Macbeth - Themes: Ambition
English
Year 9
10 questions
~20 mins
1 views0 downloads
About This Worksheet
A worksheet covering Macbeth, focusing on the theme of ambition, including exam-style questions with a substantial extract from the original text.
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Macbeth - Themes: Ambition
Subject: EnglishGrade: Year 9
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Untitled Worksheet
Grade Year 9
A
Extract from Macbeth - Macbeth's Soliloquy
If it were done when ’tis done, then ’twere well / It were done quickly: if the assassination / Could trammel up the consequence, and catch / With his surcease success; that but this blow / Might be the be-all and the end-all here, / But here, upon this bank and shoal of time, / We’d jump the life to come. But in these cases / We still have judgement here; that we but teach / Bloody instructions, which, being taught, return / To plague the inventor: this even-handed justice / Commends the ingredients of our poison'd chalice / To our own lips. / He’s here in double trust: / First, as I am his kinsman and his subject, / Strong both against the deed; then, as his host, / Who should against his murder shut the door, / Not bear the knife myself. Besides, this Duncan / Hath borne his faculties so meek, hath been / So clear in his great office, that his virtues / Will plead like angels, trumpet-tongued, against / The deep damnation of his taking-off.
1.
Identify one metaphor used in the extract that relates to Macbeth's thoughts on ambition.
[2 marks]2.
Explain how Shakespeare uses imagery to portray Macbeth’s internal conflict.
[3 marks]3.
What is the significance of the phrase 'double trust' in this extract?
[2 marks]4.
Identify a caesura in the extract and explain its effect.
[3 marks]5.
Discuss how the language used in this passage reveals Macbeth’s sense of moral hesitation.
[5 marks]6.
Describe the role of the imagery of 'blood' in expressing Macbeth's ambition and guilt.
[3 marks]7.
Identify and explain a volta (turn) in Macbeth’s speech.
[3 marks]8.
How does Shakespeare use language to depict Macbeth’s internal moral struggle in this extract?
[5 marks]9.
Write a brief paragraph analysing how this extract develops the theme of ambition in Macbeth.
[5 marks]B
Creative Task - Writing a Monologue
Imagine you are Macbeth immediately after deciding to murder Duncan. Write a monologue expressing his thoughts and feelings about his ambition and the moral conflict involved. Use poetic language and techniques to convey emotion.
1.
Your monologue should include:
- An exploration of Macbeth’s internal conflict
- Use of imagery and metaphor
- A tone that shifts from confident to uncertain
- At least 20 lines of writing
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Details
- Created
- 12/31/2025
- Updated
- 12/31/2025
- Type
- worksheet