What’s in the exam paper?

Macbeth is part of the Paper One English Literature Exam.

How Paper One is assessed:

Section A: Shakespeare• write about a studied play.

Section B: C19th Novel• write about a studied novel.

The Paper One exam will last 1 hour and 45 minutes. It is worth 64 marks and makes up 40% of the English Literature GCSE.

What am I being assessed for?

• AO1: Read, understand and respond to texts. Maintain a critical style and develop an informed personal response. Use textual references, quotations, to support and illustrate interpretations. (12 marks)

• AO2: Analyse the language, form and structure use by the writer to create meanings and effects, using relevant subject terminology where appropriate. (12 marks)

• AO3: Show understanding of the relationships between the texts and the contexts in which they were written. (6 marks)

• AO4: Use a range of vocabulary and sentence structures for clarity, purpose and effect, with accurate spelling and punctuation.

Social and Historical Context.

William Shakespeare developed many stories into excellent dramatizations for the Elizabethan stage. Shakespeare knew how to entertain and involve an audience with fast-paced plots, creative imagery, and multi-faceted characters. Macbeth is an action-packed, psychological thriller that has not lost its impact in nearly four hundred years.

The politically ambitious character of Macbeth is as timely today as he was to Shakespeare's audience. Audiences today quickly become interested in

the plot of a blindly ambitious general with a strong-willed wife who must try to cope with the guilt engendered by their murder of an innocent king in order to further their power. The elements of superstition, ghosts, and witchcraft, though more readily a part of everyday life for the Jacobean audience, remain intriguing to a modern audience.

Origins of the playWilliam Shakespeare's talents were in the creative dramatisation of a story full of imagery and imagination rather than in the origination of the story itself.

The "real" Macbeth became King of Scotland in 1040 after having defeated a historical Duncan who was a weak, youthful ruler with little experience. Shakespeare presents an older King Duncan who is due the respect of his thanes; consequently, his murder is more heinous in the dramatic interpretation.

The historical Macbeth reigned for 17 years and survived the battles which returned Malcolm to the throne: whereas, Shakespeare presents a series of events which speed to the conclusion of a Macbeth defeated and beheaded.

King JamesShakespeare enjoyed much support from Queen Elizabeth who encouraged the artistic efforts of her subjects during the creative Renaissance years. After her death, James VI of Scotland became James I, King of England, in 1603.James produced the book, Daemonologie (1597), which provided ways to recognise witches as well as to defeat their spells. He was particularly concerned with the threat of witchcraft after several women were tried in connection with their self- acclaimed attempt to sink his ship during his wedding journey. These women claimed to have sailed "in a sieve" which Shakespeare uses in Act I, scene 3. (All three of the women concerned were burned-as were between 4,500 and 8,000 other supposed witches during that century.)

Political unrest during the Jacobean period

Shakespeare wrote Macbeth in 1606. It is important to understand the political context as it is the key to the main theme of the play, which is that excessive ambition will have terrible consequences.

Shakespeare wrote ‘Macbeth’ during the reign of King James, reflecting the insecurities of the Jacobean period. Macbeth was performed the year after the Gunpowder Plot of 1605.

Guy Fawkes and his men tried to blow up James and his parliament in 1605. The conspirators were betrayed, and horribly tortured on the rack until they confessed. They were then executed in the most brutal fashion as a warning to other would-be traitors.

Shakespeare's play Macbeth is to some extent a cautionary tale, warning any other potential regicides (king-killers) of the awful fate that will inevitably overtake them.

The importance of showing you understand the beliefs of a Jacobean audience.

