Hello and welcome to the final lesson in this unit.

This lesson is called An analysis of Macbeth as a tragic hero.

My name is Mr. Barnsley, and I'm so glad that you've joined me for today's lesson.

Okay, so now to the outcome of today's lesson.

By the end of today's lesson, you will be able to write an extended evaluative response about Macbeth.

There are five keywords I want you to look out for in today's lesson, some of which will be in the slide deck, others will be in the model response.

These are timeless, despot, transformative, culmination, and archetype.

The definitions of each of these five words are going to appear on the screen.

Read them very carefully, pausing the video if you need to, so you understand what each of these words mean.

So let's have a look at the lesson outline for our lesson today, An analysis from Macbeth as a tragic hero, two learning cycles.

In the first, we're gonna have a look at introductions and conclusions, and then we are gonna move on to writing our own responses.

So let's have a look at writing introductions and conclusions then, shall we? So you are gonna be answering the following question in today's lesson, "Starting with Act 5, to what extent do you believe that Shakespeare has presented Macbeth as a hero?" So what should an introduction to a response like this include? Pause the video, have a think, have a discuss.

And press play when you are ready to continue.

Let's just pull out and spotlight some of those fantastic things I heard people saying.

So first of all, we know that an introduction should always refer to the author and the text.

It's really important that we're being very, very clear what text we are analysing.

Secondly, it's got to make references to the question that's been asked.

So pulling out some keywords from that question that we are working on.

It is also gonna contextualise the act, the scene, the chapter.

Give a little bit more information about what we've been asked to talk about here.

So Act 5, or Macbeth.

We might want to give a little bit more information about those two things.

And finally, it's got to have a really clear and interesting thesis, remembering that a thesis is an overarching argument that we are gonna be covering across at the entirety of our essay.

So let's have a look at an introduction.

So the question is on the screen.

Let's have a look at an instruction that I have written that is part of a response to this question.

"William Shakespeare's timeless tragedy explores the titular character's fateful downfall from noble warrior to disgraced tyrant.

In Act 5, the audience witnesses Macbeth's demise as he suffers an isolated death, beheaded by Macduff.

Arguably, Shakespeare uses Macbeth's tragic tale to illustrate the ease in which he noble heroes can fall when they fall for the temptation of power and control." Let's break this down, shall we? Why is this such a good introduction? Well, first of all, we've got plenty of reference to the author, William Shakespeare, and the text, "Macbeth." In fact, that first line is basically my own summary of the play at "Macbeth." And actually I can kind of reuse this for many, many different essays.

I might edit it slightly, so it's a little bit more related to the question.

But having like a general statement about "Macbeth" ready, if any time I want to answer an essay on this text will be really, really useful.

You can also see I've got reference to the question that I've been asked.

So Act 5 it's about noble warrior, which is another word for hero, noble heroes.

You can see those words in there.

I've contextualised the act and the character that I've been asked to talk about here.

So in Act 5, I've given a little bit of information about this.

The audience witnesses Macbeth's demise as he suffers an isolated death.

And then I finish with a nice, clear, interesting thesis, right? We're gonna break this down step by step, and you are gonna have a go.

So let's break the introduction down into three clear sections.

So the first one is a general sentence about the text.

"William Shakespeare's timeless tragedy explores the titular character's fateful downfall from noble warrior to disgrace tyrant." Like I said, that statement I can use for many, many different essays.

Okay, it's gonna work for lots of essays about "Macbeth" 'cause I'm just generally summarising what the text is about.

My second sentence, or my second part of the introduction is the contextualization of either the scene, the act, the character, the chapter, depending on what the question is about.

So, "In Act 5, the audience witnesses Macbeth's demise as he suffers an isolated death, beheaded by Macduff." And finally, a thesis statement.

So, "Arguably Shakespeare uses Macbeth's tragic tale to illustrate the ease in which noble heroes can fall when they fall for the temptation of power and control." Okay, now over to you.

Have a go at writing your own introduction for this question.

Remember the first part is gonna be a general sentence about Macbeth.

The second is the contextualization of Act 5.

And then you're gonna have a thesis statement.

What is Shakespeare's purpose? What is he trying to teach his audience? Pause the video and give this a go.

Well done everybody.

Fantastic job.

I could see some really great introductions there.

Really sophisticated, well done.

Okay, so let's now start thinking about conclusions.

So whilst an introduction moves from the general to the specific, so we've got a general sentence about the text to a kind of more of a focus on the question, whether that's the act, scene, chapter, character.

And then a really specific thesis.

A conclusion is the other way around.

So it starts with a specific response to your thesis, your first sentence.

The first part of your conclusion should be responding to your thesis, making sure that your essay has answered the question, or covered the content, or met the argument that you said you were going to.

You then might broaden it, and thinking about the author's purpose overall, what the message, what was the moral of what he was writing about, or they were writing about.

And then, finally, it would be great, not necessary, but fantastic if your final, the final thing that you write in your entire essay thinks about the impact of the text today.

Often lots of the texts you are studying have been selected because they have really relevant messages that are still really useful for people to hear today.

And it'd be great if you could direct, you could finish your, you could finish your response by talking about that.

Let's have a look then at an example of a conclusion.

And let's see if you can notice how it moves from the specific to the general.

"In Act 5, Shakespeare presents the culmination of Macbeth's descent from noble hero to despise despot.

Macbeth's isolated and undignified death serves as Shakespeare's stark reminder to all about respecting the natural order and displaying loyalty to your king.

Perhaps it is these messages of morality that make 'Macbeth' a timeless classic, enjoyed as much today as it was in Jacobean England." You can see the three parts there.

The beginning, where I'm revisiting my thesis, the middle, where I'm thinking about the author, in this case, Shakespeare's wider purpose.

