AQA English Literature Paper 1

Macbethby William Shakespeare

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Macbeth synopsis (courtesy of Spark Notes)

The play begins with the brief appearance of a trio of witches and then moves to a military camp,

where the Scottish King Duncan hears the news that his generals, Macbeth and Banquo, have

defeated two separate invading armies—one from Ireland, led by the rebel Macdonwald, and one

from Norway. Following their pitched battle with these enemy forces, Macbeth and Banquo

encounter the witches as they cross a moor. The witches prophesy that Macbeth will be made thane

(a rank of Scottish nobility) of Cawdor and eventually King of Scotland. They also prophesy that

Macbeth’s companion, Banquo, will beget a line of Scottish kings, although Banquo will never be

king himself. The witches vanish, and Macbeth and Banquo treat their prophecies skeptically until

some of King Duncan’s men come to thank the two generals for their victories in battle and to tell

Macbeth that he has indeed been named thane of Cawdor. The previous thane betrayed Scotland

by fighting for the Norwegians and Duncan has condemned him to death. Macbeth is intrigued by

the possibility that the remainder of the witches’ prophecy—that he will be crowned king—might be

true, but he is uncertain what to expect. He visits with King Duncan, and they plan to dine together

at Inverness, Macbeth’s castle, that night. Macbeth writes ahead to his wife, Lady Macbeth, telling

her all that has happened.

Lady Macbeth suffers none of her husband’s uncertainty. She desires the kingship for him

and wants him to murder Duncan in order to obtain it. When Macbeth arrives at Inverness, she

overrides all of her husband’s objections and persuades him to kill the king that very night. He and

Lady Macbeth plan to get Duncan’s two chamberlains drunk so they will black out; the next morning

they will blame the murder on the chamberlains, who will be defenseless, as they will remember

nothing. While Duncan is asleep, Macbeth stabs him, despite his doubts and a number of

supernatural portents, including a vision of a bloody dagger. When Duncan’s death is discovered the

next morning, Macbeth kills the chamberlains—ostensibly out of rage at their crime—and easily

assumes the kingship. Duncan’s sons Malcolm and Donalbain flee to England and Ireland,

respectively, fearing that whoever killed Duncan desires their demise as well.

Fearful of the witches’ prophecy that Banquo’s heirs will seize the throne, Macbeth hires a

group of murderers to kill Banquo and his son Fleance. They ambush Banquo on his way to a royal

feast, but they fail to kill Fleance, who escapes into the night. Macbeth becomes furious: as long as

Fleance is alive, he fears that his power remains insecure. At the feast that night, Banquo’s ghost

visits Macbeth. When he sees the ghost, Macbeth raves fearfully, startling his guests, who include

most of the great Scottish nobility. Lady Macbeth tries to neutralize the damage, but Macbeth’s

kingship incites increasing resistance from his nobles and subjects. Frightened, Macbeth goes to visit

the witches in their cavern. There, they show him a sequence of demons and spirits who present

him with further prophecies: he must beware of Macduff, a Scottish nobleman who opposed

Macbeth’s accession to the throne; he is incapable of being harmed by any man born of woman;

and he will be safe until Birnam Wood comes to Dunsinane Castle. Macbeth is relieved and feels

secure, because he knows that all men are born of women and that forests cannot move. When he

learns that Macduff has fled to England to join Malcolm, Macbeth orders that Macduff’s castle be

seized and, most cruelly, that Lady Macduff and her children be murdered.

When news of his family’s execution reaches Macduff in England, he is stricken with grief

and vows revenge. Prince Malcolm, Duncan’s son, has succeeded in raising an army in England, and

Macduff joins him as he rides to Scotland to challenge Macbeth’s forces. The invasion has the

support of the Scottish nobles, who are appalled and frightened by Macbeth’s tyrannical and

murderous behavior. Lady Macbeth, meanwhile, becomes plagued with fits of sleepwalking in which

she bemoans what she believes to be bloodstains on her hands. Before Macbeth’s opponents arrive,

Macbeth receives news that she has killed herself, causing him to sink into a deep and pessimistic

despair. Nevertheless, he awaits the English and fortifies Dunsinane, to which he seems to have

withdrawn in order to defend himself, certain that the witches’ prophecies guarantee his

invincibility. He is struck numb with fear, however, when he learns that the English army is

advancing on Dunsinane shielded with boughs cut from Birnam Wood. Birnam Wood is indeed

coming to Dunsinane, fulfilling half of the witches’ prophecy.

In the battle, Macbeth fights violently, but the English forces gradually overwhelm his army

and castle. On the battlefield, Macbeth encounters the vengeful Macduff, who declares that he was

not “of woman born” but was instead “untimely ripped” from his mother’s womb (what we now call

birth by cesarean section). Though he realizes that he is doomed, Macbeth continues to fight until

Macduff kills and beheads him. Malcolm, now the King of Scotland, declares his benevolent

intentions for the country and invites all to see him crowned at Scone.

Now break the play down into fifteen significant moments.

Character List

Macbeth - Macbeth is a Scottish general and the thane of Glamis who is led to wicked thoughts by the prophecies of the three witches, especially after their prophecy that he will be made thane of Cawdor comes true. Macbeth is a brave soldier and a powerful man, but he is not a virtuous one. He is easily tempted into murder to fulfill his ambitions to the throne, and once he commits his first crime and is crowned King of Scotland, he embarks on further atrocities with increasing ease. Ultimately, Macbeth proves himself better suited to the battlefield than to political intrigue, because he lacks the skills necessary to rule without being a tyrant. His response to every problem is violence and murder. Unlike Shakespeare’s great villains, such as Iago in Othello and Richard III in Richard III, Macbeth is never comfortable in his role as a criminal. He is unable to bear the psychological consequences of his atrocities.

Lady Macbeth - Macbeth’s wife, a deeply ambitious woman who lusts for power and position. Early in the play she seems to be the stronger and more ruthless of the two, as she urges her husband to kill Duncan and seize the crown. After the bloodshed begins, however, Lady Macbeth falls victim to guilt and madness to an even greater degree than her husband. Her conscience affects her to such an extent that she eventually commits suicide. Interestingly, she and Macbeth are presented as being deeply in love, and many of Lady Macbeth’s speeches imply that her influence over her husband is primarily sexual. Their joint alienation from the world, occasioned by their partnership in crime, seems to strengthen the attachment that they feel to each another.

The Three Witches - Three “black and midnight hags” who plot mischief against Macbeth using charms, spells, and prophecies. Their predictions prompt him to murder Duncan, to order the deaths of Banquo and his son, and to blindly believe in his own immortality. The play leaves the witches’ true identity unclear—aside from the fact that they are servants of Hecate, we know little about their place in the cosmos. In some ways they resemble the mythological Fates, who impersonally weave the threads of human destiny. They clearly take a perverse delight in using their knowledge of the future to toy with and destroy human beings.

Banquo - The brave, noble general whose children, according to the witches’ prophecy, will inherit the Scottish throne. Like Macbeth, Banquo thinks ambitious thoughts, but he does not translate those thoughts into action. In a sense, Banquo’s character stands as a rebuke to Macbeth, since he represents the path Macbeth chose not to take: a path in which ambition need not lead to betrayal and murder. Appropriately, then, it is Banquo’s ghost—and not Duncan’s—that haunts Macbeth. In addition to embodying Macbeth’s guilt for killing Banquo, the ghost also reminds Macbeth that he did not emulate Banquo’s reaction to the witches’ prophecy.

King Duncan - The good King of Scotland whom Macbeth, in his ambition for the crown, murders. Duncan is the model of a virtuous, benevolent, and farsighted ruler. His death symbolizes the destruction of an order in Scotland that can be restored only when Duncan’s line, in the person of Malcolm, once more occupies the throne.

Macduff - A Scottish nobleman hostile to Macbeth’s kingship from the start. He eventually becomes a leader of the crusade to unseat Macbeth. The crusade’s mission is to place the rightful king, Malcolm, on the throne, but Macduff also desires vengeance for Macbeth’s murder of Macduff’s wife and young son.

Malcolm - The son of Duncan, whose restoration to the throne signals Scotland’s return to order following Macbeth’s reign of terror. Malcolm becomes a serious challenge to Macbeth with Macduff’s aid (and the support of England). Prior to this, he appears weak and uncertain of his own power, as when he and Donalbain flee Scotland after their father’s murder.

Hecate - The goddess of witchcraft, who helps the three witches work their mischief on Macbeth.

Fleance - Banquo’s son, who survives Macbeth’s attempt to murder him. At the end of the play, Fleance’s whereabouts are unknown. Presumably, he may come to rule Scotland, fulfilling the witches’ prophecy that Banquo’s sons will sit on the Scottish throne.

Lennox - A Scottish nobleman.

Ross - A Scottish nobleman.The Murderers - A group of ruffians conscripted by Macbeth to murder Banquo, Fleance (whom they fail to kill), and Macduff’s wife and children.

Porter - The drunken doorman of Macbeth’s castle.

Lady Macduff - Macduff’s wife. The scene in her castle provides our only glimpse of a domestic realm other than that of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. She and her home serve as contrasts to Lady Macbeth and the hellish world of Inverness.

Donalbain - Duncan’s son and Malcolm’s younger brother.

