Macbeth question

forevergold22

Hi guys
Not sure if this has already been posted but I'm just wondering for the Macbeth questions if you know the characters really well and the relationships really well would you be okay? Because the imagery and themes I find quite difficult and I'm pretty sure a character question comes up every year

Thanks

MightyMandarin

You may be ok, but sometimes character questions can be pretty tough or confusing to understand. I would recommend to look at themes. Kingship for example, contains a lot about characters i.e Duncan, Malcolm, Macbeth and a little on Edward. I find the themes are pretty easy to learn and have more content than an essay on e.g Banquo or Macduff would have.

forevergold22

Thanks, also is it mainly main characters that would appear in the character questions?

MightyMandarin

Yes, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth would be the most common. However, Banquo,Macduff and the Witches could come up. I think Banquo has come up before, but they are less likely and would probably be paired with the main characters.

forevergold22

Thanks so much!

AtomicKoala

forevergold22 wrote: »

Hi guys
Not sure if this has already been posted but I'm just wondering for the Macbeth questions if you know the characters really well and the relationships really well would you be okay? Because the imagery and themes I find quite difficult and I'm pretty sure a character question comes up every year

Thanks

Given that you get given two questions, I'd be almost certain that you'd get a way with only a vague knowledge of imagery and themes.

MightyMandarin

MightyMandarin wrote: »

Yes, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth would be the most common. However, Banquo,Macduff and the Witches could come up. I think Banquo has come up before, but they are less likely and would probably be paired with the main characters.

Not sure how true this is but rumour was that he came up on his own a few years back. Remember the LC controversy when Paper 2 was handed out instead of Paper 1 in some school so a new paper had to be made and sat on the Saturday? Apparently Banquo was his own question that year and there's speculation he will be again.

thelad95

forevergold22 wrote: »

Hi guys
Not sure if this has already been posted but I'm just wondering for the Macbeth questions if you know the characters really well and the relationships really well would you be okay? Because the imagery and themes I find quite difficult and I'm pretty sure a character question comes up every year

Thanks

To answer your question, the syllabus doesn't state anywhere that a character question has to appear but in saying that every year Macbeth has been on the course tracing back to the 70's there has been a character question.

However, in recent years, they have been getting more specific and the wording of the questions can often throw students in the C/D category. As regards theme questions, I find them incredibly boring to be honest. Kingship is the one I find even mildly interesting but at HL they will not ask you to simply describe the theme of kingship. They will take an awkward angle on it that involves other themes or a detailed knowledge of the plot. Another theme you might look at (which I think came up a few years ago) is the Abuse of Power.

If you are just going to go with characters, make sure you know them all inside out. Also, if you get the Key Notes book there are some magnificent notes in that but DO NOT rely solely on it. Even in our mocks, whoever corrected the papers stated in a feedback report that a lot of answers were nearly identical in places. Also, if you just stick to these and a question comes up with a slightly different slant, then you might just be inclined to put down the essay u
you learned as opposed to the essay they wanted.