macbeth motif assignment

William Shakespeare

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Macbeth is a play about ambition run amok. The weird sisters ' prophecies spur both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth to try to fulfill their ambitions, but the witches never make Macbeth or his wife do anything. Macbeth and his wife act on their own to fulfill their deepest desires. Macbeth, a good general and, by all accounts before the action of the play, a good man, allows his ambition to overwhelm him and becomes a…

From the moment the weird sisters tell Macbeth and Banquo their prophecies, both the characters and the audience are forced to wonder about fate. Is it real? Is action necessary to make it come to pass, or will the prophecy come true no matter what one does? Different characters answer these questions in different ways at different times, and the final answers are ambiguous—as fate always is.

Unlike Banquo, Macbeth acts: he kills Duncan …

To call Macbeth a violent play is an understatement. It begins in battle, contains the murder of men, women, and children, and ends not just with a climactic siege but the suicide of Lady Macbeth and the beheading of its main character, Macbeth . In the process of all this bloodshed, Macbeth makes an important point about the nature of violence: every violent act, even those done for selfless reasons, seems to lead inevitably to…

Nature and the Unnatural

In medieval times, it was believed that the health of a country was directly related to the goodness and moral legitimacy of its king. If the King was good and just, then the nation would have good harvests and good weather. If there was political order, then there would be natural order. Macbeth shows this connection between the political and natural world: when Macbeth disrupts the social and political order by murdering Duncan and usurping…

Over and over again in Macbeth , characters discuss or debate about manhood: Lady Macbeth challenges Macbeth when he decides not to kill Duncan, Banquo refuses to join Macbeth in his plot, Lady Macduff questions Macduff's decision to go to England, and on and on.

Through these challenges, Macbeth questions and examines manhood itself. Does a true man take what he wants no matter what it is, as Lady Macbeth believes? Or does a real…

Macbeth Motifs

A motif is a dominant or recurring idea in a literary work. In Macbeth , motifs are aplenty and running throughout the play . Some are dominant, while other appear momentarily and disappear and reappear again in another scene, or act. Some of the powerful motifs in Macbeth are discussed below.

Motifs in Macbeth

Predictions

One of the powerful motifs in the play is the prediction of the witches. The witches appear in the first act and then in the third and last. They make a prediction that Macbeth shall be the king, and that his wife will be the queen. All the actions of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are based on these predictions. Whatever action they take, its basis is the same prediction, and its attendant features that they will have to do nothing. In fact, these predictions occurring at different times make the play move forward with a fast pace.

Although violence is not the dominant motif, it is still an ensuring motif. It occurs due to the predictions of the witches. In fact, the play starts with the violent atmosphere where three witch sisters appear to weave a spell. However, the actual violence starts when the King Duncan is killed and Macbeth immediately kills the guards. Banquo, along with his children, is also murdered. This leads to a spiral of violence that ends with Macbeth’s musings.

Although very difficult to trace, the third recurrent and dominant motif in Macbeth. Gender has played an important role by instigating Macbeth. It is a result of a spell woven by three witches which are female in gender. Then when Macbeth does not take courage to move forward, it is Lady Macbeth who urges him. It is also that Lady Macbeth plays her role until the end of the play even chiding Macbeth “Why have you left the chamber?” to ensure his protection. In other words, it shows that even patriarchy is under the spell of feminism.

It is stated that weather is a way of predicting future course of action or circumstances. This could be a use of a foreshadowing . It is quite surprising that weather does not become significant though the witch sisters announce that they would be meeting again in a story weather. The symbols of thunder, lightning, rain , and bad storms are indicators of turbulent circumstances in Scotland. Moreover, the situation is always bad when the witches meet.

Sleep is also a significant motif running throughout the play. It becomes recurrent when different characters express their desire for sleep. It happens that Lady Macbeth, who appears in almost every other theme and motif, is again in the motif of sleeplessness. This motif is signifying how weak and frail creature loses her sleep due to the crimes committed by her. In other words, it shows that the enormity of the crime has devoid Lady Macbeth of her sleep. She clearly says in the second act that she has heard “Sleep no more.”

Although blood is not such a significant theme, it is, however, a significant motif in the play. This word first appears when King Duncan is murdered. However, this word has appeared in Lady Macbeth’s utterance, who says “Who would have thought the old man to have had so much blood in him.” It seems a very cruel utterance. However, as an essential ingredient of our physical living, blood can be “thick” or “thin” as Lady Macbeth often makes reference to it, according to the thinking of the person.

Equivocation

The motif of equivocation starts from the very first line of the play, Macbeth. The presence of two witches is a strong evidence . This continues with pauses wherever the witches appear, or their name echoes. However, it is quite obscure at times when human beings are involved and witches recede into the background. In other words, all the acts become doings of human beings, and not any incitement of supernatural beings.

Light and Darkness

Although the motif of light and darkness is pervasive and dominant in Macbeth, it runs with the characters of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. When the witches first appear, Banquo warns his friend Macbeth saying they could be the “instruments of darkness.” This motif again emerges when Lady Macbeth is about to kill King Duncan. The darkness of the night and the darkness of the heart of Lady Macbeth has been given as representatives of evil. On the other hand, she refers to light in the sense of weakness or fragility of the women. However, it is not very much clear what role is played by the light. It is a sort of dichotomy of images that creates a contrast between the good and the evil and sets the mood of the play. Therefore, this motif becomes highly significant.

Imagery of Birds

The use of the imagery of birds to convey meanings is another minor motif in Macbeth. When King Duncan is assassinated, Lady Macbeth hears the sound of a shrieking owl saying that the owl is a “fatal bellman.” It means the bird announces death of somebody. Then at another place, Shakespeare has given the example of raven, a sign of bad omen. This raven announcing the bad luck of Kind Duncan in the play is hoarse. Then when the assassination is complete, there are cries of rooks, choughs and magpies. This shows that the bird imagery motif has been used to show bloodshed in Macbeth.

Treachery, though is very strong, is highly a significant motif in Macbeth. The treachery of Macbeth against King Duncan and his friend Banquo is a glaring example in the play. However, it does not emerge as a strong motif due to various other strong and dominant motifs. Treachery seems to dominate in the second half of the play when other assassinations take the center stage, and there is “hurly burly” in Scotland. People are running for their lives. It then becomes appear that treachery now dominates the scene.

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'Macbeth': Themes and Symbols

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

As a tragedy, Macbeth is a dramatization of the psychological repercussions of unbridled ambition. The play's main themes—loyalty, guilt, innocence, and fate—all deal with the central idea of ambition and its consequences. Similarly, Shakespeare uses imagery and symbolism to illustrate the concepts of innocence and guilt. 

