Revision Notes

1. Revision Notes

2. Assessment Objectives for Literature: A reminder - What do they mean? AO1: Read and understand the texts. Respond to the texts personally – developing your opinion and thoughts. Use evidence to support your points. AO2: Analyse the language Shakespeare has used – why has he done this? Analyse how Shakespeare has created the play and how it is put together (the structure of it) – why has he done this? Analyse the form Shakespeare has used – why has he written the play in this way? AO3: Understand the relationship between the play and the context in which it was written - how has this affected Shakespeare's writing? AO4: Write accurately using correct spelling, punctuation and grammar. Some key terms particular to Macbeth to remind yourself of: Audience Tragedy Juxtapose Supernatural Soliloquies Imagery Blank verse Antithesis Exposition Resolution Regicide Tyranny Stichomythia Tragic flaw/ hamartia (ambition) As a play, you may need to refer to structural features linked to ‘methods’ • Stage directions • Entrances and exits • Timing • Dynamics of dialogue – e.g. questions and imperatives • Iambic pentameter • Soliloquies

3. Context: Kingship James I (and VI of Scotland) • A king in Shakespeare's time was thought to rule by 'divine right'. This meant that God had chosen that person directly to rule over others. The killing of a king (known as regicide) was therefore considered to be just about the worst crime that anyone could commit. That is why Macbeth's decision to murder Duncan seemed so horrific to an audience of the time and why the murderer has such a guilty conscience. The new King on the throne of England, James I (also known as James VI of Scotland), was paranoid about assassination attempts. This was unsurprising, since the infamous Gunpowder Plot to blow up the King and Parliament had taken place just months before Macbeth was first performed. Macbeth was performed in front of the new king, James 1st who was the patron of Shakespeare’s acting company, the King’s Men. James knew the story well, as it included his ancestors Banquo and Fleance. In addition to this the king was very interested in Witchcraft and had written a book about it. The Supernatural • in 1590 a group of accused witches were found guilty of planning to kill King James 1. the king wrote a book on witchcraft, Daemonologie. In 1604 witchcraft was made punishable by death. In Shakespeare’s day it was accepted that witches could perform fantastical feats, control the elements and manipulate people’s behaviour and destiny. The sight of witchcraft was thought to be a spot on the skin, which could be another interpretation of Lady Macbeth’s ‘out damn spot.’ • Hecate, goddess of the witches appears in Act 3, Scene 5. This is her only appearance and seems rather unexpected. Some experts believe this scene was added later by a different writer, or it could have been written by Thomas Middleton, a playwright who lived at the same time as Shakespeare. At the time it was quite common for more than one person to contribute to writing a play. Chain of being • The Elizabethans believed everyone and everything had their own appointed place in a hierarchy of existence. From the king, who was next to God, all the way down to plants and animals. It was believed for a person go against this natural order would bring disorder and chaos in nature and the universe around them. This we see in Macbeth with the references to ‘the ‘unruly’ night f Duncan’s murder when, ‘the earth did shake’ and Duncan’s horses eating themselves, an abomination in nature. Position of women • In both Shakespeare's time and in the time when the play takes place, women had a much lower status than would be the case today. Wives were little more than the property of their husbands and had no legal rights. Their main purpose was to have children and support their men folk. Lady Macbeth appears to be a much more feisty character with ambitions and desires of her own; these are characteristics that could imply a lack of femininity. The Real Macbeth • It is worth remembering the play was written in Jacobean times but is set in Medieval times. Macbeth of Scotland, on whom Shakespeare’s play was based, died on August 15, 1057. Macbeth did kill Duncan in battle in 1040 but he then ruled for several years and his reign was largely peaceful. For 14 years, Macbeth seems to have ruled equably, imposing law and order and encouraging Christianity. He was also a brave leader and made successful forays over the border into Northumbria, England. • In 1054, Macbeth was challenged by Siward, Earl of Northumbria, who was attempting to return Duncan's son Malcolm Canmore, who was his nephew, to the throne. In August 1057, Macbeth was killed at the Battle of Lumphanan in Aberdeenshire by Malcolm Canmore (later Malcolm III). Elizabethan Theatre: In Shakespeare’s day a performance at the theatre would have been very different to today. Killing a king would not be seen on stage. There would have been no lighting, which is why references to time or day are made so explicitly, characters’ status would have been evident from costume and whether they spoke in verse. Don’t forget female were also played by men.. The purpose of the play would be to entertain a wide cross section in the audience, but in particular the reigning monarchy. William Shakespeare brought over 1,700 new words to the English language as well as inventing many of the phrases and sayings which we still use today. For instance, 'be all and end all', 'at one fell swoop' and 'crack of doom' all first appeared in Macbeth Shakespeare uses what is officially known as early modern English.

