This was the 2023 question.
Starting with this conversation, explore how far Shakespeare presents Macbeth as a male character who changes during the play.
Schools set this for one of their mocks this year. This is stupid. The only question which won’t be asked in 2024 is this one.
It is the least effective question schools should set. So why am I posting an answer to it here?
Because I want to show you how to adapt your revision to any question which comes up.
How to Adapt Your Revision to Any Question
First, read the essay below. 20 marks is the top of grade 6 or the bottom of grade 7, depending on how grade boundaries move about.
Here’s the extract:
The Essay
Macbeth changes dramatically during the play. His tragedy develops because he refuses to learn from his mistakes. Shakespeare used his protagonist Macbeth to teach King James and his Jacobean audience. He taught that to avoid becoming like “black Macbeth”, King James should learn from his own mistakes and Macbeth’s.
The greatest change to Macbeth is his attitude to guilt. He begins as a fierce warrior defending Scotland and kills without feeling guilty. We consequently meet him as “brave Macbeth” killing in a noble cause.
But planning the murder of Duncan is a mistake which leads to his guilt. He feels this most clearly when he asks in soliloquy, “Is this a dagger which I see before me?” We understand this is caused by his guilt because in soliloquy a character speaks their true, inner thoughts. Once he has murdered Duncan, his guilt is overwhelming, which is why he asks “Will all great Neptune's ocean wash this blood clean from my hand?” This hyperbolic metaphor emphasises how powerful his guilt is.
In this extract Macbeth cares for his wife because she is suffering from the same feelings he is. She has a mind “diseased”, and her feelings of remorse “weigh upon the heart”. Macbeth feels guilt because he knows his mistakes have caused this, and he feels the same way.
Macbeth is also influenced to change through the supernatural witches. Shakespeare deliberately introduces us to the witches in Act I Scene I, before Macbeth gets to meet them. This emphasises that they will have a huge influence on his protagonist. Their influence begins by chanting his name, “all hail Macbeth” three times. This flattery makes him arrogant and over-confident, two feelings which will lead him to making the mistake of killing Duncan.
Macbeth also refers to the supernatural in this extract, which is much later in the play. We can see this in his use of “curses” and through Shakespeare’s punning of “Seyton” as a reference to Satan, emphasising Macbeth’s reliance on the supernatural. He loses both his morality and his ability to distrust the supernatural.
Another change is Macbeth’s attitude to violence. His violence earned him praise because it was used on the battlefield. In 11th Century Scotland and Jacobean times, this would have been seen as brave and honourable. His power as a warrior is emphasised in the way he “brandished steel” and “unseamed” his enemy “from the nave to chops”.
However, by the time of this extract Macbeth’s violent language of “flesh be hacked” is dishonourable. His Jacobean audience has turned against him because he has used his violence for personal gain.
To conclude, Macbeth changes in many ways, but these are all caused by his own mistakes. He failed to learn from these, and continued to repeat them. Shakespeare’s wider message is not just directed at King James, but to his audience, warning them to avoid Macbeth’s kind of change, and to always change to become better.
490 words
20 marks
AO4 = 4 marks
Examiner Comments
This is a clear explanation
And is always focused on the question, how Macbeth changes
The student shows that the Shakespeare constructed and sequenced the play consciously
And shows several examples of Macbeth’s changes
The student focuses on the whole play, and doesn’t get locked into the extract
Instead, the extract is used as a springboard to give their ideas about the whole play
There is no need to start with the extract
The extract is mainly there to give the student something to write about if they choose to
As long as the student does refer to the extract in the answer, they will meet the exam rubric
To get into Level 5, the student should write more about Shakespeare’s methods
Or write in more detail about Shakespeare’s ideas
My guide to writing Macbeth essays has several essays of all grades for every question up to 2022.
You can find it on Amazon, here.
Or you can read it on any device for FREE, along all my other guides, also for free. Amazon gives it away, here.
My Comments
For me the main lessons I learned in writing the guide are that:
Explanations are most important. The more of these you write, the higher your mark.
Always link to Shakespeare’s purpose and ideas. That’s how you use his methods and context.
Construct your answer as an argument.
To write an argument, begin with a thesis and end with a conclusion.
I also add that the best way to organise your argument is to start at the beginning of the play, and work your way through chronologically.
So, don’t start with the extract.
This essay shows you how useful that is.
What Else to Notice
This student has revised for two answers about Macbeth.`Guilt and Violence.
They haven’t panicked when they’ve read this question. Then they have included 8 references to Macbeth’s guilt, and 5 of his violence into this answer. Go back and see those two words in italics in the answer.
That’s a perfect tactic to adapt this question to any question that comes up.
My prediction is that it will be on the supernatural. Take notes from this essay, and all the other Macbeth essays on my Substack, and then apply them to a question on the witches or the supernatural.
(Yes, there will be a video!)
Feedback from Tilf.io Better than the Senior Examiner?
Macbeth changes dramatically during the play. His tragedy develops because he refuses to learn from his mistakes. Shakespeare used his protagonist Macbeth to teach King James and his Jacobean audience. He taught that to avoid becoming like “black Macbeth”, King James should learn from his own mistakes and Macbeth’s.
This introduction sets up a clear argument about Macbeth's change and its didactic purpose.
