Sandra M.

Gilbert considers how Lady Macbeth in her

murderous ambition goes beyond prescribed gender roles,
but in doing so only succeeds in monstering herself and
becoming a parody of womanhood, until madness again
confines her to feminine helplessness.
Throughout most of literary history, Lady Macbeth – the scheming
spouse who plots the villainy at the centre of Shakespeare’s
devastating ‘Scottish play’ – has been seen as a figure of ‘almost
peerless malevolence’. Monstrous and murderous, she was
based on a woman described in Holinshed’s Chronicles as
‘burning in unquenchable desire to bear the name of a queen’.
Yet actors who played this part have often debated her character.
Writing in the early 19th century, the great Sarah Siddons
declared that this infamous heroine was ‘a woman in whose
bosom the passion of ambition has almost obliterated all the
characteristics of human nature’, and recalled that she first
learned the part ‘in a paroxysm of terror’, so fearful that the
rustling of her own silk dress seemed ‘like the movement of a
spectre pursuing me’. But later in the century the charismatic
actor Ellen Terry thought it ‘strange’ that Lady Macbeth should be
seen ‘as a sort of monster’, claiming that ‘I conceive [her] as a
small, slight woman of acute nervous sensibility’, who was
perhaps ‘not good, but not much worse than many women you
know – me for instance’. The critic Anna Jameson similarly
declared that ‘the woman herself remains a woman to the last’.
Portrait of Sarah Siddons as Lady Macbeth by George
Henry Harlow, 1814

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Sarah Siddons, haunted and haunting as Lady Macbeth.
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From a more recent perspective, however, Lady Macbeth has
come to be seen not primarily as a fiendish avatar of evil but as
an incarnation of gender trouble whose efforts to implement her
dreams of power question the sexual hierarchy into which she has
been born. Almost her first words in the play, after she receives
her husband’s letter reporting his encounter with the witches,
dramatize the inversion of gender roles that marks her marriage.
The hesitant Macbeth is, she fears, ‘too full o’ th’ milk of human
kindness’ (1.5.17, my italics) for his own purposes, and worse still,
hers; his effeminate milkiness suggests that, despite being a
dutiful warrior, he’s a kind of timid ‘milquetoast’. To combat this,
Lady Macbeth plans to ‘pour my spirits in thine ear, / And chastise
with the valour of my tongue / All that impedes thee from the
golden round’ (1.5.26–28) of the Scottish crown; literally, she’ll
‘screw his courage to the sticking place’ (1.7.60) by giving him a
good talking-to. But the fantasy, and ultimately the act, of pouring
spirits into someone’s ear, is symbolically masculine, even while
in a Shakespearean context, it is villainous. On the one hand,
Lady Macbeth’s plan evokes classic representations of a passive
Virgin Mary impregnated through the ear by the Holy Ghost,
or Spirit, of the Lord in a sort of divine sexual act. On the other
hand, her bold (valorous) idea also recalls the poison murderously
poured by Hamlet’s wicked stepfather, Claudius, into the ear of
his sleeping brother, the rightful king. Either way, the lady’s
boastful intention signifies her rebellion against the submissive
role to which her culture has assigned her.
Gunpowder Plot medal

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Lady Macbeth pours treacherous advice into her husband’s ear:
‘Look like the innocent flower, but be the serpent under it’.
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Lady Macbeth’s passion to transcend her role as a woman
becomes even more explicit in her famous call to the diabolical
‘Spirits’ (whom her own ‘spirits’ may reflect):
Come, . . . unsex me here, ... Make thick my blood, . . . That no
compunctious visitings of nature Shake my fell purpose, … Come
to my woman’s breasts, And take my milk for gall … (1.5.40–48,
my italics)
Unsexed by her own will, Lady Macbeth is now no longer a
conventional ‘lady’: because she has refused to behave as
dutifully as her society suggests she should, she seems to
become an inhuman creature, a dark parody of femaleness
whose blood is too ‘thick’ and clotted for menstrual fertility and
whose maternal milk is bitter, dangerous, galling. In unsexing
herself she almost appears to have dehumanised herself and
stepped out of ‘nature’ – that is, out of the natural order of things
in which the ‘milk of human kindness’ nurtures moral feeling.
Seneca His Ten Tragedies, 1581

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‘Exile all foolish Female fear’: Seneca’s Medea and
Shakespeare’s Lady Macbeth.
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In fact, as a diabolical creature Lady Macbeth has aligned herself
with the three Weird Sisters, whose violation of sexual norms
(‘you should be women’, says Banquo, ‘And yet your beards
forbid me to interpret / That you are so’) proclaims their witchcraft
(1.3.45–47). And just as the witches cook up the vile ‘hell-broth’
that motivates Macbeth’s treachery (4.1.19), his unnatural wife
stirs up the feast of blood that is the ‘great business’ of the play
(1.5.68). Decisively plotting the implementation of her husband’s
fell desire, she advises him to act innocent and ‘Leave all the rest
to me’ (1.5.74). When Macbeth, still wavering, confides his own
ambivalence about murder in an image of maternal tenderness,
describing feelings of ‘pity, like a naked new-born babe’ (1.7.21),
she responds with a savage description of a mother’s most
unnatural fantasy, infanticide:
I have given suck, and know How 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 you Have done to this. (1.7.54–59)
Then, once her plans, along with the king and his servants, have
been executed, sleep – ‘great Nature’s second course’ (2.2.36) –
is murdered too, and much more of the natural order is subverted;
so much so that darkness blots out daylight, a mere ‘mousing owl’
kills a proud falcon (2.4.13), and Duncan’s horses – the ‘minions
of their race’– turn wild and, incredibly, ‘eat each other’ (2.4.15–
18).
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The three witches in their cave. Macbeth, Act 4, Scene 1 by
Joshua Reynolds.
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Ironically, Lady Macbeth is often portrayed as accomplishing her
purpose by adopting traditionally ‘feminine’ tricks. Some actors
depict her as seductive, luring her husband towards crime by
playing the part of his ‘dearest chuck’ (3.2.45). As the critic
Stephen Greenblatt has noted, too, the Macbeths’ marriage is one
of Shakespeare’s most extraordinary dramatisations of ‘spousal
intimacy’, a companionate union in which ‘husband and wife
speak to each other playfully, as if they were a genuine couple’.
This representation of conjugal closeness may help explain the
sympathy with which, say, Terry and Jameson commented on
Lady Macbeth’s womanliness. Certainly, as Siddons astutely
noted, even after the two have been overcome by guilt, ‘Unlike
the first frail pair in Paradise, they spent not the fruitless hours in
mutual accusation.’ Where Milton’s Adam and Eve blame each
other for the Original Sin that expelled them from Eden, the
Macbeths continue to protect each other, each one eventually
suffering in isolation from horrifying remorse.
1901 edition of Anna Jameson's Shakespeare's
Heroines, illustrated by Robert Anning Bell

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Robert Anning Bell’s striking image of Lady Macbeth suggests
both power and beauty.
Usage terms Public Domain
Indeed, by the end of the play, the couple have been restored to
their ‘proper’ gender roles. Macbeth gains in murderous
masculinity, ordering killing after killing like a gangland boss,
including the deaths of the dutifully domesticated Lady Macduff
and the ‘pretty ones’ (4.3.216) who are her children, while Lady
Macbeth lapses back into the feminine helplessness she had
earlier rejected. Her loss of control is most theatrically manifested
in her guilt-ridden sleep-walking scene. Here the sleep, whose
murder she had commanded, overwhelms her, forcing her to
confess her sins while failing to ‘knit up the ravell’d sleeve of care’
(2.2.34). And though Macbeth too had wished to purify himself of
crime, grandiosely fearing that he could not be cleansed by ‘all
great Neptune’s ocean’(2.2.57), his sleep-walking lady, enacting
an obsessive-compulsive ritual of hand-washing, whimpers that
‘all the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand’ (5.1.50–
51). Madness, curiously, forces her back into the stereotypical
femininity that her transgressive yearning for imperial power had
repudiated.
Over the years, many efforts have been made to rehabilitate Lady
Macbeth. Since the late 20th century, for instance, as William C
Carroll has reported, a number of writers, especially feminists,
have produced prequels or sequels to the play in which the
wicked heroine is revealed as a sympathetic, motherly woman.
‘Perhaps today’s Lady Macbeth needs Women’s Liberation’,
mused the critic Ruby Cohn in 1976, and her comment predicted
the appearance of such spin-off novels as Susan Fraser
King’s Lady Macbeth (2008), Lisa Klein’s Lady Macbeth’s
Daughter (2009) and R J Hartley and David Henson’s Macbeth: A
Novel (2012). It seems unlikely, however, that any revisionary
perfume can sweeten the ‘hell-broth’ of crime and punishment
stirred up by one of Shakespeare’s most unnerving characters.
Written bySandra M. Gilbert
Sandra M. Gilbert has published eight collections of poetry with a
new one, Judgment Day, forthcoming in 2018, and among her
prose books are Wrongful Death, Death’s Door, Rereading
Women and The Culinary Imagination: From Myth to Modernity.
She is currently at work, with longtime collaborator Susan Gubar,
on a history of seventies feminism tentatively titled “Still Mad."
Also with Gubar, Gilbert is co-author of The Madwoman in the
Attic and co-editor of The Norton Anthology of Literature by
Women, along with numerous other volumes: the two received
the 2012 Award for Lifetime Achievement from the National Book
Critics Circle.

