Macbeth GCSE essay

Please could someone mark my Macbeth essay for AQA GCSE English literature, I am currently on a 7 but determined to get at least an 8 in my GCSE, this year. I would really appreciate it if anyone could tell me where I need to improve as my teachers do not give me any feedback. Thank you.
How does Shakespeare present suffering in ‘Macbeth’?
Shakespeare presents the sanctity of Kingship through the suffering experienced within Scotland under the rule of a tyrannical King, Macbeth, who usurped the throne. This is presented through ‘each new morn, new widows howl, new infants cry’ highlighting the solidarity of Scotland and the pain the citizens must endure as a result of Macbeth’s evil. Shakespeare uses the isolated noun ‘widow’ and ‘infant’ to symbolise the isolation of Scotland from the rest of the world, as it closes in on itself under the rule of Macbeth. This could also present the suffering within Scotland as not only power physical effects but also a moral and spiritual decay presenting the significance of the impact of detachment from religion. This presents the severity of the pain and suffering experienced in the country reinforcing the detrimental effects of tyrannical leadership. Similarly, the auditory verbs ‘howl’ and ‘cry’ present sadness and despair highlighting the state of depression tyrannical leadership has submerged the country into. The use of repetition to emphasise the pain and power of suffering amplifies the symptoms of pain, emphasising the despair within Scotland. Finally, the phrase ‘infants cry’ could show the powerlessness of the land and citizens of the country presenting the loss of power as an effect of the detachment from religion. Shakespeare presents the suffering of Scotland to emphasise the power of Kingship as a direct link to divinity. The Jacobean society believed in the divine rights of Kings, that the King was appointed by God and was the closest being on earth to the God’s. Therefore the act of regicide is a direct defiance of God and with Macbeth as King, the country becomes detached from religion. They believed that the purity of the King was reflected within the land, suggesting the pain and suffering experienced within Scotland was the result of the loss of the natural order and reflecting that Macbeth as the King was not appointed by God. Shakespeare presents the power of Kingship to flatter King James I as his patron, ensuring the success of his play to spread messages about the power of divinely appointed Kingship and the importance of monarchy within society. Throughout the play, he presents the importance of purity in Kingship to reflect positively on the King they currently have comforting the fearful society that was unsettled by the power of King James I ruling over both England and Scotland. Shakespeare uses the suffering of Scotland as a result of the country's detachment from religion from the regicide of King Duncan.
Similarly, Shakespeare presents the evil and sins of regicide through the suffering Macbeth experiences as divine retribution. This is presented through ‘O full of scorpions is my mind’ highlighting the paranoia and mental turmoil Macbeth experiences as guilt for the act of regicide. Through the use of a metaphor, Shakespeare presents the mental deterioration and paranoia of Macbeth presenting his suffering and foreshadowing his descent into madness. Macbeth’s increasing mental deterioration could foreshadow his eventual downfall and death as a result of the suffering of guilt. The noun ‘scorpions’ presents malignant creatures with intent to kill, suggesting the malicious power of his guilt as a force with intent to harm him as a result of harming the natural order. Additionally, ‘scorpions’ have a sharp tail in which they eject poison causing a slow, painful death for their enemies, this could symbolise the effects of guilt as a smaller, slow symptoms that add and increase to cause powerful effects such as death, foreshadowing Macbeth death as a result of the act of regicide. Macbeth states the effects of guilt affect his ‘mind’ suggesting the powerful psychological effects of guilt presenting the mental turmoil of guilt as a powerful force more significant than physical effects. Finally, the adjective ‘full’ suggests the encompassing nature of his guilt, as it consumes his entire being, emphasising the severe effects and reinforcing the psychological aspect of his suffering. This could also represent the permanence of his suffering representing the eternal damnation of guilt as a result of committing acts of sin. Shakespeare hyperbolises the suffering of Macbeth as a warning to the jacobean society against the sin of regicide in response to the Gunpowder plot. Macbeth’s severe punishment causes significant suffering as divine retribution for defying God and disrupting the natural order with the act of regicide. As James I came into power in both Scotland and England, the Jacobean society feared the stability of the monarchy with the conflicts of religion. Catholics conflicted with the beliefs of the King, causing attempts at regicide in the Gunpowder plot. Shakespeare uses his plays to reinforce the importance of the monarchy and settle the Jacobean society through presenting the divine right of King and highlighting the sin of regicide. He warns the unsettled catholics attempting to commit regicide of the permanent damnation and suffering both in life and after to prevent the attacks on the King. Contextually, Shakespeare attempts to please King James I as his patron, to ensure the success of his plays to spread awareness of the effects of ambition, morality, guilt and the powers of Kingship, to etch the importance of these values on society and life.
