key words for macbeth essay

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GCSE Macbeth Vocabulary

I’ve created a list of advanced GCSE Macbeth vocabulary, that will help you with your GCSE Macbeth essays. If used correctly, your writing will be more sophisticated and surely would impress the examiners. Along with the definitions, I’ve also provided you with examples of how to include the words into your writing.

Macbeth Vocabulary List

Machiavellian.

using clever but often dishonest methods that deceive people, so that you can win power or control

M acbeth showed machiavellian traits quite earlier on in the play. When Ross announces, “call thee Thane of Cawdor”, giving Macbeth the title. Macbeth immediately has transgressive thoughts, as he thinks, if two of the Witches’ Prophesies are correct, then why Shouldn’t the final one come true? He mentions in an aside, “whose murder yet is fantastical”, although the thoughts are yet “fantastical” meaning a fantasy, he still has the idea of murder. This is a Machiavellian thought, as he cleverly has kept this thought to himself and has not shared it with Banquo. However, his cunning thoughts are covered by his words, “Our duties are to your throne”. 

a person who takes a position of power or importance illegally or by force.

Shockingly , Macbeth becomes a murderous tyrant as he kills king Duncan to usurp his throne. 

take violent action against an established government or ruler; rebel.

From the beginning, The play includes a revolt, as it starts with the Thane of Cawdor, a Scottish nobleman, becoming treacherous and raising a rebellion against King Duncan. This shows the unstable state of the country and foreshadows that King Duncan is not safe. 

a fatal flaw leading to the downfall of a tragic hero or heroine.

Due to his, “vaulting ambition”, Macbeth led himself to his hamartia, as he became too ambitious and did not think of the consequences of usurping King Duncan. 

deprive (a man) of his male role or identity.

Lady Macbeth emasculates Macbeth and belittles his manhood as she questions, “are you a man?”, mocking Macbeth for becoming cold feet. 

lacking a moral sense; unconcerned with the rightness or wrongness of something.

Heavily influenced by the evil forces (the witches), Lady Macbeth becomes extremely amoral. As a woman of the Jacobean times, it is extremely shocking when she questions Macbeth’s manhood, “when you durst do it, then you are a man.” She becomes so amoral that she equates manhood to committing heinous acts of regicide. 

a state of great disturbance, confusion, or uncertainty.

Through usurping King Duncan, Macbeth disturbs the social, political and religious order. The morning of King Duncan’s murder, Lennox describes the night before as, “ unruly. Where we lay, our chimneys have been blown down.” The turmoil in the natural world is symbolic of how the death of the king will disrupt the human order. 

principles concerning the distinction between right and wrong or good and bad behaviour.

The witches manipulate Macbeth by mixing some truths with a lie. The prophecies they share lead Macbeth to follow his “vaulting ambition” rather than his morality.

intended to teach, particularly in having moral instruction as an ulterior motive.

In this didactic play, Shakespeare is teaching the Jacobean audience that if one goes Against The Great Chain of Being then one will only lead himself to his downfall.

a quality that evokes pity or sadness.

questioning Macbeth’s masculinity is an example of Lady Macbeth using pathos to persuade him to kill King Duncan.

excessive pride or self-confidence.

Hubris is one of Macbeth’s huge character flaws. This trait can be seen soon after the witches meet him with the prophecies. hubris traits are seen in him, as he begins to have murderous thoughts, although yet “fantastical”, however, his pride allows him to feel confident in thinking that he can gain the throne.

the medieval knightly system with its religious, moral, and social code.

Macbeth is portrayed as chivalrous  at the start of the play when the Captain, in his speech to Duncan, describes Macbeth as “brave Macbeth”, as he Fought with valour for his country.

