macbeth model essay

Macbeth and Violence — Example A Grade Essay

Here’s an essay on Macbeth’s violent nature that I wrote as a mock exam practice with students. Feel free to read and analyse it, use the quotes and context for your own essays too!

It’s also useful for anyone studying Macbeth in general, especially with the following exam boards: CAIE / Cambridge, Edexcel, OCR, CCEA, WJEC / Eduqas.

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 .

THE QUESTION

Starting with this speech, explore how far shakespeare presents macbeth as a violent character. (act 1 scene 2).

Debate: How far is Macbeth violent? (AGREE / DISAGREE)

Themes: Violence (break into different types of violence)

Focus: Character of Macbeth (what he says/does, other character’s actions towards him and speech about him)

PLAN — 6–8 mins

Thesis – Shakespeare uses Macbeth to make us question the nature of violence and whether any kind of violent behaviour is ever appropriate

Point 1 : Macbeth has an enjoyment of violence

‘Brandished steel’ ‘smoked with bloody execution’

‘Unseam’d him from the nave to’th’chops’ ‘fixed his head upon the battlements’

Context — Thou shalt not kill / Tragic hero

Point 2 : Macbeth is a violent character from the offset, but this violence is acceptable at first

‘Disdaining Fortune’ ‘valiant cousin/ worthy gentleman’

‘Worthy to be a rebel’

Context: Divine Right of Kings / James I legacy

Point 3:  The witches and Lady Macbeth manipulate that violent power

‘Fair is foul and foul is fair’ ‘so foul and fair a day I have not seen’

‘Will these hands never be clean?’ ‘incarnadine’

‘Is this a dagger I see before me?’

Context: Psychological power — Machiavelli / Demonology

(Point 4) Ultimately, Macbeth is undone by violence in the end

Hubris — ‘Macduff was from his mother’s womb untimely ripp’d’

‘Traitor’ ‘Tyrant’

‘Life is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing’

Context: Violence for evil means is unsustainable, political unrest equally is negative and unsustainable — support James

Macbeth is certainly portrayed as a violent character from the offset, but initially this seems a positive trait: the Captain, Ross and others herald him as a great warrior, both an ally and valuable asset to Duncan and his kingdom. Furthermore, Duncan himself is overjoyed at Macbeth’s skill in battle. Yet, as the play progresses and Macbeth embarks upon his tragic fall, Shakespeare encourages us to question the nature of violence itself, and whether any kind of violence is truly good. Ultimately, Shakespeare demonstrates that Macbeth’s enjoyment of violence works against him, as it is manipulated by the evil forces at work in the play, and it ends in destroying not only himself but his entire life’s work, reputation and legacy.

Firstly, Macbeth is established as a character who embraces violence, though he uses it as a force for good in the sense that he defends Duncan and his Kingdom against traitors and the King of Norway’s attack. In the play, it is interesting to note that Macbeth’s reputation precedes him — despite being the central focus of the tragedy, we do not meet him until Act 1 Scene 3, and so this extract occurs before we have seen the man himself. The Captain’s speech begins with the dramatic utterance ‘Doubtful it stood’, creating a sense of tension and uncertainty as he recounts the events of the battle to Duncan and the others. Yet, the tone of the speech becomes increasingly full of praise and confidence as he explains how Macbeth and Banquo overcame ‘Fortune’, the luck that went against them, and their strong willpower enabled them to defeat ‘the merciless Macdonwald’, the alliteration serving to underscore the Captain’s dislike of the man, while the adjective ‘merciless’ implies that the traitor himself was also cruel and violent. The sense that Macbeth enjoys the violence he enacts upon the traitor is conveyed through visual imagery, which is graphic and quite repellent: ‘his brandish’d steel… smoked with bloody execution’ and ‘he unseam’d [Macdonwald] from the nave to th’chops’. The dynamic verb ‘smoked’ suggests the intense action of the scene and the amount of fresh blood that had stained Macbeth’s sword. Furthermore, the verb ‘unseam’d’ suggests the skill with which Macbeth is able to kill — he does not simply stab the traitor, he delicately and expertly destroys him, almost as if he’s a butcher who takes pleasure in his profession, and indeed at the end of the play Macduff does call him by this same term: ‘the dead butcher and his fiend-like queen’. Interestingly, much of the violence that occurs in the play happens offstage, Duncan is murdered in between Acts 2.1 and 2.2., as are Banquo and Macduff’s family. Even in this early scene, the audience hear about the violence rather than experiencing it directly. This suggests perhaps that for a Jacobean audience at a time of political instability, Shakespeare wanted to discourage the idea or enjoyment of violence whilst still exploring the idea of it in human nature and psychology. Furthermore, a contemporary audience would be aware of the Biblical commandment ‘thou shall not kill’, which expressed that violence and murder of any kind was a sinful act against God. Therefore, we can see that Macbeth is established as a tragic hero from the offset, though he is a successful character and increasing his power within the feudal world, this power is built upon his capacity for and enjoyment of violence, which will ultimately cause him to fail and in turn warn the Jacobean audience against any kind of violence in their own lives.

