English macbeth

• Retribution


  Inflicting punishment for a wrongful act
• Patriarchy


  Society dominated by males who rule over females
• Masculinity


  Traits relating to being stereotypically male
• Insanity


  Being seriously mentally ill
• Loyalty


  Having a strong feeling of support or allegiance
• Wisdom


  Quality of having good judgement/being wise
• Justice


  Fair treatment or behaviour
• Tyrannical


  Exercising power in a cruel way
• Hamartia


  Fatal flaw leading to the downfall of the main character
• Malevolence


  Being deliberately hostile to others
• Maternal


  Feelings which are related to being a mother
• Regicide


  Killing the king or queen in charge, usually to take power for yourself
• Futile


  Something that is seen as pointless
• Usurp


  Take a position of power by force or wrongfully
• Tragedy


  Form of the play exploring tragic events & downfall of character
• Dramatic Irony


  Where the audience are more aware of the action happening than the characters
• Soliloquy


  An individual character in a play speaking their thoughts out loud to the audience
• Protagonists


  The main character who propels the action forward
• Imagery


  Visual descriptions that allows the audience to understand an idea
• Oxymoron


  Using two opposing terms together, that normally contradict each other
• Juxtaposition


  Placing contrasting ideas close together in a text
• Foreshadowing


  A hint or suggestion of what might happen later in the story
• Emotive Language


  Language which creates an emotion in the reader
• Connotations/Zooming in


  Implied or suggested meanings of a word or phrases
• Hyperbole


  Use of extremely exaggerated terms for emphasis
• Analysis using PEAZ


  1. Point: A clear analytical point which shows insight and clearly answers the question

  2. Evidence: Support with a short quote(s) or example from the text

  3. Analysis: Make explicit where the quote is from then explain the meaning and effect of the quote(s) you use – both explicit and implicit. Aim for two interpretations per quote.

  4. Zoom in on Language: Zoom in on a specific language choice (use subject terminology) and explore its connotations and effect on the audience. Consider whether Elizabethan audience would react differently to a contemporary audience.

  5. Refer to the writer: Evaluate Shakespeare's motive and how it supports his intended purpose for the play
• Exam Requirements - English Literature - Component 1, Section A

  • EXTRACT ESSAY on MACBETH – 20 mins - 15 marks
  • Intro – link to question. Provide an overview of the scene.
  • Throughout the essay – Choose relevant quotes and analyse the language, structure and effect of these quotes. Refer to the question regularly.
  • WHOLE PLAY ESSAY on MACBETH – 40 mins - 25 marks (5 for SPaG)
  • Prioritise your ideas in chronological order.
  • Intro – using words of the question give an overview that shows insight.
  • PEAZ 1 - choose a moment from the play to explore with quotes & context
  • PEAZ 2- choose a 2nd moment from the play to explore with quotes & context
  • PEAZ 3 - choose a moment from the play to explore with quotes & context
  • PEAZ 4 – choose a moment to explore with quotes and context
  • Conclude – Short summary of key insights linked to the question and writer. 2-3 sentences max.
• Act 1


  • Scene 1: The witches meet up and set the tone of evil throughout the plot.
  • Scene 2: King Duncan hears reports that Macbeth and Banquo have helped win the war.
  • Scene 3: Macbeth and Banquo meet the witches on a heath and hear predictions that Macbeth will be Thane of Cawdor and King, and Banquo won't be king but his sons will be kings.
  • Scene 4: King Duncan meets Macbeth and Banquo and rewards them. Macbeth is now Thane of Cawdor and secretly starts to think he could be king.
  • Scene 5: Lady Macbeth has received a letter from Macbeth about the witches. She starts to think how to persuade Macbeth to kill King Duncan.
  • Scene 6: Duncan arrives at Macbeth's home.
  • Scene 7: Macbeth convinces himself not to kill King Duncan. Lady Macbeth persuades Macbeth again to kill King Duncan.
• Act 2


