How to Get Grade 7
This is the second in a series using ChatGPT. This AI takes the most obvious ideas from the internet and combines them to come up with an essay of its own.
And obvious ideas can get you grades 6 and 7.
Each week you will get a new essay - every topic that could possibly come up in the exam.
The Essay
The play "Macbeth" by William Shakespeare serves as a cautionary tale, warning the nobles in the court of King James about the disastrous consequences of ambition and regicide. At the same time, Lady Macbeth, a powerful and dominant figure, plays a significant role in influencing the actions of her husband, Macbeth. Through her wit and cunning, Lady Macbeth drives Macbeth towards a path of self-destruction, ultimately leading to his downfall.
Lady Macbeth's ambition and lack of moral scruples make her a dangerous force in the play. She instructs Macbeth to hide his true intentions, saying "look like th'innocent flower, / But be the serpent under't." In Act 1, Scene 7, she says "I have given suck, and know / How tender 'tis to love the babe that milks me: / I would, while it was smiling in my face, / Have plucked my nipple from his boneless gums / And dashed the brains out," showcasing the extent to which Lady Macbeth is willing to go to help Macbeth achieve his ambition, even at the cost of her own morality. This is even more powerful because we know that her breasts still carry “milk” to be turned to “gall”, so she has only recently lost a baby.
However, Lady Macbeth is also a victim of patriarchal society. Shakespeare portrays her as a strong-willed and determined character, who uses her wit and cunning to manipulate Macbeth. Despite her power, Lady Macbeth is still limited by the restrictions of her gender in a patriarchal society, which makes her dependent on Macbeth to carry out her desires. This is evident when she says "Was the hope drunk / Wherein you dressed yourself?" referring to Macbeth's hesitation in killing King Duncan. She scolds Macbeth for being too weak and pushes him to carry out the murder.
Shakespeare shows how male characteristics are cruel and violent. This is why Lady Macbeth demands supernatural help to “unsex me here”. Instead of traditional characteristics of being a woman, she wants to be “filled from the crown to the toe, top full of direst cruelty”. Perhaps this society which only lets women achieve their ambitions through their husbands will always create powerful, cruel women, who have to manipulate their husbands in order to achieve what they want.
Shakespeare also wanted his audience to accept the divine right of kings, emphasising that the consequences of regicide are severe. This is evident when Macbeth says "I have no spur / To prick the sides of my intent, but only / Vaulting ambition, which overleaps itself / And falls on th'other." Macbeth is aware that his ambition is driving him towards destruction, but he cannot resist its pull.
This explains why Macbeth writes the letter to his wife to tell her about the witches’ prophecies. He knows that she will be the “spur” to give him the courage to kill Duncan. In this way we can see that they are equally responsible for regicide. He calls here “my dearest partner of greatness” because he wants her to be a partner, rather than the subservient wife his patriarchal society requires.
In conclusion, Lady Macbeth plays a significant role in influencing the actions of Macbeth throughout the play. Her ambition, lack of moral scruples, and her ability to manipulate Macbeth lead him down a path of self-destruction, ultimately contributing to his downfall. The last description of her is consequently “fiendlike queen”. Shakespeare uses the play as a cautionary tale, warning the nobles in the court of King James about the disastrous consequences of ambition and regicide. He hints that denying women power in patriarchal society might lead to violent opposition, as Lady Macbeth demonstrates.
610 words
Simplified Version for Grade 6
"Macbeth" by William Shakespeare serves as a cautionary tale, warning the nobles in the court of King James about the disastrous consequences of ambition and regicide. The play also highlights the significant role played by Lady Macbeth, a powerful and dominant figure, in influencing the actions of her husband. Through her cunning and wit, Lady Macbeth drives Macbeth towards a path of self-destruction, ultimately leading to his downfall.
Lady Macbeth's ambition and lack of moral scruples make her a dangerous force in the play. She instructs Macbeth to hide his true intentions, saying "look like th'innocent flower, / But be the serpent under't." Her willingness to sacrifice her own morality to help Macbeth achieve his ambition is evident in Act 1, Scene 7, where she says "I have given suck, and know / How tender 'tis to love the babe that milks me: / I would, while it was smiling in my face, / Have plucked my nipple from his boneless gums / And dashed the brains out."
However, Lady Macbeth is also a victim of patriarchal society. Despite her strength and determination, she is limited by the restrictions of her gender and is dependent on Macbeth to carry out her desires. This is evident when she scolds Macbeth for his hesitation in killing King Duncan, saying "Was the hope drunk / Wherein you dressed yourself?"