4. Background and Context Form and Structure: • Tragic plays can be traced back to the beginnings of drama in Ancient Greece. Aristotle set out the key features of tragedy. He stated that tragic plays would involve a protagonist (the leading central figure) who is usually of royal or noble birth. In the course of the play, the protagonist reveals a fatal flaw (a character defect/ harmartia) which causes him or her to go from success and happiness to failure, misery and, often, death at the hands of an antagonist (his opposite). Tragedy set out to stir up feelings of fear and pity in the audience – this is known as catharsis. • All of these things can be seen at work in Macbeth. The protagonist is clearly Macbeth himself, a thane of the Scottish nobility. His fatal flaw is his ambition and this drives the action forward. Macbeth is basically a good man who goes wrong. He is driven by a need for power which eventually sets him on a path to his own destruction. His wife shares this fatal flaw with him. • While Macbeth clearly achieves his ambition to become king, it is at the expense of his happiness. He feels he needs to murder, lie and behave brutally to others in order to keep his power. Eventually Macduff kills Macbeth in face-to-face combat. While exciting to watch, all of this would cause feelings of horror and regret in the original audience. • The events of this play are organised into five acts, each containing a number of scenes. However, it is likely that this structure would have been added later during the editing process when the plays were turned into published text after being performed that way. • The idea of the five-act structure is a useful one, as it follows the model designed by Gustav Freytag, a German author from the 19th-century. Having carefully studied classical drama, he suggested there were five stages in a tragic dramatic structure. • He named these stages: exposition, rising action, climax, falling action and catastrophe. You may wish to consider the stage at which certain events occur. Top Quotes: Copy these, annotate and display somewhere prominent so you can learn them. ‘Fair is foul and foul is fair’/ ‘So fair and foul a day I have not seen’ ‘valour’s minion’ ‘Bellona’s bridegroom’ ‘too full of the milk of human kindness to catch the nearest way’ ‘stars hide your fires, let not light see my black and deep desires’ ‘commends the ingredients of the poisoned chalice to our own lips’ ‘Wake Duncan with thy knocking, I would’st thou could’st’ ‘I have no spur to prick the sides of my intent, only vaulting ambition’ ‘Macbeth hath murdered sleep’ ‘A little water clears us of this deed’ ‘will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood from my hand’ ‘I am stepped so far in blood …’ ’it weeps. It bleeds’ ‘like a giant’s robes upon a dwarfish thief’ ‘out damned spot, out I say’ Out, out brief candle, life’s but a walking shadow’ ‘we’ll die with harness on our back’ ‘bear like I must fight the course’ ‘the dead butcher and his fiend like queen’

5. Poetic Structure The majority of the writing in Macbeth is in poetic form, though sometimes prose is used. There are three areas to look out for: • lines with a five-beat rhythm • lines with a four-beat rhythm • lines written in prose • Lines with a five-beat rhythm • This is how the majority of the play is written. It is often called blank verse or iambic pentameter. Each line has five beats with an unstressed (x) syllable followed by a stressed (/) syllable: Eg x / x / x / x / x / • So fair - and foul - a day - I have - not seen The ends of lines are not generally rhymed which helps to maintain the flow of the speech and carry through the meaning of what the character is saying. Sometimes a character is given an unfinished line to say. This is called a half line (even if it is less or more than half the five beats). It makes us think about why the line is incomplete – for instance, is it a hesitation or an interruption? Two (or more) characters may have a shared line where the five beats are divided up between them. This tends to quicken the pace of the speeches as characters overlap their words. Eg x / x / LADY MACBETH: Did not you speak? x MACBETH: When? / LADY MACBETH: Now? x / x / As I descended? Lines with a four-beat rhythm To separate the Witches from other characters, they often speak with a different rhythmic pattern which only has four beats with (this time) a stressed (/) syllable followed by an unstressed (x) syllable: eg / x / x / x / Fair - is foul - and foul - is fair Again, try saying this aloud while tapping out the rhythm of the four beats to see how it works. Generally this structure tends to speed up the rhythm in which the words are spoken and gives the whole thing a more "sing-song" quality – this is, of course, very appropriate for the Witches' chanting. Prose This type of speech is generally reserved for the more common characters (such as the Porter) or to indicate an extreme emotional state. When Lady Macbeth is sleepwalking and she is starting to lose her mind, Shakespeare does not use blank verse as he would normally do for a noble character but uses straightforward prose instead: eg Here’s the smell of the blood still; all the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand. O, O, O.

6. Themes and Motifs in Macbeth Fair and foul. • To the Weird Sisters what is ugly is beautiful, and what is beautiful is ugly: "Fair is foul and foul is fair." Throughout the play, fair appearances hide foul realities. Equivocation. • This theme is closely related to the "Fair and Foul" theme, because to equivocate is to lie by saying something that sounds fair, but which has a hidden, foul meaning. Nature and the Unnatural. • In Macbeth the word "nature" usually refers to human nature, and one might say that the whole play is about Macbeth's unnaturalness. He kills his king, his friend, and a woman and her children. In the end he is destroyed when nature itself appears to become unnatural: trees walk and Macbeth has to fight a man not of woman born. Lady Macbeth is also punished for being ‘unnatural’ and rejecting her feminity. Blood. • In the second scene of the play, the report of Macbeth's heroic victory is delivered by a "bloody man." Thereafter, we see and hear of much more blood. Hands. • We associate hands with many different kinds of experiences. We "walk hand-in-hand," are "caught red-handed," "give a helping hand." In Macbeth all of these senses of the word "hand" come into play, and Macbeth and Lady Macbeth both have scenes in which they are transfixed by the sight of blood on their hands. Sight, Light, Darkness, and Blindness. • Much of Macbeth takes place in the dark, and both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth seem to believe that the dark can hide their crimes, perhaps even from themselves .Remember references to the dark were needed for an era when plays were performed in daylight. Manhood. • In different ways, the play repeatedly asks what it means to be a man. Babies and children. • Shakespeare doesn't often portray children, but there's one in this play, and there are repeated references to babies and children. Children represent innocence so they give further emphasis to the brutality of the Macbeths and the unnaturalness of their actions. Sleep. • Sleep represents peace and restoration. Macbeth and Lady Macbeth ‘murder’ their ability to sleep as they are plagued with their conscience. Birds. • There are many birds in the play, most of them of ill omen. Kingship. • Duncan is a true king, gracious and kindly; Macbeth is an usurping tyrant, false and murderous. Malcolm is restored as the rightful king at the end of the play. Heaven and Hell. • In Macbeth both of these places seem very close to earth. Religious beliefs and the existence of the supernatural were accepted by all in Shakespeare’s time.

