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Year 10
Edexcel

Lady Macbeth's role in the downfall of Macbeth in 'Macbeth'

I can evaluate Lady Macbeth's role in the downfall of Macbeth.

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Year 10
Edexcel

Lady Macbeth's role in the downfall of Macbeth in 'Macbeth'

I can evaluate Lady Macbeth's role in the downfall of Macbeth.

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Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. Hamartia is a fatal flaw
  2. You could argue that the hamartia of both Lady Macbeth and her husband is that they are overly ambitious
  3. Some will argue that Lady Macbeth's manipulation led to Macbeth's downfall
  4. Hubris means excessive pride or self-confidence
  5. Some will argue that Macbeth's hubris leads to his own downfall

Keywords

  • Downfall - A character's downfall is when they lose their power or status.

  • Hamartia - A character’s hamartia is their fatal flaw: a weakness or fault in their personality that leads to their downfall.

  • Excess - If you have an excess of something, you have more than is necessary.

  • Hubris - To have hubris means to have excessive pride or self-confidence.

  • Unconventional - If you are unconventional, you do not follow accepted norms or standards.

Common misconception

Hamartia is a synonym for excessive ambition.

Consider if students have read any other tragedies. Ask them to consider Othello's hamartia, for example.

Consider the ways in which students could hear the most number of arguments from their peers as possible: this will help develop increasingly nuanced arguments, and allow students to recall many different moments from across the play.
Teacher tip

Equipment

You will need access to a copy of William Shakespeare's 'Macbeth'.

Content guidance

  • Depiction or discussion of serious crime
  • Depiction or discussion of peer pressure or bullying
  • Depiction or discussion of mental health issues

Supervision

Adult supervision required

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2024), 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.
What happens to Macbeth in Act 5 of 'Macbeth'?
He retreats from battle to find the witches.
He kills Lady Macbeth.
He kills Macduff who the witches told him to "beware" of.
Correct answer: He is killed by Macduff.
He yields the crown to Malcolm, Duncan's son.
Q2.
In 'Macbeth', why would Lady Macbeth be considered an unconventional woman both in 11th century Scotland, when the play is set, and Jacobean England, when the play was first performed?
She is silent and obedient.
Correct answer: She rejects her femininity.
She is a witch.
Correct answer: She disrupts the status quo.
Correct answer: She dominates Macbeth.
Q3.
In Act 1, Scene 7 of 'Macbeth', what does Macbeth decide at the end of his soliloquy?
That he will visit the witches again.
That he will kill King Duncan.
That he will ask Lady Macbeth's advice about killing Duncan.
Correct answer: That he will not kill King Duncan.
Q4.
In Act 1, Scene 3 of 'Macbeth', the witches give Macbeth and Banquo their prophecies. How do we know Macbeth is immediately interested in what they have to say?
Correct answer: He writes a letter to Lady Macbeth telling her what he has been told.
Correct answer: Banquo describes him as "rap't" - spellbound by them.
He follows them back to their cave to hear more.
Correct answer: He is sad when the witches vanish.
Correct answer: He begins having asides showing his desire for the crown.
Q5.
In Act 1, Scene 2 of 'Macbeth', the Sergeant describes Macbeth's actions in the battle. What are some of the ways Macbeth shows his abilities as a loyal warrior?
Correct answer: He killed a traitor to Duncan.
He wrote to Lady Macbeth about his prowess on the battlefield.
He invited Duncan to his castle after the battle.
Correct answer: He sticks the traitor's head on Duncan's battlements for all to see.
He kills the Thane of Cawdor.
Q6.
At the end of his soliloquy in Act 1, Scene 7 of 'Macbeth', Macbeth gives a definitive reason he won't commit the regicide: "I have no spur To prick the sides of my intent, but only Vaulting ."
Correct Answer: ambition, 'ambition', 'Ambition', Ambition, "ambition"

Exit quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
What are the correct definitions of the word hamartia?
a character's hubris
a character's excessive ambition
a character's downfall
Correct answer: a character's weakness that leads to their downfall
Correct answer: a character's fatal flaw
Q2.
Some argue that in 'Macbeth', Macbeth and Lady Macbeth have a shared hamartia. What is it?
excessive hubris
Correct answer: excessive ambition
unconventionality
their downfalls
their love for each other
Q3.
Which of the following moments from 'Macbeth' could be examples of Lady Macbeth's excessive ambition?
Correct answer: Her immediate plotting after hearing about the prophecies.
Her sleepwalking and talking in Act 5, Scene 1.
Her welcoming Duncan to her castle in Act 1.
Correct answer: Her asking "spirits" to prevent her from feeling guilt after the regicide.
Correct answer: Her emasculation of Macbeth in 1.7 so he commits regicide.
Q4.
Which of the following moments from 'Macbeth' could be examples of Macbeth's hubris?
Correct answer: His desire to fight at the end of the play despite his Thanes deserting him.
Correct answer: His desire to prove himself to Lady Macbeth following her emasculation of him.
Correct answer: Putting the head of a man he has killed on a wall for all to see.
His fears about Banquo's children.
Correct answer: His interest and trust in the prophecies.
Q5.
A student argued, 'Lady Macbeth is to blame for Macbeth's downfall.' What would serve as valid evidence to support this argument?
She dies at the end of the play.
Correct answer: She emasculates Macbeth, goading him into regicide.
She is his "dearest partner of greatness".
She arranges Banquo's murder without telling him.
Correct answer: She dominates in Act 1, forcing him into decisions he doesn't want to make.
Q6.
In Act 1, Scene 3 of 'Macbeth', which quotations best shows Macbeth's ambitious nature?
"your children shall be kings"
Correct answer: [Aside] "Glamis, and thane of Cawdor! the greatest is behind."
Correct answer: "[Macbeth] seems rap't' withal"
Correct answer: "Stay, you imperfect speakers, tell me more"
"art not without ambition, but without The illness should attend it"