Themes, Literary Elements & Essay
Writing
 Themes are the main ideas of the play.
 A theme can be defined as “the living idea” which emerges from
the plot.
 In a very complex play such as Macbeth there can be many
themes, some obviously more important that others.
 Macbeth (the play) questions whether or not fate (destiny) or human nature
(choice) determines a man’s future.
 Shakespeare allows us to question what it is that causes a seemingly decent man
(Macbeth) to commit evil acts.
 On the one hand the play is set in motion by the weird sisters’ prophesy that
Macbeth will be king, which turns out to be true.
 It also often seems that outside forces control Macbeth’s actions.
 The play goes out of its way to dramatize how Macbeth deliberates before taking
action, which suggests that he alone controls the outcome of his own future.
 Others have suggest that Macbeth’s fate may be set in stone but his choices
determine the specific circumstances by which he arrives at or fulfils his destiny.
 Macbeth is often read as a cautionary tale about the kind of destruction
ambition can cause.
 Macbeth is a man that at first seems content to defend his King and country
against treason and rebellion and yet, his desire for power plays a major role
in the wat he commits the most dreadful acts (with the help of his ambitious
wife of course).
 Once Macbeth has had a taste of power, he seems unable and unwilling to
stop killing (men, women, and children alike) in order to secure his position
on the throne.
 Selfishly, Macbeth puts his own desires before the good of his country until
he is reduced to a mere shell of a human being.
 Macbeth is interested in exploring the qualities that distinguish a good ruler
from a tyrant (what Macbeth clearly becomes by the play’s end).
 It also dramatizes the unnaturalness of regicide (killing a king) although still
portraying the killing of King Macbeth.
 Although the play is set in 11th century Scotland (a time when kings were
frequently murdered), Macbeth has a great deal of contemporary relevance.
 In 1603, King James VI of Scotland was crowned King James I of England,
becoming England’s first Stuart monarch.
 The play alludes to an unsuccessful Catholic plot (the Gunpowder Plot of
1605) to blow up Parliament and King James.
 Shakespeare also pays homage to the Stuart political myth by portraying
Banquo as King James’ noble ancestor
 In Macbeth, appearances, like people, are frequently deceptive.
What’s more, many of the play’s most resonant images are ones
that may not actually exist.
 Macbeth’s bloody “dagger of the mind,” the questionable
appearance of Banquo’s ghost, and the blood that cannot be
washed from Lady Macbeth’s hands all blur the boundaries
between what is real and what is imagined.
 This theme is closely related to the Supernatural.
 Macbeth is a play where the traditional gender roles are switched.
 Lady Macbeth is the dominant partner (at the play’s beginning) in her marriage
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and she frequently pesters her husband for failing to act like a “man” when he
questions killing the king.
Lady Macbeth isn’t the only emasculating figure in this play – the weird sisters
cast a spell to literally “drain” a man as “dry as hay” and set out to ruin Macbeth.
It’s important to note that traditional gender roles are ultimately re-established
by the end of the play when Lady Macbeth is excluded from all the decision
making and goes mad before she commits suicide.
The play also portrays femininity as having kindness and compassion while it
associates masculinity with cruelty and violence.
Overall, Lady Macbeth and the witches are portrayed as being unnaturally
masculine.
Macduff argues that the capacity to feel human emotion (love, grief, loss, etc.) is
in fact what makes one a man.
 Witchcraft features prominently in Macbeth – the witches are the figures that
set the lay in motion when they accurately predict that Macbeth will be
crowned King.
 Although they have supernatural powers their power over Macbeth is
debatable.
 At times, the weird sisters seem to represent general anxieties about the
unknown.
 They also represent fears of powerful women who invert traditional gender
roles.
 Ultimately, the weird sisters are ambiguous figures that raise more questions
that can be answered.
 Violence in Macbeth is central to action.
 The play begins with a battle against rebel forces in which Macbeth
distinguishes himself as a valiant and loyal warrior.
 Later, Macbeth’s murder of King Duncan is condemned as an unnatural deed
but they play also raises the question of whether or not there’s any real
difference between killing a man in combat and murdering for self-gain.
 Violence in all forms is frequently associated with masculinity – the play is
full of characters (Macbeth, Macduff, Young Siward, etc.) that must prove
their ‘manhood” by killing.
 Even Lady Macbeth asks to be “unsexed” so that she may be “filled with
direst cruelty”.
 At the same time, the play also suggest that unchecked violence may lead to
a kind of emotional numbness that renders one inhuman.
