Freeman Main

English X

Essay Topics on Macbeth

Dr. Freeman

1.      What is the real function of the Three Weird Sisters in Macbeth?  If they can be said not to “force” Macbeth into any action, what is their real function?  Why do you think Shakespeare puts this supernatural element into the drama?

2.      The natural order in Macbeth (the world of nature:  birds, weather, etc.) is as disturbed as the civil order by the deeds of the tragic hero.  Find three examples to illustrate your position, making sure that each example represents a slightly different, progressive perspective.

3.      Choose one of the following patterns of images (motifs) that are present throughout the play.  Cite examples of Shakespeare’s use of the motif and explain what it contributes either to the play’s themes or to character development.

Blood

Sleep and sleeplessness

Animal, especially bird, imagery

Clothing metaphors

Darkness and Light

4.  It has become a fairly common practice for modern novelists to take a work of Shakespeare and "re-imagine" it in contemporary guise.  For our purposes, there is not enough time to re-write ALL of Macbeth, but what you might do is to choose a crucial scene and write it as if it were a chapter in a novel.  Make sure you set your work in the 21st century, and rethink all the aspect of the Shakespearean tragedy which would have to be changed to make it relevant to our own time. 

5.  In Act IV, Macduff and Malcolm, in their conversation in England after Macduff has received news about the death of his family in Fife, consider "what it is to be a 'Man.'"  Examine the notions of "manhood" that Shakespeare's Macbeth portrays and compare them with the conceptions of "manhood" that Homer's Iliad sets forth.

6.  Compare the role of Fate in Macbeth and Oedipus Tyrannus.  How do the outward "signs" or oracles affect differently the ways in which the tragic heroes meet their fates?  What is the relationship between character and Fate in these two tragedies?  Consider also the different meanings given to "hamartia" in the cultures of 5th century B.C. Athens and Jacobean England ("missing the mark" versus "tragic flaw").

7.  As Macbeth reaches its latter end, the theme of medicine and healing becomes increasingly significant.  Consider how this theme functions in the tragedy, using several contrasting examples.  In particular, how is healing--purification (katharsis)--uniquely relevant to tragic drama?