Macbeth’s ambition is his tragic flaw. Devoid of any morality, it ultimately causes Macbeth’s downfall. Two factors stoke the flames of his ambition: the prophecy of the Three Witches, who claim that not only will he be thane of Cawdor, but also king, and even more so the attitude of his wife, who taunts his assertiveness and manhood and actually stage-directs her husband’s actions.

Macbeth’s ambition, however, soon spirals out of control. He feels that his power is threatened to a point where it can only be preserved through murdering his suspected enemies. Eventually, ambition causes both Macbeth’s and Lady Macbeth’s undoing. He is defeated in battle and decapitated by Macduff, while Lady Macbeth succumbs to insanity and commits suicide.

Loyalty plays out in many ways in Macbeth. At the beginning of the play, King Duncan rewards Macbeth with the title of thane of Cawdor, after the original thane betrayed him and joined forces with Norway, while Macbeth was a valiant general. However, when Duncan names Malcolm his heir, Macbeth comes to the conclusion that he must kill King Duncan in order to become king himself.

In another example of Shakespeare's loyalty and betrayal dynamic, Macbeth betrays Banquo out of paranoia. Although the pair were comrades in arms, after he becomes king, Macbeth remembers that the witches predicted that Banquo’s descendants would ultimately be crowned kings of Scotland. Macbeth then decides to have him killed.

Macduff, who suspects Macbeth once he sees the king’s corpse, flees to England to join Duncan’s son Malcolm, and together they plan Macbeth's downfall.

Appearance and Reality 

“False face must hide what the false heart doth know,” Macbeth tells Duncan, when he already has intentions to murder him near the end of act I.

Similarly, the witches utterances, such as “fair is foul and foul is fair”, subtly play with appearance and reality. Their prophecy, stating that Macbeth can’t be vanquished by any child “of woman born” is rendered vain when Macduff reveals that he was born via a caesarean section. In addition, the assurance that he would not be vanquished until “Great Birnam Wood to high Dunsinane Hill Shall come against him” is at first deemed an unnatural phenomenon, as a forest would not walk up a hill, but in reality meant that soldiers were cutting up trees in Birnam Wood to get closer to Dunsinane Hill.

Fate and Free Will

Would Macbeth have become king had he not chosen his murderous path? This question brings into play the matters of fate and free will. The witches predict that he would become thane of Cawdor, and soon after he is anointed that title without any action required of him. The witches show Macbeth his future and his fate, but Duncan’s murder is a matter of Macbeth’s own free will, and, after Duncan's assassination, the further assassinations are a matter of his own planning. This also applies to the other visions the witches conjure for Macbeth: he sees them as a sign of his invincibility and acts accordingly, but they actually anticipate his demise.

Symbolism of Light and Darkness

Light and starlight symbolize what is good and noble, and the moral order brought by King Duncan announces that “signs of nobleness, like stars, shall shine / On all deservers" (I 4.41-42).”

By contrast, the three witches are known as “midnight hags,” and Lady Macbeth asks the night to cloak her actions from the heaven. Similarly, once Macbeth becomes king, day and night become indistinguishable from one another. When Lady Macbeth displays her insanity, she wants to carry a candle with her, as a form of protection.

Symbolism of Sleep

In Macbeth, sleep symbolizes innocence and purity. For instance, after murdering King Duncan, Macbeth is in such distress that he believes he heard a voice saying "Methought I heard a voice cry 'Sleep no more! Macbeth does murder sleep,' the innocent sleep, Sleep that knits up the ravell'd sleave of care." He goes on to compare sleep to a soothing bath after a day of hard work, and to the main course of a feast, feeling that when he murdered his king in his sleep, he murdered sleep itself.

Similarly, after he sends killers to murder Banquo, Macbeth laments being constantly shaken by nightmares and by "restless ecstasy," where the word "ectsasy" loses any positive connotations.

When Macbeth sees Banquo’s ghost at the banquet, Lady Macbeth remarks that he lacks “the season of all natures, sleep.” Eventually, her sleep becomes disturbed as well. She becomes prone to sleepwalking, reliving the horrors of Duncan’s murder.

Symbolism of Blood

Blood symbolizes murder and guilt, and imagery of it pertains to both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. For example, before killing Duncan, Macbeth hallucinates a bloody dagger pointing towards the king’s room. After committing the murder, he is horrified, and says: “Will all great Neptune's ocean wash this blood Clean from my hand? No."

Banquo’s ghost, who appears during a banquet, exhibits “gory locks.” Blood also symbolizes Macbeth’s own acceptance of his guilt. He tells Lady Macbeth, “I am in blood / Step't in so far that, should I wade no more, / Returning were as tedious as go o'er”.

Blood eventually also affects Lady Macbeth, who, in her sleepwalking scene, wants to clean blood from her hands. For Macbeth and Lady Macbeth, blood shows that their guilt trajectory runs in opposite directions: Macbeth turns from being guilty into a ruthless murderer, whereas Lady Macbeth, who starts off as more assertive than her husband, becomes ridden with guilt and eventually kills herself.

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• My Storyboards

Themes, Symbols, and Motifs in Macbeth

In this activity, activity overview, template and class instructions, more storyboard that activities, this activity is part of many teacher guides.

Themes, symbols, and motifs are valuable aspects of any literary work, and they add richness to stories. Part of the Common Core ELA standards is to introduce and explain these complex concepts. However, abstract ideas are often difficult for students to analyze without assistance. Using a storyboard, students can visually demonstrate their understanding of these concepts, and master analysis of literary elements. For best practices, see our supplementary article with specific lesson plan steps on setting up your classroom and activities to teach themes, symbols, and motifs.

As a classroom activity, students could track the rich symbolism William Shakespeare uses throughout Macbeth . In the example storyboard above, the creator has focused on Shakespeare's use of visions in the play. The recurrence of this motif throughout the play proves its significance. Since Macbeth's actions weigh heavily on his conscious, it is not surprising that he would have some second thoughts. The visions Macbeth and his wife consistently see throughout the play serve as constant reminders of their ambition and corruption.

Themes and Ideas to Discuss

Things are not what they seem.

Throughout the play, the idea that ‘fair is foul, and foul is fair’ is repeated. What you expect is not what will come about.

Nature at War with Itself / Man Goes Against his Nature

Another favorite theme is that nature is ominous and that it foreshadows and mimics what is to become of Macbeth and Macbeth's actions.

Macbeth and his wife’s personal ambition to control the crown ultimately ends up controlling them.

Motifs and Imagery to Look For

Supernatural.

Ghosts, witches, and spirits are used throughout the play to add a sense of suspicion and suspense.

The blood that was spilled because of Macbeth's ambition continuously reappears as a physical reminder that he cannot wash away his evil deeds.