Religious thinkers in the Middle Ages had upheld the idea of 'The Great Chain of Being'. This was the belief that God had designed an ordered system for both nature and humankind within which every creature and person had an allotted place.It was considered an offence against God for anyone to try to alter their station in life. Since royal rank was bestowed by God, it was a sin to aspire to it. This doctrine – a convenient one for King James – was still widely held in Shakespeare's time

The events of the play:

ACT IThree witches meet Macbeth and Banquo on the heath as the men return from battle. They predict that Macbeth will be named Thane of Cawdor and King of Scotland and that Banquo will be the father of kings. The witches vanish; Ross enters to greet Macbeth with the title of Cawdor, the traitor whom King Duncan has determined must be executed and whose title and lands will be given to Macbeth. This immediate "earnest of success commencing in a truth" causes Macbeth to consider the extent of his

ambition and Banquo to warn that predictions are often harmful as well as beneficial. (iii.)

Announcing that his eldest son, Malcolm, is to be his heir, Duncan states his intention to visit Macbeth's castle, Glamis. (iv.) When Lady Macbeth reads the letter Macbeth has sent ahead, she determines her husband must take advantage of the opportunity Duncan's forthcoming visit offers as a way of fulfilling the prophecy. However, she fears that though Macbeth is "not without ambition," he is "too full o' th' milk of human kindness to catch the nearest way." (v.)

Macbeth is not as determined as his lady about the need for murder. He considers reasons he should defend rather than threaten the life of his king. Lady Macbeth remains adamant and pressures him with attacks on his manhood as well as reminders of their feelings for each other. She convinces Macbeth to proceed by presenting her plan to drug Duncan's guards and leave evidence that will implicate them in the crime. (vii.)

ACT 2Macbeth sees a "dagger of the mind" leading him towards Duncan's chamber. (1.) Lady Macbeth has drugged the guards, noting that Duncan's resemblance to her father has stayed her from doing the deed herself. After the murder, Macbeth carries the bloody daggers from the chamber causing Lady Macbeth to reprimand him for his great show of emotion. After she returns the daggers and smears the guards with blood, she tells Macbeth, "a little water clears us of this deed." (ii.)

The porter attends the knocking at the gate, creating a comic relief scene of his imaginings. Macduff discovers the body, and Macbeth kills the guards, explaining the act as his overwrought response to their unjust offense. Duncan's sons realize their danger and decide that Malcolm will go to England and Donalbain will go to Ireland. (iii.) Their flight makes them suspect, and Macbeth is crowned King of Scotland. (iv.)

ACT 3Macbeth plans to overturn the witches' prophecy that Banquo's sons will become kings by sending two murders to kill both Banquo and his son,

Fleance. (i.) Macbeth no longer needs Lady Macbeth's involvement and bids her be "innocent of the knowledge" of his decisions. (ii.) A third murderer, obviously not known by the other two, joins them, and although Banquo is slain, Fleance escapes. (iii.)At the banquet, Macbeth is terrified by the bloody ghost of Banquo. Since no one else sees the apparition, Lady Macbeth attempts to excuse his behavior and eventually has to end the banquet. Macbeth determines to visit the witches again. (iv.)Suspicion of Macbeth is mounting, and Macduff joins Malcolm in England. (vi.)

ACT 4The witches show Macbeth three apparitions which warn him to beware Macduff, promise him that "none of woman born shall harm Macbeth," and assure him he will remain safe until Birnam Wood moves. He feels comforted by these prophecies without seeing their double meaning but is shaken by a vision of Banquo and his eight descendants. (I.)Malcolm tests Macduff's loyalty to Scotland, and they plan strategy with English forces to oust Macbeth. (iii.) Meanwhile, Macbeth has Lady Macduff and all her children slain. (ii.)

ACT 5Lady Macbeth, while sleepwalking, reveals her knowledge of the deaths of Duncan, Lady Macduff, and Banquo. Her continual washing of her hands cannot ease her dread or make her feel cleansed. The doctor and attendant realize they cannot help her. (i.)Macbeth is too involved with battle preparations against Malcolm and English and Scottish troops to spend much time considering his wife's dreams. (iii.) When he hears of Lady Macbeth's death, he contemplates that life is "full of sound and fury, signifying nothing." He reassures himself with the predictions only to see the woods advance when Malcolm's soldiers camouflage themselves with boughs from Birnam Wood. (v.)Macbeth sees the ambiguity of the predictions but goes bravely into battle. He kills young Siward who dies fearlessly (vii.) and then faces Macduff who tells him that he was not "of woman born" but was "untimely ripped" from his mother's womb. Finally realizing the true implications of the predictions, Macbeth refuses to yield to Macduff and face capture and

ridicule. He confronts Macduff and bravely fights to the death. Macduff displays the "usurper's cursed head" and acclaims Malcolm the new King of Scotland. (viii.)

