Macbeth: GCSE 9-1 set text student edition (Collins Classroom Classics)

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The Captain describes Macbeth's actions on the battlefield particularly when he seeks out and kills the traitor Macdonwald. The Captain uses a number of strong verbs and adjectives to show how brave Macbeth has been: 'brandished', 'smoked', 'carved', 'unseamed', 'fixed'. Although Shakespeare plays often have a huge number of characters, the characters you should focus on when revising Macbeth are: Macbeth is a five-act tragedy, written by William Shakespeare in 1606. Set in medieval Scotland, it mainly takes place in and around Macbeth’s castle, Dunsinane. The Macbeth essay is worth 34 marks in total, because it also includes 4 marks for spelling, punctuation and grammar Its protagonist , Macbeth, is at first presented as a noble warrior and thane who is loyal to his king. However, a combination of his ambition, the prophecies of three malevolent witches and the encouragement of his equally ambitious wife, Lady Macbeth, sees him assassinate his king, Duncan, and ascend the throne himself.

Understanding the themes that Shakespeare explores in Macbeth is one of the best approaches any student can take when revising the play. This is because to get the highest mark on your exam, you need to take what examiners call a “conceptualised approach”: a detailed and perceptive exploration of Shakespeare’s ideas and intentions. The main themes explored by Shakespeare in Macbeth are: The Macbeths host a banquet at their castle, but Macbeth hallucinates a vision of the murdered Banquo sitting at his place at the table Malcolm, Macduff and an army of Scottish thanes advance to Birnam Wood and use its branches for camouflageMacbeth is told of the death of his wife, and that Birnam Wood is advancing on Dunsinane. He contemplates the pointlessness of life but remains convinced he is invincible because of the witches’ second prophecy Macbeth keeps changing his mind about whether to murder Duncan or not. This is particularily so in the early part of the play. His ambition conflicts with his sense of loyalty and morality. Lady Macbeth is key to persuading him and keeping him determined. Throughout the play, Macbeth is tormented by thoughts of the evil things he has done. However, he is caught in a spiral of evil and does not seem able to stop himself. Examiners always praise students who clearly know the plot of the texts they are studying, as having this base of knowledge leads to the best exam responses. Below you will find: However, overwhelming guilt consumes both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth: Macbeth sees hallucinations – including of his murdered friend Banquo – and seeks the dangerous advice of the witches for a second time, while Lady Macbeth loses her mind completely and commits suicide.

While King of Scotland, Macbeth becomes increasingly paranoid that his act of regicide will be discovered, and that he himself will be murdered, and so Macbeth attempts to murder any person he sees as a threat (first his friend and comrade Banquo; later a thane called Macduff).It is a closed-book exam, which means you will not have access to a copy of the text (other than the printed extract) in your exam