Summary
Summary GCSE Macbeth essay plans
completely detailed and fully analysed 'Macbeth' essay plans including fully explained quotes, context and exemplar introduction paragraphs to be used for GCSE
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KEY SYNONYMS/ VOCAB FOR ESSAY WRITINGTHEMES IN MACBETH CHARACTERS IN MACBETH
Shows
A sense of
Depicts
- Power Macbeth A overtone of
Signifies
Including kingship and tyranny Lady Macbeth An underlying quality
Indicates
Masculinity Banquo of
Expresses
Macduff An atmosphere of
Conveys
-Ambition (hamartia) Malcom
Communicates
King Duncan Used
Exhibits
-Guilt & remorse (including hallucinations) Employed
Portrays
Utilized
Demonstrates
-The supernatural & the witches Harnessed
Exemplifies
Equivocation Adoption of
Alludes
Appearance & reality, duplicity
Connotes
Establishes
-Violence
Projects
Suggests
Emphasises
Accentuates
Affirms
Asserts qualities of
Underscores
Amplifys
Enhance
Heighten
Maximise
Augments
,POWER IN MACBETH
Points to include moral turpitude
Intro
Both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are illustrated as power driven maniacs. Due to this, the social hierarchy of the Jacobean era becomes disheveled as both characters obt
power, propellant by each other, as well as the supernatural forces of evil. Lady Macbeth is portrayed as the dominant figure in the marriage whilst viewing her husband a
in the necessary willpower to achieve their mutual ambitions. Significantly, Lady Macbeth is depicted to evoke evil spirits, constantly attracting foul wickedness wherever s
emphasizing Macbeth’s perhaps misogynistic approach to this play Moreover, Lady Macbeth aids in the impetus/incitement/spur of Macbeth’s craving for potency which
imminently/inexorably causes him to become a demanding and power-hungry dictator.
Paragraph 1 act 1 scene 5
-Immediately, Lady Macbeth’s power over Macbeth is seemingly augmented as she persistently taunts Macbeth & criticizes her husband’s apparent lack of composure wit
her emasculating phrases. Her enthusiasm at the prospect of killing Duncan by her own hand amplifies her desire for power & control over men.
Lady Macbeth is proposing to the audience that she is going to ‘pour my spirits in thine ear and chastise with the valour of my tongue’ > ambition causes Lady Macbeth
acts in order to gain power
> language of ‘spirits’ come directly from lady Macbeth further enforcing the elucidation of her role as ‘the goddess of witchcraft’
> Lady Macbeth’s ambition causes her to sin- “Chastise- scold” could be a referent to the condemnation that God will feel towards Lady Macbeth’s actions
> reference to Lady Macbeth’s tongue cold be perceived by the Jacobean audience as being a metaphorical Biblical reference, making her tongue comparable to the serpe
Adam and Eve.
>This could further make the Shakespearean audience be profoundly fearful of Lady Macbeth as they will associate her with sin and corruption.
> Significantly, there is an emulation/parallel with the start of the play through Macbeth’s epithet ‘valour’s minion’, yet here, Lady Macbeth’s valour is within her words as
words as a weapon
>It could be argued that Shakespeare personifies Lady Macbeth’s tongue as having valour to not only convey that ambition lowers Lady Macbeth’s inhibitions and makes h
courageously, but to also throw into relief that Lady Macbeth is an unconventional character
‘Your hand, your tongue; look like th’ inccocent flower, be the serpent under’t ’
> Using a Machiavellian quality and emotional manipulation which exemplifies Lady Macbeth’s moral turpitude
> Biblical allusion & metaphor, suggesting that he should hold the guise of the innocent, yet his true nature should be the devil (Satan) underneath, links to qualities of ap
Here Lady Macbeth is presented as a temptress, amplifying her strong female identity whose ambitions speak for her complete obsession with power
Here, images of obscurity all clearly chime with lady Macbeth’s desire for her crimes to pass unseemly by prying eyes. These images serve as a counterpart to Macbeth
open face where ‘men can read strange matters’ act 1 scene 5
>Yet this semantic field carry connotations of impure intent and evil; reflecting LM’s need to conceal & hide her own weakness and misgivings from both Macbeth and
, CONTEXT
IN the context of gender roles in Jacobean England, Lady Macbeth would have been considered an unconventional, even unnatural woman for rejecting maternal compassio
masculine violence and ambition as women were primarily seen as care givers confined to the domestic sphere- the only power women had in medieval Scotland would be
words (expected to be submissive/subordinate to their husbands). This soliloquy furthers the intention to subvert nature to the design of the Macbeths; their drive for powe
the Macbeths to the phantasmagoric realm; a shifting complex of things imagined and unnatural. There is a subversion of the natural order as the polarity (polar opposites)
feminine and masculine roles is absent.