Themes of the play

EquivocationBeing a Catholic was not a safe thing to admit. If Catholics admitted they were Catholics, they would be in serious trouble with the Protestants. On the other hand it was sin against God to lie under oath. The solution to this problem was equivocation. A Catholic equivocator could lie and tell the Protestants what they wanted to hear, but God (in the moral universe of the Catholic) would know that what the Catholic said would be the truth.

The theme of equivocation suits Shakespeare’s purpose well. It fits into the mood of insecurity that was such a feature of Jacobean society, especially at the time of the Gunpowder Plot. Also, James 1st would definitely have recognised the equivocating words of the witches. 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. There are many examples of equivocation. For example: just after he has been named Thane of Cawdor, Macbeth is wondering if he can believe the rest of the witches' prophecies, and Banquo remarks, "oftentimes, to win us to our harm, / The instruments of darkness tell us truths, / Win us with honest trifles, to betray's / In deepest consequence" (1.3.123-126). Here, Banquo is warning Macbeth that the witches could lure him to great evil by telling small truths. Even though Banquo doesn't use the word "equivocation," it's what he's talking about.

Later in the play, the Witches, serving the devil, equivocate with Macbeth. For example, they tell him that he has no need to fear until Birnam wood comes to his castle. It sounds like they mean that he will never have a reason to fear, because trees can't walk, but it turns out that men can carry branches they have cut, so that the "wood" comes to the castle in that sense.

Ambition

Perhaps the most obvious subject or theme in Macbeth is ambition and we see this with both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. They are tempted by the idea that Macbeth will become king - Macbeth is not sure what to do but his wife is ruthless in getting what she wants - she views her husband as a coward and appears ready to do anything. Ambition leads to evil - it makes Macbeth stronger and more determined, but then destroys his wife - she goes mad. And ambition eventually kills him as well, because he becomes a tyrant and so loses the support of his friends.

Appearance and Reality

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.

The contrast between what is real and the appearance of something is also used by Shakespeare. The classic dagger scene, when Macbeth is not sure if he can trust his eyes, is only one of many references to this theme. For instance, he sees Banquo's ghost at the banquet and Lady Macbeth imagines blood on her hands.

The contrast between reality and appearance is also shown with all the references to thoughts, dreams and actions. Banquo talks about the 'cursed thoughts' he has had and his dreams of the witches. Macbeth talks of the world of thought and dreams and sometimes is stuck there. For instance, Lady Macbeth is critical of Macbeth's 'foolish thoughts' and talks of him being 'lost' because of this.

LoyaltyLoyalty and guilt are also strong themes in Macbeth. Duncan clearly values loyalty - he has the first Thane of Cawdor executed and rewards Macbeth by making him the new Thane. Shakespeare cleverly uses loyalty as a dramatic device as well - Duncan is in the middle of talking about 'absolute trust' when Macbeth walks in - we know he's already thought about killing Duncan, but for the moment he talks about 'the loyalty I owe' and his 'duties' to Duncan.