7. Language and Imagery What? - the playwright's choice of specific words and literary devices 1. Key words: There are a number of key words in Macbeth which are used over and over again. This repetition reinforces their importance in the mind of the audience or reader and adds strongly to the overall atmosphere of the play. Three of the most important key words in the play are blood, night and time. Blood The word 'blood' appears numerous times in the play (over 40!) Blood appears as a real substance all through the play. In one of the first scenes a blood-stained Captain reports on the battle to Duncan. Blood is evident when Duncan, Banquo and Lady Macduff are murdered and the Witches use animal blood as part of their potions. The play also finishes with real blood as Macbeth's severed head is displayed for all to see. The word 'blood' also appears a number of times as a symbol of the guilt that runs through the play. For instance, Macbeth sees a vision of a bloodstained dagger before he kills Duncan and Lady Macbeth tries to wash away imaginary bloodstains during her guilt-ridden sleepwalking.. Shakespeare's constant repetition of the word 'blood‘ or related words like ‘bloody’ stresses to his audience the full horror of events. This was especially true for the play's original audiences. For them the shedding of a king's blood would have been just about the worst crime that could be committed. It was not only a crime but also a deadly sin (regicide). The references to actual blood and references to blood in characters’ speeches are a constant reminder of the direct consequences of the Macbeth's actions.

8. Night Repetition of the word 'night' also features heavily in the play Night time is traditionally associated with evil and so it is in Macbeth. Many of the most horrifying scenes of the play take place at night and under the cover of darkness. Even when it is daylight sometimes it seems more like night. The image of night time is also used by the characters to show the darkness of their feelings and the evil of what they are doing. Why does Shakespeare use the word 'night' so often in the play? The constant repetition of the word 'night' highlights the sense of darkness in the play and at the heart of some of the characters. It had another particularly practical use in Shakespeare's day. Plays were regularly performed out of doors and during daylight. Therefore it was important to keep reminding the audience that some of the play's most important scenes were actually meant to be taking place in the dark. Time References to time are an important aspect of Macbeth and as time passes in the play, events become more intense and consequences more significant. Being able to see into the future, as Macbeth believes the Witches are able to do, gives a sense of power to his actions. Both he and his wife seem in a hurry to realise their ambitions before time catches up with them

9. Clothing Imagery linked to clothes reflects Mabeth’s position as a usurper in the play. ‘Robes’ have royal connotations which do not fit Macbeth. It suggests he is in a role where he does not belong. He is most at home in his ‘armour’ at the start and end of the play in the role of a warrior on the battlefield.

10. Literary devices – animal images Bird Imagery Birds Context An owl is the bird of prey most associated with the character of Macbeth In Shakespeare's day there were many myths and folk tales surrounding birdlife. Different species of bird were thought to have specific characteristics - some, for instance, were specifically thought to bring bad luck.Shakespeare uses this to link birds and their habits to the human characters and how they behave. • Shakespeare would have known that his audience would make the necessary connections between the birds he mentions and the actions and thoughts of his characters. They are used to highlight things that have happened, that are happening or that will happen and therefore create both expectation and tension. Wild Animals • The characteristics of such animals would have been familiar to Shakespeare’s audience. The references help to create mental pictures in the audience's mind of the way the characters in the play are and how they behave. • In addition, the famous scene (Act 4 Scene 1) where the Witches create their magic potion features virtually a whole zoo of animals. The following are listed: cat, hedge-pig (hedgehog), toad, snake, newt, frog, bat, dog, adder, blind worm, lizard, howlet (young owl), dragon, wolf, shark, goat, baboon and sow. All of these had associations with evil and/or witchcraft.

