Macbeth: The Demise of Macbeth - Ambition, Power, and Fate

This lesson aims to improve students’ understanding of the key themes throughout William Shakespeare’s ‘Macbeth:’ ambition, power, and fate. In particular, students learn how the combination of these three ideas contribute to Macbeth’s eventual downfall, whilst drawing on their analytical reading skills to understand how the themes interweave with the plot throughout the play.

The lesson utilises a range of tasks, that require students to be visual and interactive learners. It follows this learning journey:
- Defining the key terms ‘fate’ and ‘free will’, and establishing their relevance within the play;
- Reading and interpreting Act 5 Scene 8, and establishing how Macbeth’s death was set in motion long before the battlefield;
- Mapping Macbeth’s demise, from his early success as a brave and respected warrior, to his death as a tyrant king;
- Understanding and analysing how the key themes of ambition, power, and his belief in fate contributed to his downfall;
- Peer/self evaluating the learning in the lesson.

Included in this resource pack are:
- A well-presented, thorough, and informative, whole-lesson PowerPoint presentation;
- Resources for the reading and interpreting activity - full scene transcript with space for notes;
- A template and instructions for the ‘Mood Mapping’ task;
- A template to help scaffold the main task, complete with P.E.E instructions;
- A comprehensive teacher guidance form/lesson plan to assist delivery.

All images in this resource are licensed for commercial use, and are cited on the final slide of the lesson presentation.