Loyalty is also very important to Banquo - he will not desert Duncan. Macbeth, however, has an odd idea of loyalty - he knows he is doing the wrong thing, but he still goes ahead. Early on in the play perhaps it is his wife who is manipulating him, but later on it is Macbeth who makes the decisions. And later on he also starts to show he hates disloyalty, threatening his messengers and servants

Guilt

Macbeth also shows his guilt - he is unsure before the murder and regrets it immediately after. Lady Macbeth is the opposite - she seems to show no guilt at the time and even talks about how 'a little water' cleans away the blood. Her increasing madness later on is a sign of her guilt and she imagines her hands to be stained with blood

Sleep

Sleep is another theme associated with reality, because characters view it as vital to life, but like death or being in another world. Macbeth tells himself after murdering Duncan that he has murdered sleep and will 'sleep no more' whilst Lady Macbeth thinks of sleep as death, calling it the sternest 'goodnight'.

Nature and the UnnaturalIn 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.

The SupernaturalAnother major theme is the supernatural - the idea that there are mysterious forces controlling what is happening in our lives. The very first characters we meet are the three witches, and their prophecies are what drives the story forward.

In Shakespeare's time belief in witchcraft was very strong and many so-called witches were burnt at the stake. It is not surprising that his audience would have taken these ideas seriously and felt that Macbeth was somehow possessed. There are lots of references to this - he is unable to say 'Amen', he has visions, he is disturbed and even thinks no-one can kill him

The final battle scene also contains many elements of the supernatural. Macbeth believes he is invincible because many of the witches' prophecies appear impossible to fulfil - and yet just as the witches predicted Birnam Wood does indeed move to Dunsinane, and Macbeth is killed by Macduff because he is not 'of woman born'

KingshipIn his first appearance, King Duncan performs two of the basic duties of a king: punishing the bad and rewarding the good. Upon learning of the treachery of Cawdor and the heroism of Macbeth, he says, "No more that thane of Cawdor shall deceive / Our bosom interest: go pronounce his present [immediate] death, / And with his former title greet Macbeth" (1.2.63-65). The phrase "bosom interest" means "vital interests," but "bosom" suggests that a relationship of love should exist between a king and his subject.

Literary DevicesShakespeare used literary devices he knew his Renaissance audience would appreciate. To help modern students do the same, locate and discuss the following:

Allusions —Shakespeare used both mythological and Biblical allusions. For example, the sergeant compares a bloody scene of death on the battlefield to Golgotha which is the place of Christ's death in the New Testament (I,ii.). One of the mythological allusions is Macduff's comparing the dead Duncan to a Gorgon of Greek mythology which could turn a person to stone because of the terror evoked (II,iii).

Figurative Language —Shakespeare's mastery of language is exemplified through his use of imagery such as similes, metaphors, personification, alliteration, and symbols. To help students understand these, discuss the word pictures Shakespeare paints. Because Shakespeare's pictures are so vivid, students might be able to illustrate them with drawings or collages.

Similes - (Flower imagery) Look like the innocent flower, But be the serpent under it. (I,v)(Disguise) Your face, my Thane, is as a book where men May read strange matters. (I,v)

Metaphors - (Planting imagery) I have begun to plant thee, and will labor To make thee full of growing. (I,iv)(Clothing imagery) Why do you dress me In borrowed robes? (I,iii)

Personification:If chance will have me King, why, chance may crown me, Without my stir (I,iii)Was the hope drunk Wherein you dressed yourself? Hath it slept since? (I,vii)

Alliteration:But now I am cabined, cribbed, confined, bound in To saucy doubts and fears. (III, iv)

Symbol:Before reading the play, related symbols to the plot, characters, and themes of Macbeth. For example, the presence of birds is one aspect of nature which symbolizes the theme of superstitions/omens. When Duncan and Banquo note that Macbeth's castle enjoys the good omen of nesting martlets, the audience already realizes the danger Duncan will be facing if he spends the night at Inverness (I,v). Therefore, the "fair" omen is to become "foul." Discuss how this symbol is employed by Shakespeare to advance the theme and plot of Macbeth.Others you might choose to locate and discuss are: water/washing ("A little water clears us of this deed," II,ii), blood ("Will all great Neptune's ocean

wash this blood clean from my hand? II,ii), weather ("Hover through the fog and filthy air," I,i) clothing ("borrowed robes" worn by the Thane of Cawdor, (I,iii), sleep ("Not so sick, my lord, as she is troubled with thick-coming fancies that keep her from her rest," V,iii).

