gcse essay questions on macbeth

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GCSE ENGLISH LITERATURE: Macbeth- the witches, Macbeth and Banquo

Subject: English

Age range: 14-16

Resource type: Assessment and revision

Last updated

31 August 2024

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GCSE ENGLISH LITERATURE

Macbeth: the witches, Macbeth and Banquo

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73 pages • 2 hours read

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.

Introduction

Before Reading

Reading Context

During Reading

Reading Questions & Paired Texts

After Reading

Discussion/Analysis Prompt

Essay Questions

Exam Questions

Exam Answer Key

Use these essay questions as writing and critical thinking exercises for all levels of writers, and to build their literary analysis skills by requiring textual references throughout the essay.

Differentiation Suggestion: For English learners or struggling writers, strategies that work well include graphic organizers, sentence frames or starters, group work, or oral responses.

Scaffolded Essay Questions

Student Prompt: Write a short (1-3 paragraph) response using one of the bulleted outlines below. Cite details from the text over the course of your response that serve as examples and support.

1. Dynamic characters change over the course of a story.

• How does Lady Macbeth change over the course of the play? ( topic sentence )
• Discuss 3 scenes that show Lady Macbeth changing from the beginning of the play to the end. Include details and quotes to document the changes, and explain how they reveal her shifts.
• In your conclusion, explain why the changes in Lady Macbeth are significant to the story as a whole.

2. Though sometimes people think violence is the answer to a problem, it almost always leads to more violence.

• How does violence cause more violence in Macbeth ? ( topic sentence )
• Explain 3 scenes that illustrate violence causing violence. Use evidence and reasoning to support your analysis.

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Macbeth Essays

There are loads of ways you can approach writing an essay, but the two i favour are detailed below., the key thing to remember is that an essay should focus on the three aos:, ao1: plot and character development; ao2: language and technique; ao3: context, strategy 1 : extract / rest of play, the first strategy basically splits the essay into 3 paragraphs., the first paragraph focuses on the extract, the second focuses on the rest of the play, the third focuses on context. essentially, it's one ao per paragraph, for a really neatly organised essay., strategy 2 : a structured essay with an argument, this strategy allows you to get a much higher marks as it's structured to form an argument about the whole text. although you might think that's harder - and it's probably going to score more highly - i'd argue that it's actually easier to master. mainly because you do most of the work before the day of the exam., to see some examples of these, click on the links below:, lady macbeth as a powerful woman, macbeth as a heroic character, the key to this style is remembering this: you're going to get a question about a theme, and the extract will definitely relate to the theme., the strategy here is planning out your essays before the exam, knowing that the extract will fit into them somehow., below are some structured essays i've put together., macbeth and gender.

Shakespeare: Model Answers ( AQA GCSE English Literature )

Revision note.

English Senior Content Creator

• Model Answers

Below, you will find a full-mark, Level 6 model answer for a Shakespeare essay. The commentary below each section of the essay illustrates how and why it would be awarded Level 6. Despite the fact it is an answer to a Macbeth question, the commentary below is relevant to any Shakespeare question.

As the commentary is arranged by assessment objective, a student-friendly mark scheme has been included here:

Model Answer Breakdown

The commentary for the below model answer as arranged by assessment objective: each paragraph has a commentary for a different assessment objective, as follows:

The introduction includes commentary on all the AOs

Paragraph 1 includes commentary on AO1 (answering the question and selecting references)

Paragraph 2 includes commentary on AO2 (analysing the writer’s methods)

Paragraph 3 includes commentary on AO3 (exploring context)

The conclusion includes commentary on all the AOs

The model answer answers the following question:

Level 6, Full-Mark Answer

Shakespeare presents Lady Macbeth as a female character who changes dramatically over the course of the play: she changes from a ruthless, remorseless woman who is able to manipulate her husband, to one that is sidelined by Macbeth and, ultimately, totally consumed by guilt. Shakespeare is perhaps suggesting that unchecked ambition and hubris, particularly for women, have fatal consequences.

Commentary:

The introduction is in the form of a thesis statement

It includes a central argument based on my own opinions

It includes keywords from the question:

"Shakespeare presents Lady Macbeth as a female character who changes dramatically over the course of the play"

It takes a whole-text approach, referencing changes across the whole play:

"she changes from a ruthless, remorseless woman who is able to manipulate her husband, to one that is sidelined by Macbeth and, ultimately, totally consumed by guilt."

