1. Shakespeare
Key themes in Macbeth

2. Theme – Good and Evil
This theme is not confined to Macbeth, it appears in nearly all of Shakespeare’s plays.
It is sometimes difficult to determine “good” and “evil” in Macbeth.
There are times where it is obvious to us that Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are evil, yet they must be good at some points or else we would never feel sorry for these characters.
Macduff is a noble man, yet he leaves his family and flees to England?
At the beginning of the play, the forces of good (Duncan) are overthrown by those of evil (Macbeth and the Witches).
“Fair is foul, and foul is fair”
Throughout the play, Good tries to re-assert itself.
Lady Macbeth prays to the forces of evil to help her destroy all that is soft and feminine about herself so she can “be filled from the crown to the toe, top full of direst cruelty”.

3. Themes
There are several themes in Shakespeare’s Macbeth. Go to Shmoop.com and take notes about the 8 themes (or main ideas).

4. Success Criteria
Go to Shmoop.com and research the 8 themes in Macbeth.
Write a one sentence description for each theme as well as include an example from the play to help illustrate the theme.