Context

BRIEF BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE

Shakespeare's father was a glove-maker, and Shakespeare received no more than a grammar school education. He married Anne Hathaway in 1582, but left his family behind around 1590 and moved to London, where he became an actor and playwright. He was an immediate success: Shakespeare soon became the most popular playwright of the day as well as a part-owner of the Globe Theatre. His theatre troupe was adopted by King James as the King's Men in 1603. Shakespeare retired as a rich and prominent man to Stratford-upon-Avon in 1613, and died three years later.

HISTORICAL CONTEXT – Jacobean Play

When Queen Elizabeth died in 1603, King James of Scotland became King of England. James almost immediately gave his patronage to Shakespeare's company, making them the King's Men. In many ways, Macbeth can be seen as a show of gratitude from Shakespeare to his new King and benefactor. For instance, King James actually traced his ancestry back to the real-life Banquo and so by presenting Banquo as a positive and noble character is a kind of compliment given to King James' ancestor.

RELATED LITERARY WORKS

Shakespeare's source for Macbeth was Raphael Holinshed's Chronicles of England, Scotland, and Ireland, though in writing Macbeth Shakespeare changed numerous details for dramatic and thematic reasons, and even for political reasons (see Related Historical Events). For instance, in Holinshed's version, Duncan was a weak and ineffectual King, and Banquo actually helped Macbeth commit the murder. Shakespeare's changes to the story emphasize Macbeth's fall from nobility to man ruled by ambition and destroyed by guilt.

KEY FACTS

Genre: TragedyTime and place written: 1606, England (Renaissance Period)Tone: Dark and ominous, suggestive of a world turned topsy-turvy by foul and unnatural crimesSetting (time): The Middle Ages, specifically the eleventh centurySetting (place): Various locations in Scotland; also England, brieflyMajor conflicts · The struggle within Macbeth between his ambition and his sense of right and wrong; the struggle between the murderous evil represented by Macbeth and Lady Macbeth and the best interests of the nation, represented by Malcolm and MacduffRising action: Macbeth and Banquo’s encounter with the witches initiates both conflicts; Lady Macbeth’s speeches goad Macbeth into murdering Duncan and seizing the crown.Climax: Macbeth’s murder of Duncan in Act 2 represents the point of no return, after which Macbeth is forced to continue butchering his subjects to avoid the consequences of his crime.Falling action: Macbeth’s increasingly brutal murders (of Duncan’s servants, Banquo, Lady Macduff and her son); Macbeth’s second meeting with the witches; Macbeth’s final confrontation with Macduff and the opposing armiesThemes: The corrupting nature of unchecked ambition; the relationship between cruelty and masculinity; the difference between kingship and tyrannyMotifs: The supernatural, hallucinations, violence, prophecySymbols: Blood; the dagger that Macbeth sees just before he kills Duncan in Act 2; the weatherForeshadowing · The bloody battle in Act 1 foreshadows the bloody murders later on; when Macbeth thinks he hears a voice while killing Duncan, it foreshadows the insomnia that plagues Macbeth and his wife; Macduff’s suspicions of Macbeth after Duncan’s murder foreshadow his later opposition to Macbeth; all of the witches’ prophecies foreshadow later events.

Historical ContextJacobean Society

Jacobean Women

During the period in which Shakespeare wrote Macbeth, there were distinct societal expectations about the roles of men and women. Some women in the Renaissance were able to acquire an education; many managed properties as widows, or when their husbands were away; and in the background there were the extraordinary examples of Queen Elizabeth and Mary, Queen of Scots--the one admired, the other feared by many.

Although society expected women to be submissive to their husbands, Lady Macbeth not only subverts this idea of complete submission, but also decisively challenges her husband’s masculinity. To attain power, she seeks to subdue her feminine characteristics in order to become more masculine. In doing so, she hopes to find the courage to kill the king and so become queen.

The concept of equality between the sexes would have seemed very foreign to most in Shakespeare's day: Adam was created first, and Eve from his body; she was created specifically to give him comfort, and was to be subordinate to him, to obey him and to accept her lesser status. A dominant woman was unnatural, a symptom of disorder.

Witchcraft

People living in Jacobean times held vastly different beliefs and opinions to people today. Though our world is often chaotic we rely on our ability to find complex explanations for unusual or unfortunate occurrences. In the pre-Christian world, belief in witches and their magical powers, was deeply grounded in the minds of people in the European world. As Christianity became more established, the misdeeds of the Devil became associated with witches, who were thought to be acting as his agents.

Witches were associated with the dark and death. In Christian countries they were thought to be the agents of Satan going about their business at night, and they were believed to gather near graves to conduct their evil rites and make poisons.

When Shakespeare wrote Macbeth, witchcraft was a topic of considerable interest. The new king of England, James I, had written a book called Demonology which was published in 1597. Until the time of Queen Elizabeth, no-one could be executed simply for being a witch. But in 1604, witchcraft became a capital offence. Evidence of a relationship with evil spirits condemned a suspect to death by hanging, burning or drowning.

Whether Shakespeare himself believed in witches does not matter. He used them for his play, and many of his audience would have believed in them as thoroughly evil servants of the devil. For the people of Shakespeare’s time, the devil was very real and they believed he spent his time trying to trap men and women into his power. Note that very early in the play Banquo realises this and says as much to Macbeth.

Witches were supposed to be capable of doing all the things that the three weird sisters are said to perform in Macbeth. It was believed that they could see into the future; that they could create storms, hail, thunder and lightning; that they were able to sink ships; dry up springs; stop the sun and change night into day and day into night. They could also cause the death of their enemies, and could make themselves invisible. In order to work their charms they would open graves and steal parts of the bodies to make potions. For this purpose the bodies of unbaptized babies were especially prized. And witches could call up the dead. For a king like Macbeth or for Lady Macbeth to visit and have dealings with witches would have seemed both a crime and a sin for a Shakespearean audience.

Mental Health

Madness would be perceived differently in Jacobean England than today. The late 16th and early 17th Century was a very interesting time in the history of madness; there were a complicated multitude of different, frequently contradictory viewpoints. Those different perceptions often reflected the turmoil and conflicts in thinking about religion, politics and natural philosophy.

Shakespeare was only one of several contemporary playwrights to use madness as a rich source of drama. Mental illness is in part a social construct and, as in recent times, classifying individuals or groups as mad was a useful weapon in social control and stigmatising certain people (for example “witches” and non-conformists).

Possession beliefs

Jacobeans believed that madness was symptomatic of divine or, more commonly, diabolical possession (a person that is deemed as possessed by a demon or the devil) and this view was still widely held.

At this time, witches were often seen as the agents of diabolical possession. The two peaks of English witchcraft prosecutions were from 1563 to 1603 and from 1645-47. The distinguished physician, Sir Thomas Browne, was comfortable giving evidence on the reality of witchcraft in the 1630s. There were some more enlightened people such as Richard Scot, a magistrate from Kent, who saw witches as more likely to be the victims of insanity rather than its agent. In Discovery of Witchcraft (1584) he argued that witches deserved compassion and treatment rather than fear and punishment. It was to refute this scepticism that King James wrote his Daemonologie (1597) in which he specifically rejects Scot’s views.

Christian beliefs

The clergy played a significant role in matters of body and spirit so not surprisingly madness was often perceived in terms of good and evil. The Churches generally supported the belief in possession and saw insanity as a punishment for sin.

Insanity as a punishment can be traced back to Hebrew monotheism where, for example, in Deuteronomy insanity is listed as one of the curses that God will serve on those that fail to obey him. And to be rational was to be in harmony with God, and therefore the irrational behaviour of insanity was a symptom of consorting with the devil. In the widely read Anatomy of Melancholy (1620) Robert Burton, an Oxford don, identified the devil as the true author of despair and suicide. He was particularly harsh on the role of Catholic priests. Like others, he saw sinning as causing madness.

Biblical authority was, of course, particularly significant to Puritans. Some of the appalling treatments of the insane were inspired by the belief that evil spirits could be driven out by beatings and immersion in cold water

How can you relate some of this context to the themes and ideas in the play?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vs4kqUWIOsY (short presentation about King James I and witches)

Shakespeare’s Macbeth and King James’s witch hunts

The witch hunts that swept across Europe between 1450 and 1750 are one of the most controversial and terrifying phenomena in history, resulting in the trial of around 100,000 people (most of them women), a little under half of whom were put to death. Here, Tracy Borman explores the most notorious royal witch-hunter of all time: James VI and I…

A holocaust of their time, historians have long attempted to explain why and how the European witch craze that spread around Europe between the 15th and 18th century took such rapid and enduring hold.

One of the most active centres of witch-hunting was Scotland, where up to 4,000 people were put to the flames. This was striking for such a small country, and was more than double the execution rate in England. The ferocity of the Scottish persecutions can be attributed to royal witch-hunter James VI and I.

James’s obsession with witchcraft can be traced back to his childhood. The violent death of his mother, Mary, Queen of Scots, seems to have inspired a dark fascination with magic. “His Highness told me her death was visible in Scotland before it did really happen,” related Sir John Harington many years later, being, as he said, “spoken of in secret by those whose power of sight presented to them a bloody head dancing in the air”.

Two years after Mary’s execution, another dramatic event deepened James’s growing obsession with magic and witchcraft. In 1589 he was betrothed to Anne of Denmark, but she almost lost her life in a violent tempest when she set sail across the North Sea to meet her new husband. In an uncharacteristic show of chivalry, James resolved to sail across to Denmark and collect her in person. But on their return voyage the royal fleet was battered by more storms and one of the ships was lost. James immediately placed the blame on witches, claiming that they must have cast evil spells upon his fleet.