Foreshadowing: Macbeth provides an excellent opportunity for teaching or reinforcing the literary device of foreshadowing. The witches set the tone in Act I, scene 1 with a storm and predictions that Macbeth's life will become so confused he will find it difficult to differentiate between right and wrong (fair and foul), and their later predictions foreshadow a downfall the audience is aware of long before Macbeth is willing to accept their implications. Students can learn how foreshadowing is used through probing questions. For example: (a) The play opens with thunder and lightning as three witches enter. What does this tell about the mood of the play? Is this play going to be a tragedy or a comedy? (b) What do the witches mean when they say, "Fair is foul, and foul is fair" (I,i)? What does this tell you about what is likely to go on during the play? (c) If you were going to stage this scene, what would your set look like?

Dramatic Irony:Shakespeare's audience enjoyed being informed of events before the characters were aware of the implications. The example given above of Macbeth's lack of awareness of his new title, Thane of Cawdor, is a good illustration. Another is Duncan commenting on the pleasantness of Macbeth's castle while the audience knows the Macbeths have just planned his murder to take place there that very night (I,vi.).The most powerful examples of dramatic irony include Macbeth's acceptance of the apparitions' seeming assurances that no man "of woman born shall harm Macbeth" and that he is safe until Birnam Woods move. Macbeth continues to feel confident of his safety even though the audience, through dramatic irony, has seen the equivocations of the witches long before Macbeth realizes them.

Language

Blank Verse:Except for a few scenes, Macbeth is written in blank verse, which resembles more than any other verse form the natural rhythm of spoken English. Read parts of the play aloud to illustrate how the language flows, how punctuation is used, and how rhythm is employed. Choose a line from iambic pentameter and read it with the flow of the rhythm, the accents of the stressed syllables, and the lack of end rhyme.

I am afraid to think what I have done (II,ii)

Varying the VerseYou may understand the play better when you recognize how Shakespeare varies the verse to express meaning. For example, the language of the witches is in a choppier form of verse (IV,i), and the tension of the language used by Lady Macbeth during her famous sleepwalking scene (V,i) provides an interesting contrast to the more natural flow of rhythm in blank verse used in the greater part of the play.

Out, damned spot! Out, I say! One: two: why, then 'tis time to do't. Hell is murky. Fie, my lord, fie! A soldier, and afeared? What need we fear who knows it, when none can call our pow'r to accompt?

Rhymed Couplet The end rhyme of the rhymed couplet was used to indicate the end of a scene to an audience in a theater without curtains. For example:Away, and mock the time with fairest show: False face must hide what the false heart doth know. (I,vii)Look through the play to find other examples.

Quotes from MacbethYou don’t need to know quotations off by heart but you can learn and memorise key words and phrases from the most important words that are said in the play. Work your way through these quotes: choose the most important quotes, practice analysing them (PETERS, or your preferred method), then reduce the quotes to the most important phrase or word. The advice is to have 10 key quotes in your mind when you enter the exam.

Fair is foul, and foul is fair—The witches' philosophy of life.

he unseam'd him from the nave to the chops—The bloody Sergeant's description of Macbeth's killing of the rebel Macdonwald.

What, can the devil speak true?—Banquo's reaction when it turns out that Macbeth has been named Thane of Cawdor, as the witches predicted.

"oftentimes, to win us to our harm, / The instruments of darkness tell us truths, / Win us with honest trifles, to betray's / In deepest consequence" Here, Banquo is warning Macbeth that the witches could lure him to great evil by telling small truths. Even though Banquo doesn't use the word "equivocation," it's what he's talking about.

Nothing in his lifeBecame him like the leaving it

—Malcolm's comment on the execution of the Thane of Cawdor, whose title was then given to Macbeth.

