Prompt (350 words): "How does Shakespeare use the imagery of blood, sleep and darkness to show guilt in Macbeth?"
| Criteria | Level 1 | Level 2 | Level 3 | Level 4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Answer to the prompt | Off topic | Partial | Clear | Clear and nuanced |
| Evidence from the play | None | General | Precise examples | Quotations analysed |
| Organisation | No plan | Basic | Paragraphs and connectors | Fluent and logical |
| Language | Many errors | Some errors | Few errors | Accurate and varied |
Shakespeare turns guilt into images the audience can see and almost feel. Darkness first appears as a wish: Macbeth asks the stars to hide their fires so that light may not see his "black and deep desires". Night is no longer a time of rest but a cover for crime. After the murder, blood becomes the central motif. Macbeth's hyperbole, in which all of Neptune's ocean could not wash his hand clean, contrasts with Lady Macbeth's confident "A little water clears us of this deed". Yet in Act V the roles are reversed: she is the one who cannot remove the "damned spot". Finally, sleep, which Macbeth says he has murdered, never returns to the couple: she walks in her sleep, and he lives in a world where life is "a walking shadow". Through these three motifs, Shakespeare shows that guilt is not a moment but a slow poison.