GCSE English Literature Macbeth Ambition essay

Hi, I wrote a Macbeth essay and I'm not too good at them ; i got 20/30 in my last one so it would mean a lot if you gave me some feedback :smile:

Written in the backdrop of the Jacobean Era, a time of great political tension and issues of religious supremacy, Shakespeare’s tragedy Macbeth was a tribute to King James I who became king a few years before the play was first performed. In an attempt to caution against abuses of power, divine rights and the Great Chain of Being. Shakespeare demonstrates the disorder instability and inevitably of destruction caused b disruption of natural order. The fictional construct of Macbeths character acts as a symbol of the destruction caused by guilt fear and inner conflict, all consequences of his acceptance of the supernatural elements.
In this extract, Shakespeare presents ambition in Macbeth to be vaulting and a theme in which reveals the desires and eagerness of our two protagonists or antagonists, Lady Macbeth and Macbeth as Lady Macbeth utilises her ambition and determination as a fuel to motivate and manipulate Macbeth into the murder of King Duncan in Act 2 Scene 2. In her soliloquy, she viciously insults Macbeth using the quotation, “It is too full o’th’milk of human kindness” illustrating to the audience that Lady Macbeth feels insecure in her status of dominance in this scene because she cannot trust Macbeth to carry out regicide. For a contemporary audience in the Jacobean Era, this creates waves of shock and surprise as plotting to kill the king and go against the Great Chain of Being was deemed as sinful because you are denying your right of having a relationship with God and higher powers in an era where Britain was profoundly Christian. This than emphasises the dominance and threshold Lady Macbeth holds on the audience and Macbeth at this moment in time as she transgresses the Jacobean society of patriarchal values to break the stereotypes of women being fragile and weak and perhaps Shakespeare writes Lady Macbeth in this way to enforce the need for change in society and prove to the King ( as the play was written for him) that toxic masculinity needed to be diminished to allow everyone of all genders to be equal. The uses of the adjectives, “too full “ helps to convey the imagery of purity and innocence as shown in “milk” which connotes to further highlight how at the beginning of the play, Macbeth utilised his ambition to protect and fight for his country and this therefore demonstrate pure, noble values. However, in this sense, the use of “too full o’th’milk of human kindness” could be used to build up irony as the audience has seen in previous, recent scenes that Macbeth “unseam'd him from the nave to the chaps” showing brutal, violent values in which Macbeth holds. This demonstrates to the audience the duality of ambition in which Shakespeare presents to convey how the impacts of ambition can only be pursued with the right motives.
When looking at the play, this duality of ambition as shown at the beginning of the play transforms as much more of a negative singularity in which Macbeth abuses his ambition to pursue success and high status. Towards the end of the play, Macbeth says, “Let not light see my black and deep desires” confirms to the audience that Macbeth reflects a fallen angel as he fell from the Grace of God to the evil, malevolent cage of sin. The tone of this quote is significant as Macbeth is saying this line as if it is a prayer, which creates irony to reflect on Macbeth’s inner conflict with his ambition which has catalysed his transformation from a noble soldier to a sinful king alluding to the light as a symbol of God in which Macbeth is showing desperation to perhaps asking for atonement, as he warns God to not look over his sins as it will only bleach and blind God’s eyes of holiness and purity. The contradicting nature of this sub-quote creates an emphatic effect and looks back on quotation like, “We have scorched the snake” to mirror Macbeth’s naivety to his crimes like his regicide which was a result of his ambition. The colour symbolism carries forward this idea as it reinforces Macbeth’s association with the supernatural as black connotes ideas of death, guilt and the disorder and chaos caused by Macbeth. As the supernatural is used as a recurring theme throughout the play, it explains to the audience that the transgression of Macbeth’s ambition is fuelled by the Three Witches who determined his fate. This would make a contemporary audience unsettled and discouraged by Macbeth’s course of actions as in the Jacobean Era, witches were seen as evil which heavily contrasts the dominantly Christian background of society.

Reply 1

sha.

5

This is really good! I'd give it about 25/26 out of 34. You've included historical context, and linked your work back to the society and the audience. For more marks, however, you should write about different perspectives and how different audiences may interpret certain parts. You could also drill into more of the language and structural devices, exploiting the different connotations and meanings a single quote can have. Finally, you could introduce a critical theory to show that you have considered how different people will view it through different lenses. Other than that, it's great

(edited 6 months ago)

Reply 2

samiabuvla

OP

10

Original post by sha.

This is really good! I'd give it about 26/28 out of 34. You've included historical context, and linked your work back to the society and the audience. For more marks, however, you should write about different perspectives and how different audiences may interpret certain parts. You could also drill into more of the language and structural devices, exploiting the different connotations and meanings a single quote can have. Finally, you could introduce a critical theory to show that you have considered how different people will view it through different lenses. Other than that, it's great

Thank you so much ill take this into account☺️

Reply 3

samiabuvla

OP

10

Original post by sha.

This is really good! I'd give it about 25/26 out of 34. You've included historical context, and linked your work back to the society and the audience. For more marks, however, you should write about different perspectives and how different audiences may interpret certain parts. You could also drill into more of the language and structural devices, exploiting the different connotations and meanings a single quote can have. Finally, you could introduce a critical theory to show that you have considered how different people will view it through different lenses. Other than that, it's great

If i wanted to include different interpretations would i include it after one point about a quote

Reply 4

sha.

5

Original post by samiabuvla

Thank you so much ill take this into account☺️

And by exploiting I meant exploring whoops

Reply 5

sha.

5

Original post by samiabuvla

If i wanted to include different interpretations would i include it after one point about a quote

The interpretation would be related to your point and yes do it after the quote. For example 'fair is foul'. After that you could talk about how a Victorian audience may have felt scared, because they genuinely believed in witches, and then compare to a more modern audience

Reply 6

samiabuvla

OP

10

Original post by sha.

The interpretation would be related to your point and yes do it after the quote. For example 'fair is foul'. After that you could talk about how a Victorian audience may have felt scared, because they genuinely believed in witches, and then compare to a more modern audience

Thank you so much you’ve helped me a lot I’ll let you know how my mocks go

Reply 7

sha.

5

Original post by samiabuvla

Thank you so much you’ve helped me a lot I’ll let you know how my mocks go

Good luck! Just remember to maintain that deeper level of analysis when you're doing it in timed conditions, because that always trips people up, even when they're smart and they know what to talk about. Don't squash in too many quotations, focus on analysis and different perspectives. Hope you do well!!

(edited 6 months ago)

GCSE English Literature Macbeth Ambition essay

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