There’s no art to find the mind’s construction- King Duncan’s words speak of the traitorous Thane of Cawdor,

just as the new Thane of Cawdor, Macbeth, walks on stage to greet him. This is ironic because Macbeth will become Duncan’s ultimate betrayer.

Let not light see my black and deep desires—After being honored by King Duncan, Macbeth wrestles with his desire to murder him.

Yet do I fear thy nature;It is too full o' the milk of human kindnessTo catch the nearest way.

—Lady Macbeth, after receiving her husband's letter about the witches' prophecy, expresses her fear that he isn't bad enough.

Come, you spiritsThat tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here,And fill me from the crown to the toe top-fullOf direst cruelty!

—Lady Macbeth, upon hearing that King Duncan is to stay the night in her castle, pumps herself up to kill him.

Look like the innocent flower, but be the serpent under’t- Lady Macbeth’s classic quote implying the need to deceive

through appearances.

that but this blowMight be the be-all and the end-all—here,But here, upon this bank and shoal of time,We'ld jump the life to come

—Macbeth, thinking about murdering Duncan, tries to think if there is a way to evade the consequences.

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 pluck'd my nipple from his boneless gums,And dash'd the brains out, had I so sworn as youHave done to this.

—Lady Macbeth heaps scorn on Macbeth's declaration that they will "proceed no further" with the plan to murder King Duncan.

But screw your courage to the sticking-place,And we'll not fail.

—Lady Macbeth challenges Macbeth to commit to the plan to murder King Duncan.

Bring forth men-children only;For thy undaunted mettle should composeNothing but males.

—After Lady Macbeth has talked her husband into committing to the plan to murder King Duncan, Macbeth praises her manly spirit.

Is this a dagger which I see before me,The handle toward my hand?

—On his way to murder King Duncan, Macbeth sees the vision of the bloody dagger leading the way.

Had he not resembledMy father as he slept, I had done't.

—Lady Macbeth, worried that Macbeth will fail to murder King Duncan, reveals a weakness while boasting of her strength.

Methought I heard a voice cry "Sleep no more!Macbeth does murder sleep," the innocent sleep,Sleep that knits up the ravell'd sleave of care,The death of each day's life, sore labour's bath,Balm of hurt minds, great nature's second course,Chief nourisher in life's feast—

—After murdering King Duncan, Macbeth fears that he will never sleep again.

Will all great Neptune's ocean wash this bloodClean from my hand? No, this my hand will ratherThe multitudinous seas incarnadine,Making the green one red

—Hearing a knocking at his palace gate, Macbeth fears that he can never wash away the evidence of his guilt.

Here lay Duncan,His silver skin laced with his golden blood;And his gash'd stabs look'd like a breach in natureFor ruin's wasteful entrance: there, the murderers,Steep'd in the colours of their trade, their daggersUnmannerly breech'd with gore. Who could refrain,That had a heart to love, and in that heartCourage to make's love known?

—In a moment of political deceit and emotional truth, Macbeth says that the sight of the dead king's body impelled him to kill the grooms.

Thou hast it now: King, Cawdor, Glamis, all,As the weird women promised, and I fearThou play'dst most foully for't

—Alone, Banquo reflects on Macbeth's rise to the throne.

Nought's had, all's spent,Where our desire is got without content;

'Tis safer to be that which we destroyThan by destruction dwell in doubtful joy.

—Lady Macbeth finds that getting what you want doesn't bring peace.

Come, seeling night,Scarf up the tender eye of pitiful day;And with thy bloody and invisible handCancel and tear to pieces that great bondWhich keeps me pale! Light thickens; and the crowMakes wing to the rooky wood:Good things of day begin to droop and drowse;While night's black agents to their preys do rouse

—Macbeth wishes for the coming of night and Banquo's death.

the times have been,That, when the brains were out, the man would die,And there an end, but now they rise again,With twenty mortal murders on their crowns,And push us from our stools: this is more strangeThan such a murder is.

—Macbeth defends his fearful reaction to the appearance of Banquo's ghost.

