A.P. ENGLISH
BABCOCK
MACBETH PAPER ASSIGNMENT
Select one of the following topics and write 4 (no more than 4-this is an exercise is conciseness and clarity) typed, doublespaced pages (12 font) of lucid, analytical prose that is heavily supported with evidence from the text. Due date is
Wednesday October 16th. Papers must be turned in on time; late papers are penalized 1 full grade for every 24 hour
period it is late. In addition to turning in a hard copy on the assigned due date, you must also upload your essay to
turnitin.com. Please follow the instructions on the sheet given you in class (or posted on my school website).
1. Look at Macbeth as a psychological play. One suggestion would be to analyze the id, ego and super ego (the three parts of
Freud's theory of personality) of Macbeth, Lady Macbeth and Banquo. You could look at the role of dreams (suppression of
guilt); you could also analyze the projection of internal thoughts outward (the dagger scene, Banquo's ghost at the banquet).
See handout on "Hurt Minds" for further ideas.
2. Compare/contrast Macbeth with Lady Macbeth. To what extent is Lady Macbeth a mirror revealing her husband's
character? How are they reverse "mirror" images of one another?
3. Compare/contrast Macbeth with Banquo. In what way are their situations alike? In what ways are the reactions of these
two generals similar or dissimilar? Why?
4. Compare Macbeth to Hamlet as characters.
5. What is the role of fate in the play? Is Macbeth's destiny controlled by fate or is he free to act by himself? You might wish
to compare his situation to Oedipus' in Sophocles' play of the same name. Look closely at the role of the witches and the
apparitions.
6. How far has Macbeth been stripped of social and humane qualities before the play is over? Chart his progression into evil,
step-by-step.
7. Is Macbeth a tragic hero? Look at Aristotle's view of what makes a tragic hero: being of noble birth, having a fatal flaw,
taking a great fall, showing recognition of one's wrongdoing or fall at the end, not being a "bad" man (consult Aristotle's
Poetics for a full definition). Compare Macbeth to Oedipus to highlight these aspects.
8. Compare/contrast at length psychology of the murderers Macbeth, Lady Macbeth, and Raskolnikov from Dostoevsky’s
novel, Crime and Punishment.
9. Take one substantial scene(s) from the play and analyze it. Look at the way the scene meshes with the rest of the play,
the microcosm in the macrocosm. How does the scene contain some of the larger thematic concerns of the play? Discuss
these concerns at length.
10. Discuss Macbeth and Lady Macbeth's marriage. How do they complement each other, or in a more predatory sense, feed
off of each other? How does Shakespeare use them to highlight each other? What darkness is at the pit of their depravity?
Discuss them and their relationship in any light you wish.
11. There is a reoccurring theme of disorder and evil throughout the play. Macbeth violates trust and loyalty and turns an
ordered world into one of conflict, disorder, and moral darkness. Discuss this movement into the "heart of darkness" and the
eventual triumph of goodness at the end.