11. Animal Imagery – Developing ideas In the play Macbeth, Shakespeare uses animal imagery to develop the theme of disorder and disruption in the natural world.. Macbeth's murder of the king causes moral disorder within himself, and natural disorder amongst the land, reflecting the contemporary belief in a ‘chain of being.’. This disorder is not reversed until Macbeth’s defeat at the end of the play and the rightful crowning of Malcolm. • The use of animal imagery is used for symbolic effect. In the opening scenes the imagery compares Macbeth and Banquo to being an eagle and lion Such imagery in the exposition stage of the play establishes the fearless nobility, valour and ruthlessness of Macbeth on the battlefield. Such creatures are high in the natural order of being and rule over their natural environment with a sense of ruthless majesty and unquestioned authority. Such images are set along side others which build a semantic field of power and authority linked to Macbeth in the opening scenes. The simile ‘as cannons overcharged’ conveys a strong image of power and of a man who can be used as a lethal weapon, while the metaphor ‘Bellona’s bridegroom’ associates Macbeth with the gods, he is wedded to warfare. After the murder of King Duncan, Macbeth’s action is parellelled to the unnatural act Ross and an Old Man discuss: On Tuesday last / A falcon, towering in her pride of place, / Was by a mousing owl hawk'd at and kill'd" (2.4.11-13). The falcon's "pride of place" is the highest point of its flight. And the owl, which usually catches mice on the ground, went up instead of down, and killed a falcon. Also, a falcon is a day creature, and a royal companion, while the owl is an untamable bird of night and death. If things in nature stands for things in human life, the falcon is symbolic of Duncan, and the owl symbolises Macbeth.  Through this image audience can comprehend that the rightful and just king Duncan has been usurped by a more lowly being Macbeth's kingship will be foul and he will be unfit for the responsibilities of a king. Through the comparison, we can tell that the owl killing a falcon, Macbeth murdering Duncan, and having an such an unfit king are all forms of moral disorder. The symbolism of the owl also reinforces the motif of the sleepless state. The fact that the owl is a nocturnal bird shows Macbeth's cowardliness, having to ‘hunt’ during the night when most other creatures are asleep foreshadows Macbeth's future actions as a king. Shakespeare's idea that sleep is a natural process pushes Macbeth further into the realms of unnaturalness and develops the moral disorder. Shakespeare reiterates the image of the owl throughout the play to the point where it could be said that the owl is Macbeth's familiar spirit.. While Lady Macbeth waits for Macbeth to return from killing the king she is startled by the noise of the shriek owl, again the association with Macbeth is clear. Macbeth is further compared to a bird of prey in his brutal murder of the Macduff family: All my pretty ones? / Did you say all? O hell-kite! All? / What, all my pretty chickens and their dam / At one fell swoop?" (4.3.217-220). The "hell-kite" is Macbeth, who has killed all the "pretty chickens" in one murderous dive ("fell swoop").  • Further use of symbolism can be seen in Shakespeare mirroring the chaos and disorder in the natural world with the unfit leadership of Macbeth. When speaking of Duncan’s horses after the murder it is reported, ‘tis said they ate each other’ an unbelievable and disturbing image of creatures associated with nobility and gentleness. The country of Scotland itself is both personified and linked to an animal in servitude and slavery under the destructive rule of Macbeth, ‘it weeps, it bleeds’ and ‘sinks beneath the yoke.’ • By the end of the play Macbeth is compared to a ‘hellhound.’ This image aligns him with being the possession of the devil and hell itself. The devil is his master, and for the powers of darkness he will act with brutal and unquestioning cruelty. This image is in dramatic contrast to the majestic animal imagery he is associated with at the start of the play. Ironically, Macbeth had his royal status it seems, within his own, smaller universe under the direction of the rightful king at the start of the play. The tragedy arose from his unnatural ambition which led him to seek beyond this natural boundary and led to his downfall.

12. Brave warrior and leader at the start/ exposition: Disdaining fortune, with his brandished steel, / Which smoked with bloody execution, / Like Valour's minion carved out his passage..The Captain describes Macbeth's actions on the battlefield particularly when he seeks out and kills the traitor Macdonwald using a number of strong verbs and adjectives to show how brave Macbeth has been: 'brandished', 'smoked', 'carved', 'unseamed', 'fixed'. Macbeth is compared to a lion and an eagle in this scene. ‘Belona’s bridegroom’ suggests he is godlike in his warrior status. Manliness and heroism would have been significant on the medieval battlefield. Macbeth Mind Map Finally he returns to warrior in battle as he faces his death: ‘bear like’ ‘bring me my armour’ - conveyed through imperatives animal imagery and clothing. Recognises he has lost everything, ‘life’s but a walking shadow.’ Necessity of this to show audience consequences of regicide. Predictions seem to waken the ambition already in him, he is spurred on by his wife. ‘Stars, hide your fires; / Let not light see my black and deep desires’ imagery linked to day and night here evokes how Macbeth is drawn to the powers of darkness and the supernatural.’ Ambition is his hamartia/ tragic flaw in the traditions of Greek tragedy. Portrayed as a tyrant: ruling through fear: ‘thou lily livered boy’ ; destroys his country, which is described as being enslaved/ subjected to suffering and abuse under his rule: ‘it weeps, it bleeds’; ruthless – slaughters the Macduffs; contrasts to Duncan, portrayed as the rightful king through heavenly imagery, purity and goodness in royal status: ‘his silver skin, laced with his golden blood.’ Macbeth loses his relationship with God immediately after murder, ‘could not pronounce amen.’ Patterns in imagery: A spiral of evil is developed through blood/ water/ sleep imagery e.g. ‘I am stepped so far in blood’ Aligns himself with evil as fear of discovery and guilt plague him, ‘never shake thy gory locks at me.’ ‘Macbeth hath murdered sleep’ Macbeth’s soliloquies chart his thoughts and feelings. In his first soliloquy he questions his motive. His ambition conflicts with his sense of loyalty and morality. ‘ I have no spur to prick the sides of my intent’ and he recognises the crime of regicide will have terrible consequences. Macbeth as Usurper developed through animal imagery – the owl/ falcon and clothing, ‘like a giant’s robes upon a dwarfish thief.’

