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Year 10
Edexcel

‘Macbeth’: exploring evidence and including context in an essay on Lady Macbeth

I can explain what happens in Act 1, Scenes 5 to 7 of ‘Macbeth’ and begin to evaluate the character of Lady Macbeth.

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Year 10
Edexcel

‘Macbeth’: exploring evidence and including context in an essay on Lady Macbeth

I can explain what happens in Act 1, Scenes 5 to 7 of ‘Macbeth’ and begin to evaluate the character of Lady Macbeth.

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Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. Topic sentences need to be clear and linked to the question
  2. Judicious quotations from the text are used to create compelling arguments
  3. Writer’s methods should be explored without always relying on single word analysis
  4. Context can be used to develop arguments

Keywords

  • Machiavellian - Machiavellian is an adjective. It describes someone who gets what they want in cunning, ruthless and immoral ways.

  • Compelling - If an argument is compelling, it is convincing and persuasive.

  • Methods - Methods are techniques a writer uses. These encompass everything: language, form, structure and characterisation.

  • Context - Context concerns the circumstances in which a text was written; context helps us to understand the writer’s intentions further.

  • Feedback - Feedback is information given to someone to help them improve something.

Common misconception

Contextual information in an essay should comprise of one final sentence in each paragraph.

Context should be weaved throughout an essay to help explore a writer's intentions.


To help you plan your year 10 english lesson on: ‘Macbeth’: exploring evidence and including context in an essay on Lady Macbeth, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...

Consider if the models in this lesson could be replaced by models from your own students.
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Equipment

You need access to a copy of William Shakespeare's 'Macbeth'.

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Content guidance

  • Depiction or discussion of discriminatory behaviour
  • Depiction or discussion of serious crime
  • Depiction or discussion of peer pressure or bullying
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Supervision

Adult supervision required

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Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2025), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Lesson video

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Starter quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
When is 'Macbeth' set?
the Jacobean period
Shakespearean times
Correct answer: 11th century Scotland
Jacobean Scotland
16th century Scotland
Q2.
Which words describe Jacobean society?
a meritocracy
Correct answer: patriarchal
matriarchal
Correct answer: hierarchical
Q3.
A villain describes someone who gets what they want in cunning, ruthless and immoral ways.
Correct Answer: Machiavellian, Machiavellian., machiavellian, 'Machiavellian', 'machiavellian'
Q4.
What happens in Act 5, Scene 1 of 'Macbeth'?
Lady Macbeth is murdered.
Lady Macbeth meets the witches.
Correct answer: Lady Macbeth is consumed by guilt.
Lady Macbeth chooses to take her own life.
Lady Macbeth asks Macbeth 'What's to be done?' about Banquo.
Q5.
In Act 3, Scene 4 of 'Macbeth', Macbeth seeks the witches. Why would this have been a shocking moment for the play's first Jacobean audiences?
Macbeth is a King. The witches should come to him.
Correct answer: He relies on evil supernatural creatures, not the power of God.
Correct answer: Before they appeared before him by chance, now he actively seeks them.
Correct answer: Witches were believed to be evil and unreliable.
The witches have threatened to kill him if they see him again.
Q6.
In what ways does Shakespeare use Act 3, Scene 4 of 'Macbeth' to signal Lady Macbeth's diminishing power?
Correct answer: She doesn't have a plan about what to do about Banquo. Instead, Macbeth does.
Correct answer: She doesn't enjoy being monarch, calling it 'nought'.
Correct answer: Macbeth relies on the witches to support him, not her.
She sees Banquo's Ghost, thus her mind is beginning to deteriorate.
Correct answer: She emasculates Macbeth to no effect.

Exit quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
What is the term we use to describe 'Macbeth's' first audiences?
medieval Scots
Elizabethan
Thanes
Shakespearean
Correct answer: Jacobean
Q2.
Which of the following can make for compelling evidence in an English literature essay?
when every quotation is analysed a word at a time
Correct answer: judicious choice of evidence
Correct answer: evidence which supports your topic sentence
Correct answer: analysis of writer's methods exemplified through evidence
multiple thesis
Q3.
Which of the following could allow for meaningful use of context in an English literature essay?
including the catch all phrase 'at the time'
making sure context is encapsulated in one sentence at the end of each paragraph
Correct answer: weaving it throughout your response
placing all your contextual knowledge in one paragraph at the end of your essay
Q4.
How does the relationship between Macbeth and Lady Macbeth alter over the course of 'Macbeth'?
Lady Macbeth becomes increasingly dominant.
They don't speak after Lady Macbeth 'dashes' their child's brains out.
Lady Macbeth can't endure Macbeth after he kills Duncan.
Correct answer: They both become increasingly isolated.
Correct answer: Macbeth comes to rely on his wife less and less.
Q5.
A student wrote this topic sentence in response to the question, 'Is Lady Macbeth presented as a dutiful wife?'. 'Shakespeare presents Lady Macbeth as very dominant.' What feedback would you give?
You should use a quotation in your topic sentence.
You must analyse methods in your topic sentence.
You must use context in your topic sentence.
Your topic sentence should be a thesis.
Correct answer: Your topic sentence should link to the question more obviously.
Q6.
A student decided to explore the quotation, "Here's the smell of blood still" from Lady Macbeth in 5.1 in order to examine the idea of guilt. What would help make this a compelling piece of analysis?
To use the sentence starter, 'This quotation means...' so they can be clear.
Correct answer: To explore the symbolism of blood from across the play.
To analyse each word's connotations in turn.
Correct answer: To contrast this moment with moments from 2.2 when she rejects ideas of guilt.