It acknowledges Shakespeare as an author making deliberate choices and conveying a message:

  "Shakespeare is perhaps suggesting that ..."

It includes modal language to show a conceptualised approach

Lady Macbeth’s strength – and ability to command and manipulate those around her – dramatically diminishes from the first time the audience sees her, in Act I, Scene V, to the last time, here in Act V, Scene I. The first time she is presented to the audience, Lady Macbeth is presented as a very untypical woman: far from being a dutiful and subservient wife, she is shown to be plotting on Macbeth’s behalf, speaks of him disparagingly (she worries he is too kind to carry out her plan), and is presented as having power over both Macbeth and her surroundings. This dominance can be seen in her use of imperatives, both when she is directing Macbeth to disguise his true intentions to Duncan (and be a “serpent underneath”), and later, more forcefully, when she orders Macbeth to “give” her the daggers. This shows that Lady Macbeth has almost assumed the dominant position in their relationship, and taken on the typically ‘male’ characteristics of authority and strength (whereas Macbeth’s “kindness” can here be seen as a sign of weakness). However, there is an irony in Shakespeare’s use of imperatives later in the play: in Act V, Scene I, Lady Macbeth is shown to have lost her power to command those things around her and her use of imperatives (“Out, damned spot! Out, I say”) speaks more of abject desperation than her authority. She has lost the power to command her husband, her surroundings and even her own mind. Shakespeare could be suggesting that the unusual power dynamic presented at the beginning of the play is unnatural, and that, as a woman, Lady Macbeth would never be able to maintain this type of authority without succumbing to madness.

The paragraph begins with a topic sentence

Topic sentence directly addresses the question (the “change” the character undergoes)

Topic sentence has a narrower focus than the thesis statement

The whole paragraph is related to the topic sentence

The paragraph includes at least one reference to the extract

The paragraph includes multiple references to the rest of the play

All references are linked to the question and support the argument of my topic sentence

Shakespeare presents Lady Macbeth as a character whose self-control and authority over her own mind evaporates by Act V. We see this in the repetitious and fragmented language Shakespeare has her use in this scene. The repetition of several words and phrases (“to bed”; “come”; “O”) shows a character who is not in control of her own thought processes and has lost agency over her own mind. Shakespeare emphasises this by using contrasting verse forms for Lady Macbeth as the play progresses. Initially, she uses the order and authority of blank verse, which reflects her own power and control. However, in this scene, Lady Macbeth does not use the regular or ordered language of blank verse, but rather the disordered form of prose. This reflects both her loss of status and power (prose is often used by commoners in Shakespeare’s plays), but also her own mental illness. Indeed, the description of her having a “disease” in this scene is ironic, since earlier in the play she describes Macbeth as “brainsickly” and “infirm”: it is now she who is the weaker of the two. Perhaps Shakespeare uses this role reversal once again to suggest that women assuming positions of dominance is unnatural and may lead to mental decline.

The analysis provides evidence for the points in the topic sentence (all evidence relates to Lady Macbeth’s mental state)

Whole-text analysis of Shakespeare’s methods, not just focused on the extract

Not just analysis of Shakespeare’s language, but also of form

The analysis includes other wider choices made by Shakespeare: 

