AQA GCSE English Literature: Macbeth and An Inspector Calls Review

Vocabulary-style flashcards covering key themes, characters, symbols, and historical contexts for Shakespeare's Macbeth and JB Priestley’s An Inspector Calls.

James I

The monarch during whose reign Shakespeare wrote Macbeth; the play was intended to flatter him by reinforcing his authority and interests in witchcraft and lineage.

Divine Right of Kings

A belief presented in Macbeth that regicide is unnatural and catastrophic, where order is only restored when the rightful king returns.

Patriarchy

The social system Shakespeare subverts by making Lady Macbeth's dominance appear threatening and unnatural to a Jacobean audience.

Tragic hero

A character, such as Macbeth, who is initially noble and admirable but is destroyed by an internal weakness or flaw.

Regicide

The act of killing a king; in Macbeth, it is presented as a crime against God and a disruption of the moral and natural order.

Banquo

A character who serves as a moral contrast to Macbeth by resisting ambition and showing that choice determines fate.

Fleance

A symbolic figure representing the continuation of justice and the rightful order.

Macduff

A symbol of justice and righteous opposition to tyranny who acts out of moral duty rather than ambition.

Tyranny

Represented through Macbeth's rule as isolated, paranoid, and destructive.

Equivocation

The use of ambiguous language to manipulate truth, specifically used by the witches to mislead Macbeth.

Fair is foul

A central paradox in Macbeth that encapsulates the ideas of moral inversion and deception.

Unsex me here

A quote revealing Lady Macbeth's desire to shed femininity, suggesting that power and violence are associated with masculinity.

Scorpions in my mind

A metaphor used by Macbeth to reveal his intense inner torment and paranoia.

Dramatic irony

A device used in both plays—to intensify tension in Macbeth and to undermine Mr Birling's credibility in An Inspector Calls.

Soliloquy

A dramatic device used by Shakespeare to reveal Macbeth’s internal conflict and decision-making process.

Inspector Goole

The central figure in An Inspector Calls used by Priestley to deliver his message about social responsibility and to challenge characters’ moral choices.

Capitalist attitudes

Represented by Mr Birling, who argues that individuals should prioritize their own success over the welfare of others.

Eva Smith

A character who represents the consequences of social inequality and symbolises the suffering of the working class.

Sheila Birling

A character who represents the potential for the younger generation to learn from mistakes, change, and accept moral responsibility.

Titanic

A symbolic reference used as dramatic irony to illustrate Mr Birling's misplaced confidence in progress and his faulty judgment.

Chain of events

The concept that every individual's actions contribute to an outcome, specifically used to describe the collective responsibility for Eva Smith's death.

Socialism

The political ideology promoted by Priestley that emphasises shared responsibility, equality, and collective welfare.

1912 vs 1945

The setting of the play (1912) versus the date of its first performance (1945), used to critique the pre-war attitudes that led to social problems.

Collective responsibility

Priestley's overarching message that a fair society requires all members to be aware of their impact on others and care for one another.