AQA English Literature GCSE

Macbeth: Context
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Shakespeare
Shakespeare is England’s most famous playwright. He
lived from 1564 – 1616. His plays can be divided into
Histories (e.g. Henry VI), Comedies (e.g. Midsummer’s
Nights Dream), and Tragedies (e.g. Romeo and Juliet,
Hamlet).
For the majority of his career, Shakespeare wrote for the
acting group the Lord Chamberlain’s Men (who became
known as the King’s Men in 1603 when James I ascended
the throne). Thus, his characters and writing style
correspond to some of his most talented actors (Richard
Burbage, for instance; most well known for his role as the
first Romeo and the eponymous character Hamlet).
Shakespeare was writing during the Renaissance. The
Renaissance was a period between the 14th and 17th
centuries where there was an expansion of artistic
expression. This expression freed itself from the restrictions
of previous centuries.
Plays were an incredibly popular and central medium of entertainment during the
Elizabethan and
Jacobean era. Macbeth is a history play (like Richard II and Henry IV) and was written
in 1606 - a
few years after the ascension to the throne of James VI of Scotland who succeeded as
the
monarch of England in 1603 known as James I.
Shakespeare’s plays were a form of mass entertainment for
Londoners during that period. The importance of entertainment as
a function of the plays must be understood when studying them;
critical analysis is important, but should not detract from the
bigger-picture view that these were first and foremost written to
entertain.
History of Macbeth
Genre
Macbeth is a dramatic tragedy. It follows his classic five-act
structure. The tragedy surrounds the protagonist Macbeth, and
the witches act as catalysts for the play’s events.
● Hamartia: Hamartia is an ancient Greek term first used by
Aristotle in his Poetics. It literally means ‘fatal flaw’. A
character’s fatal flaw is the thing that leads to their
ultimate downfall - in Macbeth’s case it is his ambition
and lust for power that led to his inevitable downfall and is
the arc of play between him and his wife.
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dia/commons/b/bd/1577_printing_of
_Holinshed%27s_Chronicles.jpg
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https://bit.ly/pmt-cc● Catharsis: This is also an ancient Greek term that means the
‘purging’ or ‘cleansing’ of
emotions, particularly through pity and fear, that the audience experiences at the end of
a
tragedy. It results in renewal and restoration. Aristotle applied the term to literature in his
Poetics, arguing that catharsis was the ultimate end of a tragic work, and that
achievement
of a catharsis in the audience was a mark of a tragedy’s quality. Macbeth’s self-
destructive actions climax in Act 5, when he is stripped of his majesty, loses his wife
and
then his own life. This leads the audience to pity Macbeth and as such, the audience
experiences catharsis.
Macbeth source texts
Another influence for Shakespeare’s Macbeth is Holinshed’s ‘Historie of Scotlande’.
The original source of the story of Macbeth comes from Holinshed's Chronicles
(1577), which is
a large work describing the collaborative histories of England, Scotland and Ireland.
Although
this is a historical document, most now believe that the narrative is now more legend
than
truth. Holinshed's Chronicles was the main source for many of the history plays of
Shakespeare.
There is also
some evidence to suggest that the play in part may have been written by someone else.
Some
suggest Thomas Middleton could have written it as there are some lines in Macbeth,
particularly
the songs and dances from the witches, which follow the words from Middleton’s play
The Witch.
While this served as a basis for the plot of Macbeth, Shakespeare did take many
artistic liberties
both to make it better for the stage and to attend to the political needs and preferences
of the time.
of Scotlande’ , here are 3 main ones and the motivation for the changes.
The following table compares Shakespeare’s did take several liberties from
Holinshed’s ‘Historie
The Original The Change The Motive
In the original source, while
Macbeth commits sins and
terrible acts, he was a good
king for 10 years.
Shakespeare characterises
Macbeth as cruel and
tyrannical. Due to the unjust
way that he ascended the
throne, he must use violence
and terror to consolidate his
power. He declares that
“blood will have blood”
which illustrates the cycle of
violence which Macbeth has
initiated.
The main cause for this
change was for dramatic
purposes for the stage. The
violence that was added
simply made for a more
interesting plotline.
Additionally, it shows support
for the belief in the Divine
Right of Kings, because
Macbeth was not the divinely
chosen ruler his reign was
corrupted. Shakespeare
explores the consequences of
assassinating a divinely
crowned king.
In the original, Holinshed's
Chronicles the weird sisters
were called the ‘goddesses
of destine’.
Shakespeare changed the
‘goddesses of destine’ to just
three simple Elizabethan
witches. This limits their
The Jacobean era was
intensely religious and
witchcraft was sinful as it
was of the devil and not of
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and agency, making him
responsible for his actions.
God. However, people still
believed in witchcraft: witch
hunts were a known and
practised activity. King James
was also interested in the
topic, even writing a book
called ‘Daemonologie’. By
reducing the power of the
witches, Shakespeare
delegitimises their power.
This may have done to appeal
to the audience and monarch
of the time.
In the original work, Banquo is
a partner with Macbeth to
kill King Duncan.
In Shakespeare’s version,
Banquo is not an accomplice
to the murder and is an
honourable man.
Shakespeare may have
changed this for the sake of
King James I to please him
as James I was a patron of
Shakespeare. James I
believed that he could trace
his lineage to Banquo (even
though Holinshed's
Chronicles is mainly legend).
For this reason, Banquo had
to be good.
Jacobean Era
Macbeth was written during the reign of King James I, who was a
supporter of and a patron of Shakespeare’s work. This
consequently meant that Shakespeare was greatly influenced
by the king. Evidence of this can be seen throughout the plot of
Macbeth and the changes that Shakespeare made to the original
story of Macbeth.
The Jacobean time was one of uncertainty and tension due to
the way that King James I came to power, and so the work which
Shakespeare produced during this period tended to reflect this
mood.
King James I
The history surrounding King James I is vital for a
deeper understanding of the Scottish tragedy, as
b/b0/King_James_I_of_England_and_VI_of_Scot
land_by_John_De_Critz_the_Elder.jpg CC-BY-SA-4.0
in some ways the life of King James I can be
referred to as a Scottish tragedy. There was a significant amount of uncertainty at the
end of
Queen Elizabeth‘s reign because she had no heir. In the life of James his parents were
Mary I,
Queen of Scots and his father was Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley. His mother, Mary I
was
imprisoned and forced to abdicate the throne and so a one-year-old James VI became
the King of
Scotland and never saw his mother again. Later in 1587, when James was 31, his
mother was
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https://bit.ly/pmt-ccexecuted by Queen Elizabeth I and prior to this, when James was 8
months old, his father was
assassinated by an explosion at their family home. When James took his position as the
King of
Scotland he made an alliance with Elizabeth I securing his place as her successor.
Witchcraft
King James I, had a great interest in the supernatural and witchcraft, so much so that he
wrote a
book called ‘Daemonologie’ (1597), meaning ‘the science of demons’. The book was
published
in 1603 when he became the King of England, and was reprinted twice during his reign.
James I
firmly believed that witchcraft was an act of Satan and the way one became one was by
making a
deal with the devil to get some sort of supernatural power.
Daemonologie may have also been a source for Shakespeare’s Macbeth, as many of
the practices
of the witches in the play agreed with the beliefs which king James had.
The book was a dialogue in which James extensively explained his beliefs on
witchcraft,
aiming to bring to light evidence which would warrant the claim and also justify the
death penalty
as a punishment for witchcraft. The book was split into three parts:
● Magic and necromancy
● Witchcraft and sorcery
● Spirits and spectres
Witch-hunt: The term witch-hunt in
modern terms can have a different
The purpose of the book was not just to provide
meaning. It is sometimes used to
describe situations in which the
evidence for witchcraft for those who did not believe;
it was also for those who did believe to inspire them
to carry out witch hunts. Witch-hunting was known
larger public harasses those with
unpopular opinions, particularly in
the context of politics
and accepted practice in the time of Elizabeth I‘s
reign, however, the number of trials and executions
were not very high.
In contrast, Scotland had severe laws against witchcraft. After James published his
book the cases
of witchcraft skyrocketed by 53%. After James became the king of England he
increased the
severity of the law regarding witchcraft. He enacted a new law in 1604 a year after he
became
king, the name of the act was ‘An Act against Conjuration, Witchcraft and Dealing
with Evil
and Wicked Spirits’. This act made witchcraft a felony punishable by death and
removed
interference from the clergy.
Divine right of kings
James I believed in the divine right of kings, so he believed that he was chosen by
God to be the
king of England and the righteous judge of England. He believed in witch trials and
witch hunts not
only out of a moral conviction, but also, due to the fact that he was ordained by God,
he had a
supernatural duty to complete witch-hunts. Furthermore, in the Great Chain of
Being, the king
is the closest being to God on Earth. Because of this close relationship, it was the role
of the king
to enact the will of God - which James believed was to rid the earth of witchcraft, and
therefore
witches.
Before this, in 1589 when James was just the King of Scotland (rather than King of
Scotland and
England), his soon-to-be wife, Anne of Denmark, was supposed to set sail to meet
him.
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journey. James decided to go on
the journey to get his betrothed himself, but on the way, he and his men were attacked
by the
deadly weather. James believed that the only cause of this was witchcraft.
Afterwards, when
James returned to Scotland, he launched a witch hunt on a scale that had not been
seen before
in the town of North Berwick in which 70 suspects were rounded up and tortured into
confessing their use of magic and then brutally burned at the stake. After this
James
commissioned a pamphlet detailing the events and then soon after he wrote and
published his
book ‘Daemonologie’ (1597).
While James was a religious fanatic, it can be argued that that was not the origin of all
his strong
beliefs on witchcraft. King James I was deeply misogynistic, which can be attributed to
the
patriarchal times he lived in. Evidence of Jame’s misogynistic views can be found in
his book
Daemonologie in which he asserted that only women could be witches because they
were the
‘weaker sex’ and so could be easily entrapped by the ‘snares’ of the devil. James I,
saw the Bible
as evidence of this belief; he looked to the story of Adam and Eve, believing that
because Eve
was the one that was tricked by the serpent, it shows
that women are more easily influenced and persuaded
to the side of evil and so only women could be witches.
Witchcraft in Macbeth
Witchcraft plays a large part in Macbeth and provides a
basis for the events of the play. King James’s beliefs
definitely played a role in this, influencing
Shakespeare’s literary decisions. For example, the
expedition which James took is incorporated into the play,
the line ‘Though his bark cannot be lost/Yet it shall be
tempest-tossed’ is potentially a reference to the storm
that James experienced on his way to Denmark.
The witches in the play serve many purposes. Not only do
they set the pace for the play, but they also serve as a
warning against witchcraft, evil and bloodshed. There
are parallels in the tragedy between the witches and the
three Fates in Greek mythology who were in charge of
the destinies of mortals and who spun the weave of the
lives of humans. Similarly, Hecate in Macbeth who was
the witches’ mistress, in Greek mythology she was the
goddess of witchcraft.
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The Scottish tragedy starts with the words of the witches
and ends in blood and carnage. By creating discord and
confusing the line of succession only evil and bloodshed came to be. This is a warning
to the
English people about witchcraft and evil - it is both a sin against God as well against the
state; in
the words of King James I witchcraft is “high treason against God”.
Some have even argued that Lady Macbeth is the fourth witch in the play, due to her
passion
and her power and ambition. Sometimes women in power were attacked and accused
of
witchcraft.
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This was an ideological belief circulating this time, which originated from the ancient
Greek
philosophers Aristotle and Plato. The Great Chain of Being was a conception of the
universe in
which everything, plant, animal or mineral, had a fixed place, according to its important
and
spiritual nature. This hierarchy started with God, under whom came then the king. At the
bottom of
the Great Chain of Being were the rocks. The Great Chain of Being explains why the sin
of
regicide and the resulting punishment was perceived as such a serious sin. When Lord
and Lady
Macbeth conspired and killed King Duncan, not only did they commit a carnal sin, and a
sin
against the state, but also a sin against the order of the universe. According to the Great
Chain of
Being, the King should rule commoners, who should accept their place. Macbeth’s
actions distort
the natural order of the universe, setting off chaos and bloodshed.
Divine Right of Kings/ Gunpowder Plot
The gunpowder plot was a failed conspiracy by some Catholics
to assassinate the king and parliament on November 5th 1605.
The Divine Right of Kings was a belief that God had specifically
chosen monarchs to rule the country and so an attempt to kill
the one God had chosen was not just a worldly sin but actually a
sin against God. This belief system is seen in Macbeth as it is
possible that the tragic consequences of Lord and Lady
Macbeth are because they did not just commit a carnal sin but
they also sinned against God, for which the punishment is
eternal damnation. Macbeth can be seen as a warning against
regicide and a representation of what could happen if any of the audience attempted
it. James I
believed that the gunpowder plot was an act of witchcraft and allusions of this can be
seen in
Macbeth through the quote ‘Faith, here’s an equivocator, that could swear in both
the scales
against either scale; who committed treason enough for God’s sake, yet could
not
equivocate to heaven. O, come in, equivocator’ (Act II, Scene III).
The king's beliefs regarding witchcraft and the divine right of kings changed the mood of
England,
and were a direct contrast to the ‘Golden Age’ of Elizabeth I’s reign. The witch trials
and hunts
that took place during James’ reign and resulted in thousands of deaths marked a dark
time in
English and Scottish history. This dark mood pervades Macbeth, a story in which higher
forces
‘control’ and dictate the lives of people. Through Macbeth, the viewer is able to see
the terrible
consequences of what happens when power is given to these forces of darkness.
Religion
During this period in England, there was a lot of religious conflict between
Catholicism and
Protestantism. Both are denominations of Christianity, but there were (and still are)
core
differences or contradictions in their beliefs. It was customary to have the state’s
religion
dictated by the ruling monarch. Jacobean England was Protestant since James I was
also. At this
time, when a certain religion was dominant or official, adherents to other religions or
denominations were treated very cruelly - often killed for their faith. For this reason,
when
James I became king many Catholics believed that James I would treat them better,
since his
mother Queen Mary of Scotts was Catholic. However, James, who was a Protestant,
did not and
this was a part of the reason for the gunpowder plot hatched by a group of Catholics.
When James was the King
of Scotland his title was
King James VI but when
he became the King of
England his title was then
King James I because
there had never been a
King of England called
James.
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https://bit.ly/pmt-ccThe Protestant Reformation did not happen until the 16th century.
Macbeth, on the other hand, is
set in the 11th century, when Protestantism did not exist. Despite this, in the Scottish
tragedy,
Shakespeare considers a lot of religious debates such as predestination vs free will
and
forgiveness vs suffering. These debates reflect key differences between
Protestantism and
Catholicism. There are also religious allusions throughout Macbeth.
● Religious allusions: There are similarities between Adam and Eve and Lord and
Lady
Macbeth. Lady Macbeth persuades her husband to sin just as Eve persuaded Adam.
Lady
Macbeth’s ambition and thirst for power, like Eve’s, leads to their ultimate demise.
● Predestination vs free will: Predestination is the belief
that before we are born God has already decided whether
we are going Heaven or Hell, and there is nothing in life
that you can say or do that can change this. In
contrast, free will is the belief that we have choices in
everything we do, and these choices determine where we
end up after we die. This theological debate plays out in
Macbeth. It can be argued that Macbeth is just a victim of
predestination through the prophecies of the witches.
On the other hand, it is possible that Macbeth is only a
victim unto himself.
● Forgiveness vs suffering: It has long been debated
theologically whether suffering is necessary for true
forgiveness to take place. This debate is considered in
Macbeth; some can argue that because of Macbeth’s sins
he is beyond forgiveness. This belief may have been what
led to Lady Macbeth’s suicide.
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ki/File:Question-mark-
blackandwhite.png CC-BY-SA-
4.0
Setting
While Macbeth was written in England 1606, the setting is in 11th-century Scotland,
which was
the homeland of King James I. The setting and weather that Shakespeare chose reflect
the
mood of Macbeth and pathetic fallacy is used as a tool to create a more in-depth
experience, so
that the audience can be completely absorbed by the play’s atmosphere. Scotland is a
dark and
moody place, and the dark and mood weather Shakespeare specifies is used to reveal
the tone of
the play and even Macbeth’s character.
The play starts with bleak weather as the witches
describe the first battle scene with Macbeth as being ‘fog
and filthy air’ (Act I Scene I). The fog represents the
uncertainty and mystery surrounding the play’s events -
the audience will have been deeply unsure about what
would unfold. That the air is ‘filthy’ also points to moral
degradation. The role of the witches is uncertain at the
beginning of the play. As the events unfold things don’t
particularly become clearer, and likewise the fog is
something that remains throughout. At the end of Act I
Scene I, the witches say that ‘fair is foul and foul is fair’,
this is to say that things have been reversed (and morality
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gy_forest.jpg CC-BY-SA-4.0
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https://bit.ly/pmt-cchas been turned upside down). This may be foreshadowing how the
unsettling of the Great
Chain of Being through regicide.
Where was it performed?
While The Globe (an Elizabethan playhouse on the Southbank, London) was
Shakespeare’s
theatre, the first probable performance of Macbeth was in front of James I and King
Christian IV
of Denmark, his brother-in-law, on August 7, 1606 at the Great
Hall at Hampton Court Palace. Legend said that the boy actor
who was to play Lady Macbeth, Hal Berridge, became very sick
and so Shakespeare had to take over the role. Berridge later
died, and this is where the tale of the play being cursed comes
from. After this, the first performance in public was then at The
Globe on April 1611.
Women were not allowed
to act so female
characters (incl. Lady
Macbeth) were generally
played by pre-pubescent
boys
The Curse
It is a common belief that the play is cursed. Another supposed origin of this belief is a
story about
a coven of witches who cursed the play because Shakespeare used real spells and
incantations.
There were a long line of accidents and issues which followed the first production and
provides
weight for this belief. A part of this superstition is that, in order to break the curse or at
least
avoid the curse, you must not say the play’s name, and once you leave the theatre you
must spin
three times, spit, then curse, then finally knock on the theatre of the door to enter go
back in again.
Production History
● 1606: A young boy, Hal Berridge, supposed to
play Lady Macbeth for the play’s first
performance. He fell ill beforehand and later died.
● 1663: Sir William Davenant restored the play
and turned it into a semi-musical, where the
witches sing and dance.
● 1849: The American actor Edwin Forrest and
English actor William Charles Macready played
Macbeth in two rival performances in New York.
This led to Astor Place Riot, in which 100 were
injured and 20 died.
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● 1998: Piccolo Theatre of Rome did an Italian
e_Theatre_Innenraum.jpg CC-BY-SA-
4.0,3.0,2.5,2.0,1.0
reconstruction of Macbeth which took place in
a modern world of street gangs.
● 2001: Production at the Globe Theatre the
witches were slapstick clowns.
What literary critics think
★ In Macbeth there is an explicit amount of bloodshed. The critic Robert Reed argues
that
Macbeth enacted all the death to smother his conscience and kill his essentially moral
nature. That Macbeth’s nature is essentially moral is evidenced by his guilt.
★ Cakebread adopts a feminist perspective and argues that the witches deconstruct
the
traditional binary ideas about femininity and masculinity, as they are powerful
beings
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https://bit.ly/pmt-ccwho are described as having “beards”. Furthermore, Lady Macbeth is
willing to forsake her
femininity so that she is able to do what has to be done and kill Duncan. In Act 1 Scene
5
she says “unsex me here, And fill me from the crown to the toe top-full Of direst cruelty.
Make thick my blood”. Thus, she is able to act in a ‘masculine’ way and subvert
gendered
expectations, which were particularly strong in the Jacobean era.
What does context mean for your exam?
AO3
AO3 is the understanding of the relationship
between the ideas in the text and that text’s
contexts (including social, historical/ political,
literary and biographical).
Context is assessed throughout the paper. The
strand in the mark scheme related to AO3
references ‘ideas/perspectives/contextual factors’.
However, if a question requires a student to think
Exam Tip
The range of contexts and
relationships that are more relevant
for your AO3 which will depend on
the text and the author of your text.
Within your exam you need to be
able to select which context is
relevant to the question you are
answering and the point you are
trying to make
about the text in its context, this is also reflected
inherently through the response to the task.
The context may relate to various factors:
➔ The relationship between the text and the context in which it was written and/or
the
context within which the text is set.
➔ You may also consider literary contexts such as which genre the text is from - for
example, The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde is a gothic text.
➔ You can also consider the contexts in which texts are engaged with by different
audiences - for example An Inspector Calls was set in 1912 but was watched by
audiences in 1945 who would have a different opinion about what takes place
compared
with an audience watching it now.
When thinking about context you can consider factors such as location, social
structures
and features, cultural contexts, and periods in time. Acknowledgement of the
universality of a
literary text is an integral part of relating to it contextually.
Essay writing tip
It is important that the contextual information provided is directly relevant, rather than
being
‘bolted on’ to the end of a paragraph or essay. When writing your response, you should
include
relevant context to illustrate and develop your interpretation of the question. Don’t just
write
everything you know about Shakespeare and Elizabethan / Jacobean England!
Context Handbook

