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GCSE: Macbeth

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  • Marked by Teachers essays 21
  • Peer Reviewed essays 18

  1. How does Macbeth and Lady Macbeths relationship change throughout the play?

    Shakesphere uses the past tense ?were? to emphasis that Lady Macbeth no longer sees her husband as a man. This line also shows Macbeth?s doubt over their plans to murder Duncan, which is further implied by his soliloquy in Act 1 Scene 7. Predominantly, at the beginning of the play, Lady Macbeth appears to the audience as the driving force behind their ambition to gain power and more assertive than Macbeth, who seems doubtful towards the plans which they have made. As the play progresses their roles seem reversed to the audience and Lady Macbeth becomes more hesitant to their murderous plans.

    • Word count: 982

  2. Explain how far you think Shakespeare presents Lady Macbeth as a character out of control.

    Shakespeare presents Lady Macbeth in his extract as a character who is highly affected by her past. ?Out damned spot out I say? suggests that lady Macbeth is hallucinating Duncan?s blood on her hands. Her hallucinations are so deep to a limit were she can smell Duncan?s blood in her hands .At this point the audience are aware that lady Macbeth cannot bear the guilt anymore due to her severe hallucinations of blood. Later on in the play lady Macbeth commits suicide which heightens the guilt she was feeling due to her ambitions driving her to commit the horrific deeds.

    • Word count: 592

  3. Macbeth act 3 scene 5

    Her anger is shown at the opening of the scene with the use of three rhetorical questions. In the first rhetoric question, Hecate criticizes the witches in a deeming way. In the second rhetoric question the alliteration 'trade and traffic' emphasizes her upset tone and in the third rhetoric question she asserts her superiority over the witches "mistress of your charms, the close contriver of all harms". Through the metaphor, 'wayward son' Hecate gives clues that Macbeth attempted to defy the witches prophecy by trying to destroy Banquo's line.

    • Word count: 483

  4. How does Shakespeare create sympathy for Macbeth in the play?

    Furthermore, she uses personification which is another of her manipulative skill which reminds him about his ambition to be the Thane of Cawdor because drunken people often forget things. The audience see Lady Macbeth do this several times during Act1 scene 7 when she insults his sanity. For example, she says to ?screw? his ?courage? which leaves Macbeth to be feeble and accede what Lady Macbeth say him to do. Secondly, Shakespeare presents Macbeth as a victim of the scary encounter of Banquo's Ghost.

    • Word count: 744

  5. Comparison of Lady Macbeth and Curley's Wife

    The phrase ?strange matters? in this sentence is important because it shows that she can tell what Macbeth?s facial expressions mean and how to interpret them which means she knows her husband well and, most importantly, how to manipulate him for her own nefarious purposes. Another example of the complexity of Lady Macbeth and Macbeth's relationship is when Lady Macbeth urges her husband to kill King Duncan. ?Your hand, your tongue: look like the innocent flower But be the serpent under?t? shows Lady Macbeth?s manipulative nature in order to subvert King Duncan?s rule and put herself and Macbeth in power.

    • Word count: 2833

  6. How is Lady Macbeth presented in Act 1 Scene 5

    after Duncan had been killed and Lady Macbeth wouldn?t want to take that chance, so she offers a reassurance that so long as you don?t think about it, no one will realise which it sound easy. She also says, ?Look like the time? which refers to the idea that Macbeth?s time is now, not only to rise to power but to also kill King Duncan ? this is manipulative as it increase the ambition in Macbeth?s mind to become King.

    • Word count: 500

  7. Act2 scene 1 Macbeth

    Macbeth, who is deeply obsessed by the witches claims never to think about them. ?I think not of them.? They agree to continue their conversation later. Banquo converses politely and passes on Duncan?s compliments to Macbeth and a diamond for his wife. Macbeth advises Banquo to side with him in the future. ?If you shall cleave to my consents, when?tis it shall make honor for you.? Banquo?s explicitly states that he does not want an active role in helping Macbeth become king. He resolves to honour his commitment to Duncan instead. He believes true manhood means acting honorably.

