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Macbeth theme of kingship essay gcse edexcel

Hello, this is my kingship planned essay. Please could someone mark it and give me feedback, Out of 20 and please give me suggestions for improvement. Thank you.

William Shakespeare Macbeth is a dark tale of paranoia and powerlust set in scotlands Middle Ages. The prosperity of kingship is a toxic fuel which propels characters towards heinous acts fuelled by selfish desires which gender had a big influence on.

The irresistible allure of kingship holds immense power which tempts individuals by leveraging their desires and ambitions. This causes lady Macbeth to subvert her gender roles to gain more control. Lady Macbeth is implied to call upon the spirits and command them to “take my milk for gall”. Through the use of the oxymoronic phrase it encapsulates her desire to shed her nurturing, feminine characteristics to support her husband. The juxtaposing of milk and gall exemplifies the deliberate rejection of traditional gender roles and an embrace of masculine ambition. Through the usage of the omnipotent noun”gall” it also links back to these hellish implications to further portray the witches themselves through lady macbeths antagonist. Lady macbeths change in substances align to the theory of 4 humours in medieval medicine a persons bodily fluids determined their true nature. The verb “take” emphasises the desire and desperation lady macbeth has to gain more control. Due to her not having children it limits her powers and struggles to find a place in society therefore her desire to be free from this.

As the archetypal Scottish play continues, Employing ambition was reminiscent of the tyrant tarquin and Macbeth is seeking for similarities. It embodies the power males had at the time and the brutalities they caused. Macbeth’s obsession with tarquin is evident as he states” with tarquins ravishing strides, towards his design”. Accentuating the ominous imagery it suggests that Macbeth ambitiously strives to emulate tarquin so he can embody what it means to be a ruthless tyrant. The dictation of the noun “design” has connotations of intentional craft which mirrors macbeths intentional crafting of his desired position. Despite his transgression against the natural order the seductive allure of these temptations of power obstruct him from seeing the eternal consequences he will face. Through alluding to tarquin Macbeth is ambitious to become a feared ruler. This is compounded by “ravishing” which creates an image of enchantment that he is deluded into becoming a cruel ruler. Macbeths allowance to humanise such individual accentuates the evil men had and could aspirate such vile Roman.

Reply 1

Your essay demonstrates a solid understanding of the themes of kingship and gender in Macbeth, with insightful references to Lady Macbeth’s rejection of femininity and Macbeth’s desire to emulate Tarquin’s cruelty. The analysis is generally clear, but there are some issues with sentence structure and grammar that slightly hinder the flow. The linking of gender roles and ambition is well-handled, though you could benefit from further development of some ideas and a more polished expression of your argument.
Mark: 15/20 Grade: B Suggestions for improvement:

Focus on sentence clarity and structure to improve readability.

Proofread for minor grammar issues.

Develop ideas further, particularly in relation to how gender influences power and ambition in a broader societal context.

Reply 2

Your essay demonstrates a clear understanding of the play, with good analysis. However, some of your points did not exactly link with the theme of kingship, like your first paragraph you had a solid topic sentence explaining the impact of kingship but then throughout the rest of your paragraph it was not mentioned. In addition you only had 2 quotes which is below the minimum of 5/6 quotes. Context is limited.
Second paragraph is great! You had clear links with the theme of kingship
overall, 10/20

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