We could also interpret Macbeth as inherently violent, but under control of his own power at the beginning of the play, an aspect of himself which degenerates under the influence of evil. Though he is physically great, he is easily manipulated by the witches and Lady Macbeth, all of whom are arguably psychologically stronger. The use of chiasmus in the opening scene — ‘fair is foul and foul is fair’ is echoed by Macbeth’s first line in Act One Scene 3: ‘so foul and fair a day I have not seen’. Delving deeper into the meaning of these lines also reveals more about Shakespeare’s opinions on the inherent nature of violence; though the language is equivocal and can be interpreted in many ways, we can assume that the witches are implying that the world has become inverted, that ugliness and evil are now ‘fair’, what is seen as right or normal in Macbeth’s violent world. Macbeth uses similar lines, but with a different meaning, he is stating that he has never seen a day so ‘foul’, so full of gore and death, that was at the same time so ‘fair’, so good in terms of outcome, and positive for the future. Shakespeare is perhaps exposing an inherent paradox in violence here, that war and murder is thought by many to be noble if it leads to a positive political outcome. Furthermore, Lady Macbeth encourages and appeals to Macbeth’s sense for violence by directly associating it with masculinity and male traits that were considered noble or desirable in the Jacobean era. She questions him just prior to Duncan’s death, stating ‘I fear thy nature is too full o’th’milk of human kindness / to catch the nearest way’, using ‘milk’ as a symbol of femininity to imply his womanly and cowardly nature, while in turn asking evil spirits to ‘unsex’ her and fill her with ‘direst cruelty’. In this sense, it could be argued that Shakespeare is commenting on the connections between nature and violence, perhaps a Jacobean audience would have understood that Macbeth fighting for the king was an acceptable outlet for his violence, whereas Macbeth using violence for personal gain and Lady Macbeth’s wish to become more masculine, and therefore more violent, are all against the perceived view of natural gender and social roles of the time. Overall, we could say that the culture itself, which encourages Machievellian disruption and political vying for power through both women and men stepping out of the social norms of their society, encourages more violence and evil to enter the world.

Alternatively, it could be argued that Shakespeare uses Macbeth’s success through violence to criticise the nature of the Early Modern world, and so it is not Macbeth’s violence itself which is at fault, but the world which embraces and encourages this in him. Duncan responds to the Captain’s speech by exclaiming ‘valiant cousin’ ‘worthy gentleman!’, demonstrating his extreme faith in Macbeth’s powers. The Captain additionally terms him ‘Brave Macbeth’, stating ‘well he deserves that name’, suggesting that the general structure of the world supports violent and potentially unstable characters such as Macbeth, enabling them to rise to power beyond their means. Interestingly the downfall of Macbeth is foreshadowed early on in this extract, as the term ‘worthy’ is also applied to the traitor in the Captain’s speech, when he states Macdonwald is ‘worthy to be a rebel’, the repetition of this adjective perhaps subtly compares Macdonwald’s position to Macbeth’s own, as Macbeth’s own death also is similar to the initial traitors, with his own head being ‘fixed…upon the battlements’ of Inverness castle. Through this repetition of staging and terminology, we realise that the world is perhaps at fault more than Macbeth himself, as it encourages a cycle of violence and political instability. Though there is a sense of positivity in extract as Duncan has succeeded in securing the throne and defeating the traitor, the violent context in which this action occurs, being set in 11th century feudal Scotland, suggests the underlying political unrest that mirrors the political instability of Shakespeare’s own time. The play was first performed in 1606, three years after James I had been made King of England (though he was already King of Scotland at this time), and in 1605 there had been a violent attempt on his life with the Gunpowder Plot from a group of secret Catholics who felt they were being underrepresented. Shakespeare’s own family were known associates of some of the perpetrators, so it is likely that he intended to clear suspicion of his own name by creating a play that strongly supported James I’s Divine Right to rule. In this sense, we can see that the concept of a cycle of violence that is created through political instability is integral to Shakespeare’s overall purpose, he is strongly conveying to the audience that not only is Macbeth’s personal violence sinful, but the way in which society encourages people to become violent is terrible and must be stopped, for the good of everyone.