Duplicitous

Lady Macbeth informs Macbeth to “look like the innocent flower, but be Serpent under”, she shows her Duplicitous intentions when she asks her husband to hide his real intentions and look as loving and welcoming as a flower. The noun “serpent” has connotations of evil and slyness. She wants Macbeth to adopt that level of evilness but Completely mask it by looking like a peaceful and innocent flower.

use  ambiguous  language so as to conceal  the truth.

before killing King Duncan , Macbeth uses equivocation , as He says, “ If it were done when ’tis done, then t’were well It were done quickly,” Macbeth could not get himself to say murder, showing that it is so difficult for him, due to feelings of guilt, hence, he thinks getting “it done quickly” could make it easier. The pronoun “it” refers to murder. 

to use someone or something unfairly for one’s own advantage. 

Indeed , Macbeth exploited his power, once he became the King. He became power-hungry to the point that he planned to kill Banquo and McDuff’s innocent family. 

having or showing a wish to do evil to others.

As can be seen , in the soliloquy, Lady Macbeth is depicted as malevolent , after receiving the letter from Macbeth. She instantly has transgressive thoughts on attaining the crown and calls upon the “spirits” for assistance. She commands dark agents to “come” and “unsex” her, making her more masculine so she can commit malevolent actions. 

the action of killing a king.

Certainly , Mabeth committing regicide would have shocked the Jacobean audience, as it was seen as one of the worst crimes to commit. It was also seen as a major sin as according to the Great Chain of Being, Kings/Queens were appointed by God. 

subject to sudden or unpredictable changes of mood or mind.

Indeed, it can be seen that Macbeth becomes increasingly mercurial as his guilt begins to overwhelm him. An example of this is when he sees Banquo’s ghost at the banquet.

betrayal of trust.

Macbeth commits more treachery even after gaining the crown. He becomes increasingly paranoid that his crown will not be safe, as he recalls that the witches also shared prophecies with Banquo “Though shall get kings, though thou be non”, meaning that Banquo’s descendants will take the crown in the future. Macbeth then sees his friend as a threat and orders Banquo and his sons to be murdered. 

I’ve included the downloadable list below. Accompanied with the list is an incomplete table. This is great for educators to use along with the website. You can encourage your students to think of their own sentences using the key vocabulary.

Make sure to go through this extensive GCSE Macbeth vocabulary list consistently. Read, write and repeat to ensure it goes into your long-term memory.

Finally, if you need some advice on how to develop your skills for GCSE English overall, then have a look at my How to get a Grade 9 in GCSE English post.

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Master Shakespeare's Macbeth using Absolute Shakespeare's Macbeth essay, plot summary, quotes and characters study guides.

Plot Summary : A quick review of the plot of Macbeth including every important action in the play. An ideal introduction before reading the original text.

Commentary : Detailed description of each act with translations and explanations for all important quotes. The next best thing to an modern English translation.

Characters : Review of each character's role in the play including defining quotes and character motivations for all major characters.

Characters Analysis : Critical essay by influential Shakespeare scholar and commentator William Hazlitt, discussing all you need to know on the characters of Macbeth.

Macbeth Essay : Samuel Taylor Coleridge's famous essay on Macbeth based on his legendary and influential lectures and notes on Shakespeare.

'Macbeth' Vocabulary

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• M.A., Classics, Catholic University of Milan
• M.A., Journalism, New York University.
• B.A., Classics, Catholic University of Milan

Understanding the vocabulary of  Shakespeare's Macbeth  is essential to understanding the play as a whole. This Macbeth vocabulary guide includes a diverse array of words that connect to the play's narrative , with definitions and examples from the text provided.

Definition : an old woman, a hag

Example : "Have I not reason, beldams as you are?"

Compunctious

Definition : showing remorse

Example : " Make thick my blood, / Stop up th’access and passage to remorse, / That no compunctious visitings of nature / Shake my fell purpose, nor keep peace between / Th’ effect and it."

Definition : sorrow, sadness

Example : "Each new morn / New widows howl, new orphans cry, new sorrows / Strike heaven on the face, that it resounds / As if it felt with Scotland and yelled out / Like syllable of dolor ."

Equivocator

Definition : someone who speaks ambiguously and without answering one way or another, often in order to avoid commitment

Example : "Faith, here’s an equivocator / that could swear in both the scales against either / scale, who committed treason enough for God’s / sake yet could not equivocate to heaven."