Macbeth

1. King James’s Witch Hunts

2. Concepts of Tragedy

3. The Divine Right of Kings

4. Good and Evil in Macbeth

5. Going to the Theatre in Shakespeare’s Time

6. The Gunpowder Plot

7. Soliloquies
 8. The Form and Structure of Shakespeare’s Language

9. Regicide

10. Hospitality, Food and Feasting

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Macbeth: Character Profile Lady Macbeth Images:
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NC-ND 4.0 https://bit.ly/pmt-edu-cc https://bit.ly/pmt-cc Lady Macbeth
SYMBOLISES APPEARANCES VS REALITY INTRODUCTION Lady Macbeth can
be viewed as an antagonist because of how she drives her husband,
Macbeth, towards murder and bloodshed despite his protests. Alternatively,
she can be viewed as a tragic heroine, meaning she starts out in a position of
glory and success but falls from grace due to an error in judgement of her
own making. Lady Macbeth is the wife of a Thane, so her husband owns land
given to him by the king. She can’t possess any land herself, but she lives in
luxury and has a good reputation. It’s possible that she had children at one
point, but at the time of the play she’s childless and we don’t see any of her
family. After receiving a letter from Macbeth that informs her of the Witches’
prophecies, she is determined for Macbeth to become king. She worries that
Macbeth is too tame and hesitant to do it himself, so commits to mocking
and tempting him until he gives in. After Duncan’s murder, she grows more
anxious and blunt, but is kept out of most of her husband’s actions and plots.
Ultimately, she is broken by grief and guilt and takes her own life. There is a
lot of debate about what motivates Lady Macbeth in ensuring her husband
becomes King. One argument is that, traditionally, wives had to be
supportive of their husbands’ careers and aspirations. By pushing Macbeth to
be king, Lady Macbeth could be fulfilling her role as the devoted, helpful
wife. It’s also a demonstration of her love for Macbeth, as she wants him to
succeed. Alternatively, her motivation is her own ambitions and goals. Her
position as a woman in society means her own career prospects are limited,
so the only way to move up the social ladder is for Macbeth to. She wants to
be queen and reap the benefits of Macbeth’s successes. Furthermore,
becoming queen could be compensation for her lost children. If we do
conclude that she had children but they died in infancy, then Lady Macbeth
has lost her ‘purpose’ as a woman. APPEARANCE One of Shakespeare’s
resounding messages in the play of ‘Macbeth’ is that nothing is as it seems.
Appearances cannot be trusted as they rarely match up with reality. One of
the most significant, and destructive, examples of this is the character of
Lady Macbeth. https://bit.ly/pmt-cc https://bit.ly/pmt-cc https://bit.ly/pmt-HdX
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play is to shake things up and cause havoc, meaning her aim is to fool and
manipulate as many people as possible with her deceitful ways. She benefits
hugely from the divide between appearances and reality. Furthermore, she
relies on people’s prejudices and assumptions to get away with her actions.
For example, the male characters see she is a woman so assume she would
not get involved with violence, these miscalculations of her character allow
her to get away with a lot. Some would argue she uses her feminine wiles to
persuade Macbeth to kill for her: either way, the social conventions
surrounding gender come to her advantage. Something she tells Macbeth
over and over is to make sure he puts on a facade for other people. She
believes that as long as they can maintain their deceitful masks, they will get
away with murder and so much more. Of course, she underestimates the
power of her own remorse. Another way Lady Macbeth exploits appearances
is by transferring her desires and plans into Macbeth. She is the villain kept
behind the scenes. Though Macbeth is the one acting and killing, he is
fulfilling Lady Macbeth’s wishes. It is as if she has possessed him, or
transformed herself into him through persuasion. It looks like Macbeth is the
murderer, but in reality she is. Lady Macbeth’s manipulation of appearances
is the connection between her and the Witches. In fact, like the Witches, her
gender identity is ambiguous. On the outside, she looks feminine, but if her
spells were successful, then she is wombless and full of gall on the inside.
Lady Macbeth isn’t even fully honest to her husband. Only we, the audience,
know the extent of her plots and motivations. By allowing us to hear her
soliloquies, Shakespeare emphasises the divide between appearances and
reality and how extreme her deceit really is. Other characters on stage are
oblivious of who she really is, but we know the dark truth. Moreover, as the
plot develops, Lady Macbeth’s own sense of self deteriorates. Her suffering,
torment, and hallucinations could all be side effects of her fragmented self.
She has manipulated her identity so much that she is no one at all.
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Femme Fatales Otherwise known as the maneater or vamp, this is a common
archetype for female characters in literature and art. The term refers to a
woman who is mysterious and seductive, using her charm to ensnare men
and lead them into dangerous or deadly situations. Typically, femme fatales
are villains and create a sense of unease for other characters and the
audience. Common traits include heightened sexuality and a rejection of
motherhood. This was seen as particularly threatening because by rejecting
motherhood, a femme fatale is denying a man his immortality and ability to
leave a legacy, ultimately leading to the destruction of all men. Overall, the
key aspect of a femme fatale is her use of feminine wiles (e.g. beauty or
sexual allure) to exploit men and accomplish her own goals. Shakespeare
uses these aspects of the femme fatale archetype in the character of Lady
Macbeth. She threatens to emasculate Macbeth, and uses her power over
him as his wife to get her own way. Some productions of ‘Macbeth’ even
show Lady Macbeth using sexuality and seduction to explicitly manipulate
her husband. All of this is for her own ulterior motives, and clearly she drives
Macbeth to his own death. More so than warning of the dangers of
unrestrained female sexuality, though, Shakespeare seems to be
demonstrating the dangers of unrestrained female ambition and power. Eve
and the Fall of Man The theme of ‘The Fall’, particularly of man, is used a lot
in literature, and is linked to the concept of the tragic hero. The Fall is an
archetype where a character descends from a higher to a lower state, often
because something happens to them that means they lose their innocence
and happiness. Typically, the character is kicked out of their ‘paradise’ as a
punishment for their actions. Commonly, a woman is responsible for the fall
of an honourable man. ➔ The most famous example of this is Eve, in the
story of the Garden of Eden. The story given in the Bible goes that, when the
world was first created by God, Adam and Eve lived with Him in the Garden
of Eden. They were told not to eat from the Tree of Knowledge, and for a
while they obeyed and lived in harmony. However, Satan came to the Garden
disguised in the form of a serpent: he tempted Eve into eating the Forbidden
Fruit. After she ate it, she convinced her husband, Adam, to do the same.
They lost their innocence, and when God found out, he expelled them from
the Garden. ◆ There are many parallels between Lady Macbeth’s story, the
archetype of ‘The Fall’, and the Biblical tale of the Garden of Eden. You could
even say there are parallels between how Eve was historically viewed as the
cause of mankind’s Fall, and the way Lady Macbeth’s character has been
interpreted as being the root of Macbeth’s evil. https://bit.ly/pmt-cc
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https://bit.ly/pmt-cc Arthurian Legend Arthurian Legend refers to the legends
of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table. These stories were
incredibly popular, and were seen as examples for ideal kingship and
chivalry. King Arthur was brave, noble, kind, and loving. His knights, too,
were chivalrous, adventurous, and determined to protect their kingdom. Lady
Macbeth takes a similar role to Morgan le Fay: she is the lover of the story’s
main hero, but she is also his downfall. Marriage and Motherhood In the
Jacobean Era, women had no legal rights in society, and this meant that
when they married, they became the property of their husbands. Their role
was to have children and run the household. Domestic abuse, and even
domestic murder, was extremely common. Maternal mortality (how common
it was for a woman to die from pregnancy, childbirth, or the period after
birth) was also extremely high. A woman’s destiny was to get married and
have children. Any education she was offered was geared towards these two
occupations: women were taught to cook and clean, and for the upper
classes, they might be taught to dance or embroider, all in the hopes of
attracting a man. Men were entitled to divorce or disown their wives at any
time if they felt she had dishonoured them, disobeyed them, or brought
shame to their reputation. In ‘Macbeth’, Shakespeare allows us to see how
Lady Macbeth copes with these aspects of life for women in the Middle Ages.
Within her marriage, she is a dominant figure with her own clear identity and
purpose. Outside of her marriage, she is viewed only as Macbeth’s wife and a
good host. Her relationship with motherhood is much more complicated. It
seems like, at some point, she had children, but they must have died, as
there are no signs of children when the play unfolds. She tries to banish all
her reproductive organs from her body, rejecting the role of mother
altogether. Gender Whether Shakespeare intends to show the perils of
femininity or of androgyny through Lady Macbeth depends on how successful
you think her prayers to the spirits were. If we are to believe she was
successful in unsexing herself, then her villainy and disturbing personality
suggest that gender nonconformity is dangerous. By losing her femininine
identity, she loses her humanity. Alternatively, if we still view her as a female
character, her acts of manipulation and seduction portray women as
deceitful, wicked beings. She also plays a pivotal role in Macbeth’s
perception of his own gender. Her highly critical attacks on his manhood, and
her perception of masculinity as violent, drives Macbeth to murder and
tyranny. This adds to Shakespeare’s exploration of manliness. Lady Macbeth
is a very unconventional female character by traditional and Jacobean
standards. She is given multiple soliloquies - something that usually only
male characters were allowed. When Shakespeare first introduces her to us,
she has the dominant role in her marriage, which would have been unheard
of. Rather than appearing weak or idiotic, she is smart, cunning, and
bloodthirsty, and embraces the occult and villainy in order to achieve her
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Jacobean audience would view her as unnatural, possibly even supernatural.
Shakespeare suggests through her character that giving women power is
dangerous and unnatural. It also appears that the only way for a woman to
be so brutal and strong is to be evil and supernatural, which is why she prays
to evil spirits. Her character allows Shakespeare to examine gender roles,
marital relations, and the division of power in his society. KEY
CHARACTERISTICS ● Ambitious: Lady Macbeth’s ambition is much more
intense and violent than Macbeth’s. She doesn’t hesitate or deliberate:
immediately she decides to pursue the promise of Macbeth’s kingship. She
craves power and, later, protection. She has been a ‘weak’ woman all her
life, and now is her chance to answer her desires and reach her full potential.
Her ambition is infectious. How authentic or committed Lady Macbeth’s
ambition is appears unclear. She speaks in a very violent, brutal fashion, but
never acts on these impulses. Her words aren’t supported by her actions.
Plus, she admits that she can’t bear looking at Duncan’s corpse because he
resembles her father. ● How successful her wish to be “unsex[ed]” and
made cruel was is questionable. After Duncan’s murder, she loses a lot of her
confidence. Her ambition disappears, and she is fixated on her paranoia. It
seems her ambition was all bravado. Lady Macbeth is quite a frightening
character because of how she commits herself entirely to her ambition.
Ambition for her is an act of sacrifice: she abandons all hopes of virtue or
salvation by calling upon evil spirits. Like with Macbeth, Shakespeare argues
that ambition itself isn’t the issue, but the way Lady Macbeth embraces its
control. On the other hand, Lady Macbeth doesn’t care for morality and
natural order. She doesn’t care for other people: they’re just obstacles to her
goal. ● Supernatural: There’s a lot of evidence for Lady Macbeth being the
fourth Witch (excluding Hecate), but unlike the three Macbeth meets on the
heath, Lady Macbeth is instrumental in planting the idea of murder in his
head. She speaks in rhyming couplets while persuading Macbeth to agree to
her plan, and her command of rhetoric and manipulation imitates the
Witches’ spells and trickery. Equally, her plan rests on her ability to use
facade to manipulate reality, meaning her relationship with appearance vs.
reality is similar to the Witches’. https://bit.ly/pmt-cc https://bit.ly/pmt-cc
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subversion of femininity was, in Jacobean times, more than enough evidence
that she was a witch. Shakespeare implies her unnatural power as a woman
is due to her supernatural links. Lady Macbeth could be called the ‘creator of
evil’ in Macbeth. She is the main conspirator out of the Macbeths, and plants
the idea of evil in Macbeth’s mind. The methods she uses to manipulate him
hold explicit links to the supernatural. She wants to “pour [her] spirits in [his]
ear”, an allusion to demonic possession. ○ This quote also connotes the
story of the Garden of Eden, where the serpent tempted Eve to sin, and Eve
then whispered in Adam’s ear so that he might join her. Lady Macbeth can be
viewed as an imitation of Pandora from Roman mythology: Pandora opened
the box that brought all evil and sin into the world. Shakespeare associates
the Fall of Man with seduction, femininity, and the supernatural. ● Guilty:
Guilt and remorse are the undoing of Lady Macbeth, leading her to her
death. Unlike Macbeth, she isn’t killed after an uprising: she kills herself. Her
mind is her enemy. Her ambition took her down violent paths that she
couldn’t cope with, and Shakespeare suggests guilt and regret are the most
destructive consequences of that. Everyone underestimates the power of
their own conscience. The insanity and torment she feels at the hand of her
guilt is punishment for her villainy. ● At first, Lady Macbeth shows no signs of
guilt or remorse. In fact, she’s the one telling Macbeth off for worrying and
panicking. She is convinced that washing the blood off their hands will free
them from their deeds altogether, assuming that there will be no lasting
impacts. This might also suggest that she is incapable of seeing how murder
has psychological consequences. To her, the only link to the murder is the
literal blood on her hands. She fails to anticipate that the murder will live
with her beyond that night. This shows how she views herself to be cruel and
ruthless. She represses any morality she has. Alternatively, this may reveal
how desperate she is to put the murder behind her and continue with her life
as normal. ● The act of washing your hands of blood becomes symbolic in
the play. Shakespeare uses it to show how guilt persists beyond physical
evidence. Lady Macbeth’s bold words “a little water clears us of this deed”
come back to bite her, as in her final scene, we watch her repeatedly try to
wash invisible blood off her hands. However, there are signs early on that
Lady Macbeth isn’t as tough and cold-hearted as she wants to appear. She
never refers explicitly to the murder or to blood: she uses euphemisms, such
as “deed” and “great business”. This implies she can’t confront reality, and
can’t face the grotesque or macabre. Shakespeare argues that guilt is the
direct opposite of ambition. One focuses on the future, the other on the past.
Ambition longs for power regardless of consequence, whereas guilt forces us
to face the reality of our deeds. https://bit.ly/pmt-cc https://bit.ly/pmt-cc
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Beginning (1.1 - 2.1) Lady Macbeth’s most striking and significant
performances happen at the beginning of the play. From them, we get a clear
idea of who she is - or, arguably, who she wants to be. Her first lines are a
soliloquy, demonstrating her importance and strength of will. Though she
doesn’t appear on stage until the 5th scene, she has a large impact on the
direction the plot takes, and it is her plots and wishes that get fulfilled in the
first two acts. Lady Macbeth’s speech at the beginning of the play is littered
with deceit, treachery, and omens of death. The prospect of being queen and
controlling the fate of another empowers her, and she doesn’t want anything
to come between her and the crown. Violence and cruelty are a means to an
end for her because they bring her closer to getting what she wants and
allow her to prove herself. Alternatively, you could argue that there are signs
Lady Macbeth enjoys gratuitous violence - violence for the sake of violence.
She knows that Macbeth will become king regardless of her own actions, but
opts for the murderous route to the throne. She vows to smash a baby’s
head open for Macbeth as a sign of loyalty, despite him never asking for her
to do such a thing. Both interpretations explain why Lady Macbeth doesn’t
care about moral consequence: her bloodlust and her selfish persistence
leave no room for others and their feelings. Shakespeare most wants to
convey that Lady Macbeth’s character is her ability to manipulate, tempt,
and seduce. She is the root of Macbeth’s evil, and this comes hand in hand
with her supernatural contacts. It isn’t just significant that she has soliloquies
in her first scenes: the allusions to witchcraft and the diabolical portray her
as a villain, and it’s as if she’s casting her own spells. She wants the power of
the occult to achieve her aim, suggesting she is willing to sacrifice
everything to be queen. She bullies Macbeth with cruel and cutting insults,
but also entices him with promises of power and success. The way she greets
him, calling him a soon-to-be king, mimics the Witches’ own. After Macbeth’s
soliloquy where he concludes that he has “no spur to prick the sides of [his]
intent, but only / Vaulting ambition”, Lady Macbeth appears on stage,
suggesting that she is that very “spur”, “vaulting ambition” personified. This
all means she knows his weaknesses and temptations, and exploits them for
her own gain. He has no hope of beating her. She is the Serpent and Eve
combined, the call of the Sirens luring sailors to their graves.
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https://bit.ly/pmt-edu-cc https://bit.ly/pmt-cc Middle (2.2 - 3.4) In the climax
of the murder in Act 2 Scene 2, we see how Lady Macbeth takes charge and
remains calm while Macbeth has a personal crisis. This elaborates on what
we saw in the first act: Lady Macbeth is in control and is the dominant
planner out of the two Macbeths. Except for one moment of honesty when
she admits she couldn’t kill Duncan because he looks like her father, she is
cold and unruffled, completely remorseless and ruthless. She is frustrated
with Macbeth because of his guilt, hysteria, and fear - something that
happens continually for the rest of the middle section - portraying her as
unempathetic and closed-off. It’s as if her spells were successful and she is
an invincible, amoral villain, presenting her as a Witch. To her, guilt goes as
far as the blood on her hands, and can be disposed of just as easily. The
contrast between her and Macbeth’s reactions - her coldness against his
panic - makes her appear far-removed from humanity and its worries. On the
other hand, her one display of emotional vulnerability could foreshadow her
guilt and torment later. In Act 2 Scene 3, Lady Macbeth gets a chance to
demonstrate her acting skills. So far, her plan is chillingly successful. The
way she feigns grief and manages to fool everyone in the vicinity with her
performance suggests she has an uncanny ability to imitate and replicate
human emotion. As an audience, we learn that she is an unreliable character:
we don’t know how much of what she says and does is genuine. As we enter
Act 3, we see cracks starting to appear in Lady Macbeth’s calm. She’s still
unaffected by guilt, but she’s paranoid. Moreover, she’s anxious about how
Macbeth is faring. His own paranoia and guilt are causes of great concern for
her, and she doesn’t want his incompetence to ruin her plan. This tension
and frustration comes to a head when Banquo’s ghost appears. She can’t
understand why Macbeth is behaving the way he is, and is angry that he
would be so terrified by something so foolish, putting her in danger by doing
so. She mocks and chastises him (tells him off) for displaying weakness,
implying she’s very passionate about keeping in control. Despite her best
efforts, we see Macbeth spinning out of control and away from Lady
Macbeth’s grasp. She can’t stop him from seeing ghosts. She knows they
need to be wary of Banquo, but Macbeth won’t tell her what he has planned.
By the end of the banquet scene, we know that the two are on separate
paths, each isolated in their paranoia despite having the same fears. The
Lady Macbeth we saw in Act 1, the wife who had an unbreakable hold over
her husband, is nowhere to be seen. https://bit.ly/pmt-cc https://bit.ly/pmt-cc
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(3.5 - 5.9) We next see Lady Macbeth on stage in Act 5 Scene 1. This is also
the last time she ever appears before her death. The person we see is even
further away from the person who plotted the death of a king in Act 1: she is
entirely absorbed in her fear, talking to herself while oblivious to her
surroundings. Her last line in the banquet scene was “you lack the season of
all natures, sleep”, so it’s fitting that now she paces at night, sleepwalking
but unable to rest. Finally, her sins have caught up to her. Shakespeare uses
the characters of the doctor and Lady Macbeth’s Lady in Waiting to
emphasise how insane and alien Lady Macbeth has become. She never
speaks to anyone, and it’s only through the exchange between these two
minor characters that we know what’s going on. Along with the doctor, the
audience observes, studies, and diagnoses her, like she’s a specimen for a
scientist. Any strength or influence she had is gone. Furthermore, she’s
speaking in prose rather than blank verse, so that her speech lacks
sophistication and control. Shakespeare used prose for characters who were
lower class or insane. Hence, Lady Macbeth isn’t as impressive or
intimidating as she once was. Lady Macbeth’s speech is incoherent, frantic,
and continuous, as her internal monologue is said aloud. She alternates
between worrying about her growing guilt and telling an imagined Macbeth
off for jeopardising their plot. For example, in one long string of monologue,
she says, “The 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
with this starting,” going from panicking about their growing body-count to
scolding Macbeth for being jumpy in an instant. The random, disjointed
structure of her speech reflects how she’s torn between her ambition and her
guilt. Part of her is holding onto the woman she was before, someone who
was fearless and unsympathetic of Macbeth’s fear, while the rest of her is
descending into remorse and grief. Therefore, there is a level of hypocrisy in
her character. A case of situational irony is the way she worries about being
unable to wash the blood from her hands: earlier, she thought a “little water”
would clear her of guilt, but now she learns this isn’t true. Lady Macbeth is
hardly mentioned by the other characters for the rest of the play. Only upon
her death does Macbeth think of her, highlighting how separate the two of
them have become. She https://bit.ly/pmt-cc https://bit.ly/pmt-cc
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away from the outside world, caged inside the castle. Before the murder,
Lady Macbeth could never have imagined fading into such insignificance.
Lady Macbeth is forgotten until the last scene of the play, where she is
referred to not by name, but by the epithet “fiend-like queen”. On the one
hand, this summarises who Lady Macbeth wanted to be at the start,
suggesting she will be remembered for her villainy and cruelty. On the other,
the use of “queen” presents her as Macbeth’s sidekick and wife, reducing her
to the back bench as all women were in Jacobean society. She has no
individual identity, and is known only by her relation to Macbeth. Little do
they know that she was the one who put the whole plan into motion.
RELATIONSHIPS Macbeth | Both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are incredibly
ambitious and power-hungry. Most of what we see of their marriage is their
plotting and conspiring. Both are weakened by guilt and paranoia as the plot
develops, and by the end have isolated themselves from each other. The
main difference between them is their confidence: Lady Macbeth is
determined, ruthless, strong-willed, and self-assured, whereas Macbeth is
uncertain, weak-willed, and hesitant. The power dynamic between them
switches. Initially, Lady Macbeth holds the power in their relationship,
despite being in an inferior position according to society. She relies on
Macbeth for power and status, but controls Macbeth like he’s her own
puppet. Eventually, Macbeth breaks away from her, plotting without her and
keeping secrets. https://bit.ly/pmt-cc https://bit.ly/pmt-cc https://bit.ly/pmt-
HdX https://bit.ly/pmt-edu-cc https://bit.ly/pmt-cc KEY QUOTES “Glamis thou
art, and Cawdor, and shalt be / What thou art promised; yet do I fear thy
nature, / It is too full o’th’milk of human kindness / To catch the nearest way.”
(A1S5) ● Follow the same structure as the Witches’ prophecies, implying she
has her own psychic abilities and associating her with the supernatural. ●
Lady Macbeth “fear[s]” Macbeth’s kind nature; fear is typically associated
with evil or the supernatural, but in this statement, Lady Macbeth reverses
this thought. By fearing Macbeth’s kindness, she implies that morality is a
frightening, threatening thing. Alternatively, “fear” reveals how desperately
Lady Macbeth wants to become queen. The noun “nature” alludes to
Macbeth’s mortal soul and shows that she is referring to Macbeth’s true
identity, the parts of himself that he can’t change. Therefore, she is
presenting Macbeth as a person whose moral compass and compassion are
inherent or permanent. ○ Moreover, by calling it “human kindness”, she
implies Macbeth’s personality is universally recognised to be kind.
Shakespeare implies kindness is exclusive to “human[s]”, and is an objective
thing, meaning it can’t be disputed or interpreted differently. Macbeth shares
his goodness with the rest of the human race, but Lady Macbeth wants to rid
herself of it, and take him with her. ● Lady Macbeth continues to portray
Macbeth’s “human kindness” as an unfavourable trait for him to have. The
phrase “too full” again suggests his nature will be an obstacle to her plans,
and might also be interpreted as a sign of corruption. ○ In ancient medicine,
people believed that your health depended on having a balance of four
different fluids, or ‘humours’. By suggesting Macbeth is “too full” of “milk”,
Lady Macbeth might be implying he is ill or mentally unbalanced. The
metaphor “milk of human kindness” presents kindness as a fluid, changeable
thing. Milk can expire, go rotten, or be poisoned, so Shakespeare may be
hinting that though Lady Macbeth is worried about Macbeth at the moment,
she believes she can corrupt him. Alternatively, “milk” connotes
breastfeeding, and so associates “human kindness” with femininity. This
presents compassion as a weakness, something that emasculates Macbeth
and stops him from being the strong, brave king she wants him to be. The
use of the “milk” metaphor, as well as applying a ‘feminine’ trait to Macbeth,
suggests gender is fluid. https://bit.ly/pmt-cc https://bit.ly/pmt-cc
https://bit.ly/pmt-HdX https://bit.ly/pmt-edu-cc https://bit.ly/pmt-cc “Hie thee
hither, / That I may pour my spirits in thine ear / And chastise with the valour
of my tongue / All that impedes thee from the golden round.” - Lady
Macbeth, (A1S5) ● Lady Macbeth summons Macbeth with a “hie thee hither”
in the same way that the Witches summoned their familiars (animal
companions) in the opening scene. This suggests she views him as a means
to an end, or a tool to help her get her way. ● The imagery of “pour my
spirits in thine ear” evokes demonic possession, showing how Lady Macbeth
wants to overpower Macbeth with her own villainy. ● This whole extract
might seem sexual, and one interpretation is that sex is used in the subtext
to illustrate the power dynamics Lady Macbeth is manipulating. Typically, to
“pour [your] spirits” would be a masculine action, while the one receiving
those “spirits” would be seen as the female. However, in this case, Lady
Macbeth wants to take the masculine role, reflecting how she consistently
strips Macbeth of his manliness. In keeping with the theme of gender that
Lady Macbeth uses in her first soliloquies, she wants to subvert traditional
gender roles as a way of getting what she wants. “Come, you spirits / That
tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here / And fill me from the crown to the
toe topfull / Of direst cruelty; make thick my blood, / Stop up th’access and
passage to remorse / That no compunctious visitings of nature / Shake my
fell purpose nor keep peace between / Th’effect and it. Come to my woman’s
breasts / And take my milk for gall, you murd’ring ministers.” (A1S5) ● This
is a pivotal moment in her character development. She is dedicating herself
entirely to her conspiracy, even willing to sacrifice her own mind and body to
whatever evil “spirits” will help her reach her goal. She views herself as a
harbinger of death for Duncan, and so it’s fitting that what follows is, for all
extents and purposes, a witch’s spell. ● The use of anatomy, such as “the
crown to the toe” and “breasts”, makes her speech feel very invasive and
uncomfortable, as well as illustrating how Lady Macbeth is trying to mutate
into something else. Furthermore, the reference to “blood” and “milk” shows
how her soul and mind will also be affected. Because of the theory of the
four humours in medieval medicine, a person’s bodily fluids (such as Lady
Macbeth’s “blood”) would have determined their true nature. By asking the
spirits to tamper with her insides, Lady Macbeth is asking for a complete
makeover. Alternatively, the https://bit.ly/pmt-cc https://bit.ly/pmt-cc
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combination of “blood” and “gall” could be an allusion to Jesus’ crucifixion.
Jesus’ side was pierced to prove he was dead, and blood came gushing out;
before he died, the Roman soldiers offered him a wine laced with gall, or
poison. Lady Macbeth is welcoming these substances, suggesting she is on
the side of the Roman soldiers. ● The other key aspect of this quote is the
theme of gender, summarised in Lady Macbeth’s use of the verb “unsex”.
Though the attributes Lady Macbeth desires, including cruelty, are typically
associated with masculinity, Lady Macbeth isn’t asking to be made into a
man: she is asking to be rid of the parts that make her a woman. “Unsex”
conveys androgyny and ambiguity. Lady Macbeth seems to associate
goodness with humanity (“human kindness”), and Shakespeare implies that
gender is a sign of humanity (“single state of man”). By being “unsex[ed]”,
Lady Macbeth would escape the gender binary altogether, and so would be
removed from humanity. This would free her from the burdens and
weaknesses of morality and conscience. “To beguile the time, / Look like the
time, bear welcome in your eye, / Your hand, your tongue; look like
th’innocent flower, / But be the serpent under’t.” (A1S5) ● This quote is an
explicit nod to the theme of appearance vs. reality, as Lady Macbeth
instructs her husband on how to fool everyone around them. Shakespeare
shows how she intends to exploit the differences between appearance and
reality, as well as exploit how gullible our senses are, to achieve her goal.
Once again, Shakespeare uses anatomical imagery, such as “eye”, “hand”,
and “tongue”, as well as a semantic field of sight, “look” and “eye”, in Lady
Macbeth’s descriptions of emotion. She tells Macbeth to make sure that any
“welcome” or kindness he shows others is purely surface level. This suggests
that their public personas are superficial and hollow, with no genuine
meaning behind them. The body parts she lists implies that emotion can be
replicated and imitated, as if it is a physical product rather than an abstract
feeling. The theme of sight conveys how our senses can be tricked: we are
taken in by appearances and performances. ● The parallel structure in “to
beguile the time, / Look like the time” emphasises the idea of mirroring. Lady
Macbeth tells Macbeth that the best way to trick people is by reflecting back
at them what they want to see. Again, their identities are surface level, with
no substance behind the reflective glass. The verb “beguile” conveys
menace and manipulation. Also, it connotes https://bit.ly/pmt-cc
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https://bit.ly/pmt-cc enchantment and witchcraft, continuing to present Lady
Macbeth as an enchantress. “Nought’s had, all’s spent / Where our desire is
got without content. ‘Tis safer to be that which we destroy / Than by
destruction dwell in doubtful joy.” (A3S2) ● Something significant about this
quote is that Lady Macbeth says it when she’s alone on stage. This implies
we can trust it more than other things she says, because she isn’t performing
for an audience: as far as we can tell, she is being her genuine self. We see
that she is admitting she is worried, something she would never want to
confess to her husband. Both of the Macbeths are suffering from the same
case of paranoia, but neither will confide in the other. The parallel phrases
“nought’s had, all’s spent” shows how Lady Macbeth’s thinking is black-and-
white. She goes from one extreme to the other: from “nought” to “all”.
Shakespeare implies that she sees no value in what they did unless they
succeed fully - in other words, unless they never face consequences, and can
enjoy life to the fullest. This portrays her as a selfish, unsatisfied character,
and implies that currently, Duncan died for nothing. Shakespeare hints that
the Macbeths will never be satisfied, and so will always have “nought”.
Fulfilling your “desire” isn’t enough, because you need to be “content”, too.
The list keeps growing. ● We can also detect fear in Lady Macbeth’s
character. The use of the comparative adjective “safer” suggests Lady
Macbeth is aware of their dangerous position, and wishes she could feel
more at ease. Shakespeare suggests to his audience that this is a just
punishment for her actions. The phrase “dwell in doubtful joy” is full of
uncertainty and hesitancy, reflecting the unstable environment of the play.
Shakespeare shows how nothing can be guaranteed, and this eats away at a
person. The consonance of “d'' could mimic the chattering of teeth or
stuttering, reflecting how Lady Macbeth is struggling to adapt to her new life.
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Background Information