Sanity/Insanity

As his corruption begins to control him, Macbeth and his wife slip out of reality and struggle between sanity and insanity.

Order/Disorder

Order and disorder surround the new king and queen. The order of their rule clashes with the chaos they have caused. This links to the theme that things are not what they seem.

Sleep/Insomnia

The motif of sleep (or sleeplessness) surrounds the tyrants as they struggle to overcome their deeds.

(These instructions are completely customizable. After clicking "Copy Activity", update the instructions on the Edit Tab of the assignment.)

Student Instructions

Create a storyboard that identifies recurring themes, symbols, and motifs in Macbeth . Illustrate instances of each and write a short description below each cell.

• Click "Start Assignment".
• Identify the theme(s) from Macbeth you wish to include and replace the "Theme 1" text.
• Create an image for an example that represents this theme.
• Write a description of each of the examples.
• Add additional cells as needed.

Lesson Plan Reference

Grade Level 11-12

Difficulty Level 5 (Advanced / Mastery)

Type of Assignment Individual or Group

Type of Activity: Themes, Symbols & Motifs

(You can also create your own on Quick Rubric .)

How to Teach Themes, Symbols, and Motifs to Students with Special Needs

Introduction and engagement.

Begin by discussing the concept of themes, symbols, and motifs in literature, emphasizing that these elements can help students understand and enjoy stories better. Use visual aids and simple, concrete examples to explain the terms, such as showing pictures that represent common symbols or using real-life objects as symbols. Discuss the specific goals and expectations of the lesson and clarify the importance of each element (themes, symbols, and motifs) in understanding Macbeth.

Simplified Reading and Visualization

Provide students with simplified versions or excerpts from Macbeth to make the content more accessible. Use visual schedules or timers to manage time and ensure students' engagement. Read a short section aloud, then encourage students to identify and discuss any themes, symbols, or motifs they recognize. Use visual aids and tactile materials to represent symbols or motifs from the text. For example, show a crown symbol to represent themes of power and ambition.

Hands-On Activities and Personalized Support

Engage students in hands-on activities tailored to their specific needs. For example: Create a tactile storyboard with textured symbols or motifs. Use assistive technology (e.g., text-to-speech software) to help students process the content. Encourage students to draw or color symbols and motifs they've identified. Offer one-on-one or small group support as needed to ensure understanding and participation.

Discussion and Consolidation

Encourage students to share their observations and interpretations with the class. Use the whiteboard to create a visual summary of themes, symbols, and motifs discussed during the lesson. Review the main points of the lesson and highlight the progress made in understanding Macbeth through themes and symbols. Distribute a simplified visual guide or summary to reinforce key concepts and provide students with a reference.

Frequently Asked Questions about Themes, Symbols, and Motifs in Macbeth

What is the central theme of "macbeth," and how does it drive the plot.

The central theme of "Macbeth" is ambition. Macbeth's insatiable ambition for power and his wife's encouragement lead to a series of destructive actions, including murder and betrayal. This ambition drives the plot as it sets in motion a chain of events that ultimately results in chaos, death, and Macbeth's own downfall. The play explores the consequences of unchecked ambition and the corrupting influence of power.

What are some other literary works that use similar themes, symbols, and motifs as "Macbeth"?

Many literary works explore themes, symbols, and motifs similar to those found in "Macbeth." One notable example is William Shakespeare's "Hamlet," which also delves into themes of ambition, guilt, and the supernatural. Additionally, "The Great Gatsby" by F. Scott Fitzgerald examines themes of ambition, wealth, and the American Dream. In terms of symbolism, the use of blood and darkness in "Macbeth" finds parallels in Edgar Allan Poe's "The Tell-Tale Heart." Similarly, motifs of deception and the corrupting nature of power are evident in George Orwell's "Animal Farm."

What are some worksheet ideas that guide students in critically analyzing and discussing the themes of "Macbeth"?

Worksheet ideas include character analysis, theme comparisons, symbol exploration, group discussions, and essay prompts, all designed to facilitate deep theme analysis in 'Macbeth'.

Tragedy of Macbeth, The

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AQA GCSE English Literature

Themes, Motifs and Symbols in Macbeth

In  Macbeth , Shakespeare uses a variety of themes, motifs and symbols to explore the complexities of the human condition. These literary devices add depth to the narrative and offer valuable insights into the characters and their actions.

This theme is primarily seen in the character arcs of both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. Their relentless desire for power drives them to commit terrible acts, demonstrating how unchecked ambition can lead someone to make terrible decisions, eventually leading to their downfall.

Macbeth compares his ambition to a wild horse that leaps over obstacles, confessing, “ I have no spur … but only vaulting ambition which overleaps itself .”

This is shown through Macbeth’s desire for and attainment of power, which ultimately corrupts him. He transforms from a heroic general into a tyrannical ruler.

This theme exposes the pitfalls of power and its ability to distort one’s moral compass. Once Macbeth becomes King, his sudden increase in power enables him to commit terrible acts without mercy. This is a sentiment he expresses when he mentions:

“ And though I could With barefaced power sweep him from my sight.”

The witches’ prophecies set the events of the play in motion. Their eerie accuracy raises questions about free will versus destiny. The exploration of fate encourages the audience to question whether Macbeth’s downfall was predetermined by fate or a consequence of his own choices.

Even Banquo is wary of the witches’ words. He warns of the deceit that might be at play, saying that, “the instruments of darkness tell us truths, win us with honest trifles, to betray us in deepest consequence. “

As the narrative progresses, both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth show signs of guilt, which takes a severe psychological toll on them. Their remorse over their actions manifests as:

• Macbeth grappling with the weight of his guilt, which is expressed when he utters, “ Will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood / Clean from my hand? “
• Lady Macbeth’s insomnia, marked by her frantic exclamations: “ Out, damned spot! Out, I say! “
• Macbeth’s descent into madness is fueled by a paranoia where “every noise appals ” him.

This theme is explored in many of the characters. Macbeth and Lady Macbeth have no children, but it is suggested they may have had a baby who died. Lady Macbeth shares the experience of nursing a child, confessing:

“I have given suck, and know How tender ‘tis to love the babe that milks me. “

For Macbeth and Banquo, children signify the importance of continuing the family name. For Macduff, it is the love and then grief he feels for his children that encourages him to continue on and fight Macbeth.

Motifs are recurring elements in a literary work that enhance the themes and mood of the story. Several motifs are used in  Macbeth  to enhance the tragedy and tension of the narrative.

Supernatural

This is shown through the prophecy-spinning witches, who create an eerie atmosphere and a sense of unease. The supernatural element opens up discussions around predetermined fate and individual free will.

The supernatural appears to have a power greater than the characters. When Lady Macbeth says, “ Come, you spirits that tend on mortal thoughts “, she is calling upon “spirits that assist with human desires” to aid her dark plans.

