Macbeth: Study Guides

"For many students, the greatest obstacle to writing about Shakespeare is the process of reading Shakespeare. The root of the problem for many, not surprisingly, is Shakespeare's language, which is unfamiliar at times and can seem difficult to read. Like everything else, practice, patience, and a little effort will help. In the meantime, there are some things you can do that will make Shakespeare much more accessible to you. First ... "

"When writing about Shakespeare's tragedies, ... , one way of approaching the task is to start by understanding the precise nature of ... gap, in the play or plays you are treating, between what could have been and what is. Then identify, in as much detail as you can, the reasons why the darker outcomes emerged, why the brighter possibilities were eclipsed ... "

Click through the various types of essays and parts of essays to access advice and guidance from Bloom's Literature Database. You may need the password to access this article. Click on the link below.

"Macbeth provides ample choices for essay topics. There are several psychologically complex and vivid characters, a variety of thematic concerns, and prominent marks of Shakespeare's engagement with Jacobean politics. Despite this abundance, the play is often noted for its economy: It is a very efficient piece of drama that does not waste a scene. As a result, you can find significance and meaning almost anywhere you look in Macbeth; nearly all points of the text are connected to every other point in narrative, symbolic, and thematic terms."

"The Timeless Shakespeare Study Guides provide a wealth of reproducible support materials to help students extend the learning experience .Features include critical background notes on both the author and the times, character descriptions, chapter summaries, and seven “universal” exercises which may be used to follow up the reading of any Timeless Shakespeare novel or play."

A short summary of the main plotline of Macbeth.

"Enable students to achieve their best grade in GCSE English Literature with this year-round course companion; designed to instil in-depth textual understanding as students read, analyse and revise Macbeth throughout the course."

"Stop us if you've heard this one before: a man hears an exciting prophecy about his future and decides to take fate into his own hand by killing his king. Things go rapidly downhill."

"In Macbeth, William Shakespeare's tragedy about power, ambition, deceit, and murder, the Three Witches foretell Macbeth's rise to King of Scotland but also prophesy that future kings will descend from Banquo, a fellow army captain."

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"Welcome to the LitCharts study guide on William Shakespeare's Macbeth. Created by the original team behind SparkNotes..."

"Shakespeare Study Guides in Kindle Format
With Complete Texts That Explain Difficult Words and Passages"

"The simplicity of the single-word title belies the intricacy of the play and its main character, however. Plot details and character details unfold side-by-side in Macbeth. Powerful yet weak, courageous yet afraid, the character of Macbeth has layers of complexity and influence that make him bigger than life or any title."

"Each text discussion contains sections on sources, characters, performance, themes, language, and critical history, helping students identify the different ways of approaching a text..." Chapter 4 focuses on Macbeth.

"Shakespeare's plays are thought-provoking and complex texts that explore the human themes of romance, deceit, tragedy, comedy, and revenge. These activity guides are designed by teachers for teachers to help students navigate the complexity."

"The book combines an informative guide to these interpretations of Shakespeare, discussed with critical analysis of their relative strengths. It also includes extensive interviews with directors, actors and writers involved in the projects discussed'."

"Macbeth is a play about witchcraft and ambition. All of the information you need about the play is divided into four sections: Story, Characters, Language and Staging.

Each section has three different levels of information. Choose which level is right for you or simply move between them to find what you need ... "