However, try to directly link these changes to the question's focus on Macbeth as a male character and how societal expectations of masculinity may influence his actions and development.
The greatest change to Macbeth is his attitude to guilt. He begins as a fierce warrior defending Scotland and kills without feeling guilty. We consequently meet him as “brave Macbeth” killing in a noble cause. But planning the murder of Duncan is a mistake which leads to his guilt. He feels this most clearly when he asks in soliloquy, “Is this a dagger which I see before me?” We understand this is caused by his guilt because in soliloquy a character speaks their true, inner thoughts. Once he has murdered Duncan, his guilt is overwhelming, which is why he asks “Will all great Neptune's ocean wash this blood clean from my hand?” This hyperbolic metaphor emphasises how powerful his guilt is.
You provide a good analysis of Macbeth's changing attitude towards guilt, supported by relevant textual evidence.
To enhance your response, consider exploring how Macbeth's initial lack of guilt aligns with traditional masculine roles and how his later guilt could be seen as a departure from these roles.
In this extract Macbeth cares for his wife because she is suffering from the same feelings he is. She has a mind “diseased”, and her feelings of remorse “weigh upon the heart”. Macbeth feels guilt because he knows his mistakes have caused this, and he feels the same way.
This paragraph shows an understanding of Macbeth's empathy towards Lady Macbeth.
To improve, you could discuss how Macbeth's care for his wife might challenge or conform to the expectations of masculinity in the context of the play.
Macbeth is also influenced to change through the supernatural witches. Shakespeare deliberately introduces us to the witches in Act I Scene I, before Macbeth gets to meet them. This emphasises that they will have a huge influence on his protagonist. Their influence begins by chanting his name, “all hail Macbeth” three times. This flattery makes him arrogant and over-confident, two feelings which will lead him to making the mistake of killing Duncan.
You correctly identify the witches' influence on Macbeth's transformation.
To strengthen your analysis, consider how Macbeth's susceptibility to the witches' flattery might reflect on his masculinity and the societal pressures to achieve power and status.
Macbeth also refers to the supernatural in this extract, which is much later in the play. We can see this in his use of “curses” and through Shakespeare’s punning of “Seyton” as a reference to Satan, emphasising Macbeth’s reliance on the supernatural. He loses both his morality and his ability to distrust the supernatural.
This paragraph highlights Macbeth's continued engagement with the supernatural.
Discuss how this reliance might be interpreted as a weakness in his masculine character, especially in the context of the play's setting.
Another change is Macbeth’s attitude to violence. His violence earned him praise because it was used on the battlefield. In 11th Century Scotland and Jacobean times, this would have been seen as brave and honourable. His power as a warrior is emphasised in the way he “brandished steel” and “unseamed” his enemy “from the nave to chops”.
You make a valid point about the shift in Macbeth's use of violence.
To further align with the question, explore how this change from honorable to dishonorable violence affects Macbeth's perception as a male character.
However, by the time of this extract Macbeth’s violent language of “flesh be hacked” is dishonourable. His Jacobean audience has turned against him because he has used his violence for personal gain.
This is a good observation of the audience's changing perception of Macbeth.
Consider discussing how Macbeth's dishonorable actions conflict with the heroic masculine ideal of the time.
To conclude, Macbeth changes in many ways, but these are all caused by his own mistakes. He failed to learn from these, and continued to repeat them. Shakespeare’s wider message is not just directed at King James, but to his audience, warning them to avoid Macbeth’s kind of change, and to always change to become better.
Your conclusion effectively summarises Macbeth's changes and the play's moral message.
To enhance it, reiterate how these changes relate specifically to Macbeth's masculinity and the expectations of male characters within the play.
Mark: 21 - 24 (this is a beta feature and mark may not be very accurate)
Overall feedback: Your essay demonstrates a thoughtful and developed consideration of Macbeth's changes throughout the play, with a good use of textual evidence to support your points. To improve, ensure that you consistently link your analysis back to the question's focus on Macbeth as a male character and the societal expectations of masculinity. This will help to provide a more nuanced and critical exploration of the character's development.
What went well: Good use of textual evidence to support analysis of Macbeth's changing attitudes and behaviors.
Even better if: Ensure that the analysis consistently relates back to the question's focus on Macbeth's masculinity and societal expectations of male characters.
My Comments on Tilf.io
This is even more helpful than the senior examiner. Let me tell you why.
The mark is wrong. Except that it isn’t. AQA examiners would be allowed to be 3 marks different to the examiner either way. So 17-23 is ok with AQA! Tilf.io is much closer to the exact mark.
But the most important part isn’t my grade (unless I’ve scored 100%). I want to know:
What do I do well, so I can keep on doing it.
What do I need to do better to get higher grades.
And this is where Tilf.io is even better than the senior examiner.
Look at what it wrote about ‘masculinity’.
This was an absolute gift from AQA – it is not often I get to praise their questions. But, if you write about masculinity, you have to write about ideas of manhood in 1605. You have to write about Shakespeare’s view of what it meant to be a man.
And that, my friends, forces you to get grade 7 or more. Always write about Shakespeare’s ideas!
You can try out Tilf.io for FREE. Just click here.
Tomorrow I will give paid subscribers the grade 9 version of this essay.