A recurring motif in the play that often manifests as a means to an end. From Macbeth’s murder of Duncan to the brutal slaughter of Macduff’s family, violence causes more violence and creates chaos and tragedy.

It illustrates the extreme lengths Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are willing to go to secure their power. Macbeth acknowledges the depth of his dark thoughts when he speaks of his “ slaughterous thoughts “

It is illustrated through the witches. Their predictions, “ All hail Macbeth, that shall be king hereafter! “ are the catalyst for Macbeth’s ambition and following descent into tyranny.

Although their prophecies come true, they are deceptive. They lead Macbeth to believe he is invincible when in reality, he is setting himself up for defeat. This motif serves to explore themes of:

• self-determination
• misleading nature of appearances

Hallucinations

They occur frequently, serving as motifs throughout the play. Hallucinations are a manifestation of guilt and paranoia.

• Macbeth sees Banquo’s ghost sitting in his place at the dining table but no one else can see it, stating “ Thou canst not say I did it; never shake Thy gory locks at me. “
• He also sees Banquo’s ghost at a banquet and exclaims, “ Avaunt! and quit my sight! “
• Lady Macbeth imagines blood on her hands that she cannot wash off, “All the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand “

These hallucinations represent the psychological torment they endure, further demonstrating the destructive power of unchecked ambition and guilt.

In Macbeth. the symbol of blood emerges as a representation of the overarching guilt and moral corruption that affect the main characters, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. This symbol is linked with the acts of violence and murder that progressively take a toll on their mental states.

The symbol of blood is highlighted in Lady Macbeth’s rhetorical question, “ Who would have thought the old man to have had so much blood in him? ” as she reflects on the gravity and irreversible nature of their actions.

The continual reference to blood throughout the play not only illustrates the physical act of murder, but also the remorse and psychological scarring that descends them deeper into darkness.

There is blood on Macbeth’s hands after Duncan’s murder. Also, Lady Macbeth obsessively washes imaginary blood off her hands. However, the symbol of blood serves as a relentless reminder of their crimes, a stain that no amount of water can cleanse.

Sleep was initially depicted as a symbol of peace and innocence. However, sleep is often disturbed in the play, with troubled nights and “terrible dreams that shake us nightly”, representing the restless consciences of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth, unable to escape the consequences of their actions. Their once-comforting experience of sleep undergoes a dark transformation.

The transformation of sleep into a source of darkness and anxiety adds depth to their psychological unravelling. Their inability to find rest, even in sleep, mirrors their movement away from the world of morality and sanity, trapping them in a cycle of restlessness and fear. This is seen in Macbeth’s insomnia and Lady Macbeth’s sleepwalking.

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Literary Theory and Criticism

Home › Drama Criticism › Analysis of William Shakespeare’s Macbeth

Analysis of William Shakespeare’s Macbeth

By NASRULLAH MAMBROL on July 25, 2020 • ( 0 )

Macbeth . . . is done upon a stronger and more systematic principle of contrast than any other of Shakespeare’s plays. It moves upon the verge of an abyss, and is a constant struggle between life and death. The action is desperate and the reaction is dreadful. It is a huddling together of fierce extremes, a war of opposite natures which of them shall destroy the other. There is nothing but what has a violent end or violent beginnings. The lights and shades are laid on with a determined hand; the transitions from triumph to despair, from the height of terror to the repose of death, are sudden and startling; every passion brings in its fellow-contrary, and the thoughts pitch and jostle against each other as in the dark. The whole play is an unruly chaos of strange and forbidden things, where the ground rocks under our feet. Shakespear’s genius here took its full swing, and trod upon the farthest bounds of nature and passion.

—William Hazlitt, Characters of Shakespeare’s Plays

Macbeth completes William Shakespeare’s great tragic quartet while expanding, echoing, and altering key elements of Hamlet, Othello, and King Lear into one of the most terrifying stage experiences. Like Hamlet, Macbeth treats the  consequences  of  regicide,  but  from  the  perspective  of  the  usurpers,  not  the  dispossessed.  Like  Othello,  Macbeth   centers  its  intrigue  on  the  intimate  relations  of  husband  and  wife.  Like  Lear,  Macbeth   explores  female  villainy,  creating in Lady Macbeth one of Shakespeare’s most complex, powerful, and frightening woman characters. Different from Hamlet and Othello, in which the tragic action is reserved for their climaxes and an emphasis on cause over effect, Macbeth, like Lear, locates the tragic tipping point at the play’s outset to concentrate on inexorable consequences. Like Othello, Macbeth, Shakespeare’s shortest tragedy, achieves an almost unbearable intensity by eliminating subplots, inessential characters, and tonal shifts to focus almost exclusively on the crime’s devastating impact on husband and wife.

What is singular about Macbeth, compared to the other three great Shakespearean tragedies, is its villain-hero. If Hamlet mainly executes rather than murders,  if  Othello  is  “more  sinned  against  than  sinning,”  and  if  Lear  is  “a  very foolish fond old man” buffeted by surrounding evil, Macbeth knowingly chooses  evil  and  becomes  the  bloodiest  and  most  dehumanized  of  Shakespeare’s tragic protagonists. Macbeth treats coldblooded, premeditated murder from the killer’s perspective, anticipating the psychological dissection and guilt-ridden expressionism that Feodor Dostoevsky will employ in Crime and Punishment . Critic Harold Bloom groups the protagonist as “the culminating figure  in  the  sequence  of  what  might  be  called  Shakespeare’s  Grand  Negations: Richard III, Iago, Edmund, Macbeth.” With Macbeth, however, Shakespeare takes us further inside a villain’s mind and imagination, while daringly engaging  our  sympathy  and  identification  with  a  murderer.  “The  problem  Shakespeare  gave  himself  in  Macbeth  was  a  tremendous  one,”  Critic  Wayne  C. Booth has stated.

Take a good man, a noble man, a man admired by all who know him—and  destroy  him,  not  only  physically  and  emotionally,  as  the  Greeks  destroyed their heroes, but also morally and intellectually. As if this were not difficult enough as a dramatic hurdle, while transforming him into one of the most despicable mortals conceivable, maintain him as a tragic hero—that is, keep him so sympathetic that, when he comes to his death, the audience will pity rather than detest him and will be relieved to see him out of his misery rather than pleased to see him destroyed.

Unlike Richard III, Iago, or Edmund, Macbeth is less a virtuoso of villainy or an amoral nihilist than a man with a conscience who succumbs to evil and obliterates the humanity that he is compelled to suppress. Macbeth is Shakespeare’s  greatest  psychological  portrait  of  self-destruction  and  the  human  capacity for evil seen from inside with an intimacy that horrifies because of our forced identification with Macbeth.

Although  there  is  no  certainty  in  dating  the  composition  or  the  first performance  of  Macbeth,   allusions  in  the  play  to  contemporary  events  fix the  likely  date  of  both  as  1606,  shortly  after  the  completion  and  debut  of  King Lear. Scholars have suggested that Macbeth was acted before James I at Hampton  Court  on  August  7,  1606,  during  the  royal  visit  of  King  Christian IV of Denmark and that it may have been especially written for a royal performance. Its subject, as well as its version of Scottish history, suggest an effort both to flatter and to avoid offending the Scottish king James. Macbeth is a chronicle play in which Shakespeare took his major plot elements from Raphael  Holinshed’s  Chronicles  of  England,  Scotland  and  Ireland  (1587),  but  with  significant  modifications.  The  usurping  Macbeth’s  decade-long  (and  largely  successful)  reign  is  abbreviated  with  an  emphasis  on  the  internal  and external destruction caused by Macbeth’s seizing the throne and trying to hold onto it. For the details of King Duncan’s death, Shakespeare used Holinshed’s  account  of  the  murder  of  an  earlier  king  Duff  by  Donwald,  who cast suspicion on drunken servants and whose ambitious wife played a significant role in the crime. Shakespeare also eliminated Banquo as the historical Macbeth’s co-conspirator in the murder to promote Banquo’s innocence and nobility in originating a kingly line from which James traced his legitimacy. Additional prominence is also given to the Weird Sisters, whom Holinshed only mentions in their initial meeting of Macbeth on the heath. The prophetic warning “beware Macduff” is attributed to “certain wizards in whose words Macbeth put great confidence.” The importance of the witches and  the  occult  in  Macbeth   must  have  been  meant  to  appeal  to  a  king  who  produced a treatise, Daemonologie (1597), on witch-craft.

The uncanny sets the tone of moral ambiguity from the play’s outset as the three witches gather to encounter Macbeth “When the battle’s lost and won” in an inverted world in which “Fair is foul, and foul is fair.” Nothing in the play will be what it seems, and the tragedy results from the confusion and  conflict  between  the  fair—honor,  nobility,  duty—and  the  foul—rank  ambition and bloody murder. Throughout the play nature reflects the disorder and violence of the action. Opening with thunder and lightning, the drama is set in a Scotland contending with the rebellion of the thane (feudal lord) of Cawdor, whom the fearless and courageous Macbeth has vanquished on the battlefield. The play, therefore, initially establishes Macbeth as a dutiful and trusted vassal of the king, Duncan of Scotland, deserving to be rewarded with the rebel’s title for restoring peace and order in the realm. “What he hath lost,” Duncan declares, “noble Macbeth hath won.” News of this honor reaches Macbeth through the witches, who greet him both as the thane of Cawdor and “king hereafter” and his comrade-in-arms Banquo as one who “shalt get kings, though thou be none.” Like the ghost in Hamlet , the  Weird  Sisters  are  left  purposefully  ambiguous  and  problematic.  Are  they  agents  of  fate  that  determine  Macbeth’s  doom,  predicting  and  even  dictating  the  inevitable,  or  do  they  merely  signal  a  latency  in  Macbeth’s  ambitious character?

When he is greeted by the king’s emissaries as thane of Cawdor, Macbeth begins to wonder if the first predictions of the witches came true and what will come of the second of “king hereafter”:

This supernatural soliciting Cannot be ill, cannot be good. If ill, Why hath it given me earnest of success Commencing in a truth? I am Thane of Cawdor. If good, why do I yield to that suggestion Whose horrid image doth unfix my hair And make my seated heart knock at my ribs, Against the use of nature? Present fears Are less than horrible imaginings: My thought, whose murder yet is but fantastical, Shakes so my single state of man that function Is smother’d in surmise, and nothing is But what is not.

Macbeth  will  be  defined  by  his  “horrible  imaginings,”  by  his  considerable  intellectual and imaginative capacity both to understand what he knows to be true and right and his opposed desires and their frightful consequences. Only Hamlet has as fully a developed interior life and dramatized mental processes as  Macbeth  in  Shakespeare’s  plays.  Macbeth’s  ambition  is  initially  checked  by his conscience and by his fear of the unforeseen consequence of violating moral  laws.  Shakespeare  brilliantly  dramatizes  Macbeth’s  mental  conflict in near stream of consciousness, associational fashion:

If it were done when ’tis done, then ’twere well It were done quickly. If th’assassination Could trammel up the consequence, and catch With his surcease, success: that but this blow Might be the be all and the end all, here, But here, upon this bank and shoal of time, We’d jump the life to come. But in these cases We still have judgement here, that we but teach Bloody instructions which, being taught, return To plague th’inventor. This even-handed justice Commends th’ingredients of our poison’d chalice To our own lips. 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. Besides, this Duncan Hath borne his faculties so meek, hath been So clear in his great office, that his virtues Will plead like angels trumpet-tongued against The deep damnation of his taking-off, And pity, like a naked new-born babe, Striding the blast, or heaven’s cherubin, horsed Upon the sightless couriers of the air, Shall blow the horrid deed in every eye That tears shall drown the wind. I have no spur To prick the sides of my intent, but only Vaulting ambition which o’erleaps itself And falls on the other.

Macbeth’s “spur” comes in the form of Lady Macbeth, who plays on her husband’s selfimage of courage and virility to commit to the murder. She also reveals her own shocking cancellation of gender imperatives in shaming her husband into action, in one of the most shocking passages of the play:

. . . I have given suck, and know How tender ’tis to love the babe that milks me. I would, while it was smiling in my face, Have plucked my nipple from his boneless gums And dashed the brains out, had I so sworn As you have done to this.

Horrified  at  his  wife’s  resolve  and  cold-blooded  calculation  in  devising  the  plot,  Macbeth  urges  his  wife  to  “Bring  forth  menchildren  only,  /  For  thy  undaunted mettle should compose / Nothing but males,” but commits “Each corporal agent to this terrible feat.”

