I Have No Sympathy for Macbeth
Macbeth: essay of argument
Practice assessment task
2012
Mode: essay of argument
Due date: end of term 2 (ask your teacher for the day and period you are expected to submit this task)
Criteria: Students will be assessed on how well they: 1. Demonstrate they have developed a personal, informed reading of the play 2. Write a well-structured and sustained essay of argument in response to the question 3. Use details from the text to support their argument 4. Show that they understand the context and the values of Shakespeare’s time and can compare them with the time in which the play is being read/viewed
Question:
‘I have no sympathy for Macbeth. He is a despicable human being who deserves what he gets.’
Do you agree with this assessment of the character Macbeth?
Support your argument with close reference to the context, structure and language of the play.
Shakespeare’s tragedy of Macbeth is written about a story of a Scottish thane (Macbeth), whom, fuelled by burning desire and ambition, urged on by his wife and also triggered by the three witches’ equivocation, murders his king, Duncan. Despite Macbeth’s negative attributes such as his greed, corruption, paranoia, the audience still retains and pities Macbeth due to the fact that Shakespeare employs soliloquies, humanity and tragic flaw. Judging Macbeth superficially by his actions alone leaves the reader no choice but to consider him as evil and immoral; yet when one examines the full presentation of his character and understands his mental struggles (through his soliloquies), a feeling of sympathy is evoked.
Throughout the whole play, Macbeth is shown as having a conscience. Prior to his murdering of Duncan, Macbeth has serious reservations about following through with the assassination, with Shakespeare portraying Macbeth as a reluctant murderer. After all, his ambitions for the throne were only made public after hearing a prophecy, which the audience later realises as an
Practice assessment task
2012
Mode: essay of argument
Due date: end of term 2 (ask your teacher for the day and period you are expected to submit this task)
Criteria: Students will be assessed on how well they: 1. Demonstrate they have developed a personal, informed reading of the play 2. Write a well-structured and sustained essay of argument in response to the question 3. Use details from the text to support their argument 4. Show that they understand the context and the values of Shakespeare’s time and can compare them with the time in which the play is being read/viewed
Question:
‘I have no sympathy for Macbeth. He is a despicable human being who deserves what he gets.’
Do you agree with this assessment of the character Macbeth?
Support your argument with close reference to the context, structure and language of the play.
Shakespeare’s tragedy of Macbeth is written about a story of a Scottish thane (Macbeth), whom, fuelled by burning desire and ambition, urged on by his wife and also triggered by the three witches’ equivocation, murders his king, Duncan. Despite Macbeth’s negative attributes such as his greed, corruption, paranoia, the audience still retains and pities Macbeth due to the fact that Shakespeare employs soliloquies, humanity and tragic flaw. Judging Macbeth superficially by his actions alone leaves the reader no choice but to consider him as evil and immoral; yet when one examines the full presentation of his character and understands his mental struggles (through his soliloquies), a feeling of sympathy is evoked.
Throughout the whole play, Macbeth is shown as having a conscience. Prior to his murdering of Duncan, Macbeth has serious reservations about following through with the assassination, with Shakespeare portraying Macbeth as a reluctant murderer. After all, his ambitions for the throne were only made public after hearing a prophecy, which the audience later realises as an