Definition: a frenzy, an out-of-control state; or an overwhelming sense of happiness

Example: " Better be with the dead, / Whom we, to gain our peace, have sent to peace, / Than on the torture of the mind to lie / In restless ecstasy ."

Definition : someone who announces or precedes something else

Example: " I'll be myself the harbinger and make joyful / The hearing of my wife with your approach. / So humbly take my leave."

Hurly-Burly

Definition : an active, busy, noisy activity

Example : "When the hurly-burly's done, / When the battle's lost and won."

Incarnadine

Definition: crimson-colored; or, to make something crimson-colored

Example: "Will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood / Clean from my hand? No, this my hand will rather / The multitudinous seas incarnadine , / Making the green one red."

Definition : the time between one event and another

Example : "Think upon what hath chanced, / and at more time, / The interim having weighed it, let us speak / Our free hearts each to other."

Definition : unmatched, without equal

Example : "Thou art the best o’ th’ cutthroats, / Yet he’s good that did the like for Fleance. / If thou didst it, thou art the nonpareil ."

Definition : the sound of a bell, typically solemn and marking a death

Example : "I go, and it is done. The bell invites me. / Hear it not, Duncan, for it is a knell / That summons thee to heaven or to hell."

Definition: a guard

Example : " ... his two chamberlains / Will I with wine and wassail so convince / That memory, the warder of the brain, / Shall be a fume, and the receipt of reason / A limbeck only."

Definition : to awaken, to stir (as in becoming conscious after sleep)

Example : "The time has been my senses would have cooled / To hear a night-shriek, and my fell of hair / Would at a dismal treatise rouse and stir / As life were in ’t."

Definition : doomed, under a curse

Example : "Some holy angel / Fly to the court of England and unfold / His message ere he come, that a swift blessing / May soon return to this our suffering country / Under a hand accursed ."

Definition : causing harm in a gradual, slow-building way

Example : "This avarice / Sticks deeper, grows with more pernicious root / Than summer-seeming lust..."

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Macbeth – A* / L9 Full Mark Example Essay

This is an A* / L9 full mark example essay on Macbeth completed by a 15-year-old student in timed conditions (50 mins writing, 10 mins planning).

It contained a few minor spelling and grammatical errors – but the quality of analysis overall was very high so this didn’t affect the grade. It is extremely good on form and structure, and perhaps could do with more language analysis of poetic and grammatical devices; as the quality of thought and interpretation is so high this again did not impede the overall mark. 

Thanks for reading! If you find this resource useful, you can take a look at our full online Macbeth course here . Use the code “SHAKESPEARE” to receive a 50% discount!

This course includes: 

• A full set of video lessons on each key element of the text: summary, themes, setting, characters, context, attitudes, analysis of key quotes, essay questions, essay examples
• Downloadable documents for each video lesson 
• A range of example B-A* / L7-L9 grade essays, both at GCSE (ages 14-16) and A-Level (age 16+) with teacher comments and mark scheme feedback
• A bonus Macbeth workbook designed to guide you through each scene of the play!

For more help with Macbeth and Tragedy, read our article here .

MACBETH EXAMPLE ESSAY:

Macbeth’s ambition for status and power grows throughout the play. Shakespeare uses Macbeth as an embodiment of greed and asks the audience to question their own actions through the use of his wrongful deeds.

In the extract, Macbeth is demonstrated to possess some ambition but with overriding morals, when writing to his wife about the prophecies, Lady Macbeth uses metaphors to describe his kind hearted nature: “yet I do fear thy nature, / It is too full o’th’milk of human kindness”. Here, Shakespeare presents Macbeth as a more gentle natured being who is loyal to his king and country. However, the very act of writing the letter demonstrates his inklings of desire, and ambition to take the throne. Perhaps, Shakespeare is aiming to ask the audience about their own thoughts, and whether they would be willing to commit heinous deeds for power and control. 

