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Macbeth (1606)  I mproving your grade   The examiners want you to grapple with the “big ideas”. When you are analysing language, structure and context, try to add on  some  reference to these  big ideas  in some extra sentences at the end of your paragraphs.    What is the point of Macbeth?  Why does it still appeal to audiences around the world?    Some critics would say Macbeth’s lasting appeal lies in the way it explores:   The human experience   The s oliloquies  allow the audience to connect more deeply with Macbeth and understand his motivations and very human struggles. The soliloquies stress that Macbeth could have not succumbed to his  hamartia  –  that he has potential for virtue and potential for horrific evil, just like  all  of us.  They also emphasise how LONELY Macbeth is.    Soliloquy 1:  Act 1, scene 3 “ Why do I yield to that ...

Key moments/examples to refer to in the ‘Novel as a Whole’ part of the Exam   Circular nature of opening and ending     Opening:  “Sherlock Holmes took his bottle from the corner of the mantel-piece and his hypodermic syringe from its neat morocco case. ”    “ wrist all dotted and scarred with innumerable puncture-marks”   Ending  :  "For me," said Sherlock Holmes, "there still remains the cocaine-bottle." And he stretched his long white hand up for it.   Watson:  The Foil   Chapter 1’s introduction of Holmes and Watson as two contrasting characters. Watson acts as a foil for Holmes.    "But consider!" I said, earnestly. "Count the cost!    "My mind," he said, "rebels at stagnation. Give me problems, give me work, give me the most abstruse cryptogram or the most intricate analysis, and I am in my own proper atmosphere. I can dispense then with artificial stimulants. B...