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Year 11
AQA

'Macbeth': exploring the external feminine influences in the play

I can explain why Macbeth was susceptible to manipulation by female characters in the play.

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Year 11
AQA

'Macbeth': exploring the external feminine influences in the play

I can explain why Macbeth was susceptible to manipulation by female characters in the play.

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Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. Macbeth's lack of a male heir makes him susceptible to Lady Macbeth's manipulations.
  2. Lady Macbeth uses Macbeth's insecurities to emasculate him.
  3. Macbeth is more likely to believe the witches' prophecies due to his insecurities.
  4. Macbeth's lack of a male heir makes him more likely to betray Banquo and Duncan.
  5. Shakespeare upholds the status quo by punishing characters who do not conform to conventional gender roles.

Keywords

  • External influences - external influences are factors beyond a characters control which may affect their decisions or behaviour

  • Susceptible - susceptible means you are liable to be influenced by something

  • Emasculation - emasculation is the act of depriving a man or his masculine strength or role, making him feel less masculine

  • Vulnerable - people who are vulnerable are exposed to harm, either physically or emotionally

  • Revolutionary - revolutionary can mean dramatic change or being engaged in political revolution

Common misconception

Pupils believe Lady Macbeth holds most of the responsibility for Macbeth's actions.

When considering the witches' role, ask pupils which ideas can be used to counter the significance of Lady Macbeth's role in his downfall?


To help you plan your year 11 english lesson on: 'Macbeth': exploring the external feminine influences in the play, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...

When delivering the explanation in 'Shakespeare, gender and the status quo', be prepared to explain in more detail the impact Shakespeare has had on literature, using concrete examples for pupils.
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Teacher tip
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Equipment

You will need access to a copy of Shakespeare's 'Macbeth' for this lesson.

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Content guidance

  • Depiction or discussion of sensitive content
supervision-level

Supervision

Adult supervision recommended

copyright

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2025), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Lesson video

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Starter quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
Which of the following is not an external influence that contributes to Macbeth's downfall in Shakespeare's 'Macbeth'?
The witches' prophecies.
Correct answer: Macbeth's personal ambition.
Lady Macbeth's manipulative behaviour.
Q2.
In 'Macbeth' Lady Macbeth is an depiction of an 11th Century Gaelic woman.
Correct Answer: unconventional, an unconventional
Q3.
Which quotes are said by Lady Macbeth in an attempt to manipulate her husband in Shakespeare's 'Macbeth'?
Correct answer: "Live a coward in thine own esteem."
Correct answer: "Are you a man?"
"All hail Macbeth!"
Correct answer: "Was hope drunk?"
"For brave Macbeth, - well he deserves that name."
Q4.
The first character we see contemplating committing crimes in Shakespeare's 'Macbeth' is
Correct Answer: Macbeth
Q5.
Select the adjectives which best describe Lady Macbeth's behaviour in the first half of 'Macbeth'.
Correct answer: domineering
isolated
Correct answer: manipulative
Correct answer: persuasive
guilty
Q6.
Which of the words below means 'the act of making a man feel like less of a man?'
Correct answer: emasculating
manipulating
exploiting

Exit quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
Which word, beginning with 'v' and meaning being exposed to the possibility of harm, would fit in this sentence? Macbeth is to the witches prophecies.
Correct Answer: vulnerable, vulnerable
Q2.
Why would some people argue that the witches were not supernatural beings and just mischief making outsiders in 'Macbeth'?
Macbeth chooses to revist them.
Not everyone believes in the supernatural.
Correct answer: Banquo's son is not king by the end of the play.
Q3.
Which word, beginning with 's' fits in this sentence? Macbeth's insecurities surrounding his lack of patrilineal line means he is to Lady Macbeth's emasculation.
Correct Answer: susceptible, Susceptible
Q4.
Select the quotations from 'Macbeth' which are an example of Lady Macbeth's emasculation of Macbeth.
Correct answer: "Too full of the milk of human kindness."
Correct answer: "Tis the eye of childhood, that fears a painted devil."
"Come you spirits [...] unsex me here."
"Out damn'd spot! Out I say!"
Q5.
Which of the following is the most sophisticated inference about why Lady Macbeth's manipulation is successful in 'Macbeth'?
Lady Macbeth gets angry at her husband for breaking a promise.
Lady Macbeth questions her husband's masculinity.
Correct answer: Lady Macbeth targets her husbands insecurities about his lack of male heir.
Q6.
Select the reasons below as to why Shakespeare might be described as a defender of the status quo through 'Macbeth'.
Correct answer: Characters who challenge gender roles are punished by the end of the play.
Correct answer: The play is a warning against defying the natural order.
In Lady Macbeth, Shakespeare has created an unconventional female character.
Throughout the play, characters defy the natural order.