rMacbetht is set in various parts of Scotland

Here's a plan of the important places in the play, showing where all the
important action happens.

Scotland

Forres Palace

Macbeth's Castle in lnverness

Battlefield and
¿2

Heath

Dunsinane Castle Witches'Cave

Macduff's Castle in Fife

Birnam Wood

(.¿

o t l4

õÈ

Theatre was an inlportant form of entertainment

The rebuilt Clobe Theatre in London

There was noT!, radio or internet in Shakespea

time, so going to the theatre was really popular.

The theatre wasn't just for rich people

Sha

audiences included servants and labourers. Audi

could get quite rowd)¡ during performances.

The ooorer people in the audience stood in front

of the stage

if it rained, they got wet. The

oeoole sat in the covered salleries above.

Shakespeare's theatre company, the King's Men

(previously called the Lord Chamberlain's Men),

oerformed in the Clobe Theatre in London.

This was rebuilt in 1997.

It was illegal for women to act, so the women's pé

were played by young boys (even Lady Macbeth..

Introduction

I J3

\ñIho's \Mho in oMacbeth'

FUUJ

J \o <U

óJ >l

J^

l-ì;

^! (,)F

Macbeth...

is an ambitious Scottish

nobleman. He murders
the King of Scotland and

takes his place.

Lady Macbeth...

... is Macbeth's wife.

She persuades Macbeth to

kill the King. She eventually

goes mad and kills herself.

Duncan

... is the King of Scotland

at the start of the play.

Macbeth murders him.

t:

f \Z

=E

Malcolm...

... is Duncan's son. He flees

after Duncan's murder, and

becomes King at the end of

the play.

õ .:

o
Macduff...

... is a noble

soldier. He doesn't

trust Macbeth and

eventually kills him

Lady Macduff...

... is Macduff's wife.

Macbeth has her and

her children murdered

;,

_ì

t.'

.3

Banquo...

... is a brave soldier and

nobleman. He's friends

with Macbeth bur

Macbeth has him killed

tr U U

oU
ó

oV

oU

IF

fv

.9

Three Witches...

... are evil supernatural

beings who can predict

the future. Their leader

is called Hecate.

Introduction4

rMacbetht

Plet Surnmary

nMacheth'.,, what happens when?

Macbeth needs to be as familiar to you as your favourite socks. This Iittle

recap of the main events will help you on your way, but it's no substitute
for reading the play. There's no escaping that l'm afraid...

õ .È

The three Witches olan to meet Macbeth.

Macbeth and Banquo meet the Witches, who te

Macbeth he'll be Thane of Cawdor, then King.

Thev tell Banouo his descendants will be kines.

a Duncan makes Macbeth Thane of Cawdor

Macbeth starts to wonder if the Witches'

praphcey about him being King will

come true too.

Macbeth tells Lady Macbeth about the prophecy,

She olans to oersuade him to murder Duncan.

a Duncan comes to stay with the Macbeths. Macbeth is reluctant to kill him,
but Lady Macbeth convin

him that they can frame Duncan's servants for the murder. Macbeth agrees
to the plan.

a
a

Macbeth murders Duncan and Lady Macbeth plafti

blood-stained dassers on Duncan's servants.

Macduff arrives and discovers the King's body. The King's sons,

Malcolm and Donalbain, leave Scotland because they fear for

their Iives

this makes them look guilt)¡ of Duncan's murder.

Rosse and an old man discuss the strange and unnatural things that

have been happening since Duncan's murder. Macbeth is aboutto

be crowned, but not all the other noblemen support him.

Macbeth is now King, but he's worried by the Witches' prophecy

about Banquo's descendants being kings. He orders some

murderers to kill Banquo and his son, Fleance.

The murderers kill Banquo, but Fleance escapes. Macbeth hosts a

feast and sees Banouo's ghost. He decides to visit the Witches again

Lennox and a lord suspect Macbeth of murdering Duncan and

Banquo. They say that Macduff is getting an army together to

attack Macbeth and put Malcolm on the throne.

Introductioni

tell

ñ .:

5
.6,ct four

The fhree apparitions

a Macbeth visits the Witches again and they

summon three aooaritions.

Each apparition makes a prophecy. The first

warns Macbeth about Macduff, the second

tells him that no one born from a woman

can harm him and the third tells him that he

can't be beaten until Birnam Wood moves to

Dunsinane Hill.

When Macbeth demands to know if Banquo's

children will ever rule Scotland the Witches

show him Banquo's ghost and a line of kings

who seem to be Banouo's descendants.

Macduff has fled to England. Macbeth sends his murderers to kill Macduff's
wife and children.

In England, Macduff proves his loyalt)¡ to Malcolm, and Malcolm reveals

thatthe English King

has given him ten thousand soldiers to fight Macbeth. Macduff learns that
Macbeth has killed

his familv. and vows to avense their deaths.

l-

.:
E

Lady Macbeth has gone mad. She sleepwalks and keeps washing invisible
blood from her hands.

. The Scottish lords plan to meet the English

arm)¡ at Birnam Wood and attack Macbeth.

Macbeth hears about the approaching

Enslish armv. He isn't scared because

of the Witches' predictions.

Malcolm tells the soldiers to cut down

branches from Birnam Wood and hide behind

them as they march towards Macbeth's castle.

Macbeth prepares for battle and finds out

that Lady Macbeth has killed herself.

Macbeth and Macduff meet on the battlefield. Macbeth is sure that he'll win,
until he finds out that

Macduff was born by Caesarean, so he isn't born from a woman. They fight
and Macbeth is killed.

Malcolm is made King of Scotland.

Macbeth? Macdeath xnore lÍke...

Once you're confident that you know what happens in Macbeth, you're ready

to start Section One. lf you're still not sure about the plot or want a break

from revision, have a look atthe Macbeth cartoon at the back of the book.

