Macbeth Ambition and Character PowerPoint: GCSE English Literature Lesson

A complete GCSE English Literature lesson on Macbeth’s ambition and character, following him from “brave Macbeth” in Act 1 to “this dead butcher” at the end of the play. It covers the key quotations act by act, Jacobean context, Macbeth as a tragic hero, close language analysis and an exam style extract question with a mark scheme.

• 32 slides
• GCSE English Literature
• Macbeth
• Key quotations
• Exam question and mark scheme
• Teacher notes
• Fully editable

Download this PowerPoint free (.pptx)

What the lesson covers

1. Starter and key words: a plot recap quiz, eight key terms including hamartia and equivocation, and a timeline of Macbeth’s journey.
2. Context: the divine right of kings, King James and Banquo, witchcraft, the Gunpowder Plot and Macbeth as a tragic hero.
3. Act 1, the hero tempted: “brave Macbeth”, “Stars, hide your fires” and a close look at “vaulting ambition”.
4. Act 2, the murderer: the dagger soliloquy, “Macbeth does murder sleep” and “Neptune’s ocean”.
5. Acts 3 and 4, the tyrant: “full of scorpions is my mind”, “I am in blood / Stepped in so far” and the murder of Macduff’s family.
6. Act 5, alone: “a walking shadow”, “I will not yield” and Malcolm’s final judgement.
7. Tasks and exam practice: quotation quizzes with answers, a “who is to blame?” debate, an AQA style extract question, a six level mark scheme, a model paragraph and common mistakes.

Who it is for

GCSE English Literature teachers and students studying Macbeth. The exam question is written in the style of AQA Paper 1, and the lesson works just as well for Edexcel, OCR and Eduqas Shakespeare questions. Every slide has teacher notes, and quiz answers are on the slides that follow each task.

Download this PowerPoint free (.pptx)