As soon as he reached Scottish shores, James ordered a witch-hunt on a scale never seen before. No fewer than 70 suspects were rounded up in the coastal Scottish town of North Berwick on suspicion of raising a storm to destroy James and his new bride. Most of the suspects soon confessed – under torture – to concocting a host of bizarre and gruesome spells and rituals in order to whip up the storm. They included binding the severed genitalia and limbs of a dead man to the legs of a cat and then tossing it into the waves, whereupon “there did arise such a tempest in the sea, as a greater hath not been seen”. On another occasion, Satan himself was said to have appeared to the witches and “promised to raise a mist, and cast the king into England, for which purpose he threw into the sea a thing like a foot-ball”. They were swiftly convicted and put to death.

As soon as the North Berwick trials had ended, James commissioned Newes from Scotland, a pamphlet that relayed the whole saga in scandalised language aimed at intensifying popular fear of witches. But he did not stop there. With all the passion of a religious zealot, James set about convincing his subjects of the evil that lay in their midst. In 1597 James became the only monarch in history to publish a treatise on witchcraft: Daemonologie(literally, ‘the science of demons’) was the result of painstaking and meticulous work on James’s part and must have taken years to complete. As well as to convince the doubters of the existence of witchcraft, the purpose of Daemonologie was to inspire those who persecuted witches with new vigour and determination. James described

witchcraft as “high treason against God”, which meant that all manner of horrors were justified in wringing confessions from the accused.

The fact that the treatise had been written by a king made it enormously influential. It is no coincidence that cases of witchcraft multiplied at an alarming rate in his kingdom thereafter.

Upon the death of Elizabeth I in March 1603 with no direct heirs, her throne passed to James. When he travelled south to take ownership of his new kingdom, the king of Scots was dismayed to find that his English subjects were far from sharing his witch-hunting fervour. By the end of Elizabeth’s reign, the number of witchcraft trials and executions in England had declined significantly. There was also a growing scepticism about the existence of witches.

This was anathema to the new king, who was determined to drown out all dissenting voices within his new kingdom. During the first year of his reign, Daemonologie was reprinted twice. This prompted a rash of similar pamphlets aimed at whipping up popular fear of witches. As part of a state-controlled printing industry, they became one of the most valuable means by which James and his government could manipulate public opinion.

But these publications were just the tip of the iceberg as far as James’s crusade against witches was concerned. In his view, the English law was by no means strict enough in prosecuting the crime. Barely a year after his accession, James therefore ordered that the Elizabethan statute on witchcraft be replaced by a much harsher version. Until now, those who practised witchcraft were severely punished only if they were found to have committed murder or other injuries through their devilish arts. However, James wanted the practice of any form of magic to be severely punished, regardless of whether it had caused harm to others.

The Witchcraft Act of 1604 made hanging mandatory for a first offence of witchcraft, even if the accused had not committed murder. And if the suspected witch was found to have the devil’s mark on their body, this was enough to condemn them to death. The act stipulated: “If any person or persons… shall use practise or exercise any invocation or conjuration of any evil or wicked spirit, or shall consult, covenant with, entertain, employ, feed, or reward any evil and wicked spirit to or for any intent or purpose… [they] shall suffer pains of death”.

James’s determination to stamp out witchcraft in all forms was brutally apparent: “All manner of practise, use or exercise of witchcraft, enchantment, charm or sorcery should be from henceforth utterly avoided, abolished, and taken away.”

James’s new subjects were eager to curry favour with him by echoing his hatred of witches. In the same year that the new Witchcraft Act was passed, Christopher Marlowe’s dark morality play, The Tragicall History of the Life and Death of Doctor Faustus, was published. This had first been performed in around 1588, five years before the playwright’s death, and was one of the most shocking portrayals of witchcraft ever to be performed. Audiences were so aghast at the horrors that unfolded before them on stage that some claimed to have been driven mad by it, and on occasion real devils were said to have appeared on stage, “to the great amazement of both the actors and spectators”.

As well as terrifying people into avoiding any dabbling with necromancy, the play also intensified their hatred and fear of witches. It can have been no coincidence that it was published in the very year that James I began his crusade against witchcraft in England.

Other playwrights were quick to follow suit. Ben Jonson devised a number of masques for the entertainment of the king and his court. The ‘antimasque’ to his Masque of Queens included the presentation of a group of witches who represented “the opposites to good fame”.

The playwright had clearly done a great deal of research, for he referenced a range of current and classical demonological works as his sources. He set out detailed instructions for the staging of the antimasque, describing the entering on stage of 11 witches “some with rats on their head; some on their shoulders; others with ointment pots at their girdles; all… making a confused noise, with strange gestures”. One of their number was “naked armed, bare-footed, her frock tucked, her hair knotted, and folded with vipers; in her hand a torch made of a dead man’s arm, lighted; girded with a snake”.

But the most famous of all the literary works inspired by witchcraft, winning widespread acclaim in its day and ever since, was Shakespeare’s Macbeth. Deliberately short in length (James was known to have little patience for sitting through long plays), it is significant that the occasion of its inaugural performance was a visit by Queen Anne’s brother, the king of Denmark, in 1606, given that it was James’s voyage to his wife’s native land that had prompted his obsession with witchcraft.

Shakespeare wove in several references to this voyage in the play, such as when the First Witch claims that she set sail in a sieve, just as one of the North Berwick witches was accused of doing. The line “Though his bark cannot be lost/Yet it shall be tempest-tossed” almost certainly alluded to James’s near-death experience in 1589.

All the leaders of the English judiciary would have been present at this important state occasion, and this was exactly the sort of play that would inspire within them the same witch-hunting fervour as their royal master. The drama centred around Macbeth and Lady Macbeth, who murdered King Duncan to seize the throne of Scotland after three witches prophesied Macbeth’s succession.

Whether the witches thus caused the overthrow of the natural succession or merely brought out Macbeth’s inherent evil was left to the audience’s imagination. Either way, the play both confirmed and introduced new elements to the stereotypical view of a witch, with her spells, familiars and inherent evil. It also spawned two of the most-quoted lines in English literary history:

“Double, double, toil and trouble;Fire burn, and cauldron bubble.”

Macbeth instilled fear among those watching that witchcraft was not just a satanic confederacy, but a conspiracy against the state. The latter notion was all too readily accepted in England at this time because the play was performed just a few months after one of the most notorious conspiracies in history: the gunpowder plot.

Within the space of three short years, England had been catapulted from the ‘golden age’ of the Virgin Queen into one of the darkest and most dangerous periods of its history.

Summarise. Note down 10 – 15 significant points you have gleaned from the article:

The Divine Order - The Great Chain of Being

In Jacobean England, there was a different way of looking at life. People, including Shakespeare believed in a Divine Order, or Great Chain of Being. The Divine Order was the belief that everything in the universe has a specific place and rank in order of their perceived importance and "spiritual" nature. The more "spirit" a person or object had, the more power he or she had. They believed that these choices were made by God.

Within each category there were more specific cataloguing. For example humans were believed to have different amounts of spirits. Below is an example of the Divine Order for humans:

Kings – Queens – Nobles – Merchants - Peasants

Within families there was even specific cataloguing. Below is an example of the Divine Order for humans:

Father – Mother – sons – daughters - servants

If someone or something were to break the Divine Order by not being obedient to whatever was above it, the person or thing that went against the God's will would be punished. Bigger betrayals of the Divine Order were believed to bring bigger punishments by God, while smaller betrayals would bring about smaller punishments. For example, if a noble overthrew a king, people thought that a natural disaster (an earthquake, a hurricane, etc.) would strike. (Think about II ii – Just before Duncan’s body is discovered: Lennox: The night had been unruly: where we lay, our chimneys were blown down… some say the earth was feverous and did shake’). If a daughter disobeyed her father, people believed the daughter might fall ill. This was a very convenient way for people to maintain their power.

What is the of significance of The Great Chain of Being in Macbeth?

Summarise. Note down 10 – 15 significant points you have gleaned from the article:

Genre – Shakespearean Tragedy

Aristotle

Unity, Time, and Place

The dramatic form of classical tragedy derives (comes from) from the tragic plays of ancient Athens, which depicted the downfall of a hero or famous character of Greek legend. The hero would struggle against overwhelming fate, and his defeat would be so noble that he wins the moral victory over the forces that destroy him. A tragedy evoked pity and terror in the audience; it was a catharsis, or washing clean of the soul, which left the audience trembling but purified.

Aristotle proposed the tragic unities of Place, Time, and Action, that is, the whole tragedy would take place in a single location, for example a house or a city square (this included messengers who came in from elsewhere), it would happen during the course of one day (including speeches about events which had happened in the past), and it would be a single story, without sub- plots.

Shakespearean Tragedy

A Shakespearean tragedy is a specific type of tragedy (a written work with a sad ending where the hero either dies or ends up mentally, emotionally, or spiritually devastated beyond recovery) .

The Tragic Flaw

A. C. Bradley saw Shakespearean tragedy characterised by the "tragic flaw," the internal imperfection in the hero that brings him down. His downfall becomes his own doing, and he is no longer, as in classical tragedy, the helpless victim of fate.

Structure:

Shakespearean tragedy usually works on a five-part structure, corresponding to the five acts:

Part One, the exposition, outlines the situation, introduces the main characters, and begins the action.

Part Two, the development, continues the action and introduces complications.

Part Three, the crisis (or climax), brings everything to a head. In this part, a change of direction occurs or understanding is precipitated.