Eõ

o
t

oE

Introduction6 Section One

Understanding Shakespeare

Lots of people think Shakespeare's the hardest thing you have to study for
English

and they're right... but it should be less hard and less weird when you've
read this section

rMacbetht is meant to be watched

not read

1) Macbeth is a p]ay. A play tells a story by showing it to you.

2) When you read the play, it's often pretty hard to follow what's going on.
Try to imagine what's

happening and how the people would speak and act

it should all start to make a lot more sense.

3) lf you can, try to see the play on stage. lf not, watch a film version to get
an idea of thestpry.

4) But remember to read the play as well

films often cut scenes and change the language,

so it's danserous to relv on them too much.

rMacbetht is a tragedy
Macbeth is one of Shakespeare's most famous tragedies

Mostlv. it's a tvoical trapedv...

1) lt's about serious topics like war and death.

2) lt's sad

Iots of the characters die.

. 3) The play's main character (Macbeth)dies

' as a result of his flaws.

But there are also a few more unusual things

4)

There are supernatural elements

the three Witches and their papheetes:

s)

Lady Macbeth isn't typical of Shakespeare's female characters

she's cvlland strong:will"d.

6)

There are'a few comic moments

the Porter is a comic character.

Pay attention to the stage directions

When vou're readins the olav. look at the staee directions

I O I /'

tell the actors what to do, when to come in and when to leave the stage.
thev're little phrases in italics that

These are the reallv common stape directions in Shakesoeare:

Enter = when someone comes onto the stage

Exìt when one person leaves the stage

Exeunt = when more than one person leaves

Asìde = the character is talkins to themselves, not to other characters on the

stage

Section One

Don't forget that'Macbeth'was wrÍtten to be pefiormêd...

Playslike Macbethdon'thaveloadsof description. Whenyoureadit,you'll

needtothinkabouthowthe

characters might move and speak on stage. Stage directions can sometimes
give you a clue.

Understanding Shakespeare

-7

Shakespeare's plays can be more confusing than a fox and ferret convention,
especially all

the strange ye olde language. But there are certain ways of reading it so it
makes more sense.

The ptay is written in poetry and prose

1) Some of the play is written in poetry

but the poetry doesn't always rhyme.

2) The poetry is the bits where all the lines are

roughly the same length, and each Iin

e starts

"Still it cried, 'Sleep no more' to all the house,

'Clamis hath murdered sleep', and therefore Cawdor

Shall sleep no more - Macbeth shall sleep no more."

Act 2, Scene 2

with a capital letter. lt looks like this:

3) The Witches, Hecate and the apparitions (the supernatural characters)

speak in rhyming verse.

4) Some bits of the play are in prose

prose is normal sentences without any set rhythm.

5) Common characters, Iike the Porter, usually speak in prose. For more on
poetryt see

Lad)¡ Macbeth speaks in prose *h"n ,hãS"J nø sectíon 5'

Don't stop reading at the end of each line

1) Even though each line starts with a capital letter;

it doesn't mean it's a separate sentence.

2) Just ignore the capitals and follow the punctuation.

3) For example, there's no full stop here so carry on

to the next line:

o \z

<o

I-

zt 2^ <: <x

\J :{ JÉ

=v :> :s o+ r< IU] F

Look out for words-in a funny ord.er

1) Another reason Shakespeare can be tricky to understand is the long

complicated sentences.
2) It,s hard because the words are in a funny order. lf you change the order it
makes it easier to understand

For example:

"So foul and fair a day I have not qeen."

Act 1, Scene 3

I have not seen so fou fair a duy.

rÐ

o, mym ind is full of scorpions, dear wife!

Act 3, Scene 2

Section One

Understanding Shakespeare

-I

How to Understand Shakespearets Language

Macbeth is full of cobwebby, dusty old words

and weird ways of writing things using apostrophes.

Don't let them put you off

it rs English really. I promise.

You have to guess what the missing letters are

1) Shakespeare often runs two words together and

misses letters out to make them fit into a Iine.

2) There's often an apostrophe instead of the

missins letter. So "is't"' means "is it".

Act 4, Scene 1

3) lf you come across random apostrophes

when you're reading, you'll have to

work out what the missing letters are.

FUu

oU

ov

U T t-

g ó : f, J

o (')

Ulind yout thees, thous and thys

1) They had different words for 'you' in those days.

2) People used to say 'thou' to be familiar or friendly, and

'you' to be more formal. Look out for these words:

.ã,nd finally some rnore old, confusing words

1) Verbs often look a bit different from modern English.

thou art = you are

thou hast = you have

thou wilt = you will

thou canst = you can

2) lf this seems difficult, here's a trick

-
3) And here are a few more words to watch out for:

take the 't' off the end of the verb:

hie =

go quickly

wherefore

= why

hither =

to here

thence

= from there

whence =

from where

ere

= before

hence =

from here

whither

= where

hast-t=has

wilt-t=wil(l)

Spend tÍme getting to grìps wÍth the langttage...

So, Shakespeare missed letters from his words, and he put his words in a
funny order. As annoying as that

may be, you need to get used to it. The better you understand the play, the
better you'll do in your exam.

Section One

Understanding Shakespeare
-Section T\¡¡o

Discussion of .A.cts

This section goes over the story of Macbeth. Read it all and you'll know what
happens in every scene.

Don'tgothinkingyoudon'tneedtoreadtheplayaswell,though. l'll
findoutifyoudon't.

Scene I

The lllitches plan to meet Macbeth

The wild weather hints

that unnatural events

1) The play starts with thunder and lightning, which sets a dark and violent
mood.

are occurring.

2) The three Witches are the first characters on stage

this shows how important the theme of the

supernatural is to the play. The Witches are m)¡sterious

we don't know what their purpose is.

3) TheWitches speak in rhyming couplets, e.g. "When the hurly-burly's

done, /When the battle's lost

and won." Only the supernatural characters in the play consistently use
rhyme

it sets them apart

-
from the other characters and makes their speech sound unnatural, as if
they're casting an evil spell.

4) The Witches plan to meet Macbeth, but don't

exolain their intentions. Their final rhvmins couolet,

"Fair is foul, and foul is fair, / Hover through

the fog and filthy air" hints that they're evil.

Theme

Reality and Appearances

The Witches intiod

uce the idea that

fo

central the

pluy

A paradox is a

statement that

contradicts itself,

Writer's Techniques

Language

Witches

oaradoxes

"when

speak the battle's

ost a

ma the

but the
redictions

become

any sense. lea

At

won'. fi rst they

play goes on.

Scene 2

- King Duncan hears reports of the battle

1) The Scottish army, led by Macbeth and Banquo, are

Character

fighting rebel armies from Norway and lreland.

2) Shakespeare contrasts the eerie opening scene with

the brutality and "bloody execution" of the battlefield

This sets a violent mood for the rest of the play

3) The Captain and Duncan describe Macbeth

as "brave" and "valiant". At this point he's

a hero who's lo)¡al to his king and country.

Macbeth

Theme

Reality and Appearances

Macbeth cuts off the traitor's head

this foreshadows (hints at somethíng that

happens later) his own death at the end.

õ
v-

nnfiair ìs foul, and foul Ís faÍr"

Macbeth starts as it means to go on

creepy witches that can see into the future, and bloody violence

The audience is also warned not to trust appearances, something which will
crop up a lot...

SectionTwo

Discussion of .A,cts

-t0

The Witches are back

and there's all sorts of hubble-bubble afoot.

Scene 3

The l[Iitches make three predictions

1) The Witches are accompanied by

thunder asain

this recurrins

motif hints at chaos, danger and the

overturning of the natural order.

A motif is a recurring

symbol

see pages
-

55 and 56.

2) Macbeth's first Iine in this scene, "So foul and fair a

day I have not seen", immediately links him to the

Witches and their "Foul is fair" prophecy.

The Witches talk about sending a storm out on

a sailor's ship so that he can't sleep. The sailor

is a metaohor

at

for wh happen

to

who'i made sl

eepl suit,

ess nd

a sh

the

by ip

is a metaphor for Scotland, which is almost

destroyed during Macbeth's violent reign.

Banquo and Ulacbeth react differently to the predictions

1) The Witches predict that Macbeth will be made Thane of Cawdor, then
King, and that Banquo's

descendants will also become kinss. Banquo and Macbeth react differentlv to
the news:

suspicious a.nd asks, "have We eaten on the insane,root".

He warns that the Witches "Win us with honest trifles

to betray's". He accepts that the Witches

-

are telling the irulh, but he's also aware that they're manipulating Macbeth
and himself

a Banquo's less easily deceived than Macbeth.

the Witches'instru

he sees they're ev!j, whereas Macbeth is less

cerlâin

'says they "Can

ments'

not o-e

. The encounter with the Witches leaves Macbeth "rapt withal". He's
spellbound by the predictions,

but he's also sçared, by the powerful ambition that the Witches have
awakened in him: , ,'

2) The Witches tell Banquo he will be "Lesser than Macbeth,

and greater". This is a reference to Banquo's sons being

kinss. but it could also mean that Banouo is sreater

ot I

because he isn't driven by greed and ambition

3) Macbeth can't stop thinking about the prophecies

this

shows his lust for power. He immediately thinks about

killing Duncan, but he's also reluctant. At this point

Macbeth isn't an evil character

he's wrestling with his

-
conscience and torn between his ambition and his lovaltv.

Character

The Witches

.9

4) When Macbeth finds out he's been made Thane

of Cawdor, it shows that the first prediction

has come true. This convinces him that the

prediction about him becoming King will come

true too, which strengthens his ambition.

tthesser than Macbeth, and greatet"

The scene is now set. The Witches have told Macbeth that he'll be King, but
Duncan and Malcolm stand

in his way. Banquo's kids look Iike a threat to him too. So it looks like murder
might be the answer...

SectionTwo

Discussion of Ä,cts

-1t

The nextthree scenes are all atMacbeth's castle-Macbeth and Lady Macbeth
maketheir plan...

Scene 4

IVlacbeth is rnade Thane of Gawdor -

1) Duncan gives Macbeth the title of Thane of Cawdor

as a reward for his lovaltv.

2) Duncan uses an extended metaphor of plants, e.g. "plant

thee" and "make thee full of growing", to show that he sees it

as his dutv to nurture oeoole who are loval to him. Duncan

sees Macbeth as a patcnÍaLsueecgsat, suggesting that fate

might make Macbeth King with him doing anything

Theme

Kingship

Theme

Turning point in the action

Tlre Witches' first

prediction comes true.

Reality and Appearances

3) Macbeth seems confused in this scene. Outwardly he's a brave

and loval warlord. but inwardlv his ambition is battlins with

his conscience. He wants to keep his "black and deep desires"

hidden, not just from other people but from himself.

Writer's Techniques

Symbolism

Duncan says, "signs of nobleness, li

stars, shall shine / On all deservers."

thi

He reward

ks that

fate
who deserve

it. ight ked

a so

visibility, wh

ch

contrasts with

Macbeth's desire to hide his intentions.

ke'

Scene 5

- Lady Macbeth decides Duncan nrust die

1) The scene ooens with Ladv Macbeth alone, readine a letter from

Macbeth about the Witches' prophecies

this allows the

audience to hear her inner thoughts and see what she's really Iike.

2) She has no doubts about killing Duncan and immediately

sees that she'll have to force Macbeth to do it because he's

"too full o'th'milk of human kindness".

3) Lady Macbeth's soliloquy uses evil imagery such as "smoke of hell"

and "direst cruelty", which shows the evil on her mind.

Writer's Techniques

Symbolism

"unsgx

me re'! sh

he does

want to
on

4) Her speech links her to the Witches

she uses imperatives, which make it sound like she's casting a

spell. She says, "Come, you spirits" and "Come, thick night", which links her
to evjl, unnatural spirits.

5) Macbeth enters and their dialogue in lines 56-58 is in half-line breaks. This
makes their speech sound

urgent and hurried

they're both nervous and need to act quickly in case they're interrupted.

=E

Explain what Lady Macbeth's solìIoquy tells us ahout her. ' '

Lady Macbeth's soliloquy is really important

it shows that she's the driving force behind the decision

to murder Duncan. Her language links her to the Witches, and shows that
she's not to be trusted.

SectionT\n¡o

Discussion of "A,ctst2

Duncan arrives at Macbeth's castle

he's in for the night of his life

Scene 6
Duncan and the lords arrive at Macbethts castle

1) Duncan arrives at Macbeth's castle and is grateful for his

hospitality and everything Macbeth's done for him

2) Lady Macbeth appears to be the perfect hostess

she

flatters Duncan and thanks him for the "honours deep and

broad" he has given them. Shakespeare contrasts this scene

with the previous one to show how false Lady Macbeth is.

Writer's Techniques

lrony

Writer's Techniques

lrony

Scene 7, -The Macbeths agree to kill Duncan

1) Scene 7 opens with Macbeth's soliloqu)¡

he's trying to decide

whether to kill Duncan and gives a list of reasons why he shouldn't:

. He knows that murder can "return /To plague th'inventor"

so iÍ

h" kills Duncan he's likely to end up being killed himself.

. As Duncan's {kinsmanl' and "host" he has a duty to protect him.

he's "clear in his great office", so

"deeo damnation".

Macbeth knows his ambition will be his downfall.

2) Lady Macbeth is forceful

she bullies and persuades Macbeth to go

through with the murder by questioning his masculinit)¡. She says that

by killing Duncan Macbeth will be "so much more the man". This has

a double meaning

he'll be more of a man, and he'll also be King.

3) She reiects her femininitv bv tellins Macbeth that she'd kill her own

child. She's trying to prove how remorseless and evil she is.

Writer's Techniques

lmagery

tI

Writer's Techniques

Suspense

Section T\¡¡o

WrÍte about Shakespeare's use of Ítony...

Duncan is full of praise for the Macbeths and their home, but the audience
knows they're up to no good

This takes us back to the Witches' warning: "Fair is foul..." (l told you it was a
key quote)'

Discussion of .A,cts

-13

Macbeth kills Duncan, and Lady Macbeth covers the servants in blood to
frame them for his murder

Scene t -The famous rdagger' bit

Character

Banquo

1) Banquo and his son, Fleance, go for a walk at night.

Fleance is a reminder to the audience about the

Witches' prophecy that Banquo's sons will be kings.

2) There aren't any stars: "Their candles are all out", so it's very dark.

The darkness symbolises the evil that Macbeth is about to do. The starless
sky also echoes Duncan's

speech in Act 1, Scene 4 about stars shinins on the deservinq- Macbeth is

undeserving.

3) Macbeth promises that if Banquo supports him, he'll "honour"

him, but Banquo replies that he'll only help Macbeth if he can

keep his "allesiance clear". This shows that he's lo)¡al to Duncan

Theme -The Supernatural

See p.42 for more on visions.

a t- ) ) U u o (_)

J
ó

I t-

gÐ

f, J

oU

Scene 2 -The deed is done Turning point in the action

Macbeth commits his first murder

1) Lady Macbeth waits for Macbeth to return from killing Duncan.

She's startled by every noise, and she says that she couldn't kill Dun

can because he reminded

her of her father. This suggests that Lady Macbeth isn't as merciless

as she appears.

2) The murder takes place offstage

this increases the suspense and makes the audience

imagine the killing, which makes it more horrific. lt also Iets the audience see
how

Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are affected by their experience in Duncan's

room.

3) There's a Iot of foreshadowing (hinting at things that happen later) in this

scene

. Macbeth doubts "Neptune's ocean" will clean the blood off his hands

he's feeling guilty. Lady Macbeth doesn't seem as bothered by her bloody

hands
ifs an ironic foreshadowing of her frenzied hand washing in Act 5.

For more on the

rymbolism of blood and

water see p.57.

Macbeth says he's "murdered sleep"

sleep symbolises peace and a clear conscience, so murdering

sleep shows that he's wracked with guilt. This also foreshadows Lady
Macbeth's sleepwalking in Act 5

There are also references to insanity

Lady Macbeth talks about Macbeth going "mad"

and being "brain-sicklyt' -

it's an ironic foreshadowing of her own madness later.

4) The stage directions add to the tension

there's a repetition of a knocl<ing sound, which gives a

sense oÍ urgency. This seems to echo Macbeth's pounding heart, and is a

sign of his fear and gUI-t.

ttMacbeth does murdet sleep"

Macbeth may have committed a terrible, grisly murder, but he feels pretty
guilty about it. Lady Macbeth

doesn't seem quite so concerned by what they've done at this point

but that will change soon enough

-
Section T\vo

Discussion of .A,cts

-L4

There's a bit of light relief (don't get used to it) in Scene 3 before Duncan's
body is discovered'

Scene 3

Duncants body is discovered

1) The Porter,s comic monologue relieves the tension, but also builds
suspense before Duncan's body is found

2) Shakespeare uses dramatic irony to increase the audience's antiÇipation -

the audience knows that

Duncan has been;rrd;e;ã although the characters don't know they can sense
evil:

Treason me:ans betraYing

your king or countryr'

Lennox comments "i-ni,;"i:i,i;.i' n how "unruly" and stormy the night was

he tells Macbeth that the wind sounded like "strange scream.f

; or death".