Shakespeare portrays the male characteristics in the play as cruel and violent, and Lady Macbeth demands supernatural help to "unsex me here" and become "filled from the crown to the toe, top full of direst cruelty." This shows how women in a patriarchal society are only able to achieve their ambitions through their husbands, leading to powerful, cruel women who have to manipulate their husbands to get what they want.
Shakespeare also emphasises the importance of the divine right of kings, and the severe consequences of regicide. Macbeth is aware that his ambition is driving him towards destruction, but he cannot resist its pull. This is evident when he writes the letter to Lady Macbeth about the witches' prophecies, recognizing that she will be the "spur" to give him the courage to kill Duncan. This highlights the fact that both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are equally responsible for regicide.
In conclusion, Lady Macbeth plays a significant role in influencing Macbeth's actions throughout the play. Her ambition, lack of moral scruples, and her ability to manipulate Macbeth contribute to his downfall. Shakespeare uses the play as a cautionary tale, warning the nobles in the court of King James about the disastrous consequences of ambition and regicide. He also hints that denying women power in patriarchal society might lead to violent opposition, as demonstrated by Lady Macbeth. The last description of her is "fiendlike queen", emphasizing the destructive consequences of ambition and lack of moral scruples.
470 words
An Even Simpler Version
"Macbeth" by William Shakespeare serves as a cautionary tale about the disastrous consequences of ambition and regicide. The play also highlights the significant role played by Lady Macbeth, a powerful and dominant figure who influences the actions of her husband through her cunning and wit. She instructs him to "look like th'innocent flower, / But be the serpent under't" and drives him towards self-destruction, leading to his downfall.
However, Lady Macbeth is also limited by the restrictions of patriarchal society, as she is dependent on Macbeth to carry out her desires. Despite her strength and determination, she must manipulate him to achieve her ambitions. She scolds Macbeth for his hesitation in killing King Duncan, saying "Was the hope drunk / Wherein you dressed yourself?" and demands supernatural help to "unsex me here" and become "filled from the crown to the toe, top full of direst cruelty."
The play also emphasises the importance of the divine right of kings and the severe consequences of regicide. Macbeth recognises his ambition is driving him towards destruction, but he cannot resist its pull. He writes a letter to Lady Macbeth about the witches' prophecies, recognizing she will be the "spur" to give him the courage to kill Duncan. This highlights the fact that both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are equally responsible for regicide.
In conclusion, Lady Macbeth plays a significant role in influencing Macbeth's actions and contributing to his downfall through her ambition, lack of moral scruples, and manipulation. Shakespeare uses the play as a warning to the nobles in the court of King James about the dangers of ambition and regicide, and hints that denying women power in patriarchal society may lead to violent opposition, as demonstrated by Lady Macbeth. The last description of her is "fiendlike queen", emphasizing the destructive consequences of ambition and a lack of moral scruples.
307 words
Three essays - grades 7, 6 and 5. Here’s why:
What the Marks Mean
Grade 7 = 70%. 21 marks out of 30.
Grade 6 = 60%. 18 marks out of 30
Grade 5 = 53%. 16 marks out of 30
Level 5 in the Mark Scheme
Grade 7 starts in Level 5 = Thoughtful, developed consideration = 21–25 marks
At the bottom of the level, the essay will have all Level 4 and start to:
1. Be thoughtful
2. Consider the writer’s methods
3. Consider the context.
To be thoughtful, the essay can
4. Consider more than one interpretation.
5. use words like ‘may, might, could, perhaps’.
6. Simply be a longer essay: more ideas means it is more thoughtful.Level 4 in the Mark Scheme
Level 4 = Clear understanding = 16–20 marks
At the top of the level, the essay:
1. Is likely to be clear, detailed, and all the points will be relevant to the question.
2. Will show good understanding and include a range of examples from the whole play.
3. Each paragraph will focus on explaining how these examples prove the student’s point of view about the topic in the essay title.
4. The answer will write about a range of methods, which will be named (anything named is a method – so ‘as a cautionary tale’ or ‘attack patriarchal values’ or ‘portray the damaging effect of ambition’. Yes, simile, metaphor, alliteration and so on are also methods. But anything you say Shakespeare is doing is a method!).
5. Will include Shakespeare’s viewpoint, or what he wants his Jacobean audience to think or do.
At the bottom of the level, the essay will:
· Show understanding of why characters behave in particular ways
· Or why/how Shakespeare wants to influence his audience.
· Have a smaller range of methods without always explaining their purpose.
These are excellent and so clear as to why the grades have been awarded! Thank you!