In summary, Macbeth is established from the offset as a violent character, who takes pride and pleasure in fighting and killing. However, Shakespeare is careful not to make this violent action central to the enjoyment of the play (until the very end, when Macbeth himself is defeated), to force us to engage with the psychology of violence more than the physical nature of it. Though the women in the play are passive, Lady Macbeth and the witches prove to incite violence in Macbeth’s nature and lead ultimately to more evil entering the world. Finally, we can interpret the violence of the play as a criticism of the political and social instability of Jacobean times, rather than it being purely Macbeth’s fault, Shakespeare is exploring how the society itself encourages instability through the encouragement of Machiavellian ideas such as power grabbing, nepotism, greed and ambition.

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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
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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.

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Macbeth Revision

Subject: English

Age range: 14-16

Resource type: Assessment and revision

Last updated

16 June 2023

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May 2022 Macbeth model answer on how Macbeth’s fears are presented throughout Act 3 Scene 1 and the rest of the play. This model essay is designed to hit the requirements for Grade 9 for AQA English Literature Paper 2. Includes an answer that weaves together language and structure analysis, context and detailed and perceptive insights into Jacobean society, how and why Shakespeare presents Macbeth’s fears and as he does throughout the play and how these fears could be perceived by a Jacobean audience.

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Macbeth exam model answers collection. Currently includes: May 2017 model essay - Ambition May 2018 model essay - Macbeth, Banquo and the Supernatural May 2019 model essay - Macbeth as a violent character / violence 2020 model essay - Lady Macbeth and how she changes 2021 model essay 2022 model essay

Macbeth revision pack that contains Model answers for all exam questions from 2018 to 2023 Two quizzes 28 Macbeth worksheets Timeline of the whole play with key quotes Key quotes lesson Exam practice pack with ten questions and ten sets of answers (indicative content) Escape room The perfect exam prep pack