He also says the storm was "prophesying with accents terrible / of dire
combustion and confused

events,,. This reflects the teri¡blË eventsihat haue taken place and
forcsbadaWg the events to come'

3) Macduff finds Duncan,s body -

his reaction shows how horrified he is,

and makes the murder seem even worse'

4) Macbeth confesses to killing Duncan's

servants out of rage. When LadY

Macbeth hears this she faints. This could

be to distract the other characters from

Macbeth's suspicious behaviour, or she

may actually be horrified by Macbeth's

vioience, which she didn't help plan'

s) Malcolm and Donalbain run away because they fear for their lives.

It makes them look guilt)¡ and allows Macbeth to take the throne.

Writer's Techniques -

Language

. Before Du

ncan's body is found, Macbeth speaks in short

sentênces

///[¡¡¿s á rough night",,'1Not fll" -: he'seems

distracted

and tense. This ñighlights his gujl and nervousness'

Du can's

When body

d Macbeth's

scovered, language

chanees

he descr

ibes

Dun skin

CA
n's

lver

aced with

go

den is poetic language

bIood" false.

seems

See p.4O for more about how

Macbeth becomes king.

Scene 4 -Macbeth is about to be made king

1) This scene is a bridge between Act2 and Act 3. lts purpose is to create a
sense of fear and uncertaint)¡'

2) strange events have happened since. Duncan's death, which show how

tn;nf*"Cø"r has been disrupted. A country's well-being is linked

to tn"t of itr Ling, so these events are bad omens for Macbeth's reign'

¡ lls dark during the day: "dark night strangles the travelling

lamp I ff is simbolises the evil ihat has come over Scotland.

¡ A falcon has been savagely killed by an owl th9 falcon

,yrnbolires Duncan, anã the owl symbolises Macbeth (see p.56)'

. Horses have been gti!! each other, which ls ulnlluraf

3) The scene ends with Macduff telling Rosse that Macbeth will be

King. Macduff isn,t going to the coronation

this suggests he's

*õi.iout of Macbeih and sets him up as Macbeth's main enemy.

Section T\¡¡o
ExplaÍn the tole of the Potter'..

lf you mention the Porter in your exam,. wr.ite about why shakespeare
included him in the play' As well as

making lots of ironic referentes to Macbeth's dirty deeis, he provides some

comic relief for the audience'

Discussion of Ä'cts

-I5

That naughty Macbeth is up to no good again

this time he's got his sights set on Banquo

Scene I

Macbeth plots Banquo's rnurder

1) The scene opens with Banquo's soliloqu)¡.

His inner thoughts reveal several things:

nks'1play'dst :

=E

:.'1.-

2) Macbeth's soliloquy shows that his attitude to murder has changed. ln Act
t he was tormented by killing

Duncan and almost couldn't do it, but he's decisive about killing Banquo

murder has become easy.

3) Macbeth hires murderers to kill Banquo. This shows how

much his character has changed

in Act 1, Scene t he was

Theme
Fate and Free Will

a fearless hero, but now he can't meet his enemy face-to-face.

He's become a coward.

4) Macbeth has become more like Lady Macbeth. He pqsuêdcg the

murderers to do what he wants by questioning their masculinit)¡

and telling lies to convince them that Banquo is their enemy.

Scene 2 -The Macbeths are feeling insecure

1) Lady Macbeth and Macbeth both feel

insecure about Macbeth's position as King.

2\ Shakesoeare uses oxvmorons in this scene, e.q.

"doubtful joy" and "restless ecstasy", to show

their mixed emotions. They've got what they

wanted but thev also feel suiltv and uneasv.

Eõ

Writer's Techniques

Foreshadowing

Macbeth envies Duncan

because he isn't troubled by

"Malice domestic, foreign levy"

(civil war or foreign armies).

This foreshadows Macduff's

uorisins and the Enslish attack

at the end of the play.

Character

The Macbeths

An otgrmoron

is where two

words contradict

each other

There's evidence that Macbeth and

Ladv Macbeth have switched roles

before she told him to "look like / th'

innocent flower"

now he tells her to

flatter Banquo and says that they must

make their "faces vizards to our hearts"

3) This scene shows a change in the Macbeths' relationship.

Macbeth hints that he plans to kill Banquo, but he refuses to

confide in Lady Macbeth. This could be because he wants

to protect Lady Macbeth from more gu.d-t, or because he's so

driven by his own ambition that her opinion doesn't matter.

4) Macbeth uses a lot of animal imager)¡ in this scene, e.g. "full

of scorpions is my mind" and "the bat has flown". This sets an

unsettling tone
these animals remind the audience of evil

and emphasise Macbeth's feelings of insecurity and paranoia.

Show how Macheth changes durÍng the play...

Macbeth was a war hero not long ago, but now he's hiring lackeys to murder
his ex-best-pal. And although

he needed his wife to convince him to murder Duncan, now he's the one
telling her how to behave...

SectionTwo

Discussion of .A,cts

-I6

Banquo bites the dus! Fleance escapes and Banquo's ghost makes an
unwelcome appearance at the feast.

3-

Scene Banquo is murdered

1) A third murderer joins the other murderers as they prepare to

kill Banquo. Macbeth has sent another murderer because he's

paranoid and doesn't trust anyone. Some directors emphasise

this by making Macbeth the third murderer.

2) The sun is setting and darkness is coming

this symbolises

the terror of Macbeth's reign. Banquo approaches carrying a

torch

the Iight symbolises Banquo's goodness. When he's

murdered the Iight goes out

his goodness has been destroyed.

-

3) Fleance escapes

the Witches' prediclia! about Banquo's

sons becoming kings could still come true. This shows that it's

impossible to cheat fate, which suggests that Macbeth would

have become King even if he hadn't forced it to happen.

Scene 4

Ufacbeth sees Banquots gthost

1) The Macbeths hold a feast. Macbeth's in a gOOd-mOOd because he thi

being dealt with. He's happy to "play the humble hostz

the word "

nks that Banq U o a n

FI ea e are

p ay" S uggests h

h S OS

prtal tyS

2) One of the murderers tells Macbeth that he's killed Banquo but

Fleance has escaped. Macbeth replies that he's "cabined, cribbed,

confined". The alliteration emphasises how trapped he feels. With

Fleance still alive Macbeth knows that his future as King is uncertain.

Theme
The Supernatural

3) Banquo's ghost appears after Macbeth receives the news about

Banquo's death and Fleance's escape

it's a symptom of his guilt

and anxiet)¡. The ghost is an important dramatic device:

Character

Macbeth

4) Macbeth's behaviour is so strange that Lady Macbeth has to preten

that he's unwell. She takes control again, and echoes Act 1, Scene

when she asks him, "Are you aman?" She thinks his fear isn't

s)

Macbeth says, "lt will have blood they say

blood will have

blood." His repetition of the word "blood" shows his fear

he's starting to see the inevitability of his downfall.

SectionTwo

n'I am Ín hlood / Stepped ín so fat"

Macbeth committed murder to gain the throne, and he's having to murder

violence isn,t good for a man. Macbeth really starts to unravel, especially

Discussion of .A'cts

again to keep it. But all this

after he sees Banquo's ghost.

-t7

=õoL

o 'F

oo

QØ

t¿ oË

Hecate makes a cameo appearance and the lords are getting antsy

$cene 5

The 1[Iitches rneet with Hecate

1 ) The Coddess of Witches, Hecate,

is annoyed that the three Witches

have been meddling in Macbeth's

business without involvine her.

Theme

Fate and Free Will

Hecate says that Macbeth

"shall spurn fate"

he

thinks that he can change

the course of destinv and

stop Banquo's descendants

from being King.

Writer's Techniques

Mood and Atmosphere

This is a dark scene which

creates an atmosphere of

fear and evil.

2) The Witches plan to summon

apparitions to trick Macbeth into

beins overconfident: "securitv / Is

mortals' chiefest enemy." By making

him bold they're making sure he'll

continue his reign of terror

olunsins natural order into chaos.

fake. Scene 6

tennox plans an uprising

1) This is another bridge scene, between Act 3 and Act 4.

The minor characters tell the audience everything that's

happened

Macduff has raised an army against Macbeth,

while Malcolm is at the English court.

2\ Lennox susoects that Macbeth's resoonsible for Duncan and

Banquo's murders. He's careful not to speak his mind about

Macbeth because he knows Macduff "lives in disgrace" for

not being loyal to the King. However, Lennox's true feelings

are revealed bv his soeech:

Historical Context

tsa

rder

He uses rhetoriÇal questions: "To kill their gracious father?"

doesn't believe that Malcolm and Donalbain murdered Duncan.

he

Writer's Techniques

3) Lennox ends the scene by sending a message to the English

court to free them from the "hand accursed"

this builds the

tension because it becomes a question of how far Macbeth will

go before he's stopped. The audience sees that Macbeth's death

is inevitable, and the only way to restore peace to Scotland.

'nGíve to our tahles lrl.eat, sleep to oar nÍghts"

The lords are pretty annoyed that Scotland has gone to the dogs

there's not enough food, everyone's

paranoid that Macbeth will be after them next, and they've had enough of
bodies turning up after feasts.

SectionTwo

Discussion of .A.cts
-18

.:

The Witches are back by popular demand

have your beard trimmers at the ready

Scene

I The

UT

itche

make

Illofe

predictionsI

1 The scene opens with the Witches casti n8 a spel

Doub e/ doub e to an d troubI e" Th IS reMI nds the aud enCC

evil intentions, and the word dou ble" h nts at

2) The gruesome list of body p.arF.that the Witches throw

intolhe cauldron sets a dark, frightening tone'

3) They announce Macbeth;s arrival by saying, "somethìng

wicled this way comes//

this shows how much he's

changed from the brave hero of Act One'

4 The WitchCS oretend to obey h IM "Spea k. Demand We'

Th ey trick h m nto AS k ng for the appa itions by sayr n8 that he

can ta k to their aste rS,, the WitchCS know Macbeth's b

weakness S h ambition, SO they p aY on h c lust for power.

Writer's Techniques

Macbeth "though yeasty

says/

the

waves

wh

ich metaohor

extends

the

that Macbeth

Confoun

d p"

and

low

swal navigation

a Scotland

sailor

(see

and shio p

IS a o).

and umrn.on

s
tions pfe

to

dict

the

appafi tu

fu re

Turning point in the a

Macbeth starts to bel

that he's invincibl

1) Macbeth's language is confident at the start of the

scene He uSES commands ç uch as "Te me" and

"Call'em" to control the Witches and threatens th

em

with an ete na CU rse" he's not afraid of

.)\ The witches summon three apparitions to predict his future

they symbolise the threats to

An armoured head warns

Macbeth about Macduff.

The armoured head could foreshadow Macbeth's decapitation'

It could also sY

mbolise treachery and the violence of battle'

A blood)' child tells Macbeth

that no one born from a

woman can harm him.

a
This could represent Macduff, born by Caesarean section'

A child wearing a crown

and carrying a branch tells

Macbeth that he can't be

beaten until Birnam Wood

moves to Dunsinane Hill.

This could represent Malcolm

the rightful heir'

The branch could represent Birnam Wood, but

also the hope that Scotland might grow and

flourish under Malcolm's rule.

, going back

3) Macbeth takes the Witches, predictions at face value, even though he

knows that,people.who trust

Witches are ,,damneJ;. Hu'i desperate tot tn"t to give him gooì n"*t to make
him feel secure'

SectionTwo

Discussion of 'A'cts

-tt

r."

:tion

eve

19

Macbeth's on a killing spree

-
next on the Iist is Lady Macduff and son.

,,.Macbethts full of confidence

1) The apparitions give Macbeth confidence. He thinks that he'll never

be defeated because it's impossible for Birnam Wood to move and

that he's invincible because every man is born from a woman'

Theme

Reality

and Appearances

2)

He wants to know if the Witches' prophecy about Banquo is true,

so they show him another vision

a line of Banquo's descendants.

Macbeth is angry: "Thy crown does sear mine eyeballs."

Alttrough the Witches haven't

I ied, they've del iberately

misled Macbeth. lt's another

exampl

e of their deceotion.

Historical Context

3) Macbeth wants to kill Macduff's family

this shows how

evil and oaranoid he's become. He's willing to kill anyone

associated with his enemy even if they don't pose a threat.

4) He doesn't discuss the murders with Lady Macbeth any more

he/s driven solelv bv his own ambition and trusts no one.

Scene 2

lVlacbeth has Lady Macduff and her son murdeted

1) Lady Macduff is angry and scared because her husband

has run off and left her to protect their castle and children.

2) Her fear shows how afraid people are under Macbeth's rule. Her

comment, "to do harm / Is often laudable", shows how the morals

of Scotland have been turned upside down by Macbeth's tyrannlu'

3) Lady Macduff talks *ith h"t son

their witty dialogue shows

their maternal bond. The caring character of Lady Macduff contrasts with

Lady Macbeth, who would have "dashed the brains out" of her own child

4) The murderer enters and stabs Lady Macduff's son

it's made even more

brutal by the murderer calling him "egg" and "Íry" , whigh highlights how

young he is and shows that Macbeth is willing to kill defenceless children

it alsõ shows that he's too cowardly to commit the murders himself.

5) The murder of Lady Macduff's son happens on stage

this symbolises

the fact that Macbeth no longer cares if people see his terrible crimes'

Writer's Techniques -

Writer's Techniques -
Symbolism

Language

.:

nnto do harm / Is often laudable,lo do good.'. dangerous folly"

Lady Macduff's words show how bad things are in Scotland under Macbeth:
people who commit

¡¡uid"¡" are rewarded, while good people are the ones who suffer' Life's just
not fair, eh?

Section T\n¡o

Discussion of .A.cts

-20

There's a lot of talking in this scene

it might seem a bit dull, but it's important stuff

cene

3M

alcolm

tests loyal

Macd

uff

rs

ty,I

1) Macduff goes to England to convince Malcolm to raise an

army against VfacUän. Malcolm doesn't trust Macduff

-

this shows the fear and suspicion Macbeth's created'

Theme

LoYaltY

Theme

KingshiP

?) MalCO m th n ks that becauSE Macduff's fam ly

hasn't been harmed he must s upport Macbeth

Th creates dramatic irony rh e audience

knows that Macduff's family has been

I J Ma CO m tests Macduff's oyaIty by pretending

to be more cvrl than Macbeth Macduff

Malcolm's test by proving that he's lo)¡al to

Scotland and won't support another tlrrant'

4) Shakespea re contrasts the kind, unselfish kingship of Edward with the

cruel, selfish tyranny of Macbeth

Theme

SuPernatural

with

ick s

hi touch.

Si

'Edward nce

peop
th

le ought

th

at

rightfu supernatural Powers.

Edward

Like Macbeth, Mdlcolm

tries to dísguise his true

ndture

but he does

to protect Scotland,

than fo, his own gatn.

Mac uff

disc

ovefs

that

his

has

ee

family n rnurdered

and

1)RossearrivesandtellsMacduffthathisfamilyhave.been

ktil"d

his reluctance to break the news creates drama'

-

2) Macduff's grief is clear from the way he speaks: "All.,my

pretty onur7Oid you say all? O hell-kite! All? /What'

ãf f ty pretty chickãns" His short sentences, rhetorical

quutúont aid repetition of the wo,rd "all" shows that he

ian't believe what Rosse has told him'

3) The murder of Macduff's family is important to.the plot,

it motivates Macduff to get revenge on Macbeth and

end his cruel reign.

Writer's Techniques -

SYmbolism

See p.57 for more on masculínitY'

"Thy royal father / was a most saÍnted kÍng"

Macbethwas written during the reign of King James I, who was a big fan of
plays' .Shakespeare

has lots to

about what makes u goäJ l:iÀg

iït all divine rijnts this, compassYronate monarch that

what a suck-u

Section T\¡¡o -

Discussion of 'A'ctsly

it.

zI

üÞ))o
Q

ov

aL

t-

!ût))o

say

p.

2t

Lady Macbeth has gone a bit cuckoo and gives the game away. Meanwhile,
the nobles prepare for war

Scene t

- Lady Macbeth sleePwalks

1) lt's the first time the audience sees Lady Macbeth since

things have started to go wrong

her character has completely

changed. She's been driven mad by guilt and fear:

_9

t-

2) The way her language changes also reveals her guLlty¡o¡sElcnce:

smooth and fluent blank verse to

ows her troubled state of mind

e Thane of Fife had a wife

where is she now?" Her use of ouestions

and contrasts with her domineering language in Act 1

Scene 7

3) The Doctor says "unnatural deeds / Do breed unnatural troubles"

Lady Macbeth has upset the natural

balance by doing evil things. lt reminds the audience of the unnatural things
reported in Act 2, Scene 4.

