Loading…
GCSE English Literature · key term
The killing of a king or queen.
Used by AQA, Edexcel, OCR and Eduqas
Paper 1
Revise: ContextFor Jacobean spectators who believed in a God-ordered universe, this reversal could suggest that regicide damages creation itself. Placing the omens alongside news of Macbeth’s accession also undermines his apparent success: he gains the crown while the world around him reveals the destructive consequences of his ambition.
Use context to explain a particular moment: regicide and Christian judgement illuminate Macbeth’s inability to say “Amen”.
Either question: connect context to the particular moment and argument—for example, Macbeth’s awareness of damnation when considering regicide.
Create a free account to keep every note you open and track your progress.
The killing of a king or queen. Macbeth's murder of Duncan violates both political loyalty and the religious understanding of rightful kingship.
The murder of a king or queen.
The killing of a monarch.
Paper 1
Revise: ContextShakespeare therefore widens the consequences of regicide beyond the castle: the crime threatens the order of the whole country and its surroundings.
The killing of a king or queen. Macbeth commits regicide by murdering Duncan.
The deliberate killing of a monarch.
The murder of a king or queen.
Paper 2
Revise: ContextFrom this perspective, regicide—the killing of a monarch—was both treason against the state and a sin against God.
The murder of a king or queen.
The killing of a monarch.
Component 1
Revise: ContextRegicide, the killing of a monarch, could therefore be understood as sacrilege: an offence against something sacred.
The killing of a monarch. Duncan’s murder is presented in Macbeth as both political treason and a religious offence.
The killing of a king or queen. Duncan’s murder is presented as both a political crime and an offence against God.
The murder of a king or queen.
The killing of a monarch.
The murder of a monarch.