13. Lady Macbeth Mind Map Driven to madness and suicide by her conscience. Imagery/ thematic links to water and sleep. Irony of formal dismissal of conscience now she cannot rid herself of guilt and is driven to relive the night of the murder: ‘out damn spot, out I say!’. She recognises her own damnation ‘hell is murky.’ Her death is mentioned but seems of little consequence by Act 5, a clear warning to the audience regarding the price of such unnatural ambition. Ambitious: She is perhaps even more ambitious than Macbeth and once she has worked out a plan, nothing will turn her from that course until her ambition is fulfilled. She rejects goodness and morality as weakness: ‘I fear thy nature, / It is too full o'th'milk of human kindness / To catch the nearest way. Thou wouldst be great, / Art not without ambition, but without / The illness should attend it.’ Irony in her linking ruthlessness to disease…’the raven himself is hoarse that croaks the fatal entrance of Duncan .. Determined and controlling, challenges Macbeth’s doubts: ‘was the hope drunk wherein thou dressed thyself?’ Linked to the theme of appearance and public image ‘ act like the innocent flower but be the serpent under it.’ When Duncan visits the castle seems the perfect hostess: ‘In every point twice done and then done double,’ The word 'double' also links Lady Macbeth to the evil of the witches - they use the word repeatedly. ‘Screw your courage to the sticking place and we’ll not fail’ Takes control after murder, ‘a little water clears us of this deed’ – fails to appreciate consequences. ‘Give me the daggers’ imperatives show her dominance. In the banquet scene we see her linked to public and private again as she tries to keep up appearances: ‘sleek o’er your rugged looks’ /’you do not give the cheer’/ ‘my lord is not well’ Challenges the position of women at the time as subservient to men. She rejects traditional feminine attributes of maternal care and gentleness as weakness. She is set in contrast to Lady Macduff who we see as a gentle mother and wife.Macbeth recognises her ‘mettle’ as unfeminine: ‘bring forth men children only.’ • Aligns herself with the supernatural and powers of darkness, ‘come you spirits that tend on mortal thoughts unsex me here.’ Make thick my blood/ Come, thick night And pall thee in the dunnest smoke of hell’ (pall – funeral cloak/ dunnest – darkest) Context: significance of supernatural Hints of conscience: She can’t kill Duncan, ‘had he not resembled my father…’

14. Links to Other Characters Macduff Macduff is the archetype of the avenging hero, not simply out for revenge but with a good and holy purpose. Macduff is the character who has two of the most significant roles in the play: First, he is the discoverer of Duncan's body. Second, the news of the callous murder of his wife and children (Act IV, Scene 3) spurs him toward his desire to take personal revenge upon the tyrannical Macbeth. When he knocks at the gate of Macbeth's castle in Act II, Scene 3, he is being equated with the figure of Christ, who before his final ascension into Heaven, goes down to release the souls of the damned from hell (the so-called "Harrowing of Hell"). Like Macbeth, Macduff is also shown as a human being. When he hears of the death of his "pretty chickens," he has to hold back his emotions. Even when (in Act IV, Scene 3) Malcolm urges him to "Dispute it like a man," Macduff's reply "I will do so. But I must also feel it as a man" enables the audience to weigh him against Macbeth, In the final combat between hero and anti-hero, this humanity is recalled once more when Macduff cries out, "I have no words; my voice is in my sword." It is his very wordlessness that contrasts with Macbeth's empty rhetoric. Duncan Most importantly, Duncan is the representative of God on earth, ruling by divine right (ordained by God), a feature of kingship strongly endorsed by King James I, for whom the play was performed in 1606. This "divinity" of the king is made clear on several occasions in the play, most notably when Macbeth talks of the murdered Duncan as having "silver skin lac'd with . . . golden blood" (Act II, Scene 3). The importance of royal blood, that is, the inheritance of the divine right to rule, is emphasized when, in the final scene, Duncan's son Malcolm takes the title of king, with the words "by the grace of Grace / We will perform. The king of Scotland should be a figurehead of order and orderliness, and Duncan is the epitome, or supreme example, of this. His language is formal and his speeches full of grace and graciousness Banquo “Banquo's role in the original source for Macbeth was as Macbeth's co-conspirator. In Shakespeare's play, he is depicted instead as Macbeth's rival, Banquo is a sympathetic figure for several reasons. First, he is ignorant of what the audience knows concerning the murder of the king and of his own impending doom. Second, he is a father whose relationship with his son is clearly an affectionate one. Macbeth sees his nobility and honour as threatening to his position. He is also preoccupied with the potential of Banquo’s offspring inheriting the crown and making his rule ‘fruitless’ and ‘barren’ Shakespeare developed the nobility of Banquo with King James in mind, as he was thought to be a descendent. Malcolm: Malcolm is Duncan’s eldest son and heir to the throne (though this would not have been automatic right). Malcolm is seen as the saviour of Scotland and his Christ like image is juxtaposed with Macbeth’s tyranny and develops the theme of KINGSHIP. Malcolm represents the qualities of a good king: ‘justice, verity, temp’rance, stableness, bounty, perseverance, mercy, lowliness, devotion, patience, courage, fortitude’ Malcolm is the embodiment of all that is good in kingship, and this is seen particularly in Act IV, Scene 3, in which he tests the allegiance of Macduff. By pretending to be what he is not, he hopes to coax from Macduff a confession of his loyalty. This feature of his character — playing a part in order to strengthen the prospect of good — is in stark contrast to Macbeth, who plays a part in order to advance his own evil. In the final scene of the play, Malcolm is presented as the future king. His use of the phrase "by the grace of Grace" indicates the importance that he attaches to the service of good and reminds the audience of his direct descent from one who ruled by divine right, as opposed to Macbeth, who usurped the throne. Like his father Duncan, Malcolm is the representative of order.