Characterisation

All analysis is explained fully in terms of the question and my own argument

The analysis explained in terms of Shakespeare’s overall message

Shakespeare presents Lady Macbeth as a character who loses her resolve over the mortal sin of regicide as the play progresses. Initially, Lady Macbeth is presented as a character who believes that both she and her husband will be able to evade the typical consequences of committing a crime – the murder of a king – that would have been seen as truly heinous. Not only is it a crime punishable by death, but the religious consequences would be dire: eternal punishment in Hell. Shakespeare presents her as acknowledging the seriousness of the crime in Act I, Scene V where she references Heaven and Hell prior to the murder of Duncan, but she believes, arrogantly, that she is strong enough to evade capture, as well as cloak herself from feelings of guilt and remorse. Her hubris is also shown later in the play, after the regicide has been committed, when she tells Macbeth that “a little water clears us of this deed”, implying that it will be straightforward to escape the psychological impact of committing a mortal sin. However, by Act V, Scene I Lady Macbeth is shown to have completely lost her resolve, and is haunted by those psychological impacts: she sees blood, which symbolically represents guilt, on her hands, which she cannot wash off. Indeed, later she states that Duncan had “so much blood in him”, an admission that a little water could never have cleansed the guilt from her conscience (“what’s done cannot be undone”). This irony is highlighted again by Shakespeare when Lady Macbeth states that “all the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand”, the hyperbole emphasising the enormity of her crime. Shakespeare could be suggesting that no one can escape the psychological and theological consequences of regicide. Indeed, the Doctor states that he has never seen anyone in Lady Macbeth’s state die “holily”, echoing Lady Macbeth’s own earlier reference to Hell.

Does not include any irrelevant historical or biographical facts

All context is linked to the topic sentence (“loses resolve over the mortal sin of regicide”) and the argument as a whole

All context is integrated into analysis of Shakespeare’s methods

Understanding contextual ideas and perspectives provides additional insight into my main argument

Context is sometimes implied, rather than explicit. This still shows sophisticated awareness of ideas (here about religion and Hell)

In conclusion, Shakespeare presents Lady Macbeth as a female character who changes from a character who assumes dominance over her husband and her surroundings, to a woman who loses all agency. Moreover, initially, Shakespeare presents her as a character who seemingly has the mental fortitude to deal with the mortal sin of regicide with a clear conscience, but this mental strength also evaporates. Shakespeare could be issuing a warning to those people who believe they can escape the psychological and theological consequences of sin, especially if they are women who assume an atypical and unnatural position of power.

The conclusion uses keywords from the question

The conclusion links to the thesis

The conclusion sums up more detailed arguments outlined in the topic sentences of all paragraphs

It also gives a fuller understanding of Shakespeare’s intentions, based on ideas explored in the essay

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Author: Nick Redgrove

Nick is a graduate of the University of Cambridge and King’s College London. He started his career in journalism and publishing, working as an editor on a political magazine and a number of books, before training as an English teacher. After nearly 10 years working in London schools, where he held leadership positions in English departments and within a Sixth Form, he moved on to become an examiner and education consultant. With more than a decade of experience as a tutor, Nick specialises in English, but has also taught Politics, Classical Civilisation and Religious Studies.

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GCSE English Literature

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Assessment resources

• Answers and commentaries (1)
• Examiner reports (6)
• Mark schemes (5)
• Question papers (13)
• Paper 1 (13)
• Paper 2 (11)
• June 2018 (1)
• June 2019 (1)
• June 2022 (5)
• June 2023 (5)
• November 2020 (5)
• November 2021 (5)
• Sample set 1 (3)

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Examiner report: Shakespeare and the 19th-century novel - June 2023 New

Published 12 Jul 2024 | PDF | 180 KB

Mark scheme: Paper 1 Shakespeare and the 19th-century novel - June 2023 New

Published 12 Jul 2024 | PDF | 303 KB

Question paper: Paper 1 Shakespeare and the 19th-century novel - June 2023 New

Published 12 Jul 2024 | PDF | 379 KB

Question paper (Modified A4 18pt): Paper 1 Shakespeare and the 19th-century novel - June 2023 New

Published 12 Jul 2024 | PDF | 282 KB

Question paper (Modified A3 36pt): Paper 1 Shakespeare and the 19th-century novel - June 2023 New

Published 12 Jul 2024 | PDF | 305 KB

Question paper: Paper 2 Shakespeare and unseen poetry - June 2022

Published 14 Jul 2023 | PDF | 339 KB

Examiner report: Paper 2 Shakespeare and unseen poetry - June 2022

Published 14 Jul 2023 | PDF | 184 KB

Mark scheme: Paper 2 Shakespeare and unseen poetry - June 2022

Published 14 Jul 2023 | PDF | 319 KB

Question paper (Modified A3 36pt): Paper 2 Shakespeare and unseen poetry - June 2022

Published 14 Jul 2023 | PDF | 222 KB

Question paper (Modified A4 18pt): Paper 2 Shakespeare and unseen poetry - June 2022

Published 14 Jul 2023 | PDF | 204 KB