Part Four includes further developments leading inevitably to the resolution.

Part Five, in which the final crisis of action or revelation and resolution are explained.

Aspects of Tragedy

Tragic Hero A main character cursed by fate and possessed of a tragic flaw.

A Struggle Between Good and Evil This struggle can take place as part of the plot or exist within the main character.

Hamartia The fatal character flaw of the tragic hero.

External Conflict This can be a problem facing the hero as a result of the plot or a "bad guy" character.

Internal Conflict The struggle the hero engages in with his/her fatal flaw.

Catharsis The release of the audience's emotions through empathy with the characters.

Supernatural Elements Magic, witchcraft, ghosts, etc.

Comic Relief One or more humorous characters who participate in scenes intended to lighten the mood.

Methods/Techniques/Devices

Shakespeare used literary devices he knew his Renaissance audience would appreciate. Some of this is lost on most modern-day audiences as we don't share the same understanding of myths and legends – but our appreciation of daytime TV would be lost on a Renaissance audience too so it works both ways.

Regardless of cultural differences, we can recognise several ways in which Shakespeare uses literary devices to deepen his audiences' understanding of the play. He did this through creating: Allusions Symbols Foreshadowing Techniques Dramatic Irony Figurative Language – such as metaphors, similes, symbols and personification.

Allusions

Shakespeare used both mythological and Biblical allusions to 'paint' his scenes. For example, the sergeant compares a bloody scene of death on the battlefield to Golgotha – the place of Christ's crucifixion in the New Testament (I,ii.). Macduff alludes to Greek mythology in comparing the dead Duncan to a Gorgon, known to turn their victims to stone because of the terror evoked (II,iii).

The Equivocator

The drunken Porter responds to the knocking at the castle's gates just after Macbeth has murdered King Duncan. As he does so, he imagines there's a Catholic "equivocator" at the door "who committed treason enough for God's sake" (2.3.8;10).

On the one hand, an "equivocator" is a person who speaks ambiguously or doesn't tell the whole truth, which shows up over and over in Macbeth. The witches tell partial truths when they make predictions; Macbeth frequently bends the truth as he deliberates about whether or not it's OK to murder the king; he equivocates when he justifies (to his henchmen) that murdering Banquo is acceptable; and even Banquo has some ambiguous thoughts about the prophecy that he'll father kings.

On the other hand, the word "equivocator" is most likely an allusion to the treatise written by the Jesuit Henry Garnet, who encouraged Catholics to speak ambiguously or, "equivocate" when they were being questioned by Protestant inquisitors (so they wouldn't be persecuted for their religious beliefs).

What does that have to do with anything? Henry Garnet was tried and executed for his role in the Gunpowder Plot of 1605, when a group of Catholics planned to blow up the King and Parliament (they stored kegs of gunpowder in a nearby building). The plot failed, but it was a majorly upsetting experience for everyone involved—and it's likely that a lot of the audience members would have associated the scene of Macbeth returning from the room where he's murdered the sleeping king with this terrorist plot.

Symbols

Birds: symbolises the theme of superstition and omens. When Duncan and Banquo note that Macbeth's castle enjoys the good omen of nesting martlets, the audience already realises the danger Duncan will be facing if he spends the night at Inverness (I,v). Therefore, the 'fair' omen is to become 'foul'. Clever devices such as this serve to subtly advance the plot and (like the witches) foretell what is to come.

Water & Washing – 'A little water clears us of this deed.' (II,ii)

Blood – 'Will all great Neptune's ocean wash this blood clean from my hand?' (II,ii)

Weather – 'Hover through the fog and filthy air.' (I,i)

Clothing – 'borrowed robes' (I,iii) Sleep – 'Not so sick, my lord, as she is troubled with thick-coming fancies that keep her from her rest.' (V,iii)

Foreshadowing

Foreshadowing is where, much like the witches’ predictions, the audience is given clues as to what is to follow. The witches set the tone in Act I, scene i, with a storm and predictions that Macbeth's life will become so confused he will find it difficult to differentiate between right and wrong (fair and foul). Their later predictions foreshadow a downfall the audience is aware of long before Macbeth is willing to accept their implications. The play itself opens with thunder and lightning, immediately foreshadowing the tumult which will break upon the lives of all the characters.

Dramatic Irony

Dramatic Irony is where actions enacted by character have a dual and often darker meaning. Often times it is only the audience who can appreciate the dramatic irony of a scene as they often know more than the characters in the play. When Duncan comments on the 'pleasing air' of Macbeth's castle, the audience knows that this air will be the last he breathes (I,vi.). The most powerful examples of dramatic irony include Macbeth's acceptance of the apparitions' seeming assurances that no man 'of woman born shall harm Macbeth' and that he is safe until Birnam Wood moves. Macbeth continues to feel confident of his safety even though the audience, through dramatic irony, has seen the equivocations of the witches long before Macbeth realises them.

Equivocation:

Speaking ambiguously or in riddles to hide the truth or to avoid committing to something.

Figurative Language

Shakespeare's mastery of language is exemplified through his use of imagery such as similes, metaphors, personification and symbols. Much like in poetry, Shakespeare creates 'word pictures', helping to transform the relatively bare stage into Birnam Wood or a foggy heath. Below are several examples of Shakespeare's figurative language. This is just the tip of the iceberg. See how many more you can find.

Flower imagery Look like the innocent flower, But be the serpent under it. (I,v)

Planting imagery I have begun to plant thee, and will labour To make thee full of growing. (I,iv)

Clothing imagery Why do you dress me In borrowed robes? (I,iii)

Personification: If chance will have me King, why, chance may crown me, Without my stir (I,iii) Was the hope drunk Wherein you dressed yourself? Hath it slept since? (I,vii)

Sound/aural devices

Because much of the play is written in verse, there are many examples of sound and aural devices.

Alliteration: The use of the same consonant sound at the beginning of nearby words. Example: "Fair is foul, and foul is fair."

Assonance: The use of the same vowel sound in nearby words. Examples (there are two in the following line): "He's here in double trust" (1.7.12).

Sounds in words:

1. sibilant /s/ /sh/ /ch/ /x/2. plosive /b/ /p/ /t/ /d/3. liquid /l/4. (sometimes) fricative, voiced /th/ 'the' /v/ and unvoiced /th/ 'theatre' /f/5. (rarely) nasal /m/ /n/

Stressed words (words which have a syllabic stress in them)

Added to this, you need to consider the types of nouns, adjectives, verb and adverbs being used.

Sentences:

Rhetorical questions, questions, short and clipped questions, instructions, imperatives, lists, declaratives/statements, exclamatory sentences, minor sentences…

Dramatic devices and terms are also important. You must remember that this is a play and not a novel or a poem. You must not refer to the effect on the reader; you must refer to the effect on the audience.

Soliloquy: an act of speaking one's deep, inner thoughts aloud (other characters either aren’t there or can’t hear it).

Monologue: A speech given by one character

Aside: It is a short comment or speech that a character delivers directly to the audience or to him/herself, while other actors on the stage cannot listen. This is shorter than a soliloquy

Foil: In literature, a foil is a character that shows qualities that are in contrast with the qualities of another character with the objective to highlight the traits of the other character. Banquo serves as a foil to Macbeth

Catharsis: an emotional discharge through which one can achieve a state of moral or spiritual renewal or achieve a state of liberation from anxiety and stress. Catharsis is a Greek word and it means cleansing. In literature it is used for the cleansing of emotions of the characters. It can also be any other radical change that leads to emotional rejuvenation of a person. In Act V, Macbeth (5.5.24-28) gathers this idea in his soliloquy. He says while speaking of his life:

“…a poor playerThat struts and frets his hour upon the stageAnd then is heard no more. It is a taleTold by an idiot, full of sound and fury,Signifying nothing”

Hubris is extreme pride and arrogance shown by a character that ultimately brings about his downfall.

Hamartia is a personal error in a protagonist’s personality that brings about his tragic downfall in a tragedy. This defect in a hero’s personality is also known as a “tragic flaw.

Climax a Greek term meaning “ladder”, is that particular point in a narrative at which the conflict or tension hits the highest point.

In the exam, you must ensure that you answer the question and support your ideas with quotations (4 - 6 paragraphs) and then by making close reference to some other scenes in the play. You need to ensure that all of the AOS are covered and you should aim to write in analytical paragraphs.

Possible writing frame if you need support:

In the extract, Shakespeare conveys/presents/shows/suggests/implies………………………. by using (method) such as “quotation”.

The word/phrase “quotation” is particularly effective as it evokes a sense of…………………

Furthermore, it crystalises/makes it clear/highlights/echos …………………. helping the audience to understand……………………………………..

This could also link to……………………………….. which further highlights………………………………..

Read this extract from Act 1 Scene 1 of Macbeth and then answer the question that follows.

In this scene, the witches meet up and make plans for meeting up in the future.

Starting with this scene, how does Shakespeare present ideas about the supernatural in Macbeth?

Write about:

how Shakespeare presents the witches in this scene how Shakespeare presents ideas about the supernatural in the rest of the play

30 marks

4 SPAG

ACT I

SCENE I. A desert place.

Thunder and lightning. Enter three WitchesFirst WitchWhen shall we three meet againIn thunder, lightning, or in rain?Second WitchWhen the hurlyburly's done,When the battle's lost and won.Third WitchThat will be ere the set of sun.First WitchWhere the place?Second WitchUpon the heath.Third WitchThere to meet with Macbeth.First WitchI come, Graymalkin!Second WitchPaddock calls.Third WitchAnon.ALLFair is foul, and foul is fair:Hover through the fog and filthy air.

