A support guide for my year 9 students who are learning to write analytical essays.

1. Examine the methods used by Lady Macbeth to persuade her husband to murder the king in Act 1 Scene 7

2. Introduction (?) In this essay I am going to explore the methods used by Lady Macbeth to persuade Macbeth to kill Duncan. Lady Macbeth is a nasty piece of work and she stitches her husband up nicely in Act 1 Scene 7. She uses a whole bunch of techniques to brainwash Macbeth and I’ll be taking a look at them in this essay.

3. Introduction In Act 1 Scene 7, the fate of Duncan is sealed as the manipulative villain of the play, Lady Macbeth, conspires with her husband to commit regicide. In this essay, I will explore the means by which she successfully achieves her desires, and sets in motion the tragic events of the play.

4. Essay Plan

5. Introduction Use of aggressive rhetorical questioning She says that his commitment to his promise is a measure of his love for her (use of guilt)

6. She associates the decision to retract his involvement with a lack or courage She questions his manhood and plays on his pride and ego

7. She contrasts her husband’s ambivalence with her strong commitment to the plan She plays on their personal history and recalls their dead child to remind Macbeth of his duties as a husband

8. She makes it clear that a well considered plan is in place to ensure their success. She demonstrates confidence and leadership. Conclusion

9. P.E.E Paragraphs Point Evidence Explanation Topic sentence Brief quotation Expanded commentary

10. Point Lady Macbeth also questions her husband’s manhood. Another way in which Lady Macbeth manipulates her husband is by questioning his manhood.

11. Evidence “what beast was’t, then, That made you break this enterprise to me? When you durst do it, then you were a man; And, to be more than what you were, you would Be so much more the man.” “When you durst do it, then you were a man;”

13. He lives in a society where status is defined by strength

15. Conclusion (?) To conclude, Lady Macbeth uses a number of different methods to manipulate her husband in Act 1 Scene 7. It can be seen, then, that Lady Macbeth employs a range of different methods which, in combination, successfully reverse her husband’s intentions. The fateful decision signs not only the death warrant of the King, but sets in motion the tragic events which define the play.