Furthermore, the extract presents Macbeth’s indecisive tone when thinking of the murder – he doesn’t want to kill Duncan but knows it’s the only way to the throne. Lady Macbeth says she might need to interfere in order to persuade him; his ambition isn’t strong enough yet: “That I may pour my spirits in  thine ear / And chastise with the valour of my tongue”. Here, Shakespeare portrays Lady Macbeth as a manipulative character, conveying she will seduce him in order to “sway “ his mind into killing Duncan. The very need for her persuasion insinuates Macbeth is still weighing up the consequences in his head, his ambition equal with his morality. It would be shocking for the audience to see a female character act in this authoritative way. Lady Macbeth not only holds control of her husband in a patriarchal society but the stage too, speaking in iambic pentameter to portray her status: “To catch the nearest way. Thou wouldst be great”. It is interesting that Shakespeare uses Lady Macbeth in this way; she has more ambition for power than her husband at this part of play. 

As the play progresses, in Act 3, Macbeth’s ambition has grown and now kills with ease. He sends three murders to kill Banquo and his son, Fleance, as the witches predicted that he may have heirs to the throne which could end his reign. Macbeth is suspicious in this act, hiding his true intentions from his dearest companion and his wife: “I wish your horses swift and sure on foot” and “and make our faces vizards to our hearts”. There, we see, as an audience, Macbeth’s longing to remain King much stronger than his initial attitudes towards the throne He was toying with the idea of killing for the throne and now he is killing those that could interfere with his rule without a second thought. It is interesting that Shakespeare presents him this way, as though he is ignoring his morals or that they have been “numbed” by his ambition. Similarly to his wife in the first act, Macbeth also speaks in pentameter to illustrate his increase in power and dominance. 

In Act 4, his ambition and dependence on power has grown even more. When speaking with the witches about the three apparitions, he uses imperatives to portray his newly adopted controlling nature: “I conjure you” and “answer me”. Here, the use of his aggressive demanding demonstrates his reliance on the throne and his need for security. By the Witches showing him the apparitions and predicting his future, he gains a sense of superiority, believing he is safe and protected from everything. Shakespeare also lengthens Macbeth’s speech in front of the Witches in comparison to Act 1 to show his power and ambition has given him confidence, confidence to speak up to the “filthy nags” and expresses his desires. Although it would be easy to infer Macbeth’s greed and ambition has grown from his power-hungry nature, a more compassionate reading of Macbeth demonstrates the pressure he feels as a Jacobean man and soldier. Perhaps he feels he has to constantly strive for more to impress those around him or instead he may want to be king to feel more worthy and possibly less insecure. 

It would be unusual to see a Jacobean citizen approaching an “embodiment” of the supernatural as forming alliance with them was forbidden and frowned upon. Perhaps Shakespeare uses Macbeth to defy these stereotypical views to show that there is a supernatural, a more dark side in us all and it is up to our own decisions whereas we act on these impulses to do what is morally incorrect. 

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You will gain access to  over 8 hours  of  engaging video content , plus  downloadable PDF guides  for  Macbeth  that cover the following topics:

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If you get a question about guilt in the exam, there are two ways you can approach it:

A) you can look at how macbeth and his wife feel guilty about what they've done - of course they do: they killed a good king and, when it comes to it, they don't have a clue what they're doing. they weren't made to be rulers. they're rubbish at it. so what happened was that they killed a good king and were rubbish at ruling the state., b) who was guilty for killing duncan because if macbeth was begin controlled by a magic spell then was it fair to say that he takes responsibility for the crime, in short: any: question about guilt can approach either of these ideas and still do well., i've written more about lady macbeth here as i find her a more interesting character when looking at guilt, but there's plenty for both of them....