Exeunt

Read this extract from Act 1 Scene 2 of Macbeth and then answer the question that follows.

In this extract, after the battle, Malcolm asks the sergeant to explain to King Duncan how Macbeth and Banquo fought on the battlefield.

SergeantDoubtful it stood;As two spent swimmers, that do cling togetherAnd choke their art. The merciless Macdonwald--Worthy to be a rebel, for to thatThe multiplying villanies of natureDo swarm upon him--from the western islesOf kerns and gallowglasses is supplied;And fortune, on his damned quarrel smiling,Show'd like a rebel's whore: but all's too weak:For brave Macbeth--well he deserves that name--Disdaining fortune, with his brandish'd steel,Which smoked with bloody execution,Like valour's minion carved out his passageTill he faced the slave;Which ne'er shook hands, nor bade farewell to him,Till he unseam'd him from the nave to the chaps,And fix'd his head upon our battlements.

DUNCANO valiant cousin! worthy gentleman!

SergeantAs whence the sun 'gins his reflectionShipwrecking storms and direful thunders break,So from that spring whence comfort seem'd to comeDiscomfort swells. Mark, king of Scotland, mark:No sooner justice had with valour arm'dCompell'd these skipping kerns to trust their heels,But the Norweyan lord surveying vantage,With furbish'd arms and new supplies of menBegan a fresh assault.DUNCANDismay'd not thisOur captains, Macbeth and Banquo?

SergeantYes;As sparrows eagles, or the hare the lion.If I say sooth, I must report they wereAs cannons overcharged with double cracks, so theyDoubly redoubled strokes upon the foe:Except they meant to bathe in reeking wounds,Or memorise another Golgotha,I cannot tell.But I am faint, my gashes cry for help.

Starting with this scene, how does Shakespeare present Macbeth as a powerful character?

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how Shakespeare presents Macbeth as a powerful character how Shakespeare presents Macbeth in the play as a whole 30 marks

4 SPAG

Starting with this scene, how does Shakespeare present Macbeth’s character?

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how Shakespeare presents Macbeth in this scene how Shakespeare presents Macbeth in the play as a whole

30 marks/4 SPA

Starting with this scene, how does Shakespeare present ideas about nobility?

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how Shakespeare presents nobility in this scene how Shakespeare presents ideas about nobility in the play as a whole

30 MARKS/4 SPAG

Starting with this scene, how does Shakespeare present attitudes towards violence?

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how Shakespeare presents attitudes towards violence in this scene how Shakespeare presents attitudes towards violence in the play as a whole

30 marks

4 SPAG

Read this extract from Act 1 Scene 3 of Macbeth and then answer the question that follows.

In this scene, the witches are on the heath discussing casting spells.

When Macbeth and Banquo arrive, the witches give their prophecies to them both.

Starting with this scene, how does Shakespeare present ideas about fate and free will?

Write about:

how Shakespeare presents the witches in this scene how Shakespeare presents ideas about the supernatural in the play as a whole

30 marks/4 SPAG

MACBETHSpeak, if you can: what are you?First WitchAll hail, Macbeth! hail to thee, thane of Glamis!Second WitchAll hail, Macbeth, hail to thee, thane of Cawdor!Third WitchAll hail, Macbeth, thou shalt be king hereafter!BANQUOGood sir, why do you start; and seem to fearThings that do sound so fair? I' the name of truth,Are ye fantastical, or that indeedWhich outwardly ye show? My noble partnerYou greet with present grace and great predictionOf noble having and of royal hope,That he seems rapt withal: to me you speak not.If you can look into the seeds of time,And say which grain will grow and which will not,Speak then to me, who neither beg nor fearYour favours nor your hate.First WitchHail!Second WitchHail!Third WitchHail!First WitchLesser than Macbeth, and greater.Second WitchNot so happy, yet much happier.Third WitchThou shalt get kings, though thou be none:So all hail, Macbeth and Banquo!First WitchBanquo and Macbeth, all hail!

Read this extract from Act 1 Scene 4 of Macbeth and then answer the question that follows.

In this scene, we find out that King Duncan has had the current Thane of Cawdor executed for treason. Macbeth arrives in this scene with the knowledge that he will be given the title of Thane of Cawdor.

Duncan

The sin of my ingratitude even nowWas heavy on me: thou art so far beforeThat swiftest wing of recompense is slowTo overtake thee. Would thou hadst less deserved,That the proportion both of thanks and paymentMight have been mine! only I have left to say,More is thy due than more than all can pay.

MACBETHThe service and the loyalty I owe,In doing it, pays itself. Your highness' partIs to receive our duties; and our dutiesAre to your throne and state children and servants,Which do but what they should, by doing every thingSafe toward your love and honour.

DUNCANWelcome hither:I have begun to plant thee, and will labourTo make thee full of growing. Noble Banquo,That hast no less deserved, nor must be knownNo less to have done so, let me enfold theeAnd hold thee to my heart.

BANQUOThere if I grow,The harvest is your own.

DUNCANMy plenteous joys,Wanton in fulness, seek to hide themselvesIn drops of sorrow. Sons, kinsmen, thanes,And you whose places are the nearest, knowWe will establish our estate uponOur eldest, Malcolm, whom we name hereafterThe Prince of Cumberland; which honour mustNot unaccompanied invest him only,But signs of nobleness, like stars, shall shineOn all deservers. From hence to Inverness,And bind us further to you.MACBETHThe rest is labour, which is not used for you:I'll be myself the harbinger and make joyfulThe hearing of my wife with your approach;So humbly take my leave.

DUNCANMy worthy Cawdor!

MACBETH[Aside] The Prince of Cumberland! that is a stepOn which I must fall down, or else o'erleap,For in my way it lies. Stars, hide your fires;Let not light see my black and deep desires:The eye wink at the hand; yet let that be,Which the eye fears, when it is done, to see.

Possible questions:

Starting with this scene, how does Shakespeare present ideas about ambition?

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how Shakespeare presents ideas about ambition in this scene how Shakespeare presents ideas about ambition the play as a whole

Starting with this scene, how does Shakespeare present Macbeth as a power hungry character?

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how Shakespeare presents Macbeth as power hungry in this scene how Shakespeare presents Macbeth as power hungry in the play as a whole

Starting with this scene, how does Shakespeare present Macbeth?

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how Shakespeare presents Macbeth in this scene how Shakespeare presents Macbeth in the play as a whole

Starting with this scene, how does Shakespeare present ideas about loyalty and honour?

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how Shakespeare presents ideas about loyalty and honour in this scene how Shakespeare presents ideas about honour and loyalty in the play as a whole

Read this extract from Act 1 Scene 5 of Macbeth and then answer the question that follows.

In this scene, Lady Macbeth is reading a letter from Macbeth informing her about the witches and the prophecies (including the fact that one has already come true)/

Starting with this scene, how does Shakespeare present Lady Macbeth as a powerful character?

Write about:

how Shakespeare presents Lady Macbeth in this scene how Shakespeare presents Lady Macbeth in the play as a whole

30 marks/4 SPAG

LADY MACBETH'They met me in the day of success: and I havelearned by the perfectest report, they have more inthem than mortal knowledge. When I burned in desireto question them further, they made themselves air,into which they vanished. Whiles I stood rapt inthe wonder of it, came missives from the king, whoall-hailed me 'Thane of Cawdor;' by which title,before, these weird sisters saluted me, and referredme to the coming on of time, with 'Hail, king thatshalt be!' This have I thought good to deliverthee, my dearest partner of greatness, that thoumightst not lose the dues of rejoicing, by beingignorant of what greatness is promised thee. Lay itto thy heart, and farewell.'

Glamis thou art, and Cawdor; and shalt beWhat thou art promised: yet do I fear thy nature;It is too full o' the milk of human kindnessTo catch the nearest way: thou wouldst be great;Art not without ambition, but withoutThe illness should attend it: what thou wouldst highly,That wouldst thou holily; wouldst not play false,And yet wouldst wrongly win: thou'ldst have, great Glamis,That which cries 'Thus thou must do, if thou have it;And that which rather thou dost fear to doThan wishest should be undone.' Hie thee hither,That I may pour my spirits in thine ear;And chastise with the valour of my tongueAll that impedes thee from the golden round,Which fate and metaphysical aid doth seemTo have thee crown'd withal.

Read this extract from Act 1 Scene 5 of Macbeth and then answer the question that follows.

Just before this soliloquy, Lady Macbeth has just finished reading the letter from Macbeth and has learned that King Duncan will be visiting them that night.

Starting with this scene, how does Shakespeare present Lady Macbeth’s character?

Write about:

how Shakespeare presents Lady Macbeth in this scene how Shakespeare presents Lady Macbeth in the play as a whole

30 marks/4 SPAG

Starting with this scene, how does Shakespeare present ideas about power and/or ambition?

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how Shakespeare presents ideas about power and/or ambition in this scene how Shakespeare presents ideas about power and/or ambition in the play as a whole

30 marks/4 SPAG

Starting with this scene, how does Shakespeare present ideas about disturbed minds?

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how Shakespeare presents ideas about disturbed minds in this scene how Shakespeare presents ideas about disturbed minds in the play as a whole

30 marks/4 SPAG

LADY MACBETHThe raven himself is hoarseThat croaks the fatal entrance of DuncanUnder my battlements. Come, you spiritsThat tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here,And fill me from the crown to the toe top-fullOf direst cruelty! make thick my blood;Stop up the access and passage to remorse,That no compunctious visitings of natureShake my fell purpose, nor keep peace betweenThe effect and it! Come to my woman's breasts,And take my milk for gall, you murdering ministers,Wherever in your sightless substancesYou wait on nature's mischief! Come, thick night,And pall thee in the dunnest smoke of hell,That my keen knife see not the wound it makes,Nor heaven peep through the blanket of the dark,To cry 'Hold, hold!'

Read this extract from Act 1 Scene 5 of Macbeth and then answer the question that follows.

In this part of the scene, Macbeth has just arrived back from receiving his new title: The Thane of Cawdor. He greets Lady Macbeth immediately.

Starting with this scene, how does Shakespeare present Macbeth and Lady Macbeth’s relationship?

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how Shakespeare presents their relationship in this scene how Shakespeare presents the relationship in the play as a whole

30 marks/4 SPAG

Starting with this scene, how does Shakespeare present ideas about power and/or ambition?

Write about:

how Shakespeare presents ideas about power and/or ambition in this scene

MACBETHMy dearest love,Duncan comes here to-night.LADY MACBETHAnd when goes hence?MACBETHTo-morrow, as he purposes.LADY MACBETHO, neverShall sun that morrow see!Your face, my thane, is as a book where menMay read strange matters. To beguile the time,Look like the time; bear welcome in your eye,Your hand, your tongue: look like the innocent flower,But be the serpent under't. He that's comingMust be provided for: and you shall putThis night's great business into my dispatch;Which shall to all our nights and days to comeGive solely sovereign sway and masterdom.MACBETHWe will speak further.LADY MACBETHOnly look up clear;To alter favour ever is to fear:Leave all the rest to me.

Exeunt

how Shakespeare presents ideas about power and/or ambition in the play as a whole

Read this extract from Act 1 Scene 7 of Macbeth and then answer the question that follows.

In this soliloquy, the audience witness Macbeth considering whether or not he should kill King Duncan.

Starting with this scene, how does Shakespeare present the character of Macbeth?

Write about:

how Shakespeare presents Macbeth in this scene how Shakespeare presents Macbeth in the play as a whole

30 marks/4 SPAG

MACBETHIf it were done when 'tis done, then 'twere wellIt were done quickly: if the assassinationCould trammel up the consequence, and catchWith his surcease success; that but this blowMight be the be-all and the end-all here,But here, upon this bank and shoal of time,We'ld jump the life to come. But in these casesWe still have judgment here; that we but teachBloody instructions, which, being taught, returnTo plague the inventor: this even-handed justiceCommends the ingredients of our poison'd chaliceTo our own lips. He's here in double trust;First, as I am his kinsman and his subject,Strong both against the deed; then, as his host,Who should against his murderer shut the door,Not bear the knife myself. Besides, this DuncanHath borne his faculties so meek, hath beenSo clear in his great office, that his virtuesWill plead like angels, trumpet-tongued, againstThe deep damnation of his taking-off;And pity, like a naked new-born babe,Striding the blast, or heaven's cherubim, horsedUpon the sightless couriers of the air,Shall blow the horrid deed in every eye,That tears shall drown the wind. I have no spurTo prick the sides of my intent, but onlyVaulting ambition, which o'erleaps itselfAnd falls on the other.

Read this extract from Act 1 Scene 5 of Macbeth and then answer the question that follows.In this part of the scene, Macbeth begins to tell his wife that he can’t go through with the murder of King Duncan.

MACBETHWe will proceed no further in this business:He hath honour'd me of late; and I have boughtGolden opinions from all sorts of people,Which would be worn now in their newest gloss,Not cast aside so soon.

LADY MACBETHWas the hope drunkWherein you dress'd yourself? hath it slept since?And wakes it now, to look so green and paleAt what it did so freely? From this timeSuch I account thy love. Art thou afeardTo be the same in thine own act and valourAs thou art in desire? Wouldst thou have thatWhich thou esteem'st the ornament of life,And live a coward in thine own esteem,Letting 'I dare not' wait upon 'I would,'Like the poor cat i' the adage?

MACBETHPrithee, peace:I dare do all that may become a man;Who dares do more is none.

LADY MACBETHWhat beast was't, then,That made you break this enterprise to me?When you durst do it, then you were a man;And, to be more than what you were, you wouldBe so much more the man. Nor time nor placeDid then adhere, and yet you would make both:They have made themselves, and that their fitness nowDoes unmake you. I have given suck, and knowHow tender 'tis to love the babe that milks me:I would, while it was smiling in my face,Have pluck'd my nipple from his boneless gums,And dash'd the brains out, had I so sworn as youHave done to this.

MACBETHIf we should fail?

LADY MACBETHWe fail!But screw your courage to the sticking-place,And we'll not fail. When Duncan is asleep--Whereto the rather shall his day's hard journeySoundly invite him--his two chamberlainsWill I with wine and wassail so convinceThat memory, the warder of the brain,Shall be a fume, and the receipt of reasonA limbeck only: when in swinish sleepTheir drenched natures lie as in a death,What cannot you and I perform uponThe unguarded Duncan? what not put uponHis spongy officers, who shall bear the guiltOf our great quell?

Starting with this scene, how does Shakespeare present Macbeth and Lady Macbeth’s relationship?Write about:

how Shakespeare presents their relationship in this scene how Shakespeare presents the relationship in the play as a whole

30 marks/4 SPAG

Starting with this scene, how does Shakespeare present ideas about power and/or ambition?

Write about:

how Shakespeare presents ideas about power and/or ambition in this scene how Shakespeare presents ideas about power and/or ambition in the play as a whole

Starting with this scene, how does Shakespeare present Macbeth?Write about:

how Shakespeare presents Macbeth in this scene how Shakespeare presents Macbeth in the play as a whole

Starting with this scene, how does Shakespeare present Lady Macbeth?Write about:

how Shakespeare presents Lady Macbeth in this scene how Shakespeare presents Lady Macbeth in the play as a whole

Read this extract from Act 2 Scene 1 of Macbeth and then answer the question that follows.In this soliloquy, the audience witness Macbeth considering what he is about to do and the consequences of it (killing King Duncan).

MACBETHGo bid thy mistress, when my drink is ready,She strike upon the bell. Get thee to bed.

Exit Servant

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, sensibleTo feeling as to sight? or art thou butA dagger of the mind, a false creation,Proceeding from the heat-oppressed brain?I see thee yet, in form as palpableAs this which now I draw.Thou marshall'st me the way that I was going;And such an instrument I was to use.Mine eyes are made the fools o' the other senses,Or else worth all the rest; I see thee still,And on thy blade and dudgeon gouts of blood,Which was not so before. There's no such thing:It is the bloody business which informsThus to mine eyes. Now o'er the one halfworldNature seems dead, and wicked dreams abuseThe curtain'd sleep; witchcraft celebratesPale Hecate's offerings, and wither'd murder,Alarum'd by his sentinel, the wolf,Whose howl's his watch, thus with his stealthy pace.With Tarquin's ravishing strides, towards his designMoves like a ghost. Thou sure and firm-set earth,Hear not my steps, which way they walk, for fearThy very stones prate of my whereabout,And take the present horror from the time,Which now suits with it. Whiles I threat, he lives:Words to the heat of deeds too cold breath gives.

A bell rings

I go, and it is done; the bell invites me.Hear it not, Duncan; for it is a knellThat summons thee to heaven or to hell.

Exit

Starting with this scene, how does Shakespeare present the character of Macbeth?

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how Shakespeare presents Macbeth in this scene how Shakespeare presents Macbeth in the play as a whole 30 marks/4 SPAG

Starting with this scene, how does Shakespeare present ideas about power and ambition?

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how Shakespeare presents ideas about power and ambition in this scene how Shakespeare present ideas about power and ambition in the play as a whole

30 marks/4 SPAG

Starting with this scene, how does Shakespeare present Macbeth?Write about:

how Shakespeare presents Macbeth in this scene how Shakespeare presents Macbeth in the play as a whole

Starting with this scene, how does Shakespeare present ideas about guilt?Write about:

how Shakespeare presents ideas about guilt in this scene how Shakespeare presents ideas about guilt in the play as a whole

Read this extract from Act 2 Scene 2 of Macbeth and then answer the question that follows.In this part of the scene, Macbeth returns from killing King Duncan.

Starting with this scene, how does Shakespeare present the relationship between Macbeth and Lady Macbeth?

Write about:

how Shakespeare presents ideas about their relationship in this scene how Shakespeare present ideas about power and ambition in the play as a whole 30 marks/4 SPAG

Enter MACBETH

My husband!MACBETHI have done the deed. Didst thou not hear a noise?LADY MACBETHI heard the owl scream and the crickets cry.Did not you speak?MACBETHWhen?LADY MACBETHNow.MACBETHAs I descended?LADY MACBETHAy.MACBETHHark!Who lies i' the second chamber?LADY MACBETHDonalbain.MACBETHThis is a sorry sight.Looking on his handsLADY MACBETHA foolish thought, to say a sorry sight. MACBETHThere's one did laugh in's sleep, and one cried'Murder!'That they did wake each other: I stood and heard them:But they did say their prayers, and address'd themAgain to sleep.LADY MACBETHThere are two lodged together.MACBETHOne cried 'God bless us!' and 'Amen' the other;As they had seen me with these hangman's hands.Listening their fear, I could not say 'Amen,'When they did say 'God bless us!'LADY MACBETHConsider it not so deeply.MACBETHBut wherefore could not I pronounce 'Amen'?I had most need of blessing, and 'Amen'Stuck in my throat.LADY MACBETHThese deeds must not be thoughtAfter these ways; so, it will make us mad.

