Photo by Mikes-Photography from Pixabay
A summary of every tragic Shakespeare play, including Macbeth, can be given in four words: “Everyone dies. The end.” But in this article, we are talking about Macbeth essays, not summaries, and this kind of paper requires a little more text no matter whether you want it or not. If you are already considering following the steps of most of the Shakespearean characters because of the number of assignments you’ve got, hold on a little. With this guide, you will deal at least with your essay about this famous tragic play easily.
Throw details of Shakespeare’s life out of the window
Knowing a lot of background information about the writer and the epoch is good, because it helps you to understand the motivation behind each character’s actions and the relationships in the play better. However, that doesn’t mean that you have to turn your essay on Macbeth into Shakespeare’s biography. You can mention details from the poet’s biography only if they are crucial for supporting your argument, and usually they are not.
If the topic of your essay explores the connection between writer and his characters or how Shakespeare depicted himself in his plays and whether he did that at all, then references to his life events are valid and necessary. In all other cases your professor will think that you are simply trying to add volume to your essay, even if you are not. In a Macbeth essay you should talk about Macbeth, right?
Make your introduction custom
You already know that the introduction of an essay is your chance to make a good first impression on your reader. Some of you may object and say: “Why would I bother writing a good introduction if the teacher has to read to the end anyway?” Well, that’s true, but such an attitude won’t bring you an A for your essay!
And what you have to do in the introduction to your essay on Macbeth is to make it about Macbeth. What a great obvious piece of advice, right? However, it seems not to be that obvious when it comes to writing. One of the most common mistakes students make while writing about one of Shakespeare’s plays is that they make the introduction indifferent, colorless.
Further explanations on introduction with an example
Let’s have a closer look using an example. Here is how a typical introduction looks like:
“The play Macbeth was written by Shakespeare. It tells us about a man turning from ambitious and courageous to evil and cruel under the influence of his surroundings. This essay will discuss the question whether there is a predisposed evil in each human, or it is circumstances and influence of other people that play a significant role.”
What is wrong with this introduction? It’s passable, but it’s plain and ordinary. With little changed, you can fit nearly any other of Shakespeare’s tragic plays into this description. What you need to do is to make the introduction custom, one of a kind. Have you ever played a game where you describe a character, book or series using specific details, and your friends have to guess what it is? The principle is similar: make your introduction and hook so connected to your topics that the readers will guess this is a Macbeth essay even without looking at the topic.
Look for a variety of topics in your answer
Let’s say you have to write a lady Macbeth essay, and your topic is to discuss the influence of lady Macbeth on her husband. Obviously, here you need to talk about characters, their relations and motivations. You may say that lady Macbeth was ambitious and cutthroat, and get you fair amount of points for a psychological analysis of her personality. However, you can dig deeper and analyze such things as the choice of words, the manner of speech, appearance in the plot and dramatic effect lady Macbeth has on her husband. The ability to investigate a wider scale of issues and themes will make your grade rise to stellar heights!
Professors like this approach so much because it’s the classic academic analysis. You don’t simply choose one side or one opinion, you look at the issue from various angles and admit that it’s a complex problem that can be regarded from various points of view. If you manage to show such an approach in your paper, a great mark is guaranteed.
There’s no right and wrong
This point has something in common with the previous one, that you shouldn’t stick to a sole opinion and defend it with the cost of your life. However, remember that whatever approach or point of view you choose, it’s literature, there are no “2+2 = 4” equations. Every opinion is valid if you have the means to prove it. The “this is so because I say so” approach still doesn’t work for academic papers, though.
Writing about a different opinion is even more interesting than about a popular one—it’s challenging and pushes your mind into finding creative pathways and subtle facts to back up your beliefs. Here’s a fun fact proved by many creative people: our minds tend to be way more productive and imaginative in a restricted environment or circumstance compared to when we are given a free choice of topic.
Happy writing!
Use these simple yet effective tricks for your own benefit, and Macbeth essays will never be a problem for you. If you have a better idea or a useful piece of advice on essay writing about Shakespeare’s plays or any other topic, feel free to share your insights in the comments. We are in a constant search of fresh approaches and new opinions, because being creative is not a quality, it’s a process. Happy Macbeth essays writing! 🙂 Besides, this is a very suitable topic for the upcoming Halloween, right?
Leave a Comment: