How to Write Top Band Answers for Macbeth (AQA GCSE English Literature)
- Haydn Wood
- Mar 23
- 4 min read
If you’re aiming for top marks in your Macbeth essay responses, it’s not just about remembering quotes - it’s about writing clearly, analytically, and in a way that hits all the AOs. Below is your full guide, including the extract, question, step-by-step planning structure, paragraph breakdown, and a full top-band model response.
Sample Question and Extract
Read the following extract from Act 5 Scene 3 of Macbeth and then answer the question that follows.
At this point in the play, Macbeth hears that the English army is approaching and asks the Doctor for a report about Lady Macbeth.
MACBETH:
Seyton! – I am sick at heart,
When I behold – Seyton, I say! – this push
Will cheer me ever or disseat me now.
I have lived long enough. My way of life
Is fall’n into the sere, the yellow leaf,
And that which should accompany old age,
As honour, love, obedience, troops of friends,
I must not look to have; but in their stead,
Curses, not loud but deep, mouth-honour, breath
Which the poor heart would fain deny, and dare not.
Seyton!
Enter SEYTON
SEYTON: What’s your gracious pleasure?
MACBETH: What news more?
SEYTON: All is confirmed, my lord, which was reported.
MACBETH: I’ll fight till from my bones my flesh be hacked.
Give me my armour.
SEYTON: ’Tis not needed yet.
MACBETH: I’ll put it on;
Send out more horses; skirr the country round.
Hang those that talk of fear. Give me mine armour.
How does your patient, doctor?
DOCTOR: Not so sick, my lord,
As she is troubled with thick-coming fancies
That keep her from her rest.
MACBETH: Cure her of that.
Canst thou not minister to a mind diseased,
Pluck from the memory a rooted sorrow,
Raze out the written troubles of the brain,
And with some sweet oblivious antidote
Cleanse the stuffed bosom of that perilous stuff
Which weighs upon the heart?
Starting with this extract, explore how Shakespeare presents Macbeth as a male character who changes during the play.
(30 marks) - 4 marks AO4 (SPAG)
Planning a Top-Band Essay: Structure and Timing
Total Time: 45 Minutes
5 mins planning: highlight key parts of extract, note key ideas across the play.
35 mins writing: Intro, 3 developed PEEL+ paragraphs, conclusion.
5 mins checking: spelling, clarity, AO balance.
PEEL+ Paragraph Structure:
Point: What idea about Macbeth is this paragraph exploring?
Evidence: Short, precise quotation.
-
Explanation/Analysis: Unpack the quote — language, imagery, structure, tone.
AO3 Contextual Link: Beliefs about masculinity, kingship, the supernatural, etc.
Link: Connect clearly back to the question.
Planned Essay Overview:
Paragraph 1 – Macbeth as fearless and violent in the extract
Quote: “I’ll fight till from my bones my flesh be hacked”
Language: Violent verb ‘hacked’; determined tone.
AO3: Return to stereotypical Jacobean masculine ideal of strength/warrior.
Paragraph 2 – Macbeth’s overconfidence and tyrannical tone
Quote: “Hang those that talk of fear” / “I’ll put it on” (armour)
Language: Imperatives and aggression; commanding tone.
AO3: Tyranny, divine right of kings, Shakespeare’s warning about corrupt power.
Paragraph 3 – Contrast with earlier presentation of Macbeth’s guilt/fear
Quote: “Sleep no more! Macbeth does murder sleep”
Language: Repetition of ‘sleep’, third person distancing.
AO3: Guilt, disintegration of mind, contrast with later confidence.
Full Model Essay Response
Each paragraph follows the PEEL+ structure:
Point: Main idea in relation to the question.
Evidence: Short embedded quotation.
Explanation/Analysis: Language/structure.
AO3 Contextual Link: Brief but relevant context.
Link: Connects ideas back to the question.)
How far does Shakespeare present Macbeth as a male character who changes during the play?
Shakespeare presents Macbeth as a male character whose identity and behaviour shift dramatically throughout the play. In this extract, Macbeth appears brave, assertive, and emotionally hardened, while earlier in the play he is depicted as guilt-ridden, anxious, and psychologically fragile. This contrast highlights his moral decline and explores Jacobean expectations of masculinity, kingship, and honour.
Paragraph 1 – Macbeth is fearless and violent in the extract.
Shakespeare presents Macbeth as a hardened and fearless man ready for battle. He declares, “I’ll fight till from my bones my flesh be hacked.” The violent verb “hacked” shows his brutal determination and willingness to face death without hesitation. The phrase reflects traditional Jacobean ideas of masculinity — that a man must be physically strong and unwavering in war. At this point, Macbeth reclaims some of the heroic image we saw earlier, contrasting the self-doubt that plagued him in earlier scenes.
Paragraph 2 – Macbeth’s confidence becomes aggressive and tyrannical.
Macbeth’s commanding tone presents him as a powerful but ruthless figure. He says, “Hang those that talk of fear” and insists “I’ll put it on,” referring to his armour. These imperative commands reflect not just confidence but a tyrannical attitude — a man who silences fear and dissent with violence. Shakespeare uses this to show how Macbeth has grown into a corrupt leader, whose obsession with power mirrors Jacobean fears of kings who ruled without virtue. His transformation into a tyrant contrasts with the divine right of kings, showing the dangers of ambition unchecked by morality.
Paragraph 3 – Macbeth’s earlier guilt contrasts his later boldness.
Earlier in the play, Shakespeare presents Macbeth as emotionally unstable and wracked with guilt. After killing Duncan, he says, “Sleep no more! Macbeth does murder sleep.” The repetition of “sleep” and his use of third person show his psychological fragmentation and overwhelming anxiety. His fear of consequences and internal torment are a stark contrast to the resolute warrior in Act 5. Jacobean audiences would view this shift as morally significant — a man consumed by ambition who loses his humanity before reclaiming a distorted form of courage.
Conclusion:
Throughout the play, Shakespeare presents Macbeth as a man who changes dramatically — from a conflicted and anxious figure to a hardened, violent tyrant. These shifts reflect Jacobean anxieties about masculinity, morality, and ambition, and warn against the co
er pursued without conscience.
Comments