With the decision to kill the king taken, the play accelerates unrelentingly through a succession of powerful scenes: Duncan’s and Banquo’s murders, the banquet scene in which Banquo’s ghost appears, Lady Macbeth’s sleepwalking, and Macbeth’s final battle with Macduff, Thane of Fife. Duncan’s offstage murder  contrasts  Macbeth’s  “horrible  imaginings”  concerning  the  implications and Lady Macbeth’s chilling practicality. Macbeth’s question, “Will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood / Clean from my hand?” is answered by his wife: “A little water clears us of this deed; / How easy is it then!” The knocking at the door of the castle, ominously signaling the revelation of the crime, prompts the play’s one comic respite in the Porter’s drunken foolery that he is at the door of “Hell’s Gate” controlling the entrance of the damned. With the fl ight of Duncan’s sons, who fear for their lives, causing them to be suspected as murderers, Macbeth is named king, and the play’s focus shifts to Macbeth’s keeping and consolidating the power he has seized. Having gained what the witches prophesied, Macbeth next tries to prevent their prediction that Banquo’s descendants will reign by setting assassins to kill Banquo and his son, Fleance. The plan goes awry, and Fleance escapes, leaving Macbeth again at the mercy of the witches’ prophecy. His psychic breakdown is dramatized by his seeing Banquo’s ghost occupying Macbeth’s place at the banquet. Pushed to  the  edge  of  mental  collapse,  Macbeth  steels  himself  to  meet  the  witches  again to learn what is in store for him: “Iam in blood,” he declares, “Stepp’d in so far that, should Iwade no more, / Returning were as tedious as go o’er.”

The witches reassure him that “none of woman born / Shall harm Macbeth” and that he will never be vanquished until “Great Birnam wood to high Dunsinane hill / Shall come against him.” Confident that he is invulnerable, Macbeth  responds  to  the  rebellion  mounted  by  Duncan’s  son  Malcolm  and  Macduff, who has joined him in England, by ordering the slaughter of Lady Macduff and her children. Macbeth has progressed from a murderer in fulfillment of the witches predictions to a murderer (of Banquo) in order to subvert their predictions and then to pointless butchery that serves no other purpose than as an exercise in willful destruction. Ironically, Macbeth, whom his wife feared  was  “too  full  o’  the  milk  of  human  kindness  /  To  catch  the  nearest  way” to serve his ambition, displays the same cold calculation that frightened him  about  his  wife,  while  Lady  Macbeth  succumbs  psychically  to  her  own  “horrible  imaginings.”  Lady  Macbeth  relives  the  murder  as  she  sleepwalks,  Shakespeare’s version of the workings of the unconscious. The blood in her tormented  conscience  that  formerly  could  be  removed  with  a  little  water  is  now a permanent noxious stain in which “All the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten.” Women’s cries announcing her offstage death are greeted by Macbeth with detached indifference:

I have almost forgot the taste of fears: The time has been, my senses would have cool’d To hear a nightshriek, and my fell of hair Would at a dismal treatise rouse and stir As life were in’t. Ihave supp’d full with horrors; Direness, familiar to my slaughterous thoughts, Cannot once start me.

Macbeth reveals himself here as an emotional and moral void. Confirmation that “The Queen, my lord, is dead” prompts only the bitter comment, “She should have died hereafter.” For Macbeth, life has lost all meaning, refl ected in the bleakest lines Shakespeare ever composed:

Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow Creeps in this petty pace from day to day To the last syllable of recorded time; And all our yesterdays have lighted fools The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle! Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player That struts and frets his hour upon the stage And then is heard no more. It is a tale Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, Signifying nothing.

Time and the world that Macbeth had sought to rule are revealed to him as empty and futile, embodied in a metaphor from the theater with life as a histrionic, talentless actor in a tedious, pointless play.

Macbeth’s final testing comes when Malcolm orders his troops to camoufl  age  their  movement  by  carrying  boughs  from  Birnam  Woods  in  their march toward Dunsinane and from Macduff, whom he faces in combat and reveals that he was “from his mother’s womb / Untimely ripp’d,” that is, born by cesarean section and therefore not “of woman born.” This revelation, the final fulfillment of the witches’ prophecies, causes Macbeth to fl ee, but he is prompted  by  Macduff’s  taunt  of  cowardice  and  order  to  surrender  to  meet  Macduff’s challenge, despite knowing the deadly outcome:

Yet I will try the last. Before my body I throw my warlike shield. Lay on, Macduff, And damn’d be him that first cries, “Hold, enough!”

Macbeth  returns  to  the  world  of  combat  where  his  initial  distinctions  were  honorably earned and tragically lost.

The play concludes with order restored to Scotland, as Macduff presents Macbeth’s severed head to Malcolm, who is hailed as king. Malcolm may assert his control and diminish Macbeth and Lady Macbeth as “this dead butcher and his fiendlike queen,” but the audience knows more than that. We know what  Malcolm  does  not,  that  it  will  not  be  his  royal  line  but  Banquo’s  that  will eventually rule Scotland, and inevitably another round of rebellion and murder is to come. We also know in horrifying human terms the making of a butcher and a fiend who refuse to be so easily dismissed as aberrations.

Macbeth Oxford Lecture by Emma Smith

Analysis of William Shakespeare’s Plays

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ELA  /  10th Grade  /  Unit 10: Macbeth

Students read  Macbeth , analyzing and discussing universal themes of power, greed, and morality, while tackling Shakespearian language.

This unit has been archived. To view our updated curriculum, visit our 10th Grade English course.

• Text and Materials

Composition Projects

Unit summary.

In this high school English unit for tenth graders, students will engage in an analysis of the play Macbeth , by William Shakespeare. In ninth grade, students read Romeo and Juliet and now will explore one of Shakespeare’s darker works. This Macbeth unit allows students to tackle Shakespearian language and engage in analysis and discussion of universal themes of power, greed, and morality.

At Match, students have a Composition class 4 days per week in addition to English class. Below, we have included Supplementary Composition Projects to reflect the material covered in our Composition course. For teachers who are interested in including these Composition projects but do not have a separate Composition course, we have included a “Suggested Placement” to note where these projects would most logically fit into the English unit. While the Composition projects may occasionally include content unrelated to English 10, most have both a skill and content connection to the work students are doing in their English 10 class.

In the English lessons of Unit 5, students will focus on analyzing the Shakespearean drama Macbeth , focusing particularly on Shakespeare’s development of characters and theme. In these parallel composition projects, teachers will have a choice of two projects: one narrative and one literary analysis. The teacher may choose to do both or include other writing projects and/or writing focus areas that respond to students’ interests and/or writing development needs. Because at Match this unit typically falls near state testing window, we are allowing some flexibility so each individual teacher can choose projects that best align with the types of writing his/her students might benefit from the most. 

Texts and Materials

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Core Materials

Play:  Macbeth by William Shakespeare (Folger Shakespeare Library, 2013)

Supporting Materials

Article:  “Morality as Anti-Nature” by Friedrich Nietzsche (CommonLit)

This assessment accompanies Unit 10 and should be given on the suggested assessment day or after completing the unit.

Download Content Assessment

Download Content Assessment Answer Key

Intellectual Prep

Suggestions for how to prepare to teach this unit

• Read and annotate the Folger Shakespeare Library version of Macbeth .
• Consult a No Fear Shakespeare or other translated version of Macbeth as helpful or necessary for analysis.
• Read and annotate this unit plan on Macbeth . As you read Macbeth , it is helpful to refer to a translation source. 
• Take the unit test and outline a response to the essay.
• Check out local listings for performances of Macbeth . It is a frequently performed play, and any opportunity to see it live is one that students would benefit from.