Macbeth's guilt

During the opening of the play, macbeth makes it clear that he doesn't want to kill duncan. he calls the idea a "horrid image" and says that it will "shake his single state of man" so violently that he won't be able to do it. he argues that he should be "shutting the door" against anyone who wants to kill duncan, and that duncan's death will be so awful that even the angels will rage "trumpet tongued" against his death. so macbeth seems to know that killing duncan won't get what he wants, but he does it anyway. as a result, quite predictably, he feels really guilty afterwards ., here are some key quotes looking at macbeth's regret for what he did to duncan:, i had most need of blessing, and 'amen' stuck in my throat - just after killing duncan, macbeth must have said a prayer but he cannot say amen which suggests that god cannot bless him., methought i heard a voice cry 'sleep no more macbeth does murder sleep', the innocent sleep . - the fact that macbeth stops being able to sleep is commonly cites as being a result of him feeling guilty. however, although there are repeated connections between sleep and innocence the line "sleep no more macbeth does murder sleep" is written in speech marks, and macbeth clearly says that he "heard a voice cry" it, and it's what the witches did to the sailor during the opening, so it would seem to make much more sense that macbeth can't sleep as a result of the witches' magic spell than any sense of guilt., i am afraid to think what i have done; - macbeth doesn't fear the norwegian army, but he is afraid to face what he's done., will all great neptune's ocean wash this blood / clean from my hand - the image of having bloo d on your hands runs through macbeth, and here he's arguing that even all the water in the sea won't wash his hands clean of their guilt., we sleep / in the affliction of these terrible dreams / that shake us nightly: - regardless of who caused his inability to sleep, macbeth cannot sleep throughout most of the play. here, he talks about his sleep being haunted by terrible dreams that shake him awake again. this is a clear reference to how he cannot escape his guilt for what he's done., better be with the dead .. . than on the torture of the mind to lie / in restless ecstasy. - in this quote he can't sleep, but lies with his mind being tortured. in fact, it is so bad that he would rather be dead, o, full of scorpions is my mind, dear wife - t his is the classic line to show macbeth's unstable mental state. sc orpions attack from both ends, they're desert dwellers - like the serpent from the bible - and they're inside his brain; the centre of his sense of self., however, despite this macbeth quickly finds himself in a position where he can't go back. he says that he is "in blood stepp'd so far that should i wade no more, returning were as tedious as go o'er." which is essentially a way of saying that he's already done so much wrong that it would be as bad to go back as to continue. and so, although he feels guilty, he doesn't turn back and eventually kills banquo as well as macduff's wife and child, and seems pretty non-plu s sed about his wife's death when that gets announced. as a result of all this, it's tough to feel that sorry for him., below, i've gathered a collection of quotes from the play that reflect the mess that macbeth is in by the end. he feels bad about killing more people, but can't seem to stop himself:, i am in blood / stepp'd in so far that, should i wade no more, / returning were as tedious as go o'er: - this is a great line when looking at macbeth's mental state. here, he claims that he's so knee deep in blood that it's as "tedious" to continue killing people as it would be to try to return to his old state of decency. "tedious" is a pretty crazy word to use to describe what he's talking about, but the image is clear: he's over committed now, so he may as well see the whole thing through..., i have almost forgot the taste of fears; - remember when macbeth was afraid to think on what he'd done well by the end that is not the case... he's committed so many terrible acts that he's forgot what it feels like to be afraid of anything his life is a big old mess and that's pretty much how he ends up..., lady macbeth and guilt:, lady macbeth's guilt, when it comes to guilt, lady macbeth comes up most often. she starts the play being adamant that she will feel no regret - she's the classic image of the psychopathic killer. she remains like this for acts 1, 2 and 3 (though there are four lines in act 3 where she's a bit sorry.) she doesn't appear in act 4 at all, then, suddenly in act 5 she's so full of regret that she commits suicide., so, in a nutshell, her character arc goes:, act 1: no remorse act 2: no remorse act 3: no remorse act 4: no appearance act 5: suicidal regret, on the back of this, it's not unreasonable to argue that her character arc is a little lacking. when did she change her mind did something happen to change it what motivated her to rethink her actions why did she just suddenly realise what she'd done, and go through one of the biggest u-turns in literary history, entirely off-stage shakespeare never really explains, and it's absolutely reasonable to argue that this constitutes a considerable missing element in the play., quotes about lady macbeth not feeling any guilt :, stop up the access and passage to remorse - in lady macbeth's m agic spell from act 1 scene 5 she asks the spirits to stop her from feeling any "remorse" - which means regret or guilt. so here, she is using magic to stop guilty feels from being able to access her., the bit when she said she'd kill her own baby - if ever there was a sign that someone lacked the capacity to feel regret or remorse it's the fact that they say they'd kill their own baby to fulfil a promise. lady macbeth really is psychotically ruthless., these deeds must not be thought / after these ways; so, it will make us mad - one thing with this play is that the characters quite often predict what will eventually happen to them. here, lady macbeth recognises that if they