Macbeth: The Main Points for Banquo
Here are the main ideas or points that you could make about Banquo in an essay, including how his character links to themes and other characters. In an essay, you could use these types of ideas as ‘points’ for your PEE paragraphs.
A Super Quick Summary of Macbeth
Here’s a breakdown of what happens in the whole play - in a short, quick form so that you can easily get a sense of the entire story.
How to Analyse a Macbeth Extract
Here's a step-by-step guide to help you break down any extract from Macbeth with confidence.
Othello: What Happens in Act 1, Scene 3?
A full summary of the main events in the third scene of Othello - this should help you get to grips with the story! It can be useful to read this kind of summary before taking a look at the text of the scene, because it’ll help you to keep track of what’s happening.
Othello: What Happens in Act 1, Scene 2?
A full summary of the main events in the first scene of Othello - this should help you get to grips with the story! It can be useful to read this kind of summary before taking a look at the text of the scene, because it’ll help you to keep track of what’s happening.
Othello: What Happens in Act 1, Scene 1?
A full summary of the main events in the first scene of Othello - this should help you get to grips with the story! It can be useful to read this kind of summary before taking a look at the text of the scene, because it’ll help you to keep track of what’s happening.
Macbeth: The Theme of Supernatural
Themes and ideas form the foundation of most exam questions - even when a question seems character-based, there will almost always be a theme attached to it.
Macbeth: The Theme of Betrayal
Themes and ideas form the foundation of most exam questions - even when a question seems character-based, there will almost always be a theme attached to it.
Macbeth - How to Analyse ‘Form’
Drama is a living, breathing form of writing. It’s meant to be performed, not read in silence like a book. If you’re aiming for top grades, you must treat drama and plays as if they are supposed to be acted out, in front of an audience – consider the way in which an actor might interpret a character or the way in which the stage directions enhance the drama of the play. Literature essays always require you to use form, structure and language analysis – not just language. When you analyse a play as if it is being performed, you are engaging with its form.
Is Othello a Jacobean Revenge Tragedy?
Shakespeare’s Othello is one of the most powerful tragedies in the English literary canon. But what kind of tragedy is it? Students often encounter categories like Jacobean revenge tragedy, classical tragedy, or domestic tragedy, and Othello intriguingly draws from all three. So, is Othello a Jacobean revenge tragedy — or something more complex?
Othello: Tragic Conventions
If you’re revising Tragedy in Othello, this page is for you! It’s a quick-fire look at some of the most important tragic elements and conventions that relate to the play - including plot, character and theme.
Tragic Terminology for Othello
Understanding Othello’s genre is so important for being able analyse the text in detail - as well as looking at this list below, make sure you understand the way ‘Tragedy’ was perceived in the Jacobean era, including what audiences expected to see if they went to watch a tragedy being performed, and also what common themes and concerns tragedies were allowed to explore.
Macbeth - the 2022 AQA GCSE Question
Here’s the official June 2022 AQA GCSE English Literature essay question for Shakespeare’s Macbeth!
Macbeth - the June 2023 AQA GCSE Question
Here’s the official AQA GCSE Literature question for Macbeth from June 2023.
Macbeth and Violence - Example Grade 7 GCSE Essay
This GCSE essay on ‘Macbeth and Violence’ was completed by a student in response to an AQA Literature question, but it can be used as an example of Grade 7 writing for any GCSE or iGCSE exam.
The 2023 Edexcel A Level Questions for ‘Othello’
These questions are from the 2023 Past Paper for Edexcel A Level Literature - for this question, you have to write a 35 mark essay that includes context and critical ideas in the right way.
Watch a Traditional Version of ‘Othello’
This is a link to Ian McKellen and Willard White’s brilliant 1990 version of the play - it’s so well acted that I’d really recommend this one as one of the main versions to watch!
A Modern Day Adaptation of ‘Othello’
Here’s a link to the film ‘Othello’, directed by Geoffrey Sax and written by Andrew Davis - a modern adaptation of the play that sets the play in the world of police detectives. It doesn’t use traditional Shakespearean language, but it’s a good fun way of getting used to the story and the way in which tension builds between the characters. Enjoy!
Othello: Is he to blame for his own downfall?
When we think of Shakespeare’s Othello, we often picture a powerful general brought to ruin by jealousy. But was Othello simply a victim of his own emotions, or was there more going on? The truth lies in the tension between personal responsibility and the insidious forces of the society around him.
10 Key Quotes from Act Two in ‘Othello’
Here are 10 key quotations of the main events in Act Two in Shakespeare’s Othello. When writing essays, be sure to think about the structure of the plot, and whether specific passages or events occur at the play's beginning, middle or end. Use this to make deeper points about the characters and themes in your analysis.