 Macbeth seems obsessed with the concept of time, although it is not always
clear.
 When Macbeth murders King Duncan and takes the throne, there are several
allusions to the idea that time literally comes to a halt.
 Macduff’s final remark that the “time is free” (now that Macbeth is defeated
and Malcolm is set to take his rightful position as hereditary monarch)
suggests a relationship between the seeming disruption in linear time and the
disruption of lineal succession.
 The idea is that the country has no future without a rightful and competent
ruler at the helm.
One common way of understanding Macbeth is to see the play as representing
the journey of the tragic hero. This pattern or genre illustrates the downfall of
the central character. It is typical of Shakespeare’s tragedies. The main
protagonist must possess certain characteristics to fit the label of a tragic hero.
 A man of high estate – our first impression of his greatness is usually
through the eyes of others.
 Early in the play the audience becomes aware of a driving force within the
hero that soon becomes obsessive. This obsession produces inner turmoil.
 The obsession is the hero’s tragic flaw, soon becoming a highly destructive
force.
 The tragic hero is marked by a sense of waste. Ultimately, the audience feels
some sympathy for him.
A different way to read the play is to consider Banquo and Macbeth as parallel
characters. This involves comparing the actions and behaviour of the two in
order to judge their characters.
 Both are successful soldiers beloved by King Duncan.
 The witches predict good fortunes for both Macbeth and Banquo.
Why didn’t Banquo seek power by challenging fate, as Macbeth did?
 Duty – Self-interest
 Reason – Emotion
 Caution – Impulsiveness
 Wisdom – Lack of judgement
How can Banquo be considered a heroic figure?
A symbol is an object, creature, person, action or situation which is part of a
larger unit. The larger unit is often abstract and inexpressible, and thus
requires something more concrete to give at expression.
 Dagger
 Blood
 Clothes
 Weather/Natural world
 Prophecies
 Violence
In Macbeth, Macbeth’s castle becomes a symbol of hell when the murder of
Duncan takes place. The witches are symbols of evil. The growing tree and
Birnam Wood are symbols of good, of healthy growth. A writer often employs
symbolism, and uses symbolic images.
Shakespeare gives us insight into Macbeth’s mind through a series of
key soliloquies. A soliloquy is a speech made by a character on stage. It
reveals the character’s thoughts, feelings, intentions and decisions
concerning significant turning points in the action of the play. The
soliloquy is heard and watched by the audience only – other characters
on stage do not hear or witness it.
 Act 1, Scene 7, Lines 1-28
 Act 3, Scene 1, Lines 48-71
 Act 3, Scene 4, Lines 129-139
 Act 4, Scene 1, Lines 142-156
 Act 5, Scene 5, Lines 18-28
 Storyboard – Is this a dagger?
 Macbeth’s “Is this a dagger” soliloquy is famous for the
imagery it evokes, and the uncertainty of this imagery:
is Macbeth really seeing a dagger, just as he has seen
witches? Is he hallucinating? Should the audience see
what he is seeing, or should we have to imagine it?
Imagery refers to words that appeal to the five senses:
hearing, taste, touch, sight, and sound. Such word
pictures can suggest a mood or idea, and they add
emotion and power to the writing.
In Act 1, Scene iii, Macbeth says ‘why do you dress
me/in borrow’d robes? This is the first of many images
of borrowed or ill-fitting clothing in Macbeth. They
contribute to the ideas that Macbeth is not the natural
king of Scotland, and he feels insecure in this role.
 Irony occurs when a character is aware or unaware
that there is a hidden meaning behind what is said.
There is usually a contrast between what is said and
the underlying meaning.
 For example, when Duncan’s visit is announced, Lady
Macbeth says “He that’s coming must be provided for”
 She can be understood on two levels: she is referring to
her duties as a hostess, but she is also saving that
arrangements must be made to murder Duncan. The
contrast between the two meanings is clear.
A simile is a way of comparing two unlike things using
like or as.
In the play, Lady Macbeth says ‘the sleeping and the
dead/are but as pictures’. If the sleeping and the dead
are like paintings, still and not alive, Macbeth need not
fear murdering the sleeping Duncan.
This is a statement that has two different meanings, one
of which may be sexual.
In Act I, Scene V, Lady Macbeth asks the spirits to
“unsex” her. This can mean both “turn her into a man”
and “free her of mercy and gentleness,” qualities
associated with women.
 An allusion is a reference to a historical or literary figure,
happening, or event that is meant to enhance the meaning of the
story. In Act II, Scene II, Macbeth refers to Neptune, the Roman
god of the sea, when expressing fear that his murderous
conscience will never be cleansed.