Finally, Shakespeare uses the suffering of Lady Macbeth to explore the true effects of guilt and the repression of guilt on human life. He presents her suffering of guilt through hallucinations with ‘Out damned spot!’ as he amplifies the pain to explore the enhanced effects of guilt as a result of repression. The repetition of hallucinations each night could present the permanent stain of guilt on her conscience representing the eternal nature of her suffering as a result of repressing her initial guilt and the lack of acceptance for the sin of regicide. Through the use of the sleepwalking scene near the end of the play, Shakespeare presents the gradual increase in tension and guilt enhancing the effects over time. He uses sleepwalking as a manifestation of the psychological suffering of guilt exposing her inner conflict and suffering as a result of guilt.
The verb ‘damned’ could symbolise Lady Macbeth’s eternal damnation as a result of the acts of regicide, actively defying religion and disrupting the natural order set by God. This reinforces the concept of an eternal nature to the punishments from God as Shakespeare explores the effects of guilt. Additionally, the use of an imperative with ‘Out’ could signify the loss of power as she attempts to control the inanimate object of a ‘spot’. This presents the loss of power as an effect of guilt in retribution from God for succumbing to ambition. Shakespeare explores concepts of guilt, such as the loss of power, through the characters Macbeth and Lady Macbeth, to gain a deeper understanding of the human mind. The monosyllabic syntax of her speech could represent the disintegration of her mind, reducing the ability to form complex sentences. This could represent the overpowering and demolishing effects of guilt foreshadowing her death due to the suffering of her guilt. Finally, Shakespeare deliberately organises Lady Macbeth’s death before the death of Macbeth, presenting the power of guilt created a more significant effect on Lady Macbeth to show the enhanced suffering she experienced as a result of the repression of guilt. He presents the rapid disintegration of her mind causing a premature demise. Shakespeare uses hallucinations and sleepwalking to symbolise the severity of her guilt, as the jacobean society recognised psychological punishment as one of the greatest punishments for sin. This hyperbolises her suffering as more significant than Macbeth’s to highlight the sin of the repression of guilt. In the jacobean era, it would have been believed the guilt experienced by Lady Macbeth is divine retribution for the sin of regicide, therefore the repression of guilt presents Lady Macbeth actively defying God and religion increasing the severity of her punishment. Through the amplified presentation of Lady Macbeth’s guilt, Shakespeare explores this idea of increased suffering due to the defiance of the natural order and repression of guilt.
Throughout the play, Shakespeare presents suffering through Macbeth, Lady Macbeth and Scotland to explore religion and conceptualise guilt. He explores ideas about divine retribution and eternal damnation to present the punishment for sin warning the jacobean society following the Gunpowder plot. Similarly, he presents the sanctity of Kingship and the significance of religion in society to reinforce the importance of having a monarchy appointed by God.

Hey, this is a great answer with some great analysis and context. I did Macbeth at GCSE and got a 9, and some things I'd suggest to improve would be:
-Make sure you have an introduction that provides an overview of your main points. The structure of your paragraphs is good, with clear topic sentences and links back to the question at the end, but an intro would help with structure.
-You have good context but there's too much of it and it's in the wrong place. Ao3 context is only worth half the amount of marks that Ao2 analysis is (assuming you're doing aqa, but I'm sure it's similar for other exam boards), so your analysis and context should not be similar lengths. Also, while you do link the context to the text, this would have a better effect of the context is incorporated within the paragraph rather than added onto the end. To improve, cut down the explanation of the context, as examiners know what the gunpowder plot or the divine right of kings are so you don't have to explain them. Simply referencing them and linking them to the play is enough. This will also allow you to more easily incorporate the context within your analysis. An example of how this may look is: "This is presented through ‘each new morn, new widows howl, new infants cry’ highlighting the pain Scotland must endure as a result of Macbeth's disregard for the Divine Right of Kings, as God has seemingly abandoned Scotland while it's under the rule of an unjust King."
-You have some great detailed zoomed-in analysis in your 2nd and 3rd paragraphs, however the analysis on your first could be improved. Whenever your analysing a quote or word make sure to write what it implies and how it does this. You do this well in your other paragraphs but in your first you seem to forget the how? For example, I cannot see how the point you made about "infants cry" relates to that phrase. How does it show Scotland is powerless? Or how are the nouns isolated? Show how you got to these conclusions - the nouns show isolation as they are results of the death of family. Also you did get the quote wrong - it should be "orphans cry"
-finally, I'd suggests perhaps include more analysis based on structure. You do this in your final paragraph and it works well but incorporating more will get you some more Ao2 marks. An easy way to do this is, when introducing a quote put it into the context surrounding it in the play. For example: "Macbeth's lament to his wife after the regicide - "o full of scorpions is my mind" Or even putting the act and scene it's from if you remember. This lets the examiner know you're considering where in the play the quotes are from in your analysis.
Hope this helps