Pre-AP English I
Literature -
Macbeth
Macbeth
Essay Topics
Requirements
:
● 3-4 typed, double-spaced pages
● 12-point legible font
● MLA-formatting (includes proper heading, title, pagination, etc.)
● Effective use of AIQDC method for body paragraphs
● Apply tactics from notes about effective introductions and conclusions
● DUE: _______________ for A-day students and _______________ for B-day students
1. Choose a dynamic character from
Macbeth
and write an essay about the character’s
progression and evolution throughout the play. Examine methods of characterization that
help chart the character’s change throughout the narrative. Analyze why the character has
changed. In other words, what/who serves as a catalyst or influence on the character’s
change?
2. Macbeth’s crime of killing the king throws the world into chaos. Analyze the impact and
consequence(s) of Macbeth’s actions (and the witches, if you choose) on the Elizabethan
order of the universe. You may want discuss the Elizabethan order of the universe in your
introduction, focus on one or two specific disruptions and consequences, and finish by
evaluating to what extent order was or was not restored by the end of the play.
3. As discussed in class, Macbeth fulfills the definition of a tragic hero in that he has heroic
stature, is motivated by a tragic flaw, begins in happiness and ends in misery or death, and
evokes an emotional, cathartic response from the audience. A complete definition of a tragic
hero includes that the character must also “begin with some kind of ignorance or blindness
and go on to experiences insight.”
Do you believe that Macbeth is a true tragic hero who learns something by the end of the
play? If so, tell what he learns and analyze how he learns it. If not, analyze what prevented
him from doing so.
4. There are many recurring words/phrases/images in
Macbeth
that change meaning based on
the context in which it occurs (who said it, when it was said, about what it was said, etc.).
Trace and analyze the use of one word throughout
Macbeth
. Your thesis might focus on
different denotations and connotations of the word, how a word changes from speaker to
speaker, how a word changes from beginning to end of the play, and
ultimately what effect
this has on the play and/or the audience
. Your essay should explain the significance and
impact of your word as it applies throughout the progression of the play.
Some words you may consider:
- blood
- dress/robes
- lightness/darkness
- hand/eye
- manliness
- fair/foul
- sleep