Macbeth

Use these essay questions as writing and critical thinking exercises for all levels of writers, and to build their literary analysis skills by requiring textual references throughout the essay.

Differentiation Suggestion: For English learners or struggling writers, strategies that work well include graphic organizers, sentence frames or starters, group work, or oral responses.

Scaffolded Essay Questions

Student Prompt: Write a short (1-3 paragraph) response using one of the bulleted outlines below. Cite details from the text over the course of your response that serve as examples and support.

1. Dynamic characters change over the course of a story.

• How does Lady Macbeth change over the course of the play? (topic sentence)
• Discuss 3 scenes that show Lady Macbeth changing from the beginning of the play to the end. Include details and quotes to document the changes, and explain how they reveal her shifts.
• In your conclusion, explain why the changes in Lady Macbeth are significant to the story as a whole.

2. Though sometimes people think violence is the answer to a problem, it almost always leads to more violence.

• How does violence cause more violence in Macbeth? (topic sentence)
• Explain 3 scenes that illustrate violence causing violence. Use evidence and reasoning to support your analysis.
• In your conclusion, state a lesson we can learn from analyzing this theme of Violence Begets Violence in Macbeth.

3. Ambition can be both positive and negative.

• What causes ambition to lead to tragedy in Macbeth? (topic sentence)
• Interpret 3 key scenes that reveal how the corrupting nature of ambition leads to tragedy in the play. Include details and quotes to prove your points. Explain how the examples illustrate the theme of Ambition and Corruption.
• As you conclude your essay, describe how the story could have gone another way if characters’ ambitions had not caused their corrupt actions.

Full Essay Assignments

Student Prompt: Write a structured and well-developed essay. Include a thesis statement, at least three main points supported by text details, and a conclusion.

1. Reflect on the symbolism of the setting in the play. Choose a place and time in the play. Consider what is happening in that setting. How is it important to the themes of the play? How do shifts in setting affect characters and build themes? As you write your essay, use at least three specific quotes to prove your points. Cite quotations with act, scene, and line number. Include reasoning about how each quote proves your point.

2. Consider Macbeth’s soliloquy about the vision of a dagger in Act II, Scene 1. What does the speech reveal about him? How do other points of the play support this idea of who he is? How do other scenes challenge this idea of who he is? What is the significance of the vision? How does his soliloquy connect to themes in the play? Include at least three lines or phrases from the soliloquy that support your points. Cite your quotations with act, scene, and line number. Include reasoning about how each quotation supports your point.