1. Planning an essay: Macbeth Coursework 2016
Sunday, 11 November 2018
Jonathan Peel JLS 2016

2. A coursework essay needs
Accuracy
Precision
Concise language and explanation
Clarity of purpose or argument
This does not happen by accident and time must be taken to organise and clarify your thought processes
Jonathan Peel JLS 2016

3. Where do we start?
I make a “long plan” – usually bullets – in which I lay out the spine of the essay:
In the essay: “Is Malcolm justified in calling Lady Macbeth a “Fiend Like Queen”? Would a modern audience feel the same?” this will involve stating not just the key topic of each paragraph but also the relevant areas of the play. It will not yet have detailed quotation or discussion.
Jonathan Peel JLS 2016

4. Idea
A fiend is Devilish which needs to be linked to her character and the context
At the time the trails of the Catholic conspirators meant that equivocators were being portrayed as devilish figures.
Establish LM as an equivocator and link to the idea of “fair is foul”
Move to her relationship with M – equivocation is the link
Sees him as feminine and fears it – seeks to remove her femininity –embraces evil and darkness
Manipulates M to commit the murder and supports him
NB does not KILL anyone!
17C requires “modest “ women, not leaders and thinkers – LM at banquet for Quick thinking
BUT: 5.1 shows guilt and a conscience. Readings: 17C – confirms guilt and cannot be cleansed – Fiend. 21C conscience suggests a good side – feel sympathy for her.
She supports M in 3.2 – almost mothering him… 21 C bring out sympathy. 17C see her as manipulative and without any consicence
Conclude with own answer to the question.
Jonathan Peel JLS 2016

5. OK, now to develop my thinking
We need to add the evidence and the analysis to this frame.
Try to plan each paragraph – each bullet may have several paragraphs…
I will show you my format which can be printed and stuck on a wall to help with the writing process
Jonathan Peel JLS 2016

6. Relating/linking analysis evidence POINT, topic
Based on PEARL technique
Jonathan Peel JLS 2016

7. LM is an equivocator Paragraph 1 possibilities
Her use of repetition and assonance of “double” suggest the witches incantations – hubbl;e bubble and so on
The serpent recalls Satan in Eden and the idea is developed in her pursuit of darkness…
LM is deceiving Duncan with an outward show of exaggerated welcome echoed by the repetition in the language
Hide your true intentions – the evil actions you intend- under an appearance of false kindness to deceive Duncan
All our service In every point twice done and then done double
Look like th’innocent flower, But be the serpent under’t
Jonathan Peel JLS 2016

8. Further thinking
Many of us like to begin writing before our thoughts have gelled
Try to avoid leaping in and planning “on the hoof”
You could draft a paragraph on a separate sheet if you wish, but don’t get tricked into starting before you know where your argument is going to lead.
The better the detail of your work at this stage – the easier it will be to write a coherent essay.
Jonathan Peel JLS 2016

9. Introductions and conclusions
Use the introduction to clarify the meaning of “Fiend- like” and establish contextual knowledge around Equivocation and 17C attitudes to women (briefly).
The conclusion might simply give your evaluation of the question and answer it – what do you actually believe?
The argument draft from the long plan will help here.
There is little obvious danger in waiting until the end to write both these elements.
Jonathan Peel JLS 2016

10. LINKING effectively JANUS: Roman God of “beginnings and transitions”
He had two faces and “looked both forward and back”
Jonathan Peel JLS 2016

11. We can use this idea in our writing
When linking paragraphs, try to refer in both directions whenever possible.
Your plan should have established clear links between material.
Help the reader by referencing both what has gone before as well as what you are moving on to say.
Jonathan Peel JLS 2016

12. Example
In this essay:
After a section on equivocation, as a link to another idea…
Not only is she an equivocator (looks backwards), but a contemporary audience would also be horrified by her relationship to gender attributes…(looks forward to the next section).
Jonathan Peel JLS 2016

13. Antithesis
These antithetical pairs will help to link your essays effectively and continue a clear train of thought across paragraph breaks.
Jonathan Peel JLS 2016

14. Draft and improve
I will be asking for a first draft to be submitted. This will receive formative marking.
NB just because I call it a first draft, this should not be your first version! Too many first drafts are ruined by careless SPAG and paragraphs which do not make sense. It should always have been proofread and improved prior to the first submission.
If you are not familiar with Austin’s Butterfly, watch this:
This is the best possible example of how drafting and grit can produce the best possible work.
GOOD LUCK!
Jonathan Peel JLS 2016

15. An intro idea
Written in 1606 at the height of the Guy Fawkes trial, the action of Macbeth – regicide and civil war – echoes the fears of the nation in the months following the uncovering of the plot in At this time, in a highly religious society, the action of seeking to murder a King, the temporal head of the Great Chain of Being was a sinful action and the idea that the guilty parties might be encouraged to “equivocate” or lie under oath ensured that a contemporary audience would view any who sought to act in this way as evil. The idea of Lady Macbeth as “Fiend-like” – an evil figure – is utterly plausible if her actions and words are considered closely.
As early as Act 1.5 she can be found encouraging Macbeth to equivocate in order to attract Duncan to his death. Telling him to “Look like th’innocent flower, But be the serpent under’t” she ensures that his evil intentions – here suggested by the motif of the Serpent in Eden should go unnoticed because of his apparently guileless actions. Later in the act, when she greets the King at her gates, she gives exaggerated greeting and it is not until later in the play -in 4.1 – tha the audience hears the echo of her words “All our service In every point twice done and then done double” in the assonance and repetition of the witches’ “hubble bubble toil and trouble”. It is fair to say that she embodies the idea of “fair is foul and foul is fair” in this behaviour.
(NOW LINK WITH A JANUS SENTENCE) Not only is she an equivocator, but a contemporary audience would also be horrified by her relationship to gender attributes…
Jonathan Peel JLS 2016