    • Word count: 1044

  8. How does Shakespeare present the conflict of good and evil in his play, Macbeth? How do these extremes reflect the time in which the play was written?

    He goes on to say, ?Stars hide your fires, / Let not light see my black and deep desires.? Evil committed in darkness is a recurring theme across the play. Macbeth wishes to hide his evil deeds in the night, out of the sight of men and arguably out of the sight of God, as light typifies all that is good and at the time God was considered to be the ultimate good. This meaning would not have been lost on a Jacobean audience.

    • Word count: 1961

  9. Discuss what Lady Macbeths persuasive language in Act 1 Scene 7 reveals to the audience about her character & relationship with her husband

    him to get his courage up and reassures him that they will not fail which is all influenced by the rhetorical question. She also questions his manhood in the quote,?When durst do it, then you were a man,? by scolding him and saying that he is not a man now as he didn?t dare to do it and this has made him more feminine which is a great insult to give someone in Shakespearean times, which proves my point that Lady Macbeth does not want to give up and she f ft ff people into doing whatever she wants him to do.

    • Word count: 1311

  10. Macbeth: Theories on who is to blame for Macbeth's downfall

    The witches, Lady Macbeth and Macbeth?s ambitions are responsible for Macbeth?s downfall. The witches are at fault for Macbeth?s downfall because they were the first to fuel Macbeth?s hamartia. The witches are the first to give Macbeth hope of being king. The witches tell Macbeth of a prophecy that includes him receiving the title, Thane of Cawdor, and eventually becoming king. When Macbeth arrives home King Duncan gives Macbeth the position, Thane of Cawdor. Macbeth then fully believes the witches? prophecy that was given to him. When Macbeth kills Duncan to follow the prophecy and become king, Macbeth changes into an entirely different person.

    • Word count: 774
10 essays

Conclusion analysis

Good conclusions usually refer back to the question or title and address it directly - for example by using key words from the title.
How well do you think these conclusions address the title or question? Answering these questions should help you find out.

  1. Do they use key words from the title or question?
  2. Do they answer the question directly?
  3. Can you work out the question or title just by reading the conclusion?

  • To what extent does Shakespeare portray the character of Macbeth as a war hero(TM) turned evil murderer(TM)?

    "In conclusion I think that the witches' equivocations acted as the initial stimulus to Macbeth. They were the ones who first planted those dark thoughts into Macbeth's head, but the witches didn't tell him to murder, they only told him that he would become king. Lady Macbeth then acted as a catalyst as she manipulated Macbeth into actually killing King Duncan, and used his ego against him. There are many factors that led to Macbeth's downfall, but Macbeth's fatal flaw was his ambition, and he would not have preformed any murder if he didn't have the drive and ambition to become king."

  • Macbeth: Analyse and compare two scenes in William Shakespeare's Macbeth that show the audience the change in the balance of power, in their relationship, between Macbeth and Lady Macbeth.

    "In conclusion despite there being many other themes in this play in my chosen scenes the one of power stands out a great deal. They show well how Lady Macbeth has the majority of power during the beginning of the play but as it continues she loses it quickly to Macbeth. He seems to gain the power of the country around the same time that he gains it over the relationship, however because the switch in power of the relationship is not as obvious as the switch in power of the country we are unable to determine which followed which. Laura Mann 10E"

  • To what extent do you agree with Malcolm's description of Lady Macbeth as a "fiend like queen"?

    "In conclusion I believe that Malcolm's description of her as a "fiend-like queen", is not a n entirely accurate representation of Lady Macbeth, contrary to my initial impression of her. This remark may have some truth to it as Lady Macbeth did manipulate Macbeth into doing the things he did, but she does realise finally the enormity what she has done. She regrets her actions and I don't think that regret is something that a 'fiend' would feel. The witches can be seen as more responsible for Macbeth's actions as they gave him the thought of murder even though it was Lady Macbeth that spurred him on. She died what she did out of love for her husband, so I don't think she is truly evil just someone overcome by ambition for her husband, who acted without thing of the consequences. Her final remorse reveals her human side rather than her 'fiend-like' qualities."

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