Essential Questions

The central thematic questions addressed in the unit or across units

• Human Nature and Morality: Why do people behave the way they do? Which aspects of our nature do we suppress? Which do we embrace? Is morality necessary for human existence?
• Power/Greed: To what extent does power/greed affect individuals and/or relationships? 
• Fate: To what degree is our fate in our own hands? How can a person’s decisions and actions change his/her life?

Writing Focus Areas

Specific skills to focus on when giving feedback on writing assignments

English Lessons Writing Focus Areas

Students will focus on analyzing Shakespeare’s language and using it to support and defend various positions throughout the unit.

Literary Analysis Writing Focus Areas:

• Thesis: clear and relevant
• Evidence: supports an argument

Composition Projects Writing Focus Areas

Below are the writing focus areas that are recommended for the projects described in this unit. Each focus area comes from a particular row and column of the rubric, and more detail about each area of focus is provided in the description of the specific writing project. The teacher should feel free to substitute or revise these writing focus areas in order to meet his/her students where they are and help them improve their writing in ways that authentically address the students’ areas for growth.

• Focus on Task: appropriate for task, purpose, and audience 
• Diction: Includes precise language and vocabulary
• Thesis: Includes a clear, relevant, and unique thesis statement
• Analysis: Demonstrates clear and logical reasoning
• Evidence: Draws relevant evidence to support position
• Professional Revised: Adequate revisions

Related Teacher Tools:

Grades 9-12 Composition Writing Rubric

Literary terms, text-based vocabulary, idioms and word parts to be taught with the text

Literary Terms

iambic pentameter, simile, mood, exposition, diction, aside, characterization, symbol, soliloquy, foil, personification, alliteration, denouement

Act 1.1–1.4: aside, foul, plight, noble, harbinger

Act 1.5–Act 2.1: ambitious, metaphysical, beguile, clamor

Act 2.2–Act 2.4: appall, multitudinous, equivocator, dire, amiss, scruples, foe

Act 3.1–Act 4.1: posterity, indissoluble, parricide, dauntless, rancor, predominant, malice, nonpareil\

Act 4.2–end Act 4: profound, haste, gracious, potent, sovereignty, vanquished

Act 5: diminutive, judicious, desolate, avaricious, boundless, avarice, perturb, guise, dignity, antidote, perilous, clamorous, abhor

Idioms and Cultural References

Act 1.1–1.4: thane, kinsmen, prophecy

Act 1.5–Act 2.1: pall, raven, serpent, knell, Neptune’s Ocean

Act 2.2–Act 2.4: Beelzebub (also in Lord of the Flies ), parley

Act 3.1–Act 4.1: Hecate, locks

Act 4.2–end Act 4: cauldron, something wicked this way comes, innocent lamb

Act 5: gentlewoman, flower and weeds

Content Knowledge and Connections

Fishtank ELA units related to the content in this unit.

Students will become familiar with iambic pentameter and how Shakespeare uses language to create mood. Students will also become familiar with the 19th century German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche and his challenges of morality.

Previous Fishtank ELA Connections

• The corruption in Macbeth will connect back to 10th Grade ELA - The Catcher in the Rye  , 10th Grade ELA - The Crucible , and 10th Grade ELA - Fahrenheit 451 .
• Macbeth’s hands will connect to Montag’s hands in Fahrenheit 451  in that they both represent guilt.
• Macbeth’ s style as a Shakespearean play will connect back to 9th Grade ELA - Romeo and Juliet . 
• Students will connect the present of the supernatural witches leading people to make bad decisions to the threat of “witches” in The Crucible doing the same.

Future Fishtank ELA Connections

• Students will make many connection between this unit and 10th Grade ELA - Sula . Students will connect Shakespeare’s portrayal of Macbeth’s hands and the hands of Shadrack in Sula . Both times the authors are using hands to represent guilt. Students will connect Lady Macbeth to Sula in that both are strong, nonconforming women who break gender stereotypes and are therefore hated and labeled as witches. Lastly, students will connect the superstition in the supernatural and its ability to impact decision-making to Sula .

Analyze the exposition of Macbeth , identifying the mood and the traits of major characters. 

Characterize Macbeth and Banquo based on their reaction to the witches.

Characterize King Duncan.

Characterize Lady Macbeth. Analyze the relationship between Macbeth and Lady Macbeth.

Analyze Macbeth’s internal conflict in his soliloquy and explain how Lady Macbeth ultimately influences his decision.

Analyze and explain Shakespeare’s use of the symbolism to convey Macbeth’s thoughts just before the murder.

Analyze how Shakespeare builds both mood and suspense in this scene.

Describe the symbolism of “washing the hands."

Explain how this scene contributes to the rising action of the play.

Track Macbeth’s character development and changes since Act 1.

Independently read and analyze Act 3, Scene 3.

Analyze and explain how Shakespeare reveals Macbeth’s humanity throughout this scene.

Explain how Act 3, Scene 5 contributes to the plot as a whole.

Analyze the events of Act 4, Scene 1 and explain how they contribute to the falling action of the play.

Explain how Shakespeare solidifies Macbeth’s ultimate fate in Act 4, Scene 2.

Defend a position regarding Macduff’s loyalty. 

Explain the ways in which Macduff serves as a foil to Macbeth.

Analyze the change in Lady Macbeth’s character and explain what caused it. 

Analyze and interpret the figurative language in this scene. 

Explain how this scene relates to the prophecy.

Explain how this scene reveals Macbeth’s humanity.

Analyze Macbeth’s soliloquy to determine his mental state before the battle.

Explain how the denouement of the play restores order to the chaos. 

Create and defend an argument about morality and Macbeth.

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Narrative Writing

(ON DEMAND WRITING)

Read the excerpt from The Merchant of Venice , by William Shakespeare. Write a journal entry from the perspective of the Prince of Morocco, explaining why you selected the gold casket rather than the silver or lead casket. Use details from the excerpt to support your answer.

An effective journal entry:

• Develops a tone that accurately reflects Morocco’s character
• Includes accurate details from the text about Morocco’s thought process and motivations
• Uses precise vocabulary

(Prompt adapted from Question #14 in the MCAS 2014 Grade 10 English Language Arts Test .)

L.9-10.3 W.9-10.3.a

Literary Analysis Writing

(PROCESS WRITING)

Using your knowledge of Shakespeare’s play Macbeth , explain how Shakespeare develops the motif of order and chaos throughout the play. 