15. There are two possible ways to approach this question. • Approach A: Linking extract to whole text throughout • Highlight key words in the question. • Annotate the passage for ideas/ methods/quotes to explore. • Identify links to elsewhere in the text – could be similar ideas/ methods or contrasting to show change. • Write a paragraph on the extract followed by a linked paragraph on the whole text. • Go back to the extract again and aim to do this 3 times. • Approach B: Extract first, then whole text • Highlight key words in the question. • Annotate the passage for ideas/ methods/ quotes. • Cover at least 2 paragraphs based on ideas/ methods in the extract. • Cover at least 2 paragraphs based on ideas/ methods elsewhere in the play.

16. Sample Question The question Starting with this extract, how does Lady Macbeth use language to manipulate her husband in the play? As part of your answer you will need to analyse what the extract shows about Lady Macbeth's use of language at this point. Look again at the extract below with some highlighted points that could you could write about in an answer. Think about what Shakespeare is telling his audience and readers about Lady Macbeth and how she affects her husband. MACBETH We will proceed no further in this business.He hath honoured me of late, and I have boughtGolden opinions from all sorts of people,Which would be worn now in their newest gloss,Not cast aside so soon. LADY MACBETH [(1) Was the hope drunkWherein you dressed yourself? Hath it slept since?And wakes it now to look so green and paleAt what it did so freely?] From this time,Such I account thy [(2) love]. Art thou afeardTo be the same in thine own act and valourAs thou art in desire? Wouldst thou have thatWhich thou esteem'st the ornament of life,And live a [(3) coward] in thine own esteem,Letting I dare not wait upon I would,Like the poor cat i'th'adage? MACBETH Prithee, peace.I dare do all that may become a man;Who dares do more is none. LADY MACBETH What beast was't thenThat made you break this enterprise to me?[(4) When you durst do it, then you were a man.And to be more than what you were, you wouldBe so much more the man.] Nor time, nor placeDid then adhere, and yet you would make both.[(5) They have made themselves] and that their fitness nowDoes unmake you. I have given suck and knowHow tender 'tis to love the babe that milks me:I would, while it was smiling in my face,Have plucked my nipple from his boneless gumsAnd [(6) dashed the brains out], had I so [(7) sworn]As you have done to this. MACBETH If we should fail? LADY MACBETH [(8) We fail?]But screw your courage to the sticking-place,And [(9) we'll not fail]. Act 1 Scene 7

17. Sample answer 1 (extract) • In this scene, Macbeth wants to stop the murder and says "We will proceed no further". Lady Macbeth makes sure that Macbeth will do exactly as she tells him. She has strong ambitions to be Queen and uses different arguments to make sure that he does do what she wants him to do. She uses a comparison to call him a coward but he tells her that he is a real man. I think that she is right about him at this point. She also says he does not love her if he does not carry out the murder. Macbeth's biggest worry is about what will happen to them if they fail. Lady Macbeth says "We'll not fail" which just dismisses the idea. By the end of the scene she has persuaded him back again and the audience thinks that she is a stronger character than her husband. Feedback comments – Not bad but room for improvement! • This answer shows a reasonable level of understanding of the text and a development of a personal response. However, there is not enough supportive evidence quoted or analysis of the language attempted. • There is a limited attempt to analyse key vocabulary or literary devices. The use of a simile is noted but it is not explained what it is, what it means or why it is being used. • There is a reference to the effect on an audience but this needs development. • Sentences are correctly constructed and punctuated but not always phrased well. Sample answer 2 (extract) • Macbeth starts this scene in a decisive mood but by the end of it has given in to his wife's powers of persuasion. She asks him lots of questions but does not give him time to answer; this would unsettle him and make the audience aware of just how ambitious she is. Lady Macbeth uses emotional blackmail when she says "From this time, / Such I account thy love." She also calls him a coward using a simile to compare him to a cat who would like to get hold of some fish but which does not want to get its paws wet; this is an example of one of the many animal images used in the play. I think her biggest insult is to say that he is not acting like a man: "When you durst do it, then you were a man." The key opposites used here are "when" and "then". For a woman to say this to a man in Shakespeare's time would have been totally unacceptable and the original audience would probably have been shocked by it. Feedback comments – Much better! • There is strong evidence here of a very good understanding of the text and an informed personal response to Shakespeare's writing. References are skilfully woven into the answer and are linked to the wider text as a whole. • There is clear evidence of language analysis and ability to use correct terminology (simile, images). There could have been some comment on line structure to further improve the answer. • There is a good attempt to recognise the effect of the scene on an audience. • A well-written answer which uses correct spelling, grammar and punctuation and which aims to develop complex written sentences and use advanced vocabulary.