And finally trying to apply that today.

Why is "Macbeth" a story that is still enjoyed today? Okay, let's do a check for understanding.

There is one section of my conclusion that is missing.

What should go on that bottom level of the pyramid? Pause your video, see if you can answer this, and press play when you are ready to continue.

Very well done if you recognised that the impact of the text today is what was missing from this diagram.

Now over to you.

You are gonna write a conclusion for this essay that you are gonna be working on today.

So remember, you want a specific comment in relation to the question and your thesis.

You want a more general comment about Shakespeare's purpose as a whole, and if you can, you want to try and finish your conclusion with a wider comment on the lasting impact of Shakespeare's work.

Pause the video, give this a go, and press play when you are ready to continue.

Great job, everybody, 'cause you are working really, really hard on that.

It's time now before we move on, just to reread, reflect, and let's see if we managed to hit all of the success criteria in our conclusion.

So reread your work and make sure you can identify where you've done the following.

You've got a specific comment about, in relation to the question and your thesis.

You've got a general comment about Shakespeare's wider purpose, and you've got a wider comment about that lasting impact of Shakespeare's work.

Pause the video, reread your work, and see where you have met this success criteria.

Press play when you are ready to continue.

Fantastic work, now, I think we are ready to write our response.

So first, let's quickly just read a model paragraph to check.

We know the standard we're aiming for as we write our paragraphs, as we write our essays today.

So as you are listening to this, I want you to think about what makes this response successful.

So if you want to read through this yourself, you can pause the video now.

Otherwise you can keep the video playing, and I will read through it with you.

"Through his soliloquy In Act 5, Scene 5, Shakespeare paints a complex picture of his titular character, Macbeth, completing his transition from noble warrior to tyrannical despot to, finally, a tragic hero.

Macbeth begins to realise the futility of his relentless pursuit of power marking a transformative moment.

As he laments tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury signifying nothing, Shakespeare portrays Macbeth as a man who has learn harsh lessons by the denouement of the play.

Macbeth's life, once filled with ambition and action, is now perceived as meaningless and chaotic.

This introspection underscores the tragic nature of his character as he acknowledges the consequences of his unchecked hubris.

The juxtaposition of fury an idiot illustrate the contrast through Macbeth's earlier confidence and his current disillusionment.

This highlights the complexities of Macbeth's journey, illustrating growth even if it has come too late.

As the audience, we witness Macbeth's transformation from a valiant warrior to a tormented self-aware figure, which aligns more with the archetype of a tragic hero than a traditional hero.

Shakespeare's portrayal of Macbeth in Act 5, Scene 5, as a man who has learned hard lessons and recognises the hollowness of his pursuits, contributes to the argument that he can be seen as a tragic hero by the end of the play." Okay, pause the video and have a discussion.

What makes this such a successful response? Great discussion, I just want to spotlight some of the things that you may have said there.

So I heard people talking about the being a really clear topic sentence, well done.

People mentioned the embedding of quotations.

Fantastic if you spotted that.

Interesting analysis of language, form, and structure.

If you pulled out some of those things, particularly the form of a tragedy, the conventions of tragedy, tragic hero, and some of the language analysis.

Well done if you spotted the discourse markers, helping signposts and guide the reader through the argument.

And there was some really considered interpretations that we're not just going for the most obvious understanding of the text, but actually they were really thinking a little bit deeper and maybe also weighing up different ways that Macbeth had been presented.

So really well done if you spotted that.

A check for understanding here.

"Which of the following would you not expect to see in an excellent response?" Is it A, considered interpretations? B, ideas tracked from across the text.

C, a lot of subject terminology? Tricky one here, pause the video, have a think, and press play when you are ready to continue.

Well done if you said C, a lot of subject terminology.

Subject terminology is useful, it can definitely enhance an argument, but I don't think we need to just throw it in for throwing it in sake.

We need to only use it where we've got something explicit to say about it.

Otherwise, it's useless and it doesn't actually add anything to your overall response.

So just be careful when you're using subject terminology that you're using it for the right reasons.

Okay, a task for you now.

Two parts to this task.

First of all, we're gonna plan, and then we're gonna do some writing.

So I would like you to complete the planning grid below for the following question, "Starting with Act 5.

To what extent do you believe Shakespeare has presented Macbeth as a hero?" Pause the video, spend about no more than five or 10 minutes planning your response, and press play when you are ready to continue.

Fantastic, I can see some wonderful plans there.

I hope these are gonna be able to support you as you build them out into these excellent evaluative essays.

So now it is time to write your response to the following question.

You want to give yourself plenty of time to write up at your full response introductions, at least three different arguments that are gonna help support your thesis.

And make sure you've got that conclusion, and challenge yourself to see if you can include, right at the very end, the impact of Shakespeare's "Macbeth" on society today.

Best of luck with this.

Pause the video, give this your best shot, and press play when you are done.

Fantastic work there.

I hope you are really proud of yourself.

It's always very difficult writing extended responses, so I hope you are really, really pleased with the work that you have created.

Right, it is now time for you to reread your response.

Have a bit of a moment of reflection, and identify where you've done the following.

Check that you've got some clear topic sentences, that you've embedded your quotations, that you've got some interesting analysis of language, form, or structure, you've used discourse markers to help you track ideas from across the play.

And make sure that your, I hope your interpretations are really considered, and nuanced, and detailed.

Pause the video, reread your work, identify where you've hit the success criteria, and then press play when you are done.

Thank you so much for joining me in a lesson today.

On the screen, you can see a summary of everything that we have gone through.

So please do take a moment, pause the video if you need to, to reread over each of these bullet points.

You've done a fantastic job today.

It's been a pleasure going through this lesson with you.

Thank you very much, goodbye.