Tragedy

Macbeth can be classified as a tragedy. Tragedies are plays that tell stories about people who make errors and suffer. In most tragedies, the main characters die at the end. This happens to Macbeth and Lady Macbeth.

The concept of a 'downfall'

Tragedies are stories about the downfall of the characters.
This means that these characters begin the play in happy situations and end up in terrible ones.

Macbeth's downfall

Macbeth is viewed as the hero at the start, receiving praise from his comrades because he brutally killed their enemies. He is a hero for killing the enemies of the king.
Later on, he begins to kill people for his own selfish needs, benefiting no one but himself and causing tragedy for other people and their families.

The Causes of Tragedy

Here are some of the common causes of tragedy:

Wider forces (fate)

Sometimes it is the wider forces in the world that cause tragedy, things like chance.
- In this play, fate and prophecy cause a lot of the tragedy – if the witches had not revealed the prophecies, would any of the murders have happened?
- It is because Macbeth’s fate is revealed to him that he becomes obsessed with achieving it.
- If Macbeth had not known his fate, would it still have been his fate?

Villains

Sometimes it is villains who cause tragedy.
- Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are the villains.
- After the witches reveal their prophecies, Macbeth can see a way to seize power and decides to act on it, no matter the consequences.
- Lady Macbeth encourages Macbeth to murder King Duncan – she wants power and does not care how she gets it.
- King Duncan trusts Macbeth as a friend. Macbeth sneaks up on King Duncan while he is sleeping and defenceless, and then murders him.

Villains (continued)

When Macbeth is named King of Scotland, he begins to crave even more power.
He worries that Banquo and his sons will someday seize power, so he hires men to murder them.
Fearing that Macduff will cause problems for him, he sends men to Macduff’s castle to murder him and his family – Macduff is not there, so the murderers kill his wife and son.
Macbeth is responsible for the murders of his friends, innocent women and children, and the King of Scotland.

Tragic characters with flaws

Often, tragic characters bring about their own downfall. They have a flaw (an error) in the character, such as ambition or immorality, which makes them make mistakes of judgement.
- Do Macbeth and Lady Macbeth bring about their own downfall?
- Their decision to chase power and ambition lead to them murdering (or being responsible for the murders of) many people.
- The guilt from these murders then leads Lady Macbeth to die - it's assumed she commits suicide.
- Macbeth’s murder of Macduff’s family (in an attempt to secure his powerful role) leads to his own death.

Macbeth and Lady Macbeth

Macbeth and Lady Macbeth suffer because of their own greed and bad judgments.
Macbeth’s chase for power means that he loses his own wife, and also that, other people then try to stop him because he keeps killing anyone he feels threatened by. Ultimately, he causes his own downfall.

1Literary & Cultural Context

1.1Context

1.1.1Tragedy

1.1.2The Supernatural & Gender

1.1.3Politics & Monarchy

1.1.4End of Topic Test - Context

2Plot Summary

2.1Act 1

2.1.1Scenes 1 & 2

2.1.2Scene 3

2.1.3Scenes 4-5

2.1.4Scenes 6-7

2.1.5End of Topic Test - Act 1

2.2Acts 2-4

2.2.1Act 2

2.2.2Act 3

2.2.3Act 4

2.3Act 5

2.3.1Scenes 1-3

2.3.2Scenes 4-9

2.3.3End of Topic Test - Acts 2-5

3Characters

3.1Macbeth

3.1.1Hero vs Villain

3.1.2Ambition & Fate

3.1.3Relationship

3.1.4Unstable

3.1.5End of Topic Test - Macbeth

3.2Lady Macbeth

3.2.1Masculine & Ruthless

3.2.2Manipulative & Disturbed

3.3Other Characters

3.3.1Banquo

3.3.2The Witches

3.3.3Exam-Style Questions - The Witches

3.3.4King Duncan

3.3.5Macduff

3.3.6End of Topic Test - Lady Macbeth & Banquo

3.3.7End of Topic Test - Witches, Duncan & Macduff

3.4Grade 9 - Key Characters

3.4.1Grade 9 - Lady Macbeth Questions

4Themes

4.1Themes

4.1.1Power & Ambition

4.1.2Power & Ambition HyperLearning

4.1.3Violence

4.1.4The Supernatural

4.1.5Masculinity

4.1.6Armour, Kingship & The Natural Order

4.1.7Appearances & Deception

4.1.8Madness & Blood

4.1.9Women, Children & Sleep

4.1.10End of Topic Test - Themes

4.1.11End of Topic Test - Themes 2

4.2Grade 9 - Themes

4.2.1Grade 9 - Themes

4.2.2Extract Analysis

5Writer's Techniques

5.1Structure, Meter & Other Literary Techniques

5.1.1Structure, Meter & Dramatic Irony

5.1.2Pathetic Fallacy & Symbolism

5.1.3End of Topic Test - Writer's Techniques

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