Satisfying Conclusion - Plan and Help
Intro - William Shakespeare’s “Macbeth” has an extremely satisfying conclusion
where justice is done: Lady Macbeth (PCQE 1) and Macbeth (PCQE 2) suffer for
their crimes; Macduff gains revenge for the killing of his family (PCQE 3); Malcolm
regains the throne (PCQE 4) and the witches’ prophecies come true (PCQE 5).
Summary of play
From flipchart page…
PCQE 1
(P)The first reason that I found the end of the play satisfying is that Lady Macbeth
suffers for her role in helping Macbeth to overcome his conscience and kill Duncan.
(C)In the pivotal scene act 1 scene 7 Macbeth has decided not to go through with the
murder of Duncan before Lady Macbeth persuades him otherwise:
(Q)“Wouldst thou…live a coward in thine own esteem,
Letting ‘I dare not’ wait upon ‘I would’”
(E)In this quotation she uses a rhetorical question to suggest that he is failing to act
because he is a “coward”. She challenges him to overcome his fear saying he “dare
not”. For a man like Macbeth who prides himself on his courage this is very effective.
(C)In the conclusion she kills herself, unable to live with her role in the killings, mad
and alone. In act 5, scene 1 she asks herself:
(Q)“Will these hands ne’er be clean?”
(E)The blood she sees symbolises her guilt. This is ironic as she mocked Macbeth for
his guilt after the death of Duncan, telling him that “a little water clears us of this
deed”. She poses yet another rhetorical question, but this time it relects her despair,
not her evil. It shows how low she has sunk and prepares the audience for her exit.
She pays for her crimes with her life. She also loses her closeness to Macbeth and dies
offstage, unmourned, with only Macbeth’s words “She should have died hereafter” to
mark her death. She was indeed a “fiend-like queen” who got what she deserved.
PCQE 2
In addition I found the fact that Macbeth got what he deserved satisfying.
Complete the rest!
Do the other PCQEs!