Scene 2 -The thanes prepate for battle

1) The Scottish lords are preparing to attack Macbeth. This scene

builds tension in anticipation of the battle.

2) They plan to meet the English army near Birnam Wood

it's a reminder

Writer's Techniques

lmagery

Angus describes Macbeth's

"murders sticking on his hands"

this reminds the audience of

Lady Macbeth trying to wash

the blood from her hands.

of thewitches, prophec)¡, and hints that Macbeth might be defeated.

3) Shakespeare uses imagery to extend metaphors which have been running
throughout the play:

. Health

the lords use ìmager)¡ to describe Scotland as unwell. Caithness talks about
"the

sickly weal" (wound) and reÍers to Malcolm as the "med'cine" that will heal
the country'

o Nature

Lennox describes Malcolm as the "sovereign flower". He also wants to

"drown the weeds" (get rid of Macbeth). He compares Macbeth to a weed

because

he's preventing anything else from growing and he's destro)¡ing the land' For
more on

. Clothing -Angus describes Macbeth as a "dwarfish thief" wearing a imagerlr

have a look

Çi"ndroUe" I the responsibility of being King is too great for Mãcbeth. at

pages 55-57'

Write ahout how Lady Macheth's charactet changes.,.

Lady Macbeth was completely self-assured in Act 1, but by Act 5 she's Sone
craz.y with guilt. Her madness,

presented through her sÍeepwalking, shows the audience that evil deeds
always have consequences...

Section T\n¡o

Discussion of "A'cts

-22

.H.natysis of .H,ct Five

t ¿dy Macbeth Dies

These scenes alternate between Macbeth's castle and the armies on the
battlefield

it's all getting pretty

Scenes 3 and 4- EverYone pfepafes fof battle

1) Like the rest of the scenes in Act 5, Scenes 3 and 4 are very short.

Short scenes increase the pace and add to the drama'

Writer's Techniques

2) Macbeth's soliloquy suSSests he's beginning to despair even

though ne tninta'nå,s iñùincible

,,i have lived long enough".

He aãmits that everything he's done is worthless'

3) However, when he talks to other characters he's over-confident,

giving orders like "Cive me my armour", and calling his servant

Tiity-fiuurua,,. This contrast reflects his unstable state of mind.

aFUu

oU

TF

É
f)oU

-_-_--,---

4 Macbeth ows SI of n

h h S n to h h p

8ns 8o o lJ mad e te Seyto elp m

h s armo U on and th a most straithr away says ,t of|" H

r en

he Pu

confused unbalanced. menta state matches

and H S

Lady

rh Doctor says S h

e e's

"troub ed with th ck com

n8 fanCI CS

5) Meanwhile, Malcolm tells his soldiers to cut down branches from

Birnam Wood to disguise their numbers

the audience sees that

witches have trickã Macbeth, and that his defeat seems inevitabl

they're i

6) The English army calml)¡ discuss their battle pl?n

c!ffrcl.ThiscontrastswithMacbeth'sfrenziedbehaviourin
Scene 5

LadY Macbeth dies

Lady Macbeth dies offstage -

it's a.n.anticlimax

and shows how unimportant she's become'

1) Macbeth alternates between arrogance and despair in these scenes-this

shows how confused he is'

2) Atthestartofthescenehe'sboastingandfull of bravado.
Hesaysthathe's"suppedfull withhorrors"'

so nothing."n fi¡gnt"n him. uis attiude changes when he's told that his wife is
dead:

o He realises that all his terrible acts had no purpose, "signifying nothing"'

o He describes life as a "shadow" and a "candle"

it's fleeting and unreal.

. He compares life to a "poor player" (actor)

he sees life as meaningless'

ects h

a H anSuage/ e, a b' petty" "foo s" and idiot" refl bitterness.

Writer's Techniques

Language

Macbeth's language is

sad and reflective, e.g.

says "Life's but a walki

shadow". This shows

he's not a monster

still has a human side

resrets what he's done

3) when Macbeth finds out that Birnam wood is moving towards his castle,

he realises that the Witches have tricked him: "the fiend /That lies like

truth". This shows that he was too trusting of the Witches

it's ironic

considering his betra)¡al of Duncan, who trusted Macbeth.

4) Macbeth decides to attack the approaching army

it's a. brave decision

and a reminder of the fearless warrior that Macbeth was in Act 1.

Turning point in the acti

Macbetlr starts to realise

Witches have tricl<ed hi

"LÍfe's but a walkÍng shadow"

Macbeth becomes all philosophical when he realises he's been misled by

theWitche,s' He's committed

all these terrible .rirur, ioriÏis wife

and what for? Bad guys never get huppy endings, folks"'

Section T\¡¡o

Discussion of Ãcts
-put

,S

the

e.

a J,

:tion

e tlre

rim.

23

.H,nalysis of "H,ct Five

ffi¿cbeth is Killed

So here it is, the final page of analysis. Cet through this and reward yourself
with the questions over the page.

Scenes 6 and 7 -The attack

1) Malcolm's army march towards Macbeth's castle and Macbeth's

surrounded. Macbeth meets Young Siward and kills him

his

death sives Macbeth confidence.

U-

Ð Macbeth is still clinging to the idea that he's invincible and

chooses to trust the Witches' prophecies, even though the

prediction about Birnam Wood has come true.

Writer's Techniques

Stagecraft

-
'and

of

ich the battl

There are e.

of entrances wh

add tension scene

IS

enters

.:

Scene I

Macduff and Macbeth fight

1) Macbeth and Macduff meet but Macbeth doesn't want to fight. He feels

guilty about killing Macduff's family -tt¡¡1y soul is too much charged /

With blood of thine already." He's still got some humanity left.

Theme

Fate and Free Will

2) Macbeth still thinks he can't be harmed by any one "of woman

born"

but Macduff reveals that he was born by Caesarean

,

section. Macbeth accepts that he's been misled by the Witches

and says, "be these juggling fiends no more believed".

3) Macbeth is trapped but he refuses to back down, even though he knows

he's doomed. This is a return to the brave warrior of Act 1, and shows that

he's in his element fighting man to man rather than having people murdered.

All the Witches' prophecies

have come true. The

prophecies are partly self-

fulfilling, because Macbeth

has brought about his own

downfall through his actions.

The audience feels relief when

Macbeth dies

this shows

how evil he's become.

Scene I

Malcolm becornes kÍng

1) Macbeth is dead and Malcolm has won. Malcolm is concerned about the
missing members of his

army

his caring nature contrasts with Macbeth's cruelty and ruthlessness.

2) Siward discovers that his son's been killed, but he's not upset. He thinks
that it's an honour that his
son died prolccÛng Scotland. This shows how desperately

thev wanted to overthrow Macbeth

3) Macduff enters with Macbeth's head. The play begins

and ends with a battle and a traitor being beheaded

this gives the play a circular structure (see p.47).

Writer's Techniques

Symbolism

Theme

Kingship

ExplaÍn how the endÍng lÍnks to the heginning..'

The play ends how it began

with victory on the battlefield and a traitor's head being cut off. The circular

structure ties everything up nicely. Cleveri eh? Point this ou! and the
examiner will think you're clever too.

SectionTwo

Discussion of .A.cts

-28

It,s difficult to say who would win in a fight between Lady. Macbeth and a gri

zzly bear

no doubt rhat she,d ó", ,p " g.oá tigt"'t ii she had to. She's tough as nails, th

is one...

Lady

Macbethts cruel and ruthless

1) Lady Macbeth is Macbeth's wife

she's an important

character because she influences Macbeth' especially.at

,f'" ,,uu of the play. She's ambitious and doesn't mind

committing teriible crimes to get what she wants'

2) Lady Macbeth changes over th.e cou.rse of the play' At the

[ãfínning, ,hu', doñinunt and cpnfident -

she persuades

fufícnutnit.'at killing Duncan is the best thing to do'

Lady Macbeth is...

but there's

--

3) Once Macbeth has committed murder,

Lady Macbeth is slowlY driven +4 bV,

suili. Macbeth distances himself from her

älshe kills herself because she can't live

with what theY've done.

Theme

Cood and Evil

She is verY amb¡tious

1) Lady Macbeth is just as ambitious as Macbeth

when

tn" g",t his letter, she immediatel)¡ assumes that they n

eed

i" f.íf Duncan. She's more ruthless than her husband'

2) She thinks that no ordinary woman would pl an this murder. That's whY
she

appeals to the spirit world to "unsex" her an d fill her with "direst cruelty"

Writer's Techniques -

Symbolism

3) Lady Macbeth knows her husband's weak spots

she uses his ambition and fear of being seen as

coward to manipulate him into kitling Duncan

Shets

clever and quick'witted

1) Lady Macbeth is the one who comes uP with the cunning Plot to drug
Duncan's servants

and frame them for the murder' This shows that she's clever as well as cruel
and heartless.

2) When D uncan's murder is discovered, Lady Macbeth

Theme

RealitY and APPearances

faints. This could be a Pretence, which cleverlY

rf pretends

Lady

Macbeth

o
n

to

fa flt,

he's

attention awaY from the unconvincing speech that

taki advantage

n way

oò

of

the

women

were

Macbeth's making. LadY Macbeth also covers uP

iewed the

ti

me.

he's

at ng

rh

US stereotyPe

Macbeth's strange behav iour when he thinks that he

of

a
weak

woman by

overco

me sh

ock

hi

to de

the realitv

of

er ruel

col

d-hearted

natu

re

Banquo's ghost. She's the one in control of the

Section Three

Characters

-.=

rl

her

live

asa

can
he

29

Shakespeare uses Lady Macbeth to explore gender and power

1l Women were traditionallv seen as kinder and weaker than

tl

men, but Shakespeare uses Lady Macbeth to show that this

isn't always true. She says she would kill her own bab)¡ if

sworn to do it. Shakespeare contrasts her with Lady Macduff,

who's a caring mother (see p.33).

?ì I adv Macbeth does have a softer side. She savs that she

AI

couldn't kill Duncan herself because he reminded her of her

father. This shows that she's not as cold-hearted as she appears.

Writer's Techniques

Symbolism

Lady

women are made

weak by their maternal instincts -:

she tells the spirits to "Come to my

woman's breasts /And take my rnilk for

sall". She wants to lose her femininitv.

Lady Macbeth's power lies in manipulating

people. This shows that non-violent'female'

traits are just as powerful as violent'male' ones.

Theme

Ambition
-

Macbeth male-dominated

vto

set lent, Lady

socieÇ, Macbeth

can eve ition

onl achi

her amb

throúgh Macbeth.

She goes rnad with guilt and kills herself

Language

1) At first, it's Macbeth who struggles with his

suiltv conscience. Bv the end of the olav.

Ladv Macbeth is driven mad bv suilt.

//f6¡9, COme/ COm

hand." It shows that

e/ come/

me vour

2\ She starts sleeowalkins. The doctor calls this a

"great perturbation in nature" because her mind is so

disturbed that it's affected her ability to sleep soundlv.

3) ln her sleeo. she keeos washins her hands in the hooe

that she can wash away her feelings of guilt just as easily

as the blood aften Duncan's murder: "Ou! damned spot!"

4) Cuilt and isolation affect Lady Macbeth so much that she

kills herself

she can't Iive with what she's done.

Writer's Techniques

Symbolism

I The Macbethst rnarriage is intense

1) Macbeth and Lady Macbeth's relationship changes.

At the besinnins. their marriase seems lovins and oassionate

Macbeth calls Lady Macbeth "my dearest partner of greatness".

2) As the play develops, it becomes clear that Lady Macbeth dominates

Macbeth

she manipulates him into killine Duncan and covers up

hi, ,trung" b"huuiã*îl-*n he sees BanquoYs ghost.

3) As Macbeth reveals less about his plans to his wife, Lady Macbeth

becomes increasingly anxious and alone. Even though she's

domineering "t th""b"grn"'g, sne cu.,t egpc withouî her husband.

FUu

oU)

oV
U

r-

)J

oU

o'look lÍke th'Ínnocent flowe4 / But be the serpent under nt"

Lady Macbeth is as ambitious as her husband, and she's the brains behind
Duncan's murder. But her

tough-girl attitude soon gives way to terrible guilt. By the end of the play
she's an emotional wreck.

Section Three

Characters

How does Shakespeare present the character of Lady Macbeth in

Macbeth?

Act 1, Scene 5

Language suggestions: Symbols / motifs:

Prophetic/ linked to witches Milk- symbolic of maternal,

nurturing instincts like kindness,
Dominant
gentleness and tenderness.
Powerful Symbol of love and femininity.

Respected

Critical Crowns- Symbol of

power/greatness. Can be
Dubious
assumed/removed at will, taken,
Uncertain stolen, and handled at a whim.
Significant that LM (and Macbeth)
Ambitious
conceptualises sovereign power/
Manipulative right to rule as possession of an
object vs Duncan and Banquo
Influential
who refer to ‘throne’ or
An equal ‘Scotland’, immovable constants
which reflect an
acknowledgement of kingly
Context: responsibility to people/country,
rather than a desire wear a
Associated with witches/
costume/be worshipped.
witchcraft/ supernatural

Gender
Hands- control. LM literally holds
M’s destiny in her hands (his
letter- the prophecies).

Faces- symbolic of deception, a

key theme in the play. Faces act
as a mask to hide true intentions
and are key to revealing the
internal desires of characters.

What?

How?

Why? (Link to context)

Analytical paragraph/s How does Shakespeare present the character
of Lady Macbeth in Macbeth?

Act 1, Scene 7

Language suggestions: Symbols / motifs:

Prophetic/ linked to witches

Dominant Millk / baby: The juxtaposition of

the brutal treatment of the baby
Powerful
and the nurturing, nourishing
Respected image of the milk (repetition of
this image from scene 5)
Critical

Dubious
Blood- symbol of guilt throughout
Uncertain
play (bloody hands) but also a
Ambitious symbol of strength and power
(links to ‘make think my blood’
Manipulative
and ‘I shame to wear a heart to
Influential white’)
An equal

Fate Hands- symbolic of control.

Hands are where thoughts
Morality
become actions. Macbeth
attempts to pluck out own eyes
after the murder; he cannot stand
Context:
to see his own hands, the
Influence of the witches/ orchestrators of his crime.
witchcraft/ supernatural Alternatively, suggests his hands
are beyond his control- is he
Gender roles
accepting responsibility or trying
to deny it here?

Water- symbolic of baptism,

being cleansed of sins,
forgiveness, innocence. Ironically
used by LM due to religious
origins.

What?

How?

Why? (Link to context)

Analytical paragraph/s

Act 1: The Rise of Macbeth

Scene 1: The Witches' Prophecy

The play opens with three witches on a desolate heath amid thunder and
lightning, discussing their next meeting. They plan to encounter Macbeth
after a battle is concluded. This ominous scene sets the tone for the
supernatural and malevolent forces that will shape the events of the play.

Scene 2: Macbeth, the Hero

At King Duncan's camp, news arrives that Macbeth, a general in Duncan’s
army, has performed heroically in battle against the forces of Norway and
the traitorous Macdonwald. The Thane of Cawdor is revealed to be a traitor,
and Duncan orders his execution, granting the title of Thane of Cawdor to
Macbeth as a reward for his bravery.

Scene 3: The Witches’ Prophecies

On the heath, the three witches appear again as Macbeth and Banquo, his
fellow general, pass by. The witches hail Macbeth as Thane of Glamis (his
current title), Thane of Cawdor (unbeknownst to him, he has been granted
this title), and future king. They also prophesy that Banquo’s descendants
will inherit the throne, though Banquo himself will never be king. Shortly
after, messengers from the king arrive to inform Macbeth that he has indeed
been named Thane of Cawdor, reinforcing the credibility of the witches’
predictions. Macbeth begins to contemplate the possibility of becoming king
and what he may need to do to achieve it.

Scene 4: Duncan’s Announcement

At Duncan’s palace, the king thanks Macbeth and Banquo for their service.
He announces his son, Malcolm, as his heir to the throne, a development that
causes Macbeth to consider the obstacles in his path to becoming king.

Scene 5: Lady Macbeth’s Ambition

In Macbeth’s castle, Lady Macbeth receives a letter from her husband
detailing the witches' prophecies. She is excited by the prospect of power
and immediately begins plotting Duncan’s murder, believing her husband
lacks the ruthlessness to seize the throne on his own. When Macbeth returns,
she persuades him to go through with the murder.

Scene 6-7: Duncan Arrives

Duncan arrives at Macbeth’s castle, unaware of the dark plans being formed.
Macbeth, however, hesitates to follow through with the murder, fearing the
consequences and his own moral conflict. Lady Macbeth mocks his
hesitation, questions his masculinity, and convinces him to proceed with
their plan.

Act 2: The Fall into Guilt

Scene 1: The Murder of Duncan

In the dead of night, Macbeth hallucinates a dagger leading him toward
Duncan’s chamber. Despite his growing fear and guilt, he proceeds with the
murder. Lady Macbeth helps him cover up the crime by smearing the blood
on the sleeping guards and framing them for the murder.