An effective essay:

• Includes a clear, relevant, and complete thesis statement
• Demonstrates clear and logical reasoning
• Draws relevant evidence to support position and provides context
• Uses precise language and advanced vocabulary

W.9-10.1.a W.9-10.1.b W.9-10.4 W.9-10.5 W.9-10.6 W.9-10.9.a

Common Core Standards

Core standards.

The content standards covered in this unit

Language Standards

L.9-10.3 — Apply knowledge of language to understand how language functions in different contexts, to make effective choices for meaning or style, and to comprehend more fully when reading or listening.

L.9-10.4 — Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases based on grades 9—10 reading and content, choosing flexibly from a range of strategies.

L.9-10.6 — Acquire and use accurately general academic and domain-specific words and phrases, sufficient for reading, writing, speaking, and listening at the college and career readiness level; demonstrate independence in gathering vocabulary knowledge when considering a word or phrase important to comprehension or expression.

Reading Standards for Informational Text

RI.9-10.1 — Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.

RI.9-10.2 — Determine a central idea of a text and analyze its development over the course of the text, including how it emerges and is shaped and refined by specific details; provide an objective summary of the text.

Reading Standards for Literature

RL.9-10.1 — Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.

RL.9-10.2 — Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze in detail its development over the course of the text, including how it emerges and is shaped and refined by specific details; provide an objective summary of the text.

RL.9-10.3 — Analyze how complex characters (e.g., those with multiple or conflicting motivations) develop over the course of a text, interact with other characters, and advance the plot or develop the theme.

RL.9-10.9 — Analyze how an author draws on and transforms source material in a specific work (e.g., how Shakespeare treats a theme or topic from Ovid or the Bible or how a later author draws on a play by Shakespeare).

Speaking and Listening Standards

SL.9-10.1 — Initiate and participate effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grades 9—10 topics, texts, and issues, building on others' ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively.

Writing Standards

W.9-10.1 — Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts, using valid reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence.

W.9-10.1.a — Introduce precise claim(s), distinguish the claim(s) from alternate or opposing claims, and create an organization that establishes clear relationships among claim(s), counterclaims, reasons, and evidence.

W.9-10.1.b — Develop claim(s) and counterclaims fairly, supplying evidence for each while pointing out the strengths and limitations of both in a manner that anticipates the audience's knowledge level and concerns.

W.9-10.3.a — Engage and orient the reader by setting out a problem, situation, or observation, establishing one or multiple point(s) of view, and introducing a narrator and/or characters; create a smooth progression of experiences or events.

W.9-10.4 — Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.

W.9-10.5 — Develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach, focusing on addressing what is most significant for a specific purpose and audience.

W.9-10.6 — Use technology, including the Internet, to produce, publish, and update individual or shared writing products, taking advantage of technology's capacity to link to other information and to display information flexibly and dynamically.

W.9-10.9 — Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.

W.9-10.9.a — Apply grades 9—10 Reading standards to literature (e.g., "Analyze how an author draws on and transforms source material in a specific work [e.g., how Shakespeare treats a theme or topic from Ovid or the Bible or how a later author draws on a play by Shakespeare]").

W.9-10.9.b — Apply grades 9—10 Reading standards to literary nonfiction (e.g., "Delineate and evaluate the argument and specific claims in a text, assessing whether the reasoning is valid and the evidence is relevant and sufficient; identify false statements and fallacious reasoning").

W.9-10.10 — Write routinely over extended time frames (time for research, reflection, and revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of discipline-specific tasks, purposes, and audiences.

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Home — Essay Samples — Literature — Macbeth — Death Motif In Macbeth

Death Motif in Macbeth

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Published: Mar 19, 2024

Words: 509 | Page: 1 | 3 min read

Table of contents

Introduction:, conclusion:, 1. death as a catalyst for ambition:, 2. death as a symbol of guilt and conscience:, 3. death as a means of power and control:, 4. death as a foil to life:.

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Macbeth - Act 1, scene 1

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8th-graders given hitler-themed assignment to rate nazi monster as a ‘solution seeker,’ ‘ethical decision-maker’.

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An Adolf Hitler-themed question-and-answer assignment given to students at a private school in Atlanta has sparked outrage among parents over its suspected antisemitic nature.

Eighth-grade students at the Mount Vernon School in Atlanta were given a series of questions asking them to rate some of the characteristics of Adolf Hitler — the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945, whose antisemitic ideology fueled the Holocaust — as a leader, according to Fox 5 Atlanta . 

One question posed to students asked, “According to the Mount Vernon Mindset rubric, how would you rate Adolf Hitler as a ‘solution seeker’?” 

A second question asked how students would “rate Adolf Hitler as an ethical decision-maker?”

For both questions, the students were given the option of selecting “Lacks Evidence,” “Approaching Expectations,” “Meets Expectations” or “Exceeds Expectations” to describe the ruthless dictator. 

The bizarre questions ignited outrage among parents — many of whom were concerned the queries were antisemitic by nature, according to the outlet. 

Students at the private school also had issues with the questions, with one telling the outlet the assignment was “troubling” and could be seen as glorifying the warmongering totalitarian leader. 

“Obviously, that looks horrible in the current context,” another student told the outlet. “Knowing Mount Vernon, we do things a little odd around here.”

The student added that the school is known to “try to think outside the box” but shared that “oftentimes that doesn’t work.”

Several former students told Fox 5 that those questions weren’t given to them during eighth grade.

While many parents and students were shaken over the assignment, one student believes the school attempted to pose a historically provocative question that required students to use their critical thinking skills. 

“I can definitely see why they’d be upset, but overall, I think it’s important to look at both sides of the coin in every situation, and I think it’s important to be able to compare and contrast everything that’s happened in our world history, whether it’s been good or bad,” said the student.

Upon learning the phrasing of the questions in the assignment, Mount Vernon officials said they had removed it from the school’s curriculum. 

The principal of Mount Vernon, Kristy Lundstrom, wrote in a statement that the assignment was “an exploration of World War II designed to boost student knowledge of factual events and understand the manipulation of fear leveraged by Adolf Hitler in connection to the Treaty of Versailles.” 

“Immediately following this incident, I met with the School’s Chief of Inclusion, Diversity, Equality, and Action, Head of Middle School, and a concerned Rabbi and friend of the School who shared the perspective of some of our families and supported us in a thorough review of the assignment and community impact.”

“Adolf Hitler and the events of the time period are difficult and traumatic to discuss.”

The private school, about 16 miles outside downtown Atlanta, is a “co-educational day school for more than 1200 students in Preschool through Grade 12,” according to the institution’s  website . 

“We are a school of inquiry, innovation, and impact. Grounded in Christian values, we prepare all students to be college ready, globally competitive, and engaged citizen leaders,” its mission statement reads.

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