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Macbeth and Gender

Read this extract from act 1 scene 7 of the play. in this scene, macbeth has just said that he doesn’t want to kill duncan and lady macbeth begins to talk him around., lady macbeth, was the hope drunk, wherein you dressed yourself hath it slept since, and wakes it now, to look so green and pale, at what it did so freely from this time, such i account thy love. art thou afeard, to be the same in thine own act and valour, as thou art in desire wouldst thou have that, which thou esteem'st the ornament of life,, and live a coward in thine own esteem,, letting 'i dare not' wait upon 'i would,', like the poor cat i' the adage, prithee, peace:, i dare do all that may become a man;, who dares do more is none., what beast was't, then,, that made you break this enterprise to me, when you durst do it, then you were a man;, and, to be more than what you were, you would, be so much more the man., starting with this extract, how does shakespeare present gender in macbeth, in your answer you should:, · look at gender in the extract above and, · look at gender in the play as a whole, p1: introduction about gender and outline brief argument, p2: focus on lady macbeth and her deceptive ways, p3: focus on macbeth and his role as victim, p4: conclusion of argument, and modern vs jacobean context, throughout the play shakespeare toys with the stereotypical roles of each gender in jacobean england and most noticeably seems to reverse these roles at several key points in the play. while the traditional roles are seemingly apparent at the beginning, with macbeth being a valiant soldier and lady macbeth being a ‘lady’, the gender roles of both become increasingly ambiguous and indistinct as the plot develops. this fact is somewhat subtly highlighted in the witches’ iconic opening line “fair is foul and foul is fair” which establishes a setting where nothing is as it seems, including the typical roles of each gender. the decisions made by macbeth, which were undoubtedly under the powerful influence of women, and the damaging consequences to these actions are central to this tale of a tragic, ‘brave’ hero and the message shakespeare was trying to get across. he seems to argue that women should not be given too much power as that power can have a detrimental impact on a man’s life, especially a well-respected soldier like macbeth was., in this extract, lady macbeth is berating macbeth, insulting his masculinity as she labels him a “coward” and asks if he is “afeard” of killing the king. this is like a personal attack on macbeth, who at the beginning of the play is established as a ‘brave’ soldier whose sword ‘smoked with bloody execution’, yet lady macbeth is accusing him of being a weakling and a ‘coward’ and therefore questioning his entire ego. her aggressive tone, which is evident by her use of multiple rhetorical questions, makes it clear she is the more powerful person in this relationship. this verbal attack incidentally comes soon after she says, “such i account thy love” which is her way of saying that macbeth doesn’t “love” her if he doesn’t kill the king. this use of emotional blackmail is especially effective as it is clear that macbeth is very much in love with his wife, shown in act 1 scene 5 when he addresses her as “my dearest.” and while the pronoun ‘dearest’ shows that lady macbeth was precious to macbeth, it also has the connotations of expensive, which lady macbeth certainly was to macbeth in the play, costing him his sanity and ultimately his life it is clear in the play that lady macbeth exerts her power through lies and manipulation. by asking macbeth, “ what beast was't, then, that made you break this enterprise to me” she is clearly gaslighting him in a bid to convince him to kill duncan, and we know this because in act 1 scene 5, she asked when duncan would be leaving the castle, macbeth said “in the morning, as he purposes” and then she said “never shall the sun that morrow see.” so she was the one who suggested the murder, yet her deceptive ways manage to convince macbeth that he had suggested it. lady macbeth even encourages macbeth to lie and manipulate when she says “look like th’ innocent flower but be the serpent under it.” but it would seem as though to macbeth, his wife is actually the serpent, tempting him to do the evil deed, just like in the bible with adam. in the play however, macbeth seems oblivious to his wife’s true feelings about him, and his subservience to her is what leads to his downfall. lady macbeth has an influence on macbeth that no one else in the play, apart from the witches, had on him. the way she ridicules him and humiliates him to his face is almost unexplainable to the jacobean audience, given the status of macbeth in society at the time. she even directly questions his manliness when she says, “when you durst do it, then you were a man” even though macbeth had more than proven himself as a worthy man, when he killed the norwegian king by “unseaming him from the nave to th’ chaps,” his wife still questions his willingness to kill, which no one else would have dared done ., macbeth responds to this by saying, “i dare do all that may become a man; who dares do more is none” this is his way of saying that he has already done what he needs to do to become a man: he has served loyally to the king and killed many in his name. his reference to those doing more as being ‘none’ is him sticking to his masculinity and implying that a true man is loyal to the king. earlier in this scene, he says that he has bought “golden opinions from people.” the adjective ‘golden’ clearly shows that macbeth values those opinions and he is effectively treasured by those in the society. he is as high as he can be in the great chain of being and he has come to accept that, but his wife’s ambition forces him to do the terrible deed, something he clearly didn’t want to do. he repeatedly references that killing duncan is “against nature” which is quite telling, as while nature refers to the natural order in which he shouldn’t have tampered with, it also symbolises his own nature, which lady macbeth describes ‘as being too full of the milk o’ human kindness. the use of the word ‘milk’ has strong connotations to femininity and it essentially portrays macbeth as being too soft, completely disregarding his ruthlessness in the battlefield at the start. his decision to go against his nature (and his masculinity) is what leads him to killing the king. the witches also have a massive impact on macbeth throughout the play, and they were arguably controlling him. after seeing the witches, macbeth says that the thought of murder “shakes so my single state of man that function is smothered.” this means that his masculinity is so shocked by the idea of betraying his king that he doesn’t think he can act on it. so here we know that macbeth is trying to stick to his manly nature, yet the influence of these powerful women effectively forces him to do something against his will. in fact, it could be argued macbeth was under the influence of the witches from the very beginning, as his first line in the play is ‘so fair and foul a day i have not seen’ which is paraphrasing what the witches said at the beginning of the play. also, after he kills duncan, macbeth anxiously tells his wife, ‘me thought i heard a voice cry “sleep no more macbeth hath murdered sleep.”’ the use of the third person, with macbeth referencing himself as ‘macbeth’ not ’i’ – and the inclusion of the inverted commas that indicate speech – imply that it was someone else who said that to him. surely this is the witches, casting their spells on the wind, and doing to macbeth exactly what they did to the sailor they referenced in act 1 scene 3. the fact that macbeth spends the rest of the play suffering the fact that “sleep shall neither night nor day hang upon his penthouse lid” is another incidence of women (in this case the witches) dominating and controlling macbeth’s actions., shakespeare definitely raised serious questions in this play about the devastating effects of giving women too much power. king james was definitely afraid of this, as at the time society was very much misogynistic under his reign. while the modern audience would probably view lady macbeth as a woman whose power should be admired, the jacobean audience would certainly be worried by the thought of giving women too much power, therefore shakespeare went at lengths to show that this power resulted in the downfall of even the strongest men. the whole play represents the catastrophic consequences of doing the unnatural, whether that is going against the natural order, listening to the supernatural or going against the normal gender roles. all of these lead to this tale of a tragic hero, and shakespeare’s audience would definitely have been reassured by this..