Summary GCSE Macbeth grade 9 notes and analysis AQA
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Course
English
Institution
GCSE
GCSE AQA Macbeth act and scene summaries, character analysis, all themes analysed with key quotes. Top quotes to use with grade 9 analysis. Aesthetic notes, colourful.
,Macbeth- as a tragic hero:
• a tragic hero (defined by aristrottle) is someone who:
-is highly renowned
-good to bad
-has a hamartia
• highly renowned- a1s2, the seat at describes how “brave Macbeth” killed Macdonwald on the battle field form the “nave to
th’ chops”. The use if violent lang here shows how the world in which this play is set in. It’s a world in which people prove
themselves worthy of honour by their actions on the battlefield. This scene ends with king Duncan calling Macbeth “noble”.
• Good to bad- after hearing the witches prophecies, Macbeth doesn’t leave it to free will to takes its own course.
• Macbeth’s ambition (hamartia)- when Macbeth meets the witches, the significance of Macbeth’s actions are highlighted
especially when compared to his friend Banquo, who also receives the prophecies about himself also. Banquo is a foil to
Macbeth. After seeing the witches, Macbeth descends into the path of destruction which will ultimately bring about his
demise
Macbeth is describes differently by different characters:
• “a hand accursed” act 3 scene 5 by Lennox
• “something wicked this way comes” act 4 scene 1 by second witch
• “tyrant, whose soul name blisters our tongues” act 4 as scene 3 by Malcom
• “devilish” act 4 scene 3 by Malcom
• “tyrant” act 5 scene 7 by young siward
• “hell-hound” act 5 scene 8 by Malcom
• “hell butcher” act 5 scene 9 by Malcom
• In act 1 scene 5 M. Calls LM his “dearest love”. Changes in act 5 scene 5 when finding out about her death, he says “she
should have died hereafter”
Sympathy towards Macbeth:
• the purpose of a tragedy is to excite pity and fear
• In Macbeth, we learn about the dangers of ambition creating fear amongst the audience
• if the audience hate Macbeth, they won’t learn anything from his downfall and lean the moral message
• in order to help the audience to still eve some shred of humanity in Macbeth, Shakespeare makes sure that king Duncan’s
murder isn’t shown on stage
• in act 5 scene 8, Macbeth is seen as a brave dwarf or once agin like in the begging of the play
- “i will not yield” and “before my body i will throw my warlike shield”
,• In Scotland, at the time, the king didn’t have to be the eldest son of the previous king, even, though it often was.
• In the play, Macbeth is next in line to the throne, after his 2 sons, Malcom and Donalblain. Macbeth wins the throne by
killing the king and blaming it on his sons and they have run away.
• Macbeth achieves the crown by disrupting the Divine Right kings and the Great Chain of Being and by doing this he faces
the ultimate consequence
• The Great Chain of Being- the belief that god set out an order for everything in the universe. God created a social order
for everybody. This includes everything/everybody from god at the top, humans, animals, rocks, plants and minerals at the
bottom. Among humans, there was also a hierarchy- Kings, nobles, lawyers, farmers .e.c.t.
• Divine Right of Kings- central belief on the Great Chain of Being. Jacobeans believed that kings were higher beings who had
been chosen by god. In Macbeth, Shakespeare shows that a king should be chosen by divine right through unnatural events
that happened following Macbeth’s usurpation of the throne. He is ultimately punished for his murder of the divine
appointed king Duncan.
• According to this theory, uprising against the king=uprising against god. After queen Elizabeth’s death, she had no heirs to
take the throne. King James was the closest relative to her, but he was a distant cousin. This caused discontent which
eventually led to the Gunpowder plot of 1605. Some may argue that Macbeth was written as a deterrent to others
watching the play to show them the consequences of regicide- it would lead to an awful fate.
• It was important Shakespeare did this to flatter king James, because he funded for Shakespeare’s plays.
Malcom describes a good ruler and a bad
ruler in act 4, scene 3. A bad king:
• “bloody, luxurious, avaricious, false,
deceitful, sudden, malicious, smacking
of very sin that has a name”.
• Duncan is an example of an ideal king- he’s described as “gracious” Malcom’s describing Macbeth’s reign
here- he’s “avaricious” because he’s
and inspires loyalty in his subjects, who see him as a “most sainted motivated by selfish greed. His lies
king” and therefore, is the rightful ruler of Scotland. He is a good and make him “false” and “deceitful”, and
fair king, who loves his country more than his power. When Macbeth he’s “bloody” because he uses
and lady Macbeth murder king Duncan due to their corrupt ambition violence to keep control over his
and desire for power, this is a rebellion against god and a disruption of people.
the natural order of things. • A good king: “king-becoming graces,
• In contrast, Macbeth is described as a “tyrant” because he rules as justice, verity, temperance,
staleness, bounty, perseverance,
selfishly, using violence. He’s rarely referred to as “king” which shows mercy, low lines, devotion, patience,
that the other characters dint accept him as king. Macbeth’s brutal courage, fortitude”- Malcom could be
murder at the hand if Macduff is a warning to anyone who might describing Duncan shows “temperance”
consider killing king James, as Macbeth had killed king Duncan. in his clam, peaceful manner,
“lowliness” in his gratefulness for
loyalty, “justice” when dealing with
those who betray him and “bounty” in
his generosity.
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