18. Sample exam question. How does Shakespeare present Macbeth in this soliloquy and elsewhere in the play? If it were done when 'tis done, then 'twere well It were done quickly: if the assassination Could trammel up the consequence, and catch,With his surcease, success; that but this blowMight be the be-all and the end-all here,But here, upon this bank and shoal of time,We'd jump the life to come. But in these cases We still have judgment here; that we but teachBloody instructions, which, being taught, returnTo plague the inventor: this even-handed justiceCommends th' ingredience of our poison'd chaliceTo our own lips. He's here in double trust; First, as I am his kinsman and his subject,Strong both against the deed; then, as his host,Who should against his murderer shut the door,Not bear the knife myself. Besides, this Duncan Hath borne his faculties so meek, hath been So clear in his great office, that his virtuesWill plead like angels, trumpet-tongued, againstThe deep damnation of his taking-off;And pity, like a naked new-born babe,Striding the blast, or heaven's cherubim, horsedUpon the sightless couriers of the air,Shall blow the horrid deed in every eye,That tears shall drown the wind. I have no spurTo prick the sides of my intent, but only Vaulting ambition, which o'erleaps itself And falls on th' other - .

19. Macbeth Question – a sample plan

20. Extending and developing comment. Exemplar paragraph for this question. In this soliloquy Shakespeare repeatedly uses euphemism in Macbeth’s speech to convey his discomfort with what he is planning to do. In the first line of the speech he repeats the word ‘it’ in place of the word ‘murder’, conveying the sense that he cannot bring himself to say the word. Furthermore the fact that he says, ‘’then twere well it twere done quickly’ suggests he wishes the task over with, if it is to occur, as it is praying on his mind. Later in the soliloquy he refers to the murder as ‘the deed’ then later as ‘the horrid deed’ the language here through the adjective horrid’ and negative connotations of ‘deed’ evokes his repulsion for what he is planning. He knows the terrible judgement he will face from God. Shakespeare seeks to make the crime of regicide unimaginable for a man with a conscience and religious belief, his intentions for a Jacobean audience is that of a warning. At this stage in the play Macbeth is a man with a conscience, despite his warrior status established on the battlefield in Act 1. He knows the difference between fighting out of loyalty for King and country when his sword smokes ‘with bloody execution’ and the underhand plotting of a usurper to assassinate a good king. Lady Macbeth recognises this characteristic which she perceives as a weakness, Shakespeare gives her a significant metaphor in her comment ‘the milk of human kindness.’ The idea of ‘milk’ in this image linked to nurturing and gentle feminine qualities is significant – for her this is weakness whereas the audience associate it with a capacity for good. Annotate the paragraph using the codes on page 15 of the booklet.

21. Annotate the following soliloquies and extracts from the play. Consider what links you could make to elsewhere in the play and what the extracts reveal about Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. Macbeth’s soliloquy Act 2 Scene 1 Question: Starting with this extract explore the effects of the supernatural on Macbeth’s state of mind and attitudes towards murder. Is this a dagger which I see before me, The handle toward my hand? Come, let me clutch thee. I have thee not, and yet I see thee still. Art thou not, fatal vision, sensible To feeling as to sight? or art thou but A dagger of the mind, a false creation, Proceeding from the heat-oppressed brain? I see thee yet, in form as palpable As this which now I draw. Thou marshall'st me the way that I was going; And such an instrument I was to use. Mine eyes are made the fools o' the other senses, Or else worth all the rest; I see thee still, And on thy blade and dudgeon gouts of blood, Which was not so before. There's no such thing: It is the bloody business which informs Thus to mine eyes. Now o'er the one halfworld Nature seems dead, and wicked dreams abuse The curtain'd sleep; witchcraft celebrates Pale Hecate's offerings, and wither'd murder, Alarum'd by his sentinel, the wolf, Whose howl's his watch, thus with his stealthy pace. With Tarquin's ravishing strides, towards his design Moves like a ghost. Thou sure and firm-set earth, Hear not my steps, which way they walk, for fear Thy very stones prate of my whereabout, And take the present horror from the time, Which now suits with it. Whiles I threat, he lives: Words to the heat of deeds too cold breath gives. A bell rings. I go, and it is done; the bell invites me. Hear it not, Duncan; for it is a knell That summons thee to heaven or to hell.