 “Will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood/clean from my
hand?”
 The mood is the overall feeling or atmosphere an author creates
with his or her selection of details. Macbeth opens on a barren
hill with three witches muttering incantations over the
background sounds of thunder and lightning. The mood is dark
and threatening.
 Refers to hints about what might happen at a later
point in the plot. In Act III, Scene ii, Macbeth says to
his wife, “We have scorch’d the snake, not kill’d it.” In
other words, they have not put trouble to rest by killing
Duncan.
 Step 1: Analyse the question
 Step 2: Develop a plan
 Step 3: Write the response
 Step 4: Edit and rewrite
 Break the question down into parts to decide what it is really
asking you.
 What are the key terms in the topic?
 Is there something in the topic that’s not always true?
 Is there a quote from the text?
 Are their adjectives or adverbs? (limited, strong, essential etc)
 Are there two or three parts to a topic?
 Re-assess the topic – what do I now think the topic is really
saying?
 Paraphrase the topic – rewrite it in your own words.
 What is your short answer to the question? Keep it simple.
 Write down your central argument.
 What are your main reasons?
 Find an example or two for each reason. Write down some relevant
quotes.
 List the reasons in a logical order – least to most important from start to
end of text. Group similar reasons together, eg characters with similar
qualities.
Now you have a plan!
Sets up your approach for the whole response and lets your
reader or audience know what lies ahead.
It should include:
 Your main argument – a clear, concise response to the question.
 Key terms from the topic, as well as any key concepts you
introduce as part of your argument.
 Signposts for what will be taken up in the body paragraphs – the
main points that you will be discussing in your paragraph.
‘Year of Wonders is a story about survival’
Geraldine Brooks novel, Year of Wonders, is an extraordinary story about
surviving the 1666 plague year, when a small Derbyshire village is quarantined
and the villagers are forced to confront a scourge beyond remedy or
understanding. Whilst the novel is based on surviving the plague and the
ramifications of the plague, Brooks also looks at the different aspects that
contribute to survival and ultimately what the novel is about, that is,
friendship, love, sacrifice and faith. Through these aspects, Brooks is able to
depict the human condition and the testing of individuals and society that
ultimately influences whether the villagers survive the year, 1666.
Body paragraphs develop and support the central argument. They need
to:
 Clearly respond to the question
 Use evidence from the text
 Explain how this evidence supports the central argument and
answers the questions.
 How does Shakespeare construct meaning? (Symbolism, imagery,
etc).
 Why does Shakespeare do this?
 Ensure that quotes are not too long and FLOW well in the sentence.
 Use appropriate metalanguage to construct a supported analysis of
a text – play, not novel; audience, not readers etc.
TEEL Structure
 Topic sentence – main point for the
paragraph.
 Evidence – support the point with wellchosen evidence from the text you are
discussing.
 Explanation – explain the significance of the
evidence and how it supports the point.
 Links – link back to the topic and link
‘forward’ to lead into the next body
paragraph.
Why would Shakespeare do this? Why
would Shakespeare write that? Why does
Shakespeare want the audience to see this?
Why doesn’t Shakespeare want the
audience to see that?
ALWAYS ask WHY!
Anna uses poppies to numb her pain whilst the community responds with
violence and Mem and Anys Gowdie are targeted in the murderous attack.
Brooks is showing that the marginalised groups in society are the first to be
accused in the face of crisis. The villager’s then turn to superstition as a means
of survival, ‘the witch told us we should boil the babe’s hair in his piss and
that this would keep off the Plague’, posing a challenge to the moral authority
of Michael Mompellion. Brooks is showing the desperate measures that a
community would take, from seeking scapegoats to practicing sorcery to
increase their chance of survival.
 The conclusion draws your discussion to a close and should always be
included to ensure you submit a completed piece of writing.
 The conclusion should:
 Clearly refer to the topic and provide a concise response to it.
 Restate your central argument, but avoid repeating the same words as the
main contention in the introduction.
 Include one or two strong, general statements about the text’s significance
rather than simply summarizing the examples.
 Gathering ideas: https://ed.ted.com/on/LMIdjGiD
 The Introduction: https://ed.ted.com/on/1e8XopJN
 Body Paragraphs https://ed.ted.com/on/xJnm8cDB
 The Conclusion https://ed.ted.com/on/fbGnPvla
1.Characters/Themes
2.Structural Elements
3.Quotes
4.Begin writing your
practice essay!