Paragraph 2
Throughout the play, women seem to be portrayed as sources of violence & evil, Lady Macbeth evokes spirits/dark agents & bad omens violating natural laws as she is seen
of evil. The underscoring power of the witches and their prophecies soon become the catalyst of Macbeth’s ambition, supplementary to Lady Macbeth’s drive to debilitate M
deprive/dispossess/strip/divest him of his masculinity significantly as she is exhibited as the goddess of witchcraft. Unlike her husband, she lacks all humanity/ moral scruple
deprive herself of her feminine instincts which make her seem impotent, vulnerable all of which demonstrate a transparency to her weaknesses.
‘the raven himself is hoarse that croaks the fatal entrance of Duncan’ act 1 scene 5
> Onomatopoeic language adds to the atmospheric image of death established in her castle
The use of prolepsis through the symbol of a raven is employed in order to project the idea of ill omens, they are renowned for eating the decayed flesh of fallen soldiers
further anticipating a prophecy for disaster
yet this closely links the idea of Both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth being illustrated as a sinister, parasitical couple of whom feed on the lives of those more powerful and b
themselves
‘Come you spirits.. Unsex me here’
> Lady Macbeth summons/elicits/induces evil spirits/dark agents to dehumanize her and strip her of her feminine weakness as she seeks for her own body to be decompose
> Having called upon malevolent presences to help disintegrate her body, she does not want to remain in a physically diminished state, yet rather wants to be reconstituted
as an omnipotent, armoured character
‘come & ‘unsex’ chain of imperatives employed throughout this phrase amplifying authoritative qualities as well as a sense of determination
‘(Macbeth) is too full o’ th’milk of human kindness’, ‘take my milk for gall’ personification of his nature as being too gentle to get to the top of the social hierarchy,
> milk has connotations of maternal qualities & nurturing there’s imagery which suggests how she views him as a child who needs to be nurtured and guided, further emph
ultimate potency over Macbeth, wants to swap her milk for poison
> colour symbolism as milk has connotations of innocence and purity yet sees these qualities as a flaw in Macbeth- he is exceedingly too full of humanity which she strategic
exterminate. Also symbolizes what kind of man Macbeth was before all the chaos & murder – portraying his purity and his blank slate which emulates how milk is white; as t
are seen as positive to some people, are seen as a weakness to lady Macbeth
> LM is presented as ruthless & forces murder upon her husband uses her words as a weapon
CONTEXT (optional)
> In Jacobean England, women were supposed to be weak and subservient therefore by Shakespeare insinuating that Lady Macbeth is a brave character, the Jacobean audie
shocked. Alternatively, a feminist audience may respect Lady Macbeth for not being complicit in her subjugation and subverting the stereotype that women were supposed
subservient. Shakespeare shows through Lady Macbeth’s character that not only does ambition have the power to corrupt someone but that it can cause you to become mo
seen with Lady Macbeth. Shakespeare could use the theme of ambition as a warning to the Jacobean audience to nurture your ambition rather than let it taint you.
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