22. Macbeth's Soliloquy: To be thus is nothing (3.1.47-71) Question: Starting with this extract explore how Shakespeare presents ideas linked to kingship in the play. To be thus is nothing;But to be safely thus. Our fears in BanquoStick deep; and in his royalty of natureReigns that which would befear'd: 'tis much he dares;And, to that dauntless temper of his mind,He hath a wisdom that doth guide his valourTo act in safety. There is none but he Whose being I do fear: and, under him,My Genius is rebuk'd; as, it is said,Mark Antony's was by Caesar. He chid the sistersWhen first they put the name of king upon me,And bade them speak to him: then prophet-like They hail'd him father to a line of kings: Upon my head they plac'd a fruitless crown, And put a barren sceptre in my gripe, Thence to be wrench'dwith an unlineal hand,No son of mine succeeding. If 't be so,For Banquo's issue have I fil'd my mind; For them the gracious Duncan have I murder'd; Put rancours in the vessel of my peaceOnly for them; and mine eternal jewelGiven to the common enemy of man, To make them kings, the seeds of Banquo kings! Rather than so, come fate into the list.And champion me to the utterance!

23. Act Two, Scene 2 Question: Starting with this extract explore how Shakespeare presents the relationship between Macbeth and Lady Macbeth Lady Macbeth. That which hath made them drunk hath made me bold; What hath quench'd them hath given me fire. Hark! Peace! It was the owl that shriek'd, the fatal bellman, Which gives the stern'st good-night. He is about it: The doors are open; and the surfeited grooms Do mock their charge with snores: I have drugg'd their possets, That death and nature do contend about them, Whether they live or die. Macbeth. [Within] Who's there? what, ho! Lady Macbeth. Alack, I am afraid they have awaked, And 'tis not done. The attempt and not the deed Confounds us. Hark! I laid their daggers ready; 660He could not miss 'em. Had he not resembled My father as he slept, I had done't. [Enter MACBETH]My husband! Macbeth. I have done the deed. Didst thou not hear a noise?665 Lady Macbeth. I heard the owl scream and the crickets cry. Did not you speak? Macbeth. When? Lady Macbeth. Now. Macbeth. As I descended? Lady Macbeth. Ay. Macbeth. Hark! Who lies i' the second chamber? Lady Macbeth. Donalbain. Macbeth. This is a sorry sight. [Looking on his hands] Lady Macbeth. A foolish thought, to say a sorry sight. Macbeth. There's one did laugh in's sleep, and one cried 'Murder!' That they did wake each other: I stood and heard them: 680But they did say their prayers, and address'd them Again to sleep. Lady Macbeth. There are two lodged together. Macbeth. One cried 'God bless us!' and 'Amen' the other; As they had seen me with these hangman's hands. 685Listening their fear, I could not say 'Amen,' When they did say 'God bless us!' Lady Macbeth. Consider it not so deeply. Macbeth. But wherefore could not I pronounce 'Amen'? I had most need of blessing, and 'Amen' 690Stuck in my throat. Lady Macbeth. These deeds must not be thoughtAfter these ways; so, it will make us mad.

24. Act 3 Scene 2 Question: Starting with this extract consider how Shakespeare conveys the theme of appearance and reality in the play. Lady Macbeth. 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. [Enter MACBETH]How now, my lord! why do you keep alone, Of sorriest fancies your companions making, Using those thoughts which should indeed have died With them they think on? Things without all remedy Should be without regard: what's done is done. Macbeth. We have scotch'd the snake, not kill'd it: She'll close and be herself, whilst our poor malice Remains in danger of her former tooth. But let the frame of things disjoint, both the worlds suffer, Ere we will eat our meal in fear and sleep In the affliction of these terrible dreams That shake us nightly: better be with the dead, Whom we, to gain our peace, have sent to peace, Than on the torture of the mind to lie In restless ecstasy. Duncan is in his grave; After life's fitful fever he sleeps well; Treason has done his worst: nor steel, nor poison, Malice domestic, foreign levy, nothing, Can touch him further. Lady Macbeth. Come on; Gentle my lord, sleek o'er your rugged looks; Be bright and jovial among your guests to-night. Macbeth. So shall I, love; and so, I pray, be you: Let your remembrance apply to Banquo; Present him eminence, both with eye and tongue: Unsafe the while, that we Must lave our honours in these flattering streams, And make our faces vizards to our hearts, Disguising what they are.

25. Act 5 Scene 5 Starting with this extract consider how Shakespeare conveys Macbeth as a tragic figure. MACBETHI have almost forgot the taste of fears;The time has been, my senses would have cool'dTo hear a night-shriek; and my fell of hairWould at a dismal treatise rouse and stirAs life were in't: I have supp'd full with horrors;Direness, familiar to my slaughterous thoughtsCannot once start me. Re-enter SEYTON Wherefore was that cry?SEYTONThe queen, my lord, is dead.MACBETHShe should have died hereafter;There would have been a time for such a word.To-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow,Creeps in this petty pace from day to dayTo the last syllable of recorded time,And all our yesterdays have lighted foolsThe way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle!Life's but a walking shadow, a poor playerThat struts and frets his hour upon the stageAnd then is heard no more: it is a taleTold by an idiot, full of sound and fury,Signifying nothing.