Scene 2: Guilt Takes Hold

After the murder, Macbeth is horrified by his actions and fixates on his
inability to say “Amen” when he overheard a prayer. He feels overwhelming
guilt and fear, but Lady Macbeth remains calm, though she also feels the
weight of their deeds.

Scene 3: Discovery of Duncan’s Body

The next morning, Duncan’s murder is discovered by Macduff, a nobleman
loyal to Duncan. Macbeth pretends to be shocked and, in a rash move, kills
the guards, claiming it was out of anger for their supposed involvement in
the murder. Duncan’s sons, Malcolm and Donalbain, flee the scene for their
safety, leading others to suspect them of plotting their father’s murder.
Scene 4: Macbeth Crowned King
With Duncan dead and his sons gone, Macbeth is crowned king. However,
the atmosphere in Scotland begins to darken, and suspicions surrounding
Macbeth’s rise to power grow.

Act 3: The Descent into Tyranny

Scene 1: Banquo’s Suspicion

Banquo grows suspicious of Macbeth, recalling the witches' prophecy that his
descendants would be kings. Macbeth, aware of Banquo’s suspicions and
fearing the prophecy, arranges for Banquo and his son, Fleance, to be
murdered. He hires two murderers to ambush them on their way to a royal
banquet.

Scene 2: Macbeth’s Increasing Paranoia

Macbeth’s guilt and paranoia intensify as he fears losing his power. Lady
Macbeth tries to reassure him, but it becomes clear that the murder of
Duncan has only triggered more violence.

Scene 3: The Murder of Banquo

Banquo is ambushed and killed, but his son Fleance escapes, leaving the
prophecy still looming over Macbeth. This failure deepens Macbeth’s anxiety,
as Banquo’s ghost will now haunt him.

Scene 4: Banquet and Banquo’s Ghost

At the royal banquet, Macbeth sees Banquo’s ghost sitting in his chair, a
hallucination that only he can see. The ghost's appearance causes Macbeth
to react in terror, alarming his guests. Lady Macbeth tries to cover for him,
but the dinner ends in chaos, revealing Macbeth’s fragile mental state.
Macbeth vows to consult the witches again to secure his position.

Scene 5-6: Rising Opposition

The witches, under the direction of Hecate, their goddess, plan to deceive
Macbeth with further prophecies. Meanwhile, opposition to Macbeth begins
to grow among the Scottish nobles, particularly Macduff, who has left for
England to seek help from Malcolm.

Act 4: The Depths of Evil

Scene 1: The Witches’ New Prophecies
Macbeth visits the witches again, demanding answers about his future. They
present three apparitions:

1. A floating head warns him to beware of Macduff.

2. A bloody child tells hi

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

11.

12.

13.

14.

15.

16.

17.

18.

19.

20.

21.

22.

23.

24.
25.

26.

27.

28.

29.

30.

31.

32.

33.

34.

35.

36.

37.

38.

39.

40.

41.

42.

43.

44.

45.

46.

47.

48.

49.

50.

51.
 52.

53. m that no one born of a woman will harm him.

54. A crowned child holding a tree assures him that he will not be
defeated until Birnam Wood comes to Dunsinane Hill. These cryptic
prophecies give Macbeth a false sense of security. He decides to kill
Macduff, just to be safe, but when he learns Macduff has fled to
England, he instead orders the murder of Macduff’s family.

Scene 2: The Murder of Macduff’s Family

At Macduff’s castle, murderers sent by Macbeth brutally kill Lady Macduff
and her children. This heinous act marks a new low in Macbeth’s descent into
tyranny and evil.

Scene 3: Malcolm and Macduff in England

In England, Malcolm tests Macduff’s loyalty, fearing Macbeth’s treachery.
After proving his honesty, they unite to raise an army against Macbeth. When
Macduff learns of the murder of his family, he vows to kill Macbeth himself.

Act 5: The Fall of Macbeth

Scene 1: Lady Macbeth’s Madness

At Macbeth’s castle, Lady Macbeth is seen sleepwalking, tormented by guilt.
She obsessively tries to wash imaginary bloodstains from her hands,
revealing her deep psychological unraveling.

Scene 2-3: Macbeth Prepares for Battle

Meanwhile, the forces led by Malcolm, Macduff, and the English army march
toward Scotland to overthrow Macbeth. Macbeth, though still emboldened by
the witches' prophecies, begins to sense his inevitable defeat. He clings to
the belief that he is invincible because of the apparitions' promises.

Scene 4: Birnam Wood Moves

Malcolm orders his soldiers to cut down branches from Birnam Wood and use
them as camouflage as they advance on Macbeth’s stronghold at Dunsinane.
This fulfills the witches' prophecy that Birnam Wood would move toward
Dunsinane Hill, signaling that Macbeth’s end is near.

Scene 5: Lady Macbeth’s Death and Macbeth’s Realization

Macbeth receives the news that Lady Macbeth has died, likely by suicide. His
reaction is one of despair and fatalism, reflecting on the futility of life. Soon
after, he learns that Birnam Wood appears to be moving toward his castle,
and he finally understands that the witches' prophecy is coming true.

Scene 6-8: The Final Battle

The battle ensues as Malcolm’s forces storm Macbeth’s castle. Macbeth
fights bravely but is confronted by Macduff, who reveals that he was born by
Caesarean section ("untimely ripped" from his mother’s womb) and thus not
technically "born of a woman." This revelation terrifies Macbeth, but he fights
to the death, and Macduff kills him.

Scene 9: Malcolm Crowned King

With Macbeth dead and his tyranny ended, Malcolm is proclaimed king of
Scotland, restoring order and justice to the kingdom. The play ends on a note
of moral resolution, with the rightful heir ascending the throne.

Conclusion

Macbeth traces the tragic rise and fall of a once-great man corrupted by
ambition, power, and fate. It explores themes of unchecked ambition, the
influence of the supernatural, guilt, and the consequences of moral
corruption, ultimately portraying the inevitable downfall of those who seek
power through violence and treachery.

Macbeth- Terminology Glossary

25 terms relating to form and features of the Tragedy genre:

1. Tragic Hero – The protagonist with a fatal flaw, as seen in Macbeth.

2. Hamartia – The tragic flaw or error in judgment that leads to the

hero's downfall.

3. Hubris – Excessive pride or self-confidence, often leading to the hero's

demise.

4. Catharsis – The emotional release experienced by the audience

through the hero’s downfall.
5. Fate – The inevitable destiny, often controlled by supernatural forces,
influencing Macbeth's actions.

6. Prophecy – Predictions of the future, as delivered by the witches,

shaping Macbeth's decisions.

7. Peripeteia – A sudden reversal of fortune for the tragic hero.

8. Anagnorisis – The moment of recognition or realization of the truth by

the tragic hero.

9. Nemesis – Retribution or punishment for wrongdoing, exemplified by

Macbeth's fate.

10. Supernatural – Elements beyond natural law, like the witches

and ghosts in Macbeth, influencing events.

11. Chorus – While not present in Shakespeare’s work, the Greek

chorus functions similarly to characters like the witches, who provide
commentary on the action.

12. Mimesis – Imitation of real life, crucial in both Greek and

Shakespearean tragedies.

13. Pathos – Evoking pity or sadness in the audience, often for the
tragic hero’s suffering.

14. Dramatic Irony – When the audience knows more than the
characters, creating tension, such as Macbeth's belief in the witches'
deceptive prophecies.

15. Violence – Central to the plot of both Greek and Shakespearean

tragedies, with murder and war driving the narrative.

16. Morality – The exploration of right and wrong, especially the

consequences of Macbeth’s immoral choices.

17. Guilt – A key theme in Macbeth, particularly in the characters of

Macbeth and Lady Macbeth.

18. Free Will – The tension between Macbeth’s choices and the
influence of fate.

19. Soliloquy – A speech delivered by a character alone on stage,

revealing inner thoughts, like Macbeth’s soliloquies on guilt and
ambition.
 20. Tragic Waste – The unnecessary loss of life, particularly the
hero's downfall, as seen in Macbeth's demise.

21. Purgation – The cleansing of emotions, particularly through the

audience's catharsis.

22. Revenge – A motive driving action in tragedies, seen in

Macduff’s vengeance for his family.

23. Conflict – Both internal (Macbeth’s guilt and ambition) and

external (political battles), essential to tragic tension.

24. Pathetic Fallacy – When nature reflects the emotions or events

of the narrative, such as the stormy weather during Duncan's murder.

25. Downfall – The inevitable decline of the tragic hero from

greatness to ruin, exemplified in Macbeth's arc.

25 terms relating to socio-historical context and themes:

26. Treason – The crime of betraying one’s country, a significant

theme in Macbeth given Macbeth’s betrayal of King Duncan.

27. Regicide – The act of killing a king, considered one of the most
heinous crimes in the Jacobean era. Macbeth’s murder of Duncan is
central to the play’s tension.

28. Divine Right of Kings – The belief that monarchs are appointed
by and answerable only to God. By murdering Duncan, Macbeth
disrupts this divine order.

29. Usurpation – The act of taking power by force or without legal

right, as Macbeth does by seizing the throne.

30. The Great Chain of Being – A hierarchical structure believed to

be divinely ordained, placing the king at the top. Macbeth’s actions
cause chaos in this natural order.

31. Equivocation – The use of ambiguous language to conceal the

truth. The witches practice equivocation by making prophecies that
deceive Macbeth.
32. Patriarchy – The male-dominated society of Shakespeare’s
time. Gender roles are central to Macbeth, with Lady Macbeth
challenging and manipulating patriarchal expectations.

33. Witchcraft – The practice of magic, associated with the

supernatural. Witches were widely feared in Jacobean England, and
King James I had a particular interest in witchcraft, even writing a book
on the subject (Daemonologie).

34. Kingship – The qualities of a good ruler are explored throughout

Macbeth, contrasting Duncan’s benevolent rule with Macbeth’s
tyrannical reign.

35. Tyranny – Oppressive and cruel government rule. Macbeth’s

reign is characterized by paranoia and tyranny.

36. Gunpowder Plot – The 1605 plot to assassinate King James I

and blow up Parliament. Shakespeare likely wrote Macbeth in part as a
response to this event, using the themes of treason and regicide to
reflect concerns over loyalty to the monarch.

37. Loyalty – A central theme in Macbeth, reflecting the importance

of loyalty to the crown, especially in a time of political instability.

38. Succession – The question of who should inherit the throne is

key in Macbeth, mirroring contemporary concerns about the future of
the English crown, particularly under James I.

39. Superstition – Beliefs in supernatural forces, prevalent in the

early 17th century, influence much of Macbeth’s plot, particularly in
the portrayal of the witches and their prophecies.

40. Masculinity – A recurring theme in Macbeth, as characters often

equate power and violence with manliness, especially through the
actions of Macbeth and the taunts of Lady Macbeth.

41. Conscience – The internal moral compass that governs

characters' actions. Macbeth’s struggle with his conscience is central
to the play’s exploration of guilt and morality.

42. Political Legitimacy – The question of who has the right to rule,
examined through Macbeth’s illegitimate rise to power and Malcolm’s
rightful claim to the throne.
 43. Ambition – Excessive ambition, particularly Macbeth’s, is
portrayed as dangerous and corrupting.

44. Omens – Signs or portents of future events, often supernatural

in nature. In Macbeth, nature is often shown to reflect the disorder
caused by Duncan’s murder (e.g. strange weather, the behaviour of
animals).

45. Jacobean Era – The period of James I’s reign (1603-1625), when
Shakespeare wrote Macbeth. The play reflects concerns relevant to this
time, such as the fear of regicide, political instability, and witchcraft.

46. Thane – A Scottish nobleman, like Macbeth, who holds land

granted by the king. This title plays a significant role in Macbeth’s
status and rise to power.

47. Feudalism – The political and social system in Scotland during

the play, where loyalty to one’s lord or king was paramount.

48. Catholicism vs. Protestantism – Religious tensions were high

during Shakespeare’s time. James I was Protestant, and the Gunpowder
Plot was a Catholic attempt to overthrow him. Shakespeare’s portrayal
of treason and divine justice may reflect these tensions.

49. Gothic – Although Macbeth predates the formal Gothic literary

tradition, its dark, eerie atmosphere, and focus on murder, madness,
and the supernatural anticipate many elements of Gothic fiction.

50. Demonology – The study of demons and witchcraft, particularly

relevant to Macbeth because of King James I’s interest in the subject
and the prominent role of the witches in the play.

KS4 Macbeth Knowledge Organiser

Events

Ine wilches meet on ine neatn

Macbeth and Banquo have fought and won a battle

The witches meet Macbeth and Banquo. Macbeth becomes Thane of Cawdor

Duncan meets with Macbeth and plans to meet him at the castle.

Lady Macbeth's letter, Lady Macbeth convinces Macbeth to kill King Duncan.

Duncan arrives at Macbeth's castle

Macbeth's soliloquy_ Macbeth tells Lady Macbeth he will not murder Duncan,
She convinces him to go ahead with the murder.

The Great

Chain of Being

King James

Act 2

A Co

Act 3

Banquo and Macbeth talk briefly about the witches, Macbeth sees a dagger
in front of

nim.

Macbeth murders King Duncan_ Macbeth's guilt is apparent. Lady Macbeth

feels no

CUIT

Duncan's dead body is discovered.

Macbeth becomes king.

Macbeth questions Banquo_ He plans his murder.

Laoy Macoen and Macoein lalk.

Banquo is murdered.

The banquet and Banquo's ghost.

Hecate

Lennox shares his suspicions about Macbeth,

Witches and the

supernatura

Adam and

Eve

Act 4

Context
God is at the top of the Great Chain of Being

WON

Kings were chosen by 'divine right. God chose the king.

wales were coove remales

People were expected to respect their position in the chain and, if they did
so, would be rewarded in heaven.

King of Scotland from 1567 - 1625

King James was fascinated by the supernatural and wrote a book entitled
'Demonology' in

1597

King James's ancestor, Banquo, is made a hero in the play.

Kina James had survived an assassination attemot.

Christians believed witches to be the agents of Satan.

in 1004, Il was a capital Onence to pe a wiich, Association with a witch led to

nanging,

burning or drowning.

1 It was believed, witches could see into the future, change the weather
and could call up the dead.

2 A creation myth.

3 Adam and Eve are put into the garden of Eden but told not to eat from
the Tree of Knowledge

4 A serpent tells Eve she will not be punished if she does so, She is being
deceived.

5 Eve eats the fruit and gives some to Adam.

6 They are banished from the Garden of Eden as a result.Society was

patriarchal.

Act 5

CON

Macbeth
Ine witches share three prophecies as well as sharing a ViSion of Banquo

Macbeth has Macduffs wife and children murdered.

Malcolm ous Macum to me lest

Lady Macbeth's sleepwalking.

The renels

Macheth is tearless.

Great Birnam wood rises

Lady Macbeth is dead

The role of women

Malcolm prepares for battle Macbeth kills young Siward

Macduff kills Macbeth,_

Malcolm is crowned king.

War of the Roses

The Gunpowder

Features of form

Tragedy

Tragic events are ones that deal with suffering, loss and death. Concerned
with the downfall of one, usually very important or high-status character_ A
unity in that it deals with one main plot, in a single location or place_

Lady

Machetn

Characters

courceous. conteent neecisive..

submissive, disloyal, tyrannical deceiver, ambitious, remorseful, tormented,

heartless, cunning, egocentric

Ambitious, commanding, conniving, heartless, malicious, manipulative,

ruthless, sinister, guilty, paranoid

Stage
directions

Dialogue

Soliloquy

Instructions to an actor or director on how to perform certain lines.

War of the Roses happened between the years of 1455 and 1487.

Massive disorder of the War of the Roses with 105,000 casualties

20. Afterwards, civil disorder was seen as the ultimate disaster and an
ungodly state

A failed attempt to blow up England's King James I and the parliament

22. Attempt happened on November 5th, 1605.

Themes

1.

2.

Ambition

Fate and free will

Supernatural

4. Order and chaos

Good and evil

Revenge

Motifs

Nature

Sleep

Light and dark

Dreams

Blood

Children

King
Duncan Banquo

Fair. respected. naive, trusting,

jovial, optimistic, meek, moral Brave, loyal, diplomatic, virtuous, friendly,

astute, shrewd

I roublemaking, propnetic, evil. creepy, spooky, eerie

Aside

Dramatic irony

A conversation between two or more people.

When a character speaks their thoughts aloud directly to an audience and

without the presence of other characters,

remark in? dev inars intenden to he neare ny ine aiidience dilts

supposed to be unheard by the other characters.

A situation, or the irony, arising from a situation in which the audience has a
fuller knowledge of what is happening that a character.

siidden reversal ontoritine

Masculinity and femininity

Appearance and reality

witches

Hernees

Anagnorisis

A moment in a play when a character makes a critical discovery.