we bought the reference book
Macbeth with some explanation and guideline provided, which I think is really helpful
especially for me who was a beginner to the exposure of Shakespearean language. Madam
Rovena told us Shakespeares plays is meant for performance on the stage. We can
understand it more easily when we read the lines aloud and act out the play. During lessons,
we sat in groups and took on a particular role and read the lines. Sometimes, we had our
classmates and even Madam Rovena to act in the class. Through their acting in the class, I
found it to be easier to understand the meaning of the play, especially by madams acting. It
was truly impressive because madam could get into each role very easily with good acting
skills, facial expression, body language, intonation and others. From here we can know what
a good acting is and apply it in our drama performance.
When our group first discussed about the script writing, we found it was not easy as
we need to take bits and pieces from the play and adapt it accordingly using Shakespearean
language without changing the original meaning of the scene. After discussing, we had
decided to take Macduff loyalty towards Scotland as the main idea of our play. If I were given
a second chance, I think adding the scene where Macbeth recite the poem Lifes brief
candle would make our play a more interesting one as audience will be able see two
different sides of Macbeth, one is the grief of Macbeth when he is reciting poem and another
one is what we had done that is Macbeth fights Macduff showing he is a brave and valiant
warrior by not giving up till the end even though he knows he is doomed.
After having the script, we started our drama practice until the day of rehearsal had
finally came. During the rehearsal, I realised that performing the play on the stage could be a
very different thing compared to practices we had before. On the stage, we need to consider

about many other aspects that we did not notice when we were practicing like stage
directions, the way to throw our voices, not showing our backs to the audiences and others.
Although we had lectures about these aspects before, but only when I was on the stage,
some aspects like throwing my voice was not easy, proving theory and practice are two
different things. However, Madam Rovena had gave us some guidance and advices that
enable us to have our problems solved and a better performance on the stage. The
experiences I gained during the drama rehearsal and performances are really valuable and
unforgettable.
Days before the drama performance, we were busy preparing poster and background
for our hall design. Although we were not having bombastic design for the hall, but producing
a simple DIY poster and props was not an easy job. Anyway, this was not a problem for us
as all of us worked together and many hands make light work. Although our tiredness were
overloaded, but none of us has ever thought of giving up as we knew we can definitely go
through the process together and the experiences gained will definitely mould us into a
better teacher in the future.
I enjoyed performing the play Macbeth because it conveys Shakespeares
messages through the characters in the play and those messages are timeless. In the play,
Shakespeare conveys a moral message to his audience by expressing the consequences
that will occur from bad choices made in life. It is conveyed to the audience by using a
variety of different language techniques of Macbeths actions. Macbeth is relevant to a
modern audience as todays society have universal truths and beliefs such as to not murder
innocent people, and that some people will go to such lengths to obtain power through
ambition and would sacrifice their loyalty and trust of others to betray them in some way.
I have learnt the importance of cooperation through the drama performance. We
helped each other when another group was performing so that our performance could be a
successful one. We even gave signal at backstage in case our friend on the stage forgets
their lines. I think all these had certainly foster the relationship among my classmates
besides gaining experiences of performing a play on the stage. Although our number is
small, only fourteen of us, but it was never an obstacle for us to have a drama performance
on the stage with the presence of lecturers from English Department and others students in
our IPG.
In conclusion, I think our drama performance was a successful one although there is
a lot of improvements need to be done to make the performance more perfect. I started to
enjoy the beauty of Shakespearean language instead of staying away from it, probably
because this language is now understandable for me. This reminds me of a Malay proverbs

You can't love what you don't know. We can only love something when we know what it is
about, just like I started to enjoy and love Shakespearean language after understanding it
and performing Macbeth.
(1043 words)

INSTITUT PENDIDIKAN GURU

KAMPUS PULAU PINANG
BORANG MAKLUM BALAS KERJA KURSUS (PROJEK)
SEMESTER 1 (JAN MEI) TAHUN 2015
Nama Pelajar : YOO CHEN CHEN
Angka Giliran Pelajar : 2014272310072

Tajuk Tugasan : TASK 3 : CRITICAL ESSAY

Pensyarah : MADAM ROVENA
ELAINE CAPEL

Kursus /Mata Pelajaran:

TSL 1064 DRAMA IN ENGLISH

Tarikh Hantar : 17/4/2015

Tarikh Diterima :

Pengakuan Pelajar
Saya mengaku bahawa tugasan ini adalah hasil kerja saya sendiri kecuali nukilan
dan ringkasan yang setiap satunya saya jelaskan sumbernya.
Tandatangan : _____________________________
Tarikh : 16/4/2015
(
YOO CHEN CHEN

Perincian Maklum Balas Tugasan

PEMERIKSA
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MODERATOR (JIKA BERKAITAN)

Kekuatan:

Aspek yang boleh diperbaiki:

Aspek yang boleh diperbaiki:

Tandatangan:
Tarikh:

Tandatangan:
Tarikh:

Pengesahan Pelajar Terhadap Maklum Balas Yang Diberi Oleh Pensyarah

Saya mengesahkan bahawa maklum balas yang diberi oleh pensyarah telah saya
rujuki dan fahami.
Catatan (jika ada):
Tandatangan Pelajar :
Tarikh :

INSTITUT PENDIDIKAN GURU KAMPUS PULAU PINANG

SEMESTER 1 (SESI JAN- MEI) TAHUN 2015
PROGRAM PERSEDIAAN IJAZAH SARJANA MUDA
PERGURUAN (PPISMP) DENGAN KEPUJIAN (TESL
PENDIDIKAN RENDAH)
TSL 1064 DRAMA IN ENGLISH
COURSEWORK
TASK 3
CRITICAL ESSAY (30%)
(Individual work)

Name of Student
Index No.
Identity Card No.
Programme/Intake/Group
Name of Lecturer
Name of Academic Tutors

: YOO CHEN CHEN

: 2014272310072
: 961126-07-5394
: PPISMP June 2014 Intake
Year 1, Semester 2/2014, PPTESL
: MADAM ROVENA ELAINE CAPEL
: MADAM CHOONG SEE YOONG
MADAM FOO LAY KUAN

Date of Submission

: 17.4.2015