words to use in a macbeth essay

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.

'Macbeth' Vocabulary

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• M.A., Classics, Catholic University of Milan
• M.A., Journalism, New York University.
• B.A., Classics, Catholic University of Milan

Understanding the vocabulary of  Shakespeare's Macbeth  is essential to understanding the play as a whole. This Macbeth vocabulary guide includes a diverse array of words that connect to the play's narrative , with definitions and examples from the text provided.

Definition : an old woman, a hag

Example : "Have I not reason, beldams as you are?"

Compunctious

Definition : showing remorse

Example : " Make thick my blood, / Stop up th’access and passage to remorse, / That no compunctious visitings of nature / Shake my fell purpose, nor keep peace between / Th’ effect and it."

Definition : sorrow, sadness

Example : "Each new morn / New widows howl, new orphans cry, new sorrows / Strike heaven on the face, that it resounds / As if it felt with Scotland and yelled out / Like syllable of dolor ."

Equivocator

Definition : someone who speaks ambiguously and without answering one way or another, often in order to avoid commitment

Example : "Faith, here’s an equivocator / that could swear in both the scales against either / scale, who committed treason enough for God’s / sake yet could not equivocate to heaven."

Definition: a frenzy, an out-of-control state; or an overwhelming sense of happiness

Example: " 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 ."

Definition : someone who announces or precedes something else

Example: " I'll be myself the harbinger and make joyful / The hearing of my wife with your approach. / So humbly take my leave."

Hurly-Burly

Definition : an active, busy, noisy activity

Example : "When the hurly-burly's done, / When the battle's lost and won."

Incarnadine

Definition: crimson-colored; or, to make something crimson-colored

Example: "Will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood / Clean from my hand? No, this my hand will rather / The multitudinous seas incarnadine , / Making the green one red."

Definition : the time between one event and another

Example : "Think upon what hath chanced, / and at more time, / The interim having weighed it, let us speak / Our free hearts each to other."

Definition : unmatched, without equal

Example : "Thou art the best o’ th’ cutthroats, / Yet he’s good that did the like for Fleance. / If thou didst it, thou art the nonpareil ."

Definition : the sound of a bell, typically solemn and marking a death

Example : "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."

Definition: a guard

Example : " ... his two chamberlains / Will I with wine and wassail so convince / That memory, the warder of the brain, / Shall be a fume, and the receipt of reason / A limbeck only."

Definition : to awaken, to stir (as in becoming conscious after sleep)

Example : "The time has been my senses would have cooled / To hear a night-shriek, and my fell of hair / Would at a dismal treatise rouse and stir / As life were in ’t."

Definition : doomed, under a curse

Example : "Some holy angel / Fly to the court of England and unfold / His message ere he come, that a swift blessing / May soon return to this our suffering country / Under a hand accursed ."

Definition : causing harm in a gradual, slow-building way

Example : "This avarice / Sticks deeper, grows with more pernicious root / Than summer-seeming lust..."

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The Evolve Education

GCSE Macbeth Vocabulary

I’ve created a list of advanced GCSE Macbeth vocabulary, that will help you with your GCSE Macbeth essays. If used correctly, your writing will be more sophisticated and surely would impress the examiners. Along with the definitions, I’ve also provided you with examples of how to include the words into your writing.

Macbeth Vocabulary List

Machiavellian.

using clever but often dishonest methods that deceive people, so that you can win power or control

M acbeth showed machiavellian traits quite earlier on in the play. When Ross announces, “call thee Thane of Cawdor”, giving Macbeth the title. Macbeth immediately has transgressive thoughts, as he thinks, if two of the Witches’ Prophesies are correct, then why Shouldn’t the final one come true? He mentions in an aside, “whose murder yet is fantastical”, although the thoughts are yet “fantastical” meaning a fantasy, he still has the idea of murder. This is a Machiavellian thought, as he cleverly has kept this thought to himself and has not shared it with Banquo. However, his cunning thoughts are covered by his words, “Our duties are to your throne”. 

a person who takes a position of power or importance illegally or by force.

Shockingly , Macbeth becomes a murderous tyrant as he kills king Duncan to usurp his throne. 

take violent action against an established government or ruler; rebel.

From the beginning, The play includes a revolt, as it starts with the Thane of Cawdor, a Scottish nobleman, becoming treacherous and raising a rebellion against King Duncan. This shows the unstable state of the country and foreshadows that King Duncan is not safe. 

a fatal flaw leading to the downfall of a tragic hero or heroine.

Due to his, “vaulting ambition”, Macbeth led himself to his hamartia, as he became too ambitious and did not think of the consequences of usurping King Duncan. 

deprive (a man) of his male role or identity.

Lady Macbeth emasculates Macbeth and belittles his manhood as she questions, “are you a man?”, mocking Macbeth for becoming cold feet. 

lacking a moral sense; unconcerned with the rightness or wrongness of something.

Heavily influenced by the evil forces (the witches), Lady Macbeth becomes extremely amoral. As a woman of the Jacobean times, it is extremely shocking when she questions Macbeth’s manhood, “when you durst do it, then you are a man.” She becomes so amoral that she equates manhood to committing heinous acts of regicide. 

a state of great disturbance, confusion, or uncertainty.

Through usurping King Duncan, Macbeth disturbs the social, political and religious order. The morning of King Duncan’s murder, Lennox describes the night before as, “ unruly. Where we lay, our chimneys have been blown down.” The turmoil in the natural world is symbolic of how the death of the king will disrupt the human order. 

principles concerning the distinction between right and wrong or good and bad behaviour.

The witches manipulate Macbeth by mixing some truths with a lie. The prophecies they share lead Macbeth to follow his “vaulting ambition” rather than his morality.

intended to teach, particularly in having moral instruction as an ulterior motive.

In this didactic play, Shakespeare is teaching the Jacobean audience that if one goes Against The Great Chain of Being then one will only lead himself to his downfall.

a quality that evokes pity or sadness.

questioning Macbeth’s masculinity is an example of Lady Macbeth using pathos to persuade him to kill King Duncan.

excessive pride or self-confidence.

Hubris is one of Macbeth’s huge character flaws. This trait can be seen soon after the witches meet him with the prophecies. hubris traits are seen in him, as he begins to have murderous thoughts, although yet “fantastical”, however, his pride allows him to feel confident in thinking that he can gain the throne.

the medieval knightly system with its religious, moral, and social code.

Macbeth is portrayed as chivalrous  at the start of the play when the Captain, in his speech to Duncan, describes Macbeth as “brave Macbeth”, as he Fought with valour for his country.

Duplicitous

Lady Macbeth informs Macbeth to “look like the innocent flower, but be Serpent under”, she shows her Duplicitous intentions when she asks her husband to hide his real intentions and look as loving and welcoming as a flower. The noun “serpent” has connotations of evil and slyness. She wants Macbeth to adopt that level of evilness but Completely mask it by looking like a peaceful and innocent flower.

use  ambiguous  language so as to conceal  the truth.

before killing King Duncan , Macbeth uses equivocation , as He says, “ If it were done when ’tis done, then t’were well It were done quickly,” Macbeth could not get himself to say murder, showing that it is so difficult for him, due to feelings of guilt, hence, he thinks getting “it done quickly” could make it easier. The pronoun “it” refers to murder. 

to use someone or something unfairly for one’s own advantage. 

Indeed , Macbeth exploited his power, once he became the King. He became power-hungry to the point that he planned to kill Banquo and McDuff’s innocent family. 

having or showing a wish to do evil to others.

As can be seen , in the soliloquy, Lady Macbeth is depicted as malevolent , after receiving the letter from Macbeth. She instantly has transgressive thoughts on attaining the crown and calls upon the “spirits” for assistance. She commands dark agents to “come” and “unsex” her, making her more masculine so she can commit malevolent actions. 

the action of killing a king.

Certainly , Mabeth committing regicide would have shocked the Jacobean audience, as it was seen as one of the worst crimes to commit. It was also seen as a major sin as according to the Great Chain of Being, Kings/Queens were appointed by God. 

subject to sudden or unpredictable changes of mood or mind.

Indeed, it can be seen that Macbeth becomes increasingly mercurial as his guilt begins to overwhelm him. An example of this is when he sees Banquo’s ghost at the banquet.

betrayal of trust.

Macbeth commits more treachery even after gaining the crown. He becomes increasingly paranoid that his crown will not be safe, as he recalls that the witches also shared prophecies with Banquo “Though shall get kings, though thou be non”, meaning that Banquo’s descendants will take the crown in the future. Macbeth then sees his friend as a threat and orders Banquo and his sons to be murdered. 

I’ve included the downloadable list below. Accompanied with the list is an incomplete table. This is great for educators to use along with the website. You can encourage your students to think of their own sentences using the key vocabulary.

Make sure to go through this extensive GCSE Macbeth vocabulary list consistently. Read, write and repeat to ensure it goes into your long-term memory.

Finally, if you need some advice on how to develop your skills for GCSE English overall, then have a look at my How to get a Grade 9 in GCSE English post.

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William Shakespeare

Ask litcharts ai: the answer to your questions.

Welcome to the LitCharts study guide on William Shakespeare's Macbeth . Created by the original team behind SparkNotes, LitCharts are the world's best literature guides.

Macbeth: Introduction

Macbeth: plot summary, macbeth: detailed summary & analysis, macbeth: themes, macbeth: quotes, macbeth: characters, macbeth: symbols, macbeth: literary devices, macbeth: quizzes, macbeth: theme wheel, brief biography of william shakespeare.

Historical Context of Macbeth

Other books related to macbeth.

• Full Title: The Tragedy of Macbeth
• When Written: 1606
• Where Written: England
• When Published: 1623
• Literary Period: The Renaissance (1500 - 1660)
• Genre: Tragic drama
• Setting: Scotland and, briefly, England during the eleventh century
• Climax: Some argue that the murder of Banquo is the play's climax, based on the logic that it is at this point that Macbeth reaches the height of his power and things begin to fall apart from there. However, it is probably more accurate to say that the climax of the play is Macbeth's fight with Macduff, as it is at this moment that the threads of the play come together, the secret behind the prophecy becomes evident, and Macbeth's doom is sealed.

Extra Credit for Macbeth

Shakespeare or Not? There are some who believe Shakespeare wasn't educated enough to write the plays attributed to him. The most common anti-Shakespeare theory is that Edward de Vere, the Earl of Oxford, wrote the plays and used Shakespeare as a front man because aristocrats were not supposed to write plays. Yet the evidence supporting Shakespeare's authorship far outweighs any evidence against. So until further notice, Shakespeare is still the most influential writer in the English language.

Master Shakespeare's Macbeth using Absolute Shakespeare's Macbeth essay, plot summary, quotes and characters study guides.

Plot Summary : A quick review of the plot of Macbeth including every important action in the play. An ideal introduction before reading the original text.

Commentary : Detailed description of each act with translations and explanations for all important quotes. The next best thing to an modern English translation.

Characters : Review of each character's role in the play including defining quotes and character motivations for all major characters.

Characters Analysis : Critical essay by influential Shakespeare scholar and commentator William Hazlitt, discussing all you need to know on the characters of Macbeth.

Macbeth Essay : Samuel Taylor Coleridge's famous essay on Macbeth based on his legendary and influential lectures and notes on Shakespeare.

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A Modern Perspective: Macbeth

By Susan Snyder

Coleridge pronounced Macbeth to be “wholly tragic.” Rejecting the drunken Porter of Act 2, scene 3 as “an interpolation of the actors,” and perceiving no wordplay in the rest of the text (he was wrong on both counts), he declared that the play had no comic admixture at all. More acutely, though still in support of this sense of the play as unadulterated tragedy, he noted the absence in Macbeth of a process characteristic of other Shakespearean tragedies, the “reasonings of equivocal morality.” 1

Indeed, as Macbeth ponders his decisive tragic act of killing the king, he is not deceived about its moral nature. To kill anyone to whom he is tied by obligations of social and political loyalty as well as kinship is, he knows, deeply wrong:

         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.                  ( 1.7.12 –16)

And to kill Duncan, who has been “so clear in his great office” (that is, so free from corruption as a ruler), is to compound the iniquity. In adapting the story of Macbeth from Holinshed’s Chronicles of Scotland, Shakespeare created a stark black-white moral opposition by omitting from his story Duncan’s weakness as a monarch while retaining his gentle, virtuous nature. Unlike his prototype in Holinshed’s history, Macbeth kills not an ineffective leader but a saint whose benevolent presence blesses Scotland. In the same vein of polarized morality, Shakespeare departs from the Holinshed account in which Macbeth is joined in regicide by Banquo and others; instead, he has Macbeth act alone against Duncan. While it might be good politics to distance Banquo from guilt (he was an ancestor of James I, the current king of England and patron of Shakespeare’s acting company), excluding the other thanes as well suggests that the playwright had decided to focus on private, purely moral issues uncomplicated by the gray shades of political expediency.

Duncan has done nothing, then, to deserve violent death. Unlike such tragic heroes as Brutus and Othello, who are enmeshed in “equivocal morality,” Macbeth cannot justify his actions by the perceived misdeeds of his victim. “I have no spur,” he admits, “To prick the sides of my intent, but only / Vaulting ambition” ( 1.7.25 –27). This ambition is portrayed indirectly rather than directly. But it is surely no accident that the Weïrd Sisters accost him and crystallize his secret thoughts of the crown into objective possibility just when he has hit new heights of success captaining Duncan’s armies and defeating Duncan’s enemies. The element of displacement and substitution here—Macbeth leading the fight for Scotland while the titular leader waits behind the lines for the outcome—reinforces our sense that, whatever mysterious timetable the Sisters work by, this is the psychologically right moment to confront Macbeth with their predictions of greatness. Hailed as thane of Glamis, thane of Cawdor, and king, he is initially curious and disbelieving. Though his first fearful reaction ( 1.3.54 ) is left unexplained, for us to fill in as we will, surely one way to read his fear is that the word “king” touches a buried nerve of desire. When Ross and Angus immediately arrive to announce that Macbeth is now Cawdor as well as Glamis, the balance of skepticism tilts precipitously toward belief. The nerve vibrates intensely. Two-thirds of the prophecy is already accomplished. The remaining prediction, “king hereafter,” is suddenly isolated and highlighted; and because of the Sisters’ now proven powers of foreknowledge, it seems to call out for its parallel, inevitable fulfillment.

The Weïrd Sisters present nouns rather than verbs. They put titles on Macbeth without telling what actions he must carry out to attain those titles. It is Lady Macbeth who supplies the verbs. Understanding that her husband is torn between the now-articulated object of desire and the fearful deed that must achieve it (“wouldst not play false / And yet wouldst wrongly win,” 1.5.22 –23), she persuades him by harping relentlessly on manly action. That very gap between noun and verb, the desired prize and the doing necessary to win it, becomes a way of taunting him as a coward: “Art thou afeard / To be the same in thine own act and valor / As thou art in desire?” ( 1.7.43 –45). A man is one who closes this gap by strong action, by taking what he wants; whatever inhibits that action is unmanly fear. And a man is one who does what he has sworn to do, no matter what. We never see Macbeth vow to kill Duncan, but in Lady Macbeth’s mind just his broaching the subject has become a commitment. With graphic horror she fantasizes how she would tear her nursing baby from her breast and dash its brains out if she had sworn as she says her husband did. She would, that is, violate her deepest nature as a woman and sever violently the closest tie of kinship and dependence. Till now, Macbeth has resisted such violation, clinging to a more humane definition of “man” that accepts fidelity and obligation as necessary limits on his prowess. Now, in danger of being bested by his wife in this contest of fierce determinations, he accepts her simpler, more primitive equation of manhood with killing: he commits himself to destroying Duncan. It is significant for the lack of “equivocal morality” that even Lady Macbeth in this crucial scene of persuasion doesn’t try to manipulate or blur the polarized moral scheme. Adopting instead a warrior ethic apart from social morality, she presents the murder not as good but as heroic.

Moral clarity informs not only the decisions and actions of Macbeth but the stage of nature on which they are played out. The natural universe revealed in the play is essentially attuned to the good, so that it reacts to the unambiguously evil act of killing Duncan with disruptions that are equally easy to read. There are wild winds, an earthquake, “strange screams of death” ( 2.3.61 –69). And beyond such general upheaval there is a series of unnatural acts that distortedly mirror Macbeth’s. Duncan’s horses overthrow natural order and devour each other, like Macbeth turning on his king and cousin. “A falcon, tow’ring in her pride of place”—the monarch of birds at its highest pitch—is killed by a mousing owl, a lesser bird who ordinarily preys on insignificant creatures ( 2.4.15 –16). Most ominous of all, on the morning following the king’s death, is the absence of the sun: like the falcon a symbol of monarchy, but expanding that to suggest the source of all life. In a general sense, the sunless day shows the heavens “troubled with man’s act” ( 2.4.7 ), but the following grim metaphor points to a closer and more sinister connection: “dark night strangles the traveling lamp” ( 2.4.9 ). The daylight has been murdered like Duncan. Scotland’s moral darkness lasts till the end of Macbeth’s reign. The major scenes take place at night or in the atmosphere of the “black, and midnight hags” ( 4.1.48 ), and there is no mention of light or sunshine except in England ( 4.3.1 ).

Later in the play, nature finds equally fitting forms for its revenge against Macbeth. Despite his violations of the natural order, he nevertheless expects the laws of nature to work for him in the usual way. But the next victim, Banquo, though his murderer has left him “safe in a ditch” ( 3.4.28 ), refuses to stay safely still and out of sight. In Macbeth’s horrified response to this restless corpse, we may hear not only panic but outrage at the breakdown of the laws of motion:

                           The time has 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 strange

Than such a murder is.                           ( 3.4.94 –99)

His word choice is odd: “ they rise,” a plural where we would expect “he rises,” and the loaded word “crowns” for heads. Macbeth seems to be haunted by his last victim, King Duncan, as well as the present one. And by his outraged comparison at the end—the violent death and the ghostly appearance compete in strangeness—Macbeth suggests, without consciously intending to, that Banquo’s walking in death answers to, or even is caused by, the murder that cut him off so prematurely. The unnatural murder generates unnatural movement in the dead. Lady Macbeth, too, walks when she should be immobile in sleep, “a great perturbation in nature” ( 5.1.10 ).

It is through this same ironic trust in natural law that Macbeth draws strength from the Sisters’ later prophecy: if he is safe until Birnam Wood come to Dunsinane, he must be safe forever:

Who can impress the forest, bid the tree

Unfix his earthbound root? Sweet bodements, good!

Rebellious dead, rise never till the Wood

Of Birnam rise . . .                  ( 4.1.109 –12)

His security is ironic because for Macbeth, of all people, there can be no dependence on predictable natural processes. The “rebellious dead” have already unnaturally risen once; fixed trees can move against him as well. And so, in time, they do. Outraged nature keeps matching the Macbeths’ transgressions, undoing and expelling their perversities with its own.

In tragedies where right and wrong are rendered problematic, the dramatic focus is likely to be on the complications of choice. Macbeth, on the contrary, is preoccupied less with the protagonist’s initial choice of a relatively unambiguous wrong action than with the moral decline that follows. H. B. Charlton noted that one could see in Richard III as well as Macbeth the biblical axiom that “the wages of sin is death”; but where the history play assumes the principle, Macbeth demonstrates why it has to be that way. 2 The necessity is not so much theological as psychological: we watch in Macbeth the hardening and distortion that follows on self-violation. The need to suppress part of himself in order to kill Duncan becomes a refusal to acknowledge his deed (“I am afraid to think what I have done. / Look on ’t again I dare not”: 2.2.66 –67). His later murders are all done by proxy, in an attempt to create still more distance between the destruction he wills and full psychic awareness of his responsibility. At the same time, murder becomes a necessary activity, the verb now a compulsion almost without regard to the object: plotted after he has seen the Weïrd Sisters’ apparitions, Macbeth’s attack on Macduff’s “line” ( 4.1.174 ) is an insane double displacement, of fear of Macduff himself and fury at the vision of the line of kings fathered by Banquo.

Yet the moral universe of Macbeth is not as uncomplicated as some critics have imagined. To see in the play’s human and physical nature only a straightforward pattern of sin and punishment is to gloss over the questions it raises obliquely, the moral complexities and mysteries it opens up. The Weïrd Sisters, for example, remain undefined. Where do they come from? Where do they go when they disappear from the action in Act 4? What is their place in a moral universe that ostensibly recoils against sin and punishes it? Are they human witches, or supernatural beings? Labeling them “evil” seems not so much incorrect as inadequate. Do they cause men to commit crimes, or do they only present the possibility to them? Macbeth responds to his prophecy by killing his king, but Banquo after hearing the one directed at him is not impelled to act at all. Do we take this difference as demonstrating that the Sisters have in themselves no power beyond suggestion? Or should we rather find it somewhat sinister later on when Banquo, ancestor of James I or not, sees reason in Macbeth’s success to look forward to his own—yet feels it necessary to conceal his hopes ( 3.1.1 –10)?

Even what we most take for granted becomes problematic when scrutinized. Does Macbeth really desire to be king? Lady Macbeth says he does, but what comes through in 1.5 and 1.7 is more her desire than his. Apart from one brief reference to ambition when he is ruling out other motives to kill Duncan, Macbeth himself is strangely silent about any longing for royal power and position. Instead of an obsession that fills his personal horizon, we find in Macbeth something of a motivational void. Why does he feel obligated, or compelled, to bring about an advance in station that the prophecy seems to render inevitable anyway? A. C. Bradley put his finger on this absence of positive desire when he observed that Macbeth commits his crime as if it were “an appalling duty.” 3

Recent lines of critical inquiry also call old certainties into question. Duncan’s saintly status would seem assured, yet sociological critics are disquieted by the way we are introduced to him, as he receives news of the battle in 1.2. On the one hand we hear reports of horrifying savagery in the fighting, savagery in which the loyal thanes participate as much as the rebels and invaders—more so, in fact, when Macbeth and Banquo are likened to the crucifiers of Christ (“or memorize another Golgotha,” 1.2.44 ). In response we see Duncan exulting not only in the victory but in the bloodshed, equating honor with wounds. It is not that he bears any particular guilt. Yet the mild paternal king is nevertheless implicated here in his society’s violent warrior ethic, its predicating of manly worth on prowess in killing. 4 But isn’t this just what we condemn in Lady Macbeth? Cultural analysis tends to blur the sharp demarcations, even between two such figures apparently totally opposed, and to draw them together as participants in and products of the same constellation of social values.

Lady Macbeth and Duncan meet in a more particular way, positioned as they are on the same side of Scotland’s basic division between warriors and those protected by warriors. The king is too old and fragile to fight; the lady is neither, but she is barred from battle by traditional gender conventions that assign her instead the functions of following her husband’s commands and nurturing her young. In fact, of course, Lady Macbeth’s actions and outlook thoroughly subvert this ideology, as she forcefully takes the lead in planning the murder and shames her husband into joining in by her willingness to slaughter her own nurseling. It is easy to call Lady Macbeth “evil,” but the label tends to close down analysis exactly where we ought to probe more deeply. Macbeth’s wife is restless in a social role that in spite of her formidable courage and energy offers no chance of independent action and heroic achievement. It is almost inevitable that she turn to achievement at second hand, through and for her husband. Standing perforce on the sidelines, like Duncan once again, she promotes and cheers the killing.

Other situations, too, may be more complex than at first they seem. Lady Macduff, unlike Lady Macbeth, accepts her womanly function of caring for her children and her nonwarrior status of being protected. But she is not protected. The ideology of gender seems just as destructive from the submissive side as from the rebellious, when Macduff deserts her in order to pursue his political cause against Macbeth in England and there is no husband to stand in the way of the murderers sent by Macbeth. The obedient wife dies, with her cherished son, just as the rebellious, murderous lady will die who consigned her own nursing baby to death. The moral universe of Macbeth has room for massive injustice. Traditional critics find Lady Macbeth “unnatural,” and even those who do not accept the equation of gender ideology with nature can agree with the condemnation in view of her determined suppression of all bonds of human sympathy. Clear enough. But we get more blurring and crossovers when Macduff’s wife calls him unnatural. In leaving his family defenseless in Macbeth’s dangerous Scotland, he too seems to discount human bonds. His own wife complains bitterly that “he wants the natural touch”; where even the tiny wren will fight for her young against the owl, his flight seems to signify fear rather than natural love ( 4.2.8 –16). Ross’s reply, “cruel are the times,” while it doesn’t console Lady Macduff and certainly doesn’t save her, strives to relocate the moral ambiguity of Macduff’s conduct in the situation created by Macbeth’s tyrannical rule. The very political crisis that pulls Macduff away from his family on public business puts his private life in jeopardy through the same act of desertion. But while acknowledging the peculiar tensions raised by a tyrant-king, we may also see in the Macduff family’s disaster a tragic version of a more familiar conflict: the contest between public and private commitments that can rack conventional marriages, with the wife confined to a private role while the husband is supposed to balance obligations in both spheres.

Malcolm is allied with Duncan by lineage and with Macduff by their shared role of redemptive champion in the final movement of the play. He, too, is not allowed to travel through the action unsullied. After a long absence from the scene following the murder of Duncan, he reappears in England to be sought by Macduff in the crusade against Macbeth. Malcolm is cautious and reserved, and when he does start speaking more freely, what we hear is an astonishing catalogue of self-accusations. He calls himself lustful, avaricious, guilty of every crime and totally lacking in kingly virtues:

                Nay, had I power, I should

Pour the sweet milk of concord into hell,

Uproar the universal peace, confound

All unity on earth.                  ( 4.3.113 –16)

Before people became so familiar with Shakespeare’s play, I suspect many audiences believed what Malcolm says of himself. Students on first reading still do. Why shouldn’t they? He has been absent from the stage for some time, and his only significant action in the early part of the play was to run away after his father’s murder. When this essentially unknown prince lists his vices in lengthy speeches of self-loathing, there is no indication—except an exaggeration easily ascribable to his youth—that he is not sincere. And if we do believe, we cannot help joining in Macduff’s distress. Malcolm, the last hope for redeeming Scotland from the tyrant, has let us down. Duncan’s son is more corrupt than Macbeth. He even sounds like Macbeth, whose own milk of human kindness ( 1.5.17 ) was curdled by his wife; who threatened to destroy the whole natural order, “though the treasure / Of nature’s germens tumble all together / Even till destruction sicken” ( 4.1.60 –63). In due course, Malcolm takes it all back; but his words once spoken cannot simply be canceled, erased as if they were on paper. We have already, on hearing them, mentally and emotionally processed the false “facts,” absorbed them experientially. Perhaps they continue to color indirectly our sense of the next king of Scotland.

Viewed through various lenses, then, the black and white of Macbeth may fade toward shades of gray. The play is an open system, offering some fixed markers with which to take one’s basic bearings but also, in closer scrutiny, offering provocative questions and moral ambiguities.

• “Notes for a Lecture on Macbeth ” [c. 1813], in Coleridge’s Writings on Shakespeare , ed. Terence Hawkes (New York: Capricorn, 1959), p. 188.
• H. B. Charlton, Shakespearian Tragedy (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1948), p. 141.
• A. C. Bradley, Shakespearean Tragedy (London: Macmillan, 1904), p. 358.
• James L. Calderwood, If It Were Done: “Macbeth” and Tragic Action (Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press, 1986), pp. 77–89.

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Macbeth: Essay Plan Examples

A* and Level 9 essays are always properly planned before they are written. But how should you plan a Macbeth Essay?

Here is a list of practise plans and notes that students have completed for a range of essays on Macbeth. Some are focused on ideas, and others on structuring. To get the best out of your plans, you should try to keep a balance between both of these.

Always plan a thesis before writing — this is your main argument, the main answer to the question that comes in the intro of your essay. The rest of the essay should then explore and argue on this thesis.

This page is suitable for students aged 14–18 (GCSE — A-Level), particularly those studying the following exam boards: CIE / Cambridge, AQA, OCR, WJEC / Eduqas, CCEA, Edexcel.

Thanks for reading! If you find this resource useful, you can take a look at our full online Macbeth course here . Use the code “SHAKESPEARE” to receive a 50% discount!

This course includes: 

• A full set of video lessons on each key element of the text: summary, themes, setting, characters, context, attitudes, analysis of key quotes, essay questions, essay examples
• Downloadable documents for each video lesson 
• A range of example B-A* / L7-L9 grade essays, both at GCSE (ages 14-16) and A-Level (age 16+) with teacher comments and mark scheme feedback
• A bonus Macbeth workbook designed to guide you through each scene of the play!

For more help with Macbeth and Tragedy, read our article here .

PRACTICE ESSAY 1:

Explore how Shakespeare discusses the theme of deception in Macbeth.

Trickery begets trickery — Macbeth deceives Duncan at the start, Banquo shortly after, he himself is deceived by the Witches > negative comment on deception.

Feudal system / divine right of kings vs New Politics / Machiavelli.

Deception creates temporary power, but the order of the world will be restored.

God ignores the castle — sinful behavior causes God to turn away.

Thesis: deception is evil and creates more evil and chaos, both for the individuals who deceive and the kingdom as a whole. For the human characters, it leads down a path to insanity, Shakespeare is drawing a parallel between deception and evil to show that it is ungodly and sinful.

P1 — Intro — Shakespeare discusses the theme of deception in Macbeth by exploring Macbeth’s insanity, showing the Macbeths covering their tracks and the temporary success with long term failure that deception brings.

P2 — Macbeth’s insanity — “oh full of scorpions is my mind”, “could not I pronounce Amen” “Is this a dagger I see before me”.

P3 — Showing the Macbeths covering their tracks — creates a climate of panic and paranoia — “I’ll gild the faces of the grooms withal”.

P4 — demonstrates the religious messages of Macbeth — don’t commit sinful behavior.

P5 — demonstrates Shakespeare’s political beliefs — his faith in the Feudal system / his mistrust of New Politics.

PRACTISE ESSAY 2:

How does Shakespeare make this scene particularly terrifying?

500–600 Words essay.

5 Paragraphs:

• Intro — 50 words — Go over points quickly > thesis at the end
• Paragraph 1 (PEAL) — 165 words
• Paragraph 2 (PEAL) — 165 words
• Paragraph 3 (PEAL) — 165 words
• Conclusion — Recap strongest points quickly > Link back to the thesis

Paragraph plans

• Shakespeare makes this scene particularly terrifying by… (religion)
• Furthermore, the scene is particularly terrifying due to … (fear)
• Another way that Shakespeare has made this scene particularly terrifying is… (supernatural)

PARAGRAPH STRUCTURE:

Point — 1 Sentence

Evidence — Quotation (no longer than 7 words).

Analysis — Identify techniques, language features, vocabulary, and dramatic devices ‘how / why’ something works in a certain way.

Evaluation — assessing the importance/significance of something.

Link — Link back to text and thesis.

Thesis: The significant turning point for Macbeth in the play as he realizes that he is unable to say amen and might be haunted due to his deed. Macbeth is a dynamic character, a tragic hero who undergoes a tragic fall, and this moment demonstrates the point at which his mind begins to disintegrate and he is abandoned by God, which would be very terrifying for a Shakespearean audience.

Top Level Mark Scheme:

• Answers in this band have all the qualities of Band 2 work, with further  insight, sensitivity, individuality, and flair.  They maintain a  sustained engagement  with both text and task.
• Sustains a perceptive, convincing and relevant personal response
• Shows a clear critical understanding of the text.
• Responds sensitively and in detail to the way the writer achieves her/his effects (sustaining a convincing voice in an empathic task).
• Integrates much well-selected reference to the text

‘Make’ > understand and discuss dramatic devices

‘Particularly’ > evaluation word

Thesis: ‘what we think/feel/realize’

Shakespeare makes this scene particularly terrifying through the implicit meanings in the text. He uses varying vocabulary and language features such as allegory and allusion, which are seen throughout the text, to create a frightening atmosphere. This mainly revolves around Macbeth, a dynamic character, whose insight to murder has changed. We realize that Macbeth is unable to cope with his past actions due to his current actions.

QUOTES/IDEAS:

“ Didst thou not hear a noise ?” — Macbeth builds tension/suspense, a small amount of fear, later layers up into terror.

“ The owl scream ” — Lady Macbeth, possible link to Duncan’s death, possible horror sound, ‘scream’ > personification.

“ As I descended ?” — Macbeth, descent downstairs, but also perhaps signifies hell/degeneration into evil + madness.

Disjoined / lack of connection between characters — Macbeth is jumpy. They disagree. Macbeth is empathetic towards Donalbain > ‘ sorry sight’, Lady Macbeth is cold and says he is ‘foolish’.

“ There’s one did laugh in’s sleep, and one cried ‘Murder !’,” > terrifying, because two random people woke up during Macbeth murdering Duncan, they have a premonition or some sort of awareness.

“ I had most need of blessing, and ‘Amen’/ Stuck in my throat. ” > he’s under the influence of evil, so God has abandoned him, he’s past the point of redemption, perhaps the turning point where he realizes he can’t go back, psychological?

“ It will make us mad ” > Lady Macbeth feels that the two of them will be mad if they dwell on their deeds in a negative way.

“ Macbeth does murder sleep ” > this is particularly terrifying as sleep also means rest and peace. Not only is Macbeth murdering sleep, but he is murdering rest and peace which he will not get as he will be haunted by the murder. ( personification )

“ Smear / The sleepy grooms with blood ” > the fact that they can pass the blame so easily and effectively is terrifying, what else can they pass the blame for if they can pass the blame for the murder.

“ Painted devil ” > the image of a dead body is likened to a painted devil seen by a child. They are just images that are feared.

“ Clean from my hand? No ” > No amount of water will be able to wash the blood off of Macbeth’s hands. He will never be able to forget about the blood on his hands, in a metaphorical sense.

“ Making the green one red ” > His hands will turn the sea red. That is the amount of blood which he bears.

Foreshadowing Lady Macbeth’s ‘out damned spot’:

“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 afeard? What need we fear who knows it, when none can call our power to account? — Yet who would have thought the old man to have had so much blood in him?” >  5.1, just before she commits suicide, a descent into madness — she sees spots of blood on her hands, paralleling Macebeth’s visions of blood.

Motif – recurring element of a story (lack of sleep/blood on hands).

ESSAY PLAN 3:

In what ways does Shakespeare make the relationship between Macbeth and Banquo so compelling?

P1 — Intro — Shakespeare makes the relationship between Macbeth and Banquo so compelling through the exploration of the themes of deception, death, and good versus evil. The discussion of such themes leads us, as the reader, to come to the conclusion that Macbeth is a sinister character who has somehow managed to befriend an honest, decent man, Banquo which leads to a relationship filled with tension.

P2- Deception- “I fear thou have played most foully for it” “fruitless crown” “I wish your horses swift and sure of foot”

P3 — death- “Banquo, thy soul’s flight…find heaven”  Enter the Ghost of Banquo and sits in Macbeth’s place  (stage directions)

P4 — good versus evil- juxtaposing of characters

Conclusion — strongest points again

ESSAY PLAN 4:

‘Macbeth is not an evil man, but one led astray by those around him’.

To what extent do you agree with this view?

You should write 500–600 words.

Thesis — I believe that Macbeth is an evil man and is responsible for his own actions. His sheer greed for power is what has led him astray and it was his choice to kill Duncan and have Banquo and Fleance as well as Macduff’s family killed. He has shown throughout the play that his greed, not those around him, has led him astray.

Paragraph 1: — Intro- include thesis and quick overview Paragraph 2: — Disagree paragraph Paragraph 3: — Disagree paragraph Paragraph 4: — Agree paragraph (counter) Paragraph 5: — Conclusion (quick overview of strongest points, thesis)

Point -main point

Evidence -quotation

Analysis -why/how does it relate to argument

Context -context to shakespearean times

Alternative interpretation -alternative view

Link -back to thesis

• Told by the witches that he will be king.
• Pressured by Lady Macbeth to kill Duncan.
• Witches tell him that Banquo’s descendants shall be king, incites Macbeth. Witches may have known that this would have riled Macbeth up.
• Witches told Macbeth he will be king so he could have waited until he became King the right way.
• Macbeth could have stood up to Lady Macbeth and told her no.
• Macbeth felt the need to have Banquo and Fleance killed, nobody pressured him to do so.
• Macbeth had Macduff’s family killed for no good reason.
• Macbeth acted on his own accord.

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You will gain access to  over 8 hours  of  engaging video content , plus  downloadable PDF guides  for  Macbeth  that cover the following topics:

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William Shakespeare

• Literature Notes
• Major Themes
• Macbeth at a Glance
• Play Summary
• About Macbeth
• Character List
• Summary and Analysis
• Act I: Scene 1
• Act I: Scene 2
• Act I: Scene 3
• Act I: Scene 4
• Act I: Scene 5
• Act I: Scene 6
• Act I: Scene 7
• Act II: Scene 1
• Act II: Scene 2
• Act II: Scene 3
• Act II: Scene 4
• Act III: Scene 1
• Act III: Scene 2
• Act III: Scene 3
• Act III: Scene 4
• Act III: Scene 5
• Act III: Scene 6
• Act IV: Scene 1
• Act IV: Scene 2
• Act IV: Scene 3
• Act V: Scene 1
• Act V: Scene 2
• Act V: Scene 3
• Act V: Scene 4
• Act V: Scene 5
• Act V: Scene 6
• Act V: Scene 7
• Act V: Scene 8
• Act V: Scene 9
• Character Analysis
• Lady Macbeth
• Character Map
• William Shakespeare Biography
• Critical Essays
• Major Symbols and Motifs
• Macbeth on the Stage
• Famous Quotes
• Film Versions
• Full Glossary
• Essay Questions
• Practice Projects
• Cite this Literature Note

Critical Essays Major Themes

The Fall of Man

The ancient Greek notion of tragedy concerned the fall of a great man, such as a king, from a position of superiority to a position of humility on account of his ambitious pride, or hubris . To the Greeks, such arrogance in human behavior was punishable by terrible vengeance. The tragic hero was to be pitied in his fallen plight but not necessarily forgiven: Greek tragedy frequently has a bleak outcome. Christian drama, on the other hand, always offers a ray of hope; hence, Macbeth ends with the coronation of Malcolm , a new leader who exhibits all the correct virtues for a king.

Macbeth exhibits elements that reflect the greatest Christian tragedy of all: the Fall of Man. In the Genesis story, it is the weakness of Adam, persuaded by his wife (who has in turn been seduced by the devil) which leads him to the proud assumption that he can "play God." But both stories offer room for hope: Christ will come to save mankind precisely because mankind has made the wrong choice through his own free will. In Christian terms, although Macbeth has acted tyrannically, criminally, and sinfully, he is not entirely beyond redemption in heaven.

Fortune, Fate, and Free Will

Fortune is another word for chance. The ancient view of human affairs frequently referred to the "Wheel of Fortune," according to which human life was something of a lottery. One could rise to the top of the wheel and enjoy the benefits of superiority, but only for a while. With an unpredictable swing up or down, one could equally easily crash to the base of the wheel.

Fate, on the other hand, is fixed. In a fatalistic universe, the length and outcome of one's life (destiny) is predetermined by external forces. In Macbeth, the Witches represent this influence. The play makes an important distinction: Fate may dictate what will be, but how that destiny comes about is a matter of chance (and, in a Christian world such as Macbeth's) of man's own choice or free will.

Although Macbeth is told he will become king, he is not told how to achieve the position of king: that much is up to him. We cannot blame him for becoming king (it is his Destiny), but we can blame him for the way in which he chooses to get there (by his own free will).

Kingship and Natural Order

Macbeth is set in a society in which the notion of honor to one's word and loyalty to one's superiors is absolute. At the top of this hierarchy is the king, God's representative on Earth. Other relationships also depend on loyalty: comradeship in warfare, hospitality of host towards guest, and the loyalty between husband and wife. In this play, all these basic societal relationships are perverted or broken. Lady Macbeth's domination over her husband, Macbeth's treacherous act of regicide, and his destruction of comradely and family bonds, all go against the natural order of things.

The medieval and renaissance view of the world saw a relationship between order on earth, the so-called microcosm , and order on the larger scale of the universe, or macrocosm. Thus, when Lennox and the Old Man talk of the terrifying alteration in the natural order of the universe — tempests, earthquakes, darkness at noon, and so on — these are all reflections of the breakage of the natural order that Macbeth has brought about in his own microcosmic world.

