Shakespeare has positioned Macbeth as a ‘tragic ____’ in his ‘Scottish play’. Macbeth’s cascading fall from grace reveals an enduring moral lesson about the consequences of blind ____. His internal struggle with his ____ and the relentless manipulation he is subjected to allow the audience to understand Macbeth’s ____ decay and even view him with ____ at times. Although tragedy befalls King ____, Banquo, and Lady Macbeth, Shakespeare’s play revolves around the moral ____ of the play’s titular character. The audience witness the full arc of Macbeth’s ____, and his eventual defeat remains tragic despite his self-serving ____. King Duncan is presented as a character of renowned ____ who falls victim to Macbeth’s sinister motives. Recognised as a king who “hath borne his faculties so meek, hath been / So clear in his great office,” Duncan is unjustly ____ by his most trusted army general, ____, and his “fiend-like” wife. It is not the first time Duncan’s faith in another person has been misplaced. In reflecting on the treasonous betrayal of the former Thane of ____, Duncan remarks simply, “He was a gentleman on whom I built an absolute ____.” The notion that someone in such a political position could be trusted “absolutely” acts as a warning about Duncan’s inability to intuit the true character and motivations of others. Foreshadowing his ultimate betrayal, Duncan reflects that “there’s no art to find the mind’s construction in the ____,” and fittingly remains unable to detect the “fair and ____” deception of his hosts at Dunsinane. Consequently, Duncan is naively lured to his untimely ____, resulting in great tumult for his beloved Scotland, and reinforcing his role as a tragic character. Similarly, Banquo’s many ____ make him a beloved character in the play, but his failing to act on his instincts leads to his tragic demise. Like Macbeth, Banquo receives favourable ____ from the witches who decree that “Thou shalt get ____, though thou be none.” Unlike Macbeth, Banquo is able to discern that the intention of the “instruments of ____” is “oftentimes, to win us to our harm.” He valiantly chooses a path of loyalty to the king, confiding in Macbeth that, though he has “dreamed … of the three weird ____” his “allegiance is clear.” After the murder of Duncan, Banquo becomes deeply ____ that his close friend has “played’st most foully” for the sudden elevation in his status. However, Banquo does not act on this instinct; instead, he leaves himself vulnerable to the increasingly ruthless ambition of his friend, and pays for it with his ____. The audience sympathises with Banquo, whose betrayal is a great ____, establishing him as a tragic character in the play. After a rapid descent into guilt-induced ____, Lady Macbeth also meets a tragic end. Initially ruthless and cunning, Lady Macbeth’s ability to elicit audience sympathy is more questionable than other characters. Beguiled by the tantalising ____ that her husband could be king, Lady Macbeth displays determination in realising this ambition. Recognising that her husband is “too full o’ the milk of human ____,” Lady Macbeth calls on the “spirits” of darkness to “unsex” her and “fill her from the crown to the toe, top-full of direst ____.” Thus strengthened, she sets about plotting the regicide of King Duncan, first cajoling, then blatantly ____ her husband into committing the deed. In these moments, with ____ both literally and figuratively on her hands, it is difficult to sympathise with the villainous Lady Macbeth. Yet, as the play progresses and the audience witnesses her ____ descent into “madness”, it is difficult not to respond to the pathos of Lady Macbeth’s lonely demise. Tormented by her own actions, she imagines “blood” on her hands that cannot be washed away. In taking her own ____, Lady Macbeth’s role as a tragic character is cemented. Yet the greatest tragic character of all is Macbeth. A venerated soldier, “brave Macbeth” is introduced triumphantly returning from ____. Coerced by his ____ wife, Macbeth feels compelled to act on the witches’ ____. Although his visible distress and remorse after the initial murder garners some sympathy for Macbeth, this wanes as the play progresses and Macbeth’s actions become more “____, bold, and resolute.” The “tyrant king” commits more and more grievous acts to maintain his hold on power, showing no ____ for his crimes. He seeks further advice from the “weird sisters”, which results in the horrifying ____ of the Macduff family in their own home. Indeed, it is very difficult to feel sympathy for the ruthless Macbeth at this point in the play, yet this changes when he learns of the passing of his “dearest chuck”. Macbeth’s poignant soliloquy in which he reflects on the “brief candle” of life and the futility of the “tale / Told by an ____” is filled with pathos. Macbeth’s moment of deep realisation sets him apart from other tragic characters; consequently, the ____ role of Macbeth is revealed as being of greater significance to the play. Widely considered the most ____ of Shakespeare’s plays, Macbeth contains a number of tragic characters. The “dead ____‘s” victims illustrate that “bloody ____” will indeed “return to plague th’inventor”, and through the ____ of Macbeth, Shakespeare warns his audience that the ____ of moral decay is tragedy.

Macbeth ~ Sample Response

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