Act 1 Scene 7

The following is an extract from the essay Was Macbeth Ambitious? At the opening of this scene Macbeth delivers a soliloquy in which he explains three very significant reasons why he doesn’t want to kill Duncan: that evil deeds always “return to plague th’inventor;” that as the King’s “kinsman,” “subject” and “host” Macbeth should “against …

The Sudden Death of Lady Macbeth

This is an extract from the essay Was Macbeth Ambitious?   The witches having greater influence over the action also helps explain one of my other big bug-bears about this play: the sudden change and death of Lady Macbeth. In A3 S5 Hecate arrives, in a scene that CliffsNotes describes as being “unnecessary to the …

Macbeth – Essay Plans

Below are a series of essay questions, with opening paragraphs and some suggestions as to what you could write about for the rest of the essay. These are not set in stone and you should work with what you find most comfortable.   Macbeth as a strong man: Macbeth begins the play as a strong …

The Macbeths’ Relationship

I think that exploring the presentation of their relationship is quite likely to come up this year. Don't blame be if it doesn't, but it's worth have a few focuses for exam questions. You can write quite a lot about their relationship, but I'd advise you to focus on some of the more interesting ideas …

Power in Macbeth

This is very similar to ambition, and you'd do well to read that post first (you can find it by clicking here). There are lots of different ways that Shakespeare explores power in Macbeth, however his main message was that the desire for power is wrong, and that people should stay where they are in …

Order and Disorder in Macbeth

The most important thing that Shakespeare wanted to show in Macbeth was that killing the king was wrong. To do this, he had Macbeth kill the king and then had the kingdom fall into chaos. At the end of the play, order is restored when Malcolm - Duncan's son and the rightful heir to the …

Guilt in Macbeth

To answer this question, you're best to focus on Lady Macbeth. The answer to this question in a couple of sentences is: At the beginning of the play Lady Macbeth is insistent that she will feel no guilt, and she often ridicules Macbeth for feeling guilty about what he's done. However, at the end of …

Macbeth: What’s it all about?

Macbeth is one of Shakespeare’s most famous tragedies. It’s generally considered to be one of his most exciting plays, full of lies, deceit, treachery and murder. It’s not much fun, it’s quite a dark story, but Shakespeare explores some interesting themes and the play centres around the complex relationship between Lady Macbeth and her husband. …

Extract Questions for Macbeth

Below are a series of extracts and questions for Macbeth. A lot of the extracts here are longer than the ones you'll get in the exam, but they are taken from throughout the play and going over them will be a useful reminder of what happened. For each extract you should be able to: Answer …

Key Quotes for Macbeth

Act 1: Macbeth: For brave Macbeth -- well he deserves that name -- Disdaining fortune, with his brandish'd steel, Which smoked with bloody execution, So fair and foul a day I have not seen to be king / Stands not within the prospect of belief, why do I yield to that suggestion / Whose horrid …