Macbeth and Sock Puppets

For years now whenever I've discussed the nature of an upcoming student presentations I've joked that I would give the students immense latitude in their approach, including the use of sock puppets.  It never really occurred to me that any of them would take me up on the offer - that is until last year.  In our Heroines & Heroes class here at Champlain the students have to write an analysis of their favorite heroine/hero using various critical lenses such as Campbell's monomyth or Marxist criticism or Feminist criticism.  Inevitably it's a much more challenging assignment than the students realize at first blush, when they initially assume it's a great chance to tell me how much they think Darryl from The Walking Dead is kick-ass (and, to be fair, he is).  My student Vincent Loignon, who has bravely taken me a couple times, stopped by after class and asked if he could choose Macbeth as his hero.  Obviously, he immediately scored major points for choosing a complex character from Shakespeare, as compared to the endless run of video game characters I get.  He then settled into the pantheon of my favorite students by asking if I was serious when I proposed a sock puppet presentation.  With the due sense of dread I said yes.  True to his word he presented his Macbeth presentation in sock puppet format, and it was fantastic, only partially because of his mastery of the too-often overlooked field of sock puppet literary analysis.  At Champlain we pride ourselves on pushing our students to implement critical and creative thinking, at it's difficult for me to think of many better examples.

Vincent and Macbeth.  Notice the little crown.

Vincent was ably assisted by the excellent Nicole Follini who graciously volunteered to assist with running the Powerpoint, because she's a good soul - and because Vincent had socks on his hands.

Vincent dramatically reading from Shakespeare.

Now, having said all this, the reason why Vincent received an A on the assignment was not because of the unique approach, but because of his sophisticated analysis of the material.  Here he is stopping to explain why this particular scene represented Campbell's monomyth, specifically the Master of Two Worlds.