The PERFECT Shakespearean Essay: what year 12 students lack

It is the first day of your external exams. Your palms are sweating, you are breathing heavily. The year 12 cohort is eagerly waiting outside the exam hall. Your heart is pounding. Could your university entrance rely on the next two hours? Could this be what got you into your career?

For many year 12 students, this is their reality on the 23rd of October. But fear not, ShieldTution is here to share their thoughts on the core component year 12 students often overlook as they spill their Macbeth knowledge onto their year 12 external exam paper.

Generally speaking, Shakespeare is introduced in grade 9 with the famous, “Romeo and Juliet” play. Grade 9 students are exposed to their first Shakespear masterpiece as they journey through the politics and romantics of Verona. For most, this serves as the introduction to early modern English, or as most students would say, “jibbrish”.

And so, they start their analytical essay journey from grade 9 to their final external exam in grade 12. Along the way, students visit other works such as “Hamlet, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Merchant of Venice and The Crucible” just to name a few. While this serves as a good chance to embrace amazing works of literature, what is often not taught in class is the importance of analysing these texts thoroughly. Teachers do a great job of focusing on answering the “Thesis” - the sentence summarising your opinion on the question posed on the exam, however, students struggle to derive the true hidden treasures in their school texts. Why does our curriculum focus so much on these literary texts? It is not because they have a good story! It is far deeper than that!

And so, my only hope after you read this is to instil within students the understanding of what makes an excellent Shakespearean analysis.

Bear in mind, that students who struggle to write neatly, logically and concisely will struggle to reach top grades; however, much of your mark in grade 12 will be your analysis. Thus, every student who struggles with the writing component can still get great marks in their analysis if they tune into the following…

How to Ace Your Shakespearean Analysis 

The most important factor when analysing Shakespeare is the recognition of the effect on the audience, and to use this to establish how this represents Jacobean or Elizabethan society. What do I mean by this?

If we review Macbeth, a core theme is Lady Macbeth’s longing for power and manipulation of Macbeth. She states, “That tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here…” in her soliloquy (a play component where a character verbalises their thoughts aloud in their own scene). In this Soliloquy, she asks for help from spirits to provide masculine traits that would enable her to attain more power, by killing Duncan.

Let’s go through three different levels of analysis…

The C Student

Now, to the C student, this quote merely represents Lady Macbeth’s desire for power, and change. They use this to support their thesis and while this may all be true, it never reaches a “discerning” analysis, which is required for the higher grades.

The B Student

The next level up, the B student sees this as an opportunity to discuss the dichotomous theme of masculinity and femininity, where masculinity is glorified and embodied in Macbeth’s relentless ambition. Now we are talking! This is hitting the depth required in grade 12. But what takes this from a B to an A?

The A student

The A student does not see the play Macbeth in this quote, but rather sees a reflection of the Jacobean era. What do I mean by this? This statement by Lady Macbeth reflects the social power held by men and by extension, masculinity in the 11th century. Lady Macbeth represents how feminine traits were incompatible with ambition and power; this line of thinking stems from Shakespeare’s ability to display the oppressive nature of the patriarchy in the 11th century. The effect (keyword) on the audience is an increased awareness of the intrinsic value placed on men in Western society. This is why Shakespeare is so brilliant because whether you realise it or not, Shakespearean plays represent fundamental truths about Jacobean society, and if you can derive these truths in your essay, then this will separate you from your peers.

Closing Remarks

Granted, every essay will be different and each student will take a unique journey to answer their external exam essay question. The aim of this blog was to shed light on how analysis of Shakespeare can reach more depth if you look at the effect on the audience and relate this to the structure of society at the time. Words like “invites the audience to view” and “the effect on the audience” are crucial to effectively relating the truths Shakespeare shared with us all about the society in which he lived.

For our many year 12’s tutoring with us, you have learned the skills required to do amazing! Go out and smash this exam.

For all other year 12’s, I hope that you smash your final exam and walk away proud of your achievement this year!

Yours truly,

Kye Shield, Director of ShieldTuition