It will have blood; they say, blood will have blood—After Banquo's ghost has gone, Macbeth feels that his crime is pursuing him.

I am in bloodStepp'd in so far that, should I wade no more,Returning were as tedious as go o'er

—After telling his wife that he will visit the witches again, Macbeth reflects that there is no turning back from his evil course.

Double, double toil and trouble;Fire burn, and cauldron bubble.

—The refrain of the witches' chant as they await the arrival of Macbeth.

Something wicked this way comes—Just before Macbeth appears to the witches, they predict his coming.

none of woman bornShall harm Macbeth.

—The second apparition, a "bloody Child," delivers to Macbeth a deceptive prophecy.

Macbeth shall never vanquish'd be untilGreat Birnam wood to high Dunsinane hillShall come against him.

—The third apparition, "a Child crowned, with a tree in his hand," makes Macbeth believe he can never be defeated.

from this momentThe very firstlings of my heart shall beThe firstlings of my hand

—Macbeth, upon hearing that Macduff has fled to England, determines to kill Macduff's family. He justifies himself by saying that from now on he will follow his first impulse, because if he had followed his first impulse, Macduff would already be dead.

All my pretty ones?Did you say all? O hell-kite! All?What, all my pretty chickens and their damAt one fell swoop?

—Macduff's astonished grief at the news that Macbeth has slaughtered his family.

But I must also feel it as a man—Macduff's response to Malcolm's advice to handle the news of his family's slaughter "like a man."

Out, damned spot! out, I say!—One: two: why,then, 'tis time to do't.—Hell is murky!—Fie, mylord, fie! a soldier, and afeard? What need wefear who knows it, when none can call our powerto account?—Yet who would have thought the oldman to have had so much blood in him?

—In the first speech of Lady Macbeth's sleepwalking scene, memories of the night of the murder tumble out.

I have liv'd long enough: my way of lifeIs fall'n into the sear, the yellow leaf;And that which should accompany old age,As honour, love, obedience, troops of friends,I must not look to have; but, in their stead,Curses, not loud but deep, mouth-honour, breath,Which the poor heart would fain deny, and dare not.

—Upon hearing of the approach of ten thousand troops to besiege his castle, Macbeth voices a mixture of despair and stoicism.

Canst thou not minister to a mind diseased,Pluck from the memory a rooted sorrow,Raze out the written troubles of the brainAnd with some sweet oblivious antidoteCleanse the stuff'd bosom of that perilous stuffWhich weighs upon the heart?

—When the doctor delivers the news of Lady Macbeth's condition, Macbeth asks a question which applies as much to himself as to her.

She should have died hereafter;There would have been a time for such a word.Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow,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.

—Responding to the news of his wife's death, Macbeth voices a defiant despair.

Macduff was from his mother's wombUntimely ripp'd

—Macduff tells Macbeth that he is the man not "of woman born."

Yet I will try the last. Before my bodyI throw my warlike shield. Lay on, Macduff,And damn'd be him that first cries, "Hold, enough!"

—Macbeth's final words.

Over to you:

Practice these exam questions.

Read the following extract from Act 5, Scene 5 of Macbeth and then answer the question that follows. Here, Macbeth is preparing to meet the invading armies of Malcolm and MacDuff.

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 SEYTONWherefore 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. Starting with this extract, explore how Shakespeare presents Macbeth’s changing character.Write about:How Shakespeare presents Macbeth in this speechHow Shakespeare presents Macbeth in the play as a whole

Your answers could include some of the following points:

• Macbeth is seen here preparing for battle; he is a soldier again.• Speaking in a soliloquy, he says he has no fear.• He is aware of what he has done.• Ruthlessness in ‘she should have died hereafter’• Repetition of ‘tomorrow’ and imagery used to describe time.• Imagery conveys one man’s insignificance and the pointlessness of

life.• Macbeth is a brave commander at the start of the play.• Influence of the witches and Lady Macbeth• His conscience and feelings of guilt.

Now try these questions: