Macbeth Essay Plans

Question 1

How does Shakespeare examine positive and destructive aspects of ambition

Answer 1

Different characters and events

Question 2

What does ambition do?

Answer 2

Drives the plot of the play

Corrupting and central to Macbeth’s tragic downfall

Question 3

What is ambition for Macbeth

Answer 3

Hamartia (fatal character flaw)

Leads him to commit more and more evil acts

Question 4

Which characters is ambitions destructiveness most evident in

Answer 4

Macbeth
Lady Macbeth

Question 5

Banquo, Macduff and Malcolm

Answer 5

All want great outcomes

Show restraint and don’t allow power come before their morals

Question 6

Initially Macbeth…

Answer 6

Is a noble solider but the the witches prophecies spark his ambition and desire for power and to be king

Question 7

‘If good, why do I yield to that suggestion’
(Act 1 Scene 3)

Answer 7

MB is horrified by the idea of killing Duncan
‘yielding’ = giving in and is tempted
His ambition is struggling against his morals

Question 8

‘Stars hide your fires let not light see my black and deep desires’
(Act 1 Scene 4)

Answer 8

· Light and Dark Imagery & appearance vs reality
· ‘Black’ - evil rooted within him - good vs evil
· ‘Deep desires’ shows his ambition to be king

Question 9

Banquo in the beginning…

Answer 9

Is also tempted by the witches prophecies but chooses not to pursuit them

Shows moral restraint - absent in Macbeth

Question 10

How is lady Macbeth more ambitious

Answer 10

Willing to the kill the king for power

Stronger desire

Question 11

What happens in lady Macbeths soliloquy in the beginning

Answer 11

Pushes Macbeth into action

Suggest Macbeth is a ‘coward’ if he doesn’t it

Would be ‘more than the man’ if he does

Question 12

‘Had he not resembled my father as he slept, I had’t done it’

Answer 12

Had Duncan not looked like her father she would of killed him
Capacity for violence – ruthless personality
Softer and sentimental side

Question 13

Why does Macbeth initial hesitate in killing the king

Answer 13

Recognises the consequences but his ‘vaulting ambition’ contradicts this

‘Vaulting’ - verb SP suggests that MB will overcome any obstacle in order to be king

Question 14

What is the dagger a symbol of

Answer 14

Violence and ambition

Question 15

What does Macbeths greed for power do

Answer 15

Makes him paranoid about losing the throne

Resorts to more violent acts

Question 16

What does the murder of Macduff’s family show

Answer 16

MB ambition has made him lose control

Unnecessary

Question 17

‘Full of scorpions is my mind’

Answer 17

Metaphor – torment and agitation in Macbeths mind - poisoned by his ambition
‘Scorpions’ are dangerous and violent
Shift towards a darker, more ruthless actions to eliminate threats (Banquo and descendants)

Question 18

The ghost of Banquo

Answer 18

The hallucinations symbolise his guilt

His desire for power has lead to self destruction

Question 19

‘never shake thy gory locks at me’

Answer 19

Addressing the ghost of Banquo
‘gory’ has connotations of blood and violence
Guilt and fear – Macbeths unravelling mental state

Question 20

Despite being the king, Macbeth does not have…

Answer 20

Happiness and security

Instead he is anxious and paranoid

Question 21

Lady Macbeths downfall

Answer 21

her ambition led to guilt and madness which eventually kills her

Shows ambitions destructive effects

Question 22

‘here’s the smell of the blood still: all the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand’

Answer 22

Shift in perspective, previously dismissive - ‘A little water clears us of this deed’
Hyperbole – emphasises the grief and destruction
Cannot be rid of her sins – tormenting and corrupting

Question 23

Macbeth still fights till the end

Answer 23

which shows his tough ambition and refusal to surrender

Question 24

‘I fight till from my bones my flesh be hack’d.’

Answer 24

Graphic imagery
Determination and courage to fight till death
Sense of hope – the once noble solider = expert on the battlefield

Question 25

What drives Macduff to kill Macbeth

Answer 25

His desire for revenge and justice

Question 26

What does Shakespeare show about ambition

Answer 26

It is a powerful emotion that is often destructive

Question 27

Macbeth wins the crown, but…

Answer 27

He loses his morals, his friends, his wife and his life

Question 28

Macduff’s willingness to restore peace and order contrasted with with

Answer 28

Macbeth and Lady Macbeth’s hubris which leads them to commit violent acts in pursuit of power

Question 29

the play explores…

Answer 29

How ambition can inspire justice whilst also leading to ruin and chaos