spend too long thinking about what they've done - if they dwell on their feelings of guilt - that it will make them mad. which is exactly what happens to her, my hands are of your colour; but i shame / to wear a heart so white. - h e re, lady m a cbeth claims that her hands are as bloody as macbeth's but she'd be ashamed to pretend that she was pure. she accepts what she's done and won't pretend to feel guilty when she doesn't. she won't pretend to have a pure white heart when she knows her heart is bad., things without all remedy / should be without regard: what's done is done. - here , she's basically saying that if you can't do anything to fix something, you shouldn't think about it. she's arguing that because they can't change what they've done they shouldn't worry about it anymore. there is no time or space in lady macbeth's world for feelings of guilt., note : there are loads more of these, but they're a pretty good selection, four lines in act 3:, nought's had, all's spent, where our desire is got without content: 'tis safer to be that which we destroy than by destruction dwell in doubtful joy., these four lines from act 3 are really important as they're the only time prior to her sleepwalking scene that she expresses anything close to any regret for what they've done. really, to take her character from not feeling any guilt to feeling so much that she's suicidal takes a change in her character which we don't ever see., but really, if you look closer at these lines she's not actually feeling regret for what they've done, she's just angry that they've got what she wanted but still aren't happy. she's also troubled by the fact that they're not safe in their position, which isn't really a feeling of regret at all but just a concern for their position., so really, she doesn't actually express any regret until she suddenly becomes suicidal., quotes about lady macbeth feeling regret:, out, damned spot out, i say - here, lady macbeth is sleepwalking a nd trying to wash the blood from her hands. the most common argument here is that she cannot escape what she's done - she has blood on her hands and she cannot escape that fact. she discovers, in fact, that you can boss other people around, but she cannot manage her own conscience. this is what eventually brings her down., what, will these hands ne'er be clean ... here's the smell of the blood still: all the / perfumes of arabia will not sweeten this little hand. - these t wo lines come from the same scene where she's fretting about the blood on her hands., it is very telling though that lady macbeth's expressions of guilt come while she's sleepwalking. sleeping - and dreaming - are often considered to be interesting states as they allow us to get in touch with our subconscious. here, it could be that shakespeare is saying that although lady macbeth may seem like she feels no guilt, she is actually just repressing it. it's possible that shakespeare is really just saying that even someone as evil as lady macbeth can't escape her subconscious feelings of guilt., why did shakespeare leave her lacking so much detail, this is a completely reasonable question and if you're going to mention this idea in an essay you should really look at this. without being able to ask shakespeare himself, i've put together a few ideas that seem reasonable:, a) if we'd spent time with her, going through the slowly dawning process of remorse, there was a danger that we'd develop some sympathy for her position. shakespeare didn't want this. because the whole point of the play was to put people off doing what she did, any element of sympathy for her would have been frowned upon by king james. as a result, shakespeare cut out her descent into madness, and made sure we feel no sympathy for her at all., b) she was a woman and, as such, her character didn't need to be as developed as the male characters on stage. the play itself is really a study in macbeth's motivations anyway, and although his wife steals the scenes she's in she's only ever a secondary character. you could argue that there was just no need to delve into her reasons that deeply., c) she never actually felt any regret consciously... this is a tough one to argue but the fact is that the only time we see her feeling regret is when she's sleepwalking; so she really only dreams the regret that we see. here, shakespeare could be highlighting the way that you can't escape your actions, even if it only in your sleep that they come back to haunt you. this argument is complicated a little when you consider that she killed herself, but...., did she definitely kill herself, the fact is that we think lady macbeth killed herself because malcolm says that macbeth's "fiend-like queen, who, as 'tis thought, by self and violent hands took off her life." but this is the only reference to her having killed herself., during the action of the play, we hear some women screaming off stage and then a character called seyton (whose name sounds suspiciously like satan) goes to check on her and comes back saying she's dead. now, i'm not saying that satan killed her and then malcolm just cast it aside on the grounds that she was dead and he didn't need to know anymore, but it actually makes a lot more sense of her character arc if she was killed by seyton and his minions rather than that she killed herself., whichever way you choose to look at it, the fact remains that shakespeare doesn't spend long enough on her regret for me to find her character arc very believable, and although you should avoid directly criticising shakespeare you're well within your rights to observe this., who was guilty, essentially, if you're going to argue that macbeth wasn't in control of himself when he killed duncan you'll need to refer to the sections on ambition and the supernatural ., but, if you do this, it's important to bear in mind that macbeth did kill duncan., so while you can argue that he was being controlled by a magic spell or being manipulated by his wife, you can't avoid the fact that he was holding the knife that ended duncan's life. and that's a fact....