Disruption of Nature

Violent disruptions in nature — tempests, earthquakes, darkness at noon, and so on — parallel the unnatural and disruptive death of the monarch Duncan.

The medieval and renaissance view of the world saw a relationship between order on earth, the so-called microcosm, and order on the larger scale of the universe, or macrocosm. Thus, when Lennox and the Old Man talk of the terrifying alteration in the natural order of the universe (nature), these are all reflections of the breakage of the natural order that Macbeth has brought about in his own microcosmic world (society).

Many critics see the parallel between Duncan's death and disorder in nature as an affirmation of the divine right theory of kingship. As we witness in the play, Macbeth's murder of Duncan and his continued tyranny extends the disorder of the entire country.

Gender Roles

Lady Macbeth is the focus of much of the exploration of gender roles in the play. As Lady Macbeth propels her husband toward committing Duncan's murder, she indicates that she must take on masculine characteristics. Her most famous speech — located in Act I, Scene 5 — addresses this issue.

Clearly, gender is out of its traditional order. This disruption of gender roles is also presented through Lady Macbeth's usurpation of the dominate role in the Macbeth's marriage; on many occasions, she rules her husband and dictates his actions.

Reason Versus Passion

During their debates over which course of action to take, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth use different persuasive strategies. Their differences can easily be seen as part of a thematic study of gender roles. However, in truth, the difference in ways Macbeth and Lady Macbeth rationalize their actions is essential to understanding the subtle nuances of the play as a whole.

Macbeth is very rational, contemplating the consequences and implications of his actions. He recognizes the political, ethical, and religious reason why he should not commit regicide. In addition to jeopardizing his afterlife, Macbeth notes that regicide is a violation of Duncan's "double trust" that stems from Macbeth's bonds as a kinsman and as a subject.

On the other hand, Lady Macbeth has a more passionate way of examining the pros and cons of killing Duncan. She is motivated by her feelings and uses emotional arguments to persuade her husband to commit the evil act.

Previous William Shakespeare Biography

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Macbeth Summary and Analysis

Home » Literature Explained – Literary Synopses and Book Summaries » Macbeth – William Shakespeare » Macbeth Summary and Analysis

Introduction to Macbeth

Macbeth is a play by William Shakespeare. One of Shakespeare’s most famous tragedies, Macbeth tells a tale of greed and lust for power and how the pursuit of such things inevitably leads one to their ultimate downfall. Macbeth is a Scottish general who has managed to lead his army to defeat invaders. Near the beginning of the play, a chorus of witches prophesize that Macbeth will eventually be made king of Scotland. Intrigued by the prophecy, Macbeth writes to his wife to tell her about it. She becomes consumed with thoughts of power and control and pushes Macbeth to commit unthinkable crimes in order to make the prophecy come true.

Literary Elements of Macbeth

Type of Work: Drama

Genres : Tragedy

Published Date: First performed in 1606

Setting: 11th century Scotland

Main Characters: Macbeth, Lady Macbeth. See full characters list .

Protagonist/Antagonist: Protagonist – Macbeth (he is considered a tragic hero); Antagonist – every other character acts to threaten Macbeth and therefore almost every other character can be considered the antagonist. Macbeth vs. the world. See character descriptions .

Major Thematic Elements: Corruption and unchecked ambition, cruelty and masculine authority, guilt, the loss of children. See major themes .

Motifs: Hallucinations, acts of violence, prophecy

Exposition: Macbeth is a military general who has recently seen significant success in battle. As he returns home, he encounters three witches who deliver a prophecy.

Conflict: Lady Macbeth urges Macbeth to resort to murder to make the prophecy come true. Once Macbeth has been made king, political mistrust adds another layer of conflict.

Plot: Linear; chronological

Major Symbols: Blood, dark/gloomy/stormy weather. See major symbols .

Climax: The assassination of King Duncan

Literary Significance of Macbeth

Macbeth is Shakespeare’s shortest and most violent play that speaks to Scottish bravery. It is a complex and emotionally intense play that gained wide popularity when it was first performed. To this day, Macbeth remains a wildly popular drama. Macbeth differs from Shakespeare’s other tragedies which explore intellectually complicated dilemmas by exploring the rapid descent into madness that results from greed and power. Because it is so jarring and fascinating, it has shocked audiences for centuries and is likely not going out of rotation any time soon.

Summary of Macbeth

Macbeth Act 1 Summary

As Macbeth and Banquo make their way back to the king’s palace in a storm, they encounter the three witches who reveal that Macbeth is about to discover that he has been appointed thane of Cawdor. Macbeth asks for more information and they declare that he will also one day be king of Scotland. As for Banquo, they say that he is “lesser than Macbeth, and greater” and although he will never hold the throne, a long line of his descendants will. The witches vanish, leaving Macbeth and Banquo stunned.

Back at the palace, King Duncan announces the changes and reveals that he intends to make his son, Malcom, heir to the throne. Macbeth notes that Malcom stands between himself and the throne. Learning her husband’s prophecy, Lady Macbeth is wild with lust for her husband to become king and resolves that murder is the best course of action. She informs her husband of her intentions and begins planning. When Macbeth later reveals that he does not wish to murder King Duncan, Lady Macbeth verbally berates him until he complies. Lady Macbeth devises a plan to frame King Duncan’s chamberlains by smearing the king’s blood all over them as they drunkenly sleep.

Macbeth Act 2 Summary

After briefly running into Banquo and his son, Macbeth has a vision of a dagger floating before him in the air. The tip of the dagger is aimed towards King Duncan. Macbeth tries in vain to grasp the dagger and he has trouble discerning if it is real or imagined. He gazes at the dagger in wonder and realizes that there is blood on the blade. He decides it is a figment of his imagination and Macbeth resolves to follow through with his wife’s plan.

Lady Macbeth ponders about the event that is about to take place, feeling bold. Soon after, Macbeth returns, covered in blood, and informs her that the deed is done. He is badly shaken.

In the early morning hours, a knocking comes at the door of the Macbeth castle. It is fellow military men Macduff and Lennox who request to speak with the king. Macbeth says that the king is still asleep but agrees to take them to him. Macduff discovers the king’s murdered body. Macbeth says that the chamberlains must have done it. However, Macduff grows suspicious. King Duncan’s sons become concerned for their own safety and flee the castle. This causes suspicion to fall on the sons.

Macbeth Act 3 Summary

Macbeth is preparing for his coronation as king. Banquo is pondering the witches’ prophecy and thinks that since everything else has come true, his descendants will probably wind up as heirs to the throne. He feels ambitious but makes no plans of action. Macbeth and Lady Macbeth invite Banquo to attend the feast they will be throwing later that night.

Once alone, a servant informs Macbeth that some men have come to meet with him. The servant leaves to get the visitors and while alone, Macbeth delivers a soliloquy about Banquo and how his friend has turned into someone he fears. He worries that if the witches’ prophecy is true, he will not have any heirs to whom he will be able to leave the crown. The murder of King Duncan weighs heavily on his conscious and his suspects that may be his undoing. The men who were waiting to meet with Macbeth are two murderers who he has hired to murder Banquo and his son. Later, the murderers ambush Banquo and his son on their way to the feast and manage to kill Banquo, but his son escapes.

At the feast, Macbeth is outraged to learn that Banquo’s son escaped. He returns from speaking with the reporting murderer and sees the ghost of Banquo seated in his chair at the table. Macbeth begins speaking to him, but none of the other guests understand what he was doing. Lady Macbeth makes an excuse, and everyone decides to ignore Macbeth. Concerned, Macbeth plans to try and meet with the witches once more.

Elsewhere in Scotland, Lennox is meeting with other lords and it is revealed that Macbeth is starting to be seen as a usurper and is believed to be responsible for the murders of King Duncan and Banquo. Macbeth is preparing to fight to defend his role as king and Lennox and the lord hope that the King Duncan’s son, Malcolm, and Macduff can successfully save Scotland.

Macbeth Act 4 Summary

Macbeth finds the witches and asks them to reveal more information to clarify their prophecies for him. The witches provide confusing visions for him. Later, Lennox informs Macbeth that Macduff has left for England. Macbeth decides to have Macduff’s family murdered to prevent any meddling. In her home, Lady Macduff and her son are assaulted by a group of murderers. Her son is stabbed, and Lady Macduff flees with the killers chasing after her. Elsewhere, Malcom and Macduff worry about the future of Scotland.

Macbeth Act 5 Summary

Lady Macbeth is descending into madness, seeing visions of blood all over herself that can never be washed off. The English army approaches the Macbeth castle and Macbeth prepares by donning his armor. Macbeth soon learns that Lady Macbeth has died but he refuses to believe the news. Macbeth goes into battle to defend his castle and court. Macbeth and Macduff engage in battle, until Macbeth is slain by Macduff who carries Macbeth’s head back to the castle to announce victory in overthrowing the tyrant. Malcom is declared King of Scotland

Qualities of a Hero

This essay about the qualities of a hero explores the key characteristics that define heroic individuals. It emphasizes courage, not just as bravery in the face of danger, but as the determination to act despite fear. Altruism is highlighted as the selfless concern for the welfare of others, demonstrated by those who prioritize communal needs. Integrity is discussed as adherence to moral and ethical principles, ensuring trustworthiness and consistency in one’s actions. The essay also considers resilience, the ability to recover from setbacks and continue striving towards one’s goals. Empathy, the understanding and sharing of others’ feelings, is crucial for connecting and helping effectively. Lastly, humility is portrayed as an essential attribute, reflecting heroes who seek no reward for their deeds. Collectively, these traits encapsulate the essence of heroism, portraying it as accessible to everyone and capable of inspiring societal improvement.

How it works

When we think about heroes, our minds often conjure images of caped crusaders and gallant knights. However, the essence of a hero is not captured by their costume or era but by the qualities that define their character. These are the individuals who step up in moments of need, who act with courage and integrity, and who impact the lives of others in profound and enduring ways.

Courage, undoubtedly, stands as the cornerstone of heroism. It’s not merely the bravery to undertake perilous feats but the resolve to confront adversity while fearing the outcome.

Courageous individuals are not fearless; rather, they choose to persist despite their fears. This quality is vividly illustrated in everyday life, such as by the firefighters who rush into burning buildings or the whistleblowers who stand up against corporate malfeasance, risking their careers for the sake of truth and accountability.

Another indispensable trait of a hero is altruism. True heroes serve others, often placing collective needs above their own. Altruism drives individuals to perform acts of kindness and generosity without expecting anything in return. Consider a volunteer who dedicates hours to help the homeless or the passerby who intervenes to help someone in distress. These actions are motivated by a genuine desire to improve the lives of others, making altruism a hallmark of heroism.

Integrity is also central to a hero’s character. This quality involves adhering to moral and ethical principles, even when no one is watching and especially when making the right choice is challenging. A hero with integrity is honest and maintains strong moral principles. For instance, a business leader who prioritizes fair labor practices over higher profits demonstrates integrity, fostering trust and respect among peers and subordinates alike.

Furthermore, heroes exhibit resilience. Life inevitably presents challenges and setbacks, but heroes display an exceptional capacity to recover and press forward. Resilience is not about avoiding failure; rather, it’s about learning from mistakes, adapting, and continuing to strive towards one’s goals. This quality is seen in individuals overcoming personal tragedies or setbacks to achieve significant accomplishments, serving as an inspiration to all.

In addition to these core qualities, empathy plays a crucial role in heroism. Empathy involves understanding and sharing the feelings of others. It enables heroes to connect with individuals on a deeper level, fostering compassion and motivating them to act in service of those in need. A doctor working in war-torn regions, for example, may be driven by empathy to provide medical care under dangerous conditions, striving to alleviate the suffering of others.

Finally, true heroes are humble. They do not seek glory or recognition for their actions; instead, they perform heroic deeds out of a sense of duty or moral obligation. Their humility is what often inspires others to recognize them as heroes in the first place. This trait ensures that their actions are focused on the greater good rather than personal gain.

In exploring these qualities, we find that heroism is multifaceted. It is not confined to the extraordinary individuals who make headlines; rather, it is a potential that resides within each of us. Whether it’s through grand gestures or quiet acts of kindness, heroism is about making a positive impact on the world and inspiring others to do the same. Thus, by understanding and cultivating these qualities, we can all strive to be heroes in our own ways, contributing to a better and more compassionate society.

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6 Common Leadership Styles — and How to Decide Which to Use When

• Rebecca Knight

Being a great leader means recognizing that different circumstances call for different approaches.

Research suggests that the most effective leaders adapt their style to different circumstances — be it a change in setting, a shift in organizational dynamics, or a turn in the business cycle. But what if you feel like you’re not equipped to take on a new and different leadership style — let alone more than one? In this article, the author outlines the six leadership styles Daniel Goleman first introduced in his 2000 HBR article, “Leadership That Gets Results,” and explains when to use each one. The good news is that personality is not destiny. Even if you’re naturally introverted or you tend to be driven by data and analysis rather than emotion, you can still learn how to adapt different leadership styles to organize, motivate, and direct your team.

Much has been written about common leadership styles and how to identify the right style for you, whether it’s transactional or transformational, bureaucratic or laissez-faire. But according to Daniel Goleman, a psychologist best known for his work on emotional intelligence, “Being a great leader means recognizing that different circumstances may call for different approaches.”

• RK Rebecca Knight is a journalist who writes about all things related to the changing nature of careers and the workplace. Her essays and reported stories have been featured in The Boston Globe, Business Insider, The New York Times, BBC, and The Christian Science Monitor. She was shortlisted as a Reuters Institute Fellow at Oxford University in 2023. Earlier in her career, she spent a decade as an editor and reporter at the Financial Times in New York, London, and Boston.

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