Read this extract from Act 2 Scene 2 of Macbeth and then answer the question that follows.In this part of the scene, Macbeth has returned from killing the king and is wracked with guilt.

LADY MACBETHInfirm of purpose!Give me the daggers: the sleeping and the deadAre but as pictures: 'tis the eye of childhoodThat fears a painted devil. If he do bleed,I'll gild the faces of the grooms withal;For it must seem their guilt.

Exit. Knocking within

MACBETHWhence is that knocking?How is't with me, when every noise appals me?What hands are here? ha! they pluck out mine eyes.Will all great Neptune's ocean wash this bloodClean from my hand? No, this my hand will ratherThe multitudinous seas in incarnadine,Making the green one red.

Re-enter LADY MACBETH

LADY MACBETHMy hands are of your colour; but I shameTo wear a heart so white.

Knocking within

I hear a knockingAt the south entry: retire we to our chamber;A little water clears us of this deed:How easy is it, then! Your constancyHath left you unattended.

Knocking within

Hark! more knocking.Get on your nightgown, lest occasion call us,And show us to be watchers. Be not lostSo poorly in your thoughts.

Starting with this scene, how does Shakespeare present the relationship between Macbeth and Lady Macbeth?

Write about:

how Shakespeare presents ideas about their relationship in this scene how Shakespeare present ideas about power and ambition in the play as a whole 30 marks/4 SPAG

Starting with this scene, how does Shakespeare present Macbeth?

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how Shakespeare presents Macbeth in this scene? how Shakespeare present Macbeth in the play as a whole 30 marks/4 SPAG

Starting with this scene, how does Shakespeare present Lady Macbeth?

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how Shakespeare presents Lady Macbeth in this scene how Shakespeare present Lady Macbeth in the play as a whole 30 marks/4 SPAG

Starting with this scene, how does Shakespeare present ideas about guilt in Macbeth?

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how Shakespeare presents ideas about guilt in this scene how Shakespeare present ideas about guilt in the play as a whole 30 marks/4 SPAG

Read this extract from Act 2 Scene 7.Just before this, Macbeth has killed the king and Lady Macbeth has helped him to hide what they have done. Early the next morning, Macduff and Lennox arrive. Macduff finds the king’s body. Macbeth then goes to the room and kills the guards.

Starting with this scene, how does Shakespeare present ideas about power/violence/murder/death in Macbeth?

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how Shakespeare presents ideas about …….. in this scene how Shakespeare present ideas about ….. in the play as a whole

30 marks/4 SPAG

MACBETHHad I but died an hour before this chance,I had lived a blessed time; for, from this instant,There 's nothing serious in mortality:All is but toys: renown and grace is dead;The wine of life is drawn, and the mere leesIs left this vault to brag of.

Enter MALCOLM and DONALBAIN

DONALBAINWhat is amiss?

MACBETHYou are, and do not know't:The spring, the head, the fountain of your bloodIs stopp'd; the very source of it is stopp'd.

MACDUFFYour royal father 's murder'd.

MALCOLMO, by whom?

LENNOXThose of his chamber, as it seem'd, had done 't:Their hands and faces were an badged with blood;So were their daggers, which unwiped we foundUpon their pillows:They stared, and were distracted; no man's lifeWas to be trusted with them.

MACBETHO, yet I do repent me of my fury,That I did kill them.

MACDUFFWherefore did you so?

MACBETHWho can be wise, amazed, temperate and furious,Loyal and neutral, in a moment? No man:The expedition my violent loveOutrun the pauser, reason. Here lay Duncan,His silver skin laced with his golden blood;And his gash'd stabs look'd like a breach in natureFor ruin's wasteful entrance: there, the murderers,Steep'd in the colours of their trade, their daggersUnmannerly breech'd with gore: who could refrain,That had a heart to love, and in that heartCourage to make 's love kno wn?

Read this extract from Act 3 Scene 1 of Macbeth and then answer the question that follows.Macbeth has now been crowned king after the king’s sons flee. Macbeth has now become distrusting of those around him, but especially Banquo. Just before this soliloquy, Macbeth invites Banquo for a banquet that evening. In their conversation, Macbeth establishes exactly where he will be that afternoon. After this soliloquy, he instructs the murderers to kill Banquo.

Starting with this scene, how does Shakespeare present Macbeth/ideas about power/ideas about fear/ideas about treachery…?

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how Shakespeare presents ………..in this scene how Shakespeare presents ……………in the play as a whole

30 marks/4 SPAG

MACBETHBring them before us.

Exit Attendant

To be thus is nothing;But to be safely thus.--Our fears in BanquoStick deep; and in his royalty of natureReigns that which would be fear'd: 'tis much he dares;And, to that dauntless temper of his mind,He hath a wisdom that doth guide his valourTo act in safety. There is none but heWhose being I do fear: and, under him,My Genius is rebuked; as, it is said,Mark Antony's was by Caesar. He chid the sistersWhen first they put the name of king upon me,And bade them speak to him: then prophet-likeThey hail'd him father to a line of kings:Upon my head they placed a fruitless crown,And put a barren sceptre in my gripe,Thence to be wrench'd with an unlineal hand,No son of mine succeeding. If 't be so,For Banquo's issue have I filed my mind;For them the gracious Duncan have I murder'd;Put rancours in the vessel of my peaceOnly for them; and mine eternal jewelGiven to the common enemy of man,To make them kings, the seed of Banquo kings!Rather than so, come fate into the list.And champion me to the utterance! Who's there!

Read this extract from Act 3 Scene 2 of Macbeth and then answer the question that follows.In this part of the scene, Lady Macbeth encourages Macbeth to stop worrying and be happy for his guests at the banquet that evening.

Starting with this scene, how does Shakespeare present the relationship between Macbeth and Lady Macbeth/ideas about guilt/fear…?

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how Shakespeare presents ……….. in this scene how Shakespeare presents ………….in the play as a whole

30 marks/4 SPAG

LADY MACBETH

Enter MACBETH

How now, my lord! why do you keep alone,Of sorriest fancies your companions making,Using those thoughts which should indeed have diedWith them they think on? Things without all remedyShould be without regard: what's done is done.

MACBETHWe have scotch'd the snake, not kill'd it:She'll close and be herself, whilst our poor maliceRemains in danger of her former tooth.But let the frame of things disjoint, both theworlds suffer,Ere we will eat our meal in fear and sleepIn the affliction of these terrible dreamsThat shake us nightly: better be with the dead,Whom we, to gain our peace, have sent to peace,Than on the torture of the mind to lieIn restless ecstasy. Duncan is in his grave;After life's fitful fever he sleeps well;Treason has done his worst: nor steel, nor poison,Malice domestic, foreign levy, nothing,Can touch him further.

LADY MACBETHCome on;Gentle my lord, sleek o'er your rugged looks;Be bright and jovial among your guests to-night.

MACBETHSo shall I, love; and so, I pray, be you:Let your remembrance apply to Banquo;Present him eminence, both with eye and tongue:Unsafe the while, that weMust lave our honours in these flattering streams,And make our faces vizards to our hearts,Disguising what they are.

LADY MACBETHYou must leave this.

MACBETHO, full of scorpions is my mind, dear wife!Thou know'st that Banquo, and his Fleance, lives.

Read this extract from Act 3 Scene 4 of Macbeth and then answer the question that follows.This is the banquet scene. Just before this, the murderers inform Macbeth that they have killed Banquo but Fleance escaped. Almost immediately after the banquet begins, Macbeth begins to see the ghost of Banquo.

Starting with this scene, how does Shakespeare present Macbeth/madness/mental instability/ guilt/fear/treachery/good vs evil?

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how Shakespeare presents …. in this scene how Shakespeare presents … in the play as a whole 30 marks/4 SPAG

Re-enter GHOST OF BANQUO

MACBETHAvaunt! and quit my sight! let the earth hide thee!Thy bones are marrowless, thy blood is cold;Thou hast no speculation in those eyesWhich thou dost glare with!

LADY MACBETHThink of this, good peers,But as a thing of custom: 'tis no other;Only it spoils the pleasure of the time.

MACBETHWhat man dare, I dare:Approach thou like the rugged Russian bear,The arm'd rhinoceros, or the Hyrcan tiger;Take any shape but that, and my firm nervesShall never tremble: or be alive again,And dare me to the desert with thy sword;If trembling I inhabit then, protest meThe baby of a girl. Hence, horrible shadow!Unreal mockery, hence!

GHOST OF BANQUO vanishes

Why, so: being gone,I am a man again. Pray you, sit still.LADY MACBETHYou have displaced the mirth, broke the good meeting,With most admired disorder.

MACBETHCan such things be,And overcome us like a summer's cloud,Without our special wonder? You make me strangeEven to the disposition that I owe,When now I think you can behold such sights,And keep the natural ruby of your cheeks,When mine is blanched with fear.

ROSSWhat sights, my lord?

LADY MACBETHI pray you, speak not; he grows worse and worse;Question enrages him. At once, good night:Stand not upon the order of your going,But go at once.