  • Scene 1: Macbeth murders King Duncan, committing regicide.
  • Scene 2: Macbeth loses his nerve after killing King Duncan, so Lady Macbeth has to help frame the guards and clean up after Macbeth. Macbeth regrets what he has done.
  • Scene 3: Macbeth sends Macduff to find King Duncan dead. The guards are blamed and Malcolm and Donalbain run away as they might be suspected of killing their father to get the throne.
  • Scene 4: Ross and Macduff think the guards were paid by Malcolm and Donalbain to kill the king for their own gain. Macbeth becomes king.
• Act 3


  • Scene 1: Banquo thinks to himself that Macbeth has done something wrong to become king. Macbeth hires murderers to kill Banquo and Fleance to stop Banquo's prophecy coming true.
  • Scene 2: Macbeth tells Lady Macbeth that Banquo now needs to be killed. Lady Macbeth wants to convince him otherwise, but now Macbeth keeps his evil plans to himself, no longer trusting her.
  • Scene 3: Banquo is killed by the murderers. Fleance escapes.
  • Scene 4: Macbeth is holding a large meal in honour of him being new king. The murderers tell him Banquo is dead but Fleance escaped. Macbeth then sees Banquo's ghost at the meal when no one else can. Lady Macbeth sends him to bed so he doesn't say anything to make him seem guilty.
  • Scene 5: The three witches meet again discussing Macbeth.
  • Scene 6: Lennox, Malcolm and Macduff all suspect Macbeth to be evil, calling him a tyrant. Malcolm and Macduff are making plans in England.
• Act 4


  • Scene 1: Macbeth sees the witches again who tell him these things: Beware Macduff, beware the Thane of Fife, None of woman born can harm Macbeth, Macbeth shall never be beaten until Birnam Woods moves towards the castle
  • Scene 2: Macbeth has Macduff's wife and children killed.
  • Scene 3: Malcolm and Macduff plan on killing Macbeth. Macduff hears his wife and child are dead and vows vengeance.
• Act 5


  • Scene 1: Lady Macbeth is sleepwalking, feeling guilty about killing King Duncan.
  • Scene 2: An army is approaching Macbeth's castle.
  • Scene 3: A doctor tells Macbeth that Lady Macbeth is getting worse.
  • Scene 4: Macbeth's army have left him. Birnam wood is moving as soldiers have cut branches down to use as disguise.
  • Scene 5: Lady Macbeth kills herself. Macbeth finds out the wood is moving.
  • Scene 6: The soldiers have arrived at Macbeth's castle ready to fight.
  • Scene 7: Macduff and Macbeth fight. Macduff reveals he was not born of a woman but by caesarean birth. Macduff kills Macbeth. Malcolm is now king.
• Themes


  • Ambition
  • Loyalty and Betrayal
  • Kingship
  • Reality and Appearance
  • Fate and Free Will
  • Supernatural
• Macbeth


  • Ambitious soldier who becomes king after killing King Duncan. Easily persuaded and a tyrant.
  • Hero, covetous, devious, villainous, murderer
• Macbeth: '"For brave Macbeth--well he deserves that name--" Act 1:2 – Macbeth is being described as brave by King Duncan's Sergeant, as he has just fought off the Norwegian army for Scotland.'
• Macbeth: '"Stars, hide your fires; Let not light see my black and deep desires:" Act 1:4 - Macbeth has found out that he has been promoted and is now thinking to himself about what evil idea he can have to become king.'
• Supernatural


  Powers that cannot be explained normally with ideas of magic
• The Witches


  • An evil supernatural force
  • Bring chaos to the play, creating an unnatural order
• Macbeth


  • Ambitious soldier who becomes king after killing King Duncan
  • Easily persuaded and a tyrant
• Macbeth: '"For brave Macbeth--well he deserves that name--" Act 1:2<|>"Stars, hide your fires; Let not light see my black and deep desires:" Act 1:4<|>"Will all great Neptune's ocean wash this blood clean from my hand? " Act 2:2<|>"We have scotch'd the snake, not kill'd it" Act 3:2<|>"And all our yesterdays have lighted fools the way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle!" Act 5:5'