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Discussion Questions

The play examines the corrupting power of ambition. Whose ambition functions as the driving force of the narrative , Macbeth or Lady Macbeth? Why?

How do gender expectations and perceptions intersect with violence in the play? To what extent do characters play into or fight against gender roles?

The weather is an ever-present force in Macbeth. How does the weather reflect the emotional state of the characters? Of the trajectory of the play?

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Macbeth glossary.

Hell; one of the rivers in Hades.

A ghost or ghostlike image of a person or animal.

To foresee or predict the future.

To scold or criticize angrily.

Omens; a herald.

compunction

Feeling of guilt or moral scruple that follows a crime or sin.

A division or contrast between two things that have polar or opposite qualities (e.g. good and bad, fair and foul).

dramatic irony

A type of irony, in which the significance of a character's words or actions are clear to the audience but unknown to the character.

Ill humor; a deep resentment; a state of intense indignation.

As a verb: to bring about or cause something to happen. (Compare with affect : to have an influence on or to make a difference to someone or something.)

equivocation

To say one thing while meaning something different; to use ambiguous language so as to conceal the truth or to avoid categorical statements.

extemporize

To improvise; to perform or produce something such as a speech or piece of music on the spot.

Strength or power; resource(s).

The site outside Jerusalem at which Jesus was crucified.

Resourcefulness; shrewd and spirited initiative.

Thriftiness of the conservation of resources. Also the cultivation and breeding of crops and animals.

Of or pertaining to Hyrcania, an ancient provice of Asia southeast of the Caspian Sea.

incarnadine

Crimson or pinkish-red color.

Underling or servant of an important person.

multitudinous

Very numerous.

The killing of a parent or near relative.

Showing intelligence or abilities at a younger age than usual (said of children, such as Macduff's son).

Bitter, especially longstanding resentfulness.

Compensation for loss or harm done; also a reward for efforts or work performed.

The killing of a king.

The rhythm of a line of verse; the act of scanning a line to determine its rhythm.

A shallow area in a body of water, often posing a navigational hazard. Also a large number of fish.

Of various kinds, usually not important enough to be enumerated.

To displace the beats in music or speech, so as to reverse the order of strong and weak beats.

tragic flaw

A fatal flaw in one's character, usually leading to the downfall of the hero or heroine. Also known by the Greek term hamartia .

A guard; usually a prison guard.

A crossbar or crosspiece that joins two animals in farming; often used as a symbol of oppression or bonding.

Macbeth Questions and Answers

The Question and Answer section for Macbeth is a great resource to ask questions, find answers, and discuss the novel.

The third which says that Banquo's sons shall be kings, Thou shalt get kings, though thou be none. So all hail, Macbeth and Banquo!

Macbeth Act 1 Scene 3 questions

What is significant about the first words that Macbeth speaks in the play?