Act 4, scene 1

In a cavern, the weird sisters throw awful ingredients such as eye of newt and toe of frog" into a cauldron full of a boiling brew. Hecate arrives, and all dance and sing. One witch cries out, "Something wicked this way comes" Macbeth enters. He commands the witches to answer his questions.

The witches conjure up three apparitions. First a floating head appears and tells Macbeth to beware of Macduff.

Next, a bloody child appears. The child says that "no man of woman born / Shall harm Macbeth"

Finally a child wearing a crown and holding a tree appears. It says that Macbeth will not be defeated until Great Birnam Wood marches to Dunsinane Hill. Macbeth is pleased: since forests don't march, he must be invincible.

Macbeth wants to know one more thing: will Banquo's heirs have the throne? The witches perform a final conjuring. Eight kings appear walking in a line, the eighth holding a mirror, and all of them followed by Banquo's ghost. Macbeth, furious at this sign that Banquo's heirs will get the throne, demands answers. But Hecate mocks him and the witches vanish.

Lennox enters. He brings word that Macduff has fled to England. In an aside, Macbeth scolds himself for failing to kill Macduff when he wanted to earlier. He vows in the future to act on every impulse, and decides to attack Macduff's castle and kill anyone connected to him: servants, wife, and children.

Read this extract from Act 4 Scene 1 from Macbeth and then answer the question that follows.Just prior to this part of the scene, Macbeth is shown speaking to the witches again and receiving more prophecies about his future. In this part of the scene, Lennox informs Macbeth that Macduff has left for England.

Starting with this scene, how does Shakespeare present ideas about absolute power?

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how Shakespeare presents ideas about absolute power in this scene how Shakespeare presents ideas about absolute power in the play as a whole

30 marks/4 SPAG

LENNOX'Tis two or three, my lord, that bring you wordMacduff is fled to England.MACBETHFled to England!LENNOXAy, my good lord.MACBETHTime, thou anticipatest my dread exploits:The flighty purpose never is o'ertookUnless the deed go with it; from this momentThe very firstlings of my heart shall beThe firstlings of my hand. And even now,To crown my thoughts with acts, be it thought and done:The castle of Macduff I will surprise;Seize upon Fife; give to the edge o' the swordHis wife, his babes, and all unfortunate soulsThat trace him in his line. No boasting like a fool;This deed I'll do before this purpose cool.But no more sights!--Where are these gentlemen?Come, bring me where they are.

Exeunt

Read this extract from Act 4 Scene 3 of Macbeth and then answer the question that follows.

In the previous scene, Macduff’s wife has been murdered (but he is not aware of this in this extract). In this extract, Malcolm and Macduff discuss Macbeth. Later on in this scene, Macduff learns of the murders and is devastated but is resolute in that they must bring down Macbeth.

Starting with this scene, how does Shakespeare present Macbeth’s character/ideas about valour/ideas about treachery?

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how Shakespeare presents how Shakespeare presents in the play as a whole 30 marks 4 SPAG

MACDUFFO Scotland, Scotland!

MALCOLMIf such a one be fit to govern, speak:I am as I have spoken.

MACDUFFFit to govern!No, not to live. O nation miserable,With an untitled tyrant bloody-scepter'd,When shalt thou see thy wholesome days again,Since that the truest issue of thy throneBy his own interdiction stands accursed,And does blaspheme his breed? Thy royal fatherWas a most sainted king: the queen that bore thee,Oftener upon her knees than on her feet,Died every day she lived. Fare thee well!These evils thou repeat'st upon thyselfHave banish'd me from Scotland. O my breast,Thy hope ends here!

MALCOLMMacduff, this noble passion,Child of integrity, hath from my soulWiped the black scruples, reconciled my thoughtsTo thy good truth and honour. Devilish MacbethBy many of these trains hath sought to win meInto his power, and modest wisdom plucks meFrom over-credulous haste: but God aboveDeal between thee and me! for even nowI put myself to thy direction, andUnspeak mine own detraction, here abjureThe taints and blames I laid upon myself,For strangers to my nature. I am yetUnknown to woman, never was forsworn,Scarcely have coveted what was mine own,At no time broke my faith, would not betrayThe devil to his fellow and delightNo less in truth than life: my first false speakingWas this upon myself: what I am truly,Is thine and my poor country's to command:Whither indeed, before thy here-approach,Old Siward, with ten thousand warlike men,Already at a point, was setting forth.Now we'll together; and the chance of goodnessBe like our warranted quarrel! Why are you silent?

MACDUFFSuch welcome and unwelcome things at once'Tis hard to reconcile.

Read this extract from Act 5 Scene 1 of Macbeth and then answer the question that follows.This is the first time that Lady Macbeth has been on stage since the banquet scene. In this scene, the doctor and gentlewoman are watching Lady Macbeth as she has become unwell.

Starting with this scene, how does Shakespeare present Lady Macbeth’s character?Write about:

how Shakespeare presents Lady Macbeth/disturbed minds/ideas about guilt/fear in this scene how Shakespeare presents Lady Macbeth in the play as a whole 30 marks/4 SPAG

LADY MACBETHYet here's a spot.

DoctorHark! she speaks: I will set down what comes fromher, to satisfy my remembrance the more strongly.

LADY MACBETHOut, damned spot! out, I say!--One: two: why,then, 'tis time to do't.--Hell is murky!--Fie, mylord, fie! a soldier, and afeard? What need wefear who knows it, when none can call our power toaccount?--Yet who would have thought the old manto have had so much blood in him.

DoctorDo you mark that?

LADY MACBETHThe thane of Fife had a wife: where is she now?--What, will these hands ne'er be clean?--No more o'that, my lord, no more o' that: you mar all withthis starting.

DoctorGo to, go to; you have known what you should not.

GentlewomanShe has spoke what she should not, I am sure ofthat: heaven knows what she has known.

LADY MACBETHHere's the smell of the blood still: all theperfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this littlehand. Oh, oh, oh!

DoctorWhat a sigh is there! The heart is sorely charged.

GentlewomanI would not have such a heart in my bosom for thedignity of the whole body.

DoctorWell, well, well,--

GentlewomanPray God it be, sir.

DoctorThis disease is beyond my practise: yet I have knownthose which have walked in their sleep who have diedholily in their beds.

LADY MACBETHWash your hands, put on your nightgown; look not sopale.--I tell you yet again, Banquo's buried; hecannot come out on's grave.

DoctorEven so?

LADY MACBETHTo bed, to bed! there's knocking at the gate:come, come, come, come, give me your hand. What'sdone cannot be undone.--To bed, to bed, to bed!

Read this extract from Act 5 Scene 5 from Macbeth and then answer the question that follows.Macbeth is aware of the army advancing on his castle. Just prior to this, he hears a scream.

Starting with this scene, how does Shakespeare present Macbeth’s character/love and relationships/regret/guilt?

Write about:

how Shakespeare presents Macbeth in this scene how Shakespeare presents Macbeth in the play as a whole

30 marks/4 SPAG

MACBETHI have almost forgot the taste of fears;The time has been, my senses would have cool'dTo hear a night-shriek; and my fell of hairWould at a dismal treatise rouse and stirAs life were in't: I have supp'd full with horrors;Direness, familiar to my slaughterous thoughtsCannot once start me.

Re-enter SEYTON

Wherefore was that cry?SEYTONThe queen, my lord, is dead.MACBETHShe should have died hereafter;There would have been a time for such a word.To-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow,Creeps in this petty pace from day to dayTo the last syllable of recorded time,And all our yesterdays have lighted foolsThe way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle!Life's but a walking shadow, a poor playerThat struts and frets his hour upon the stageAnd then is heard no more: it is a taleTold by an idiot, full of sound and fury,Signifying nothing.

Read this extract from Act 5 Scene 8 from Macbeth and then answer the question that follows.Macbeth’s castle has been attacked and Macbeth is fighting with Macduff.

Starting with this scene, how does Shakespeare present Macbeth’s character/fate/freewill/power?Write about:how Shakespeare presents Macbeth in this scenehow Shakespeare presents Macbeth in the play as a whole 30 marks/4 SPAG

Enter MACBETHMACBETHWhy should I play the Roman fool, and dieOn mine own sword? whiles I see lives, the gashesDo better upon them.Enter MACDUFFMACDUFFTurn, hell-hound, turn!MACBETHOf all men else I have avoided thee:But get thee back; my soul is too much chargedWith blood of thine already.MACDUFFI have no words:My voice is in my sword: thou bloodier villainThan terms can give thee out!They fightMACBETHThou losest labour:As easy mayst thou the intrenchant airWith thy keen sword impress as make me bleed:Let fall thy blade on vulnerable crests;I bear a charmed life, which must not yield,To one of woman born.MACDUFFDespair thy charm;And let the angel whom thou still hast servedTell thee, Macduff was from his mother's wombUntimely ripp'd.MACBETHAccursed be that tongue that tells me so,For it hath cow'd my better part of man!And be these juggling fiends no more believed,That palter with us in a double sense;That keep the word of promise to our ear,And break it to our hope. I'll not fight with thee.MACDUFFThen yield thee, coward,And live to be the show and gaze o' the time:We'll have thee, as our rarer monsters are,Painted on a pole, and underwrit,'Here may you see the tyrant.'MACBETHI will not yield,To kiss the ground before young Malcolm's feet,And to be baited with the rabble's curse.Though Birnam wood be come to Dunsinane,And thou opposed, being of no woman born,Yet I will try the last. Before my bodyI throw my warlike shield. Lay on, Macduff,And damn'd be him that first cries, 'Hold, enough!'