A motif or recurring idea in the play is equivocation. There is the balance of the dark and the light, the good and the bad. Macbeth's first line reflects this. It...

What news took the wind out of Macbeth's invincibility?

Macbeth rethinks his invincibility when MacDuff tells him that he was torn from his mother's womb.

Study Guide for Macbeth

Macbeth study guide contains a biography of William Shakespeare, literature essays, a complete e-text, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.

• About Macbeth
• Macbeth Summary
• Macbeth Video
• Character List

Essays for Macbeth

Macbeth essays are academic essays for citation. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of Macbeth by William Shakespeare.

• Serpentine Imagery in Shakespeare's Macbeth
• Macbeth's Evolution
• Jumping the Life to Come
• Deceptive Appearances in Macbeth
• Unity in Shakespeare's Tragedies

Lesson Plan for Macbeth

• About the Author
• Study Objectives
• Common Core Standards
• Introduction to Macbeth
• Relationship to Other Books
• Bringing in Technology
• Notes to the Teacher
• Related Links
• Macbeth Bibliography

E-Text of Macbeth

Macbeth e-text contains the full text of Macbeth by William Shakespeare.

• Persons Represented
• Act I, Scene I
• Act I, Scene II
• Act I, Scene III
• Act I, Scene IV

Wikipedia Entries for Macbeth

• Introduction
• Sources for the play
• Date and text

GCSE English Literature Vocabulary Guide - Macbeth

Is this a guide I see before me, it’s knowledge towards my brain? This GCSE Vocabulary Guide to "Macbeth" is an indispensable resource for teachers of English literature. It provides a comprehensive overview of the key terms and phrases used in Shakespeare's timeless play, making it easier for students to analyse and understand the text.

Whether you're preparing for exams, leading class discussions, or supplementing individual study, this guide is designed to support GCSE students and help them achieve their full potential. This comprehensive guide is perfect for those studying “Macbeth” as part of their Shakespeare unit under the AQA, Edexcel, OCR, Eduqas exam boards.

A guide so good you’ll want to read it tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow!

For more help with the explicit teaching of vocabulary, Contact Us or check out Lexonik Vocabulary here.

Free Teaching Resources pdf – GCSE English Literature Vocabulary Guide - Macbeth

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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

This article is part of the research topic.

Building the Future of Education Together: Innovation, Complexity, Sustainability, Interdisciplinary Research and Open Science

Developing the Skills for Complex Thinking Research: A Case Study Using Social Robotics to Produce Scientific Papers Provisionally Accepted

• 1 Institute for the Future of Education, Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education (ITESM), Mexico
• 2 University of Cienfuegos, Cuba

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

The development of university students' skills to successfully produce scientific documents has been a recurring topic of study in academia. This paper analyzes the implementation of a training experience using a digital environment mediated by video content materials starring humanoid robots. The research aimed to scale complex thinking and its subcompetencies as a hinge to strengthen basic academic research skills. Students from Colombia, Ecuador, and Mexico committed to preparing a scientific document as part of their professional training participated. A pretest to know their initial level of perception, a posttest to evaluate if there was a change, and a scientific document the students delivered at the end of the training experience comprised the methodology to demonstrate the improvement of their skills. The results indicated students' perceived improvement in the sub-competencies of systemic, creative, scientific, and innovative thinking; however, their perceptions did not align with that of the tutor who reviewed the delivered scientific product. The conclusion was that although the training experience helped strengthen the students' skills, variables that are determinants for a student to develop the knowledge necessary to prepare scientific documents and their derived products remain to be analyzed.

Keywords: higher education, research skills, Educational innovation, complex thinking, scientific thinking, Critical Thinking, Innovative thinking, social robotics

Received: 16 Oct 2023; Accepted: 17 May 2024.

Copyright: © 2024 Lopez-Caudana, George-Reyes and Avello-Martínez. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY) . The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

* Correspondence: Dr. Edgar O. Lopez-Caudana, Institute for the Future of Education, Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education (ITESM), Monterrey, Mexico

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