macbeth character development essay

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Home — Essay Samples — Literature — Macbeth — Characters and Archetypes in Shakespeare’s Macbeth

Characters and Archetypes in Shakespeare's Macbeth

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Published: Jun 13, 2024

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Introduction, body 1: macbeth and the tragic hero archetype, body 2: lady macbeth, the weird sisters, and other archetypes.

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The title character and the play’s protagonist , Macbeth is a tragic figure whose soaring ambition compels him to lose his humanity. At the beginning of the play, he is a conquering hero. Before the audience has even been introduced to Macbeth, the level of respect which he is accorded by other characters demonstrates that he is worthy of attention.

A victorious general, Macbeth is rewarded for his great deeds with noble titles and praise from King Duncan. But it is not enough. After an encounter with a coven of witches, Macbeth becomes obsessed with becoming king. His frequent asides to the audience make clear that his ambitions have taken over his entire character. Once a confident, benevolent, and respectable figure, Macbeth transforms into a deranged, paranoid despot who butchers innocent women and children on a whim.

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Macbeth – A* / L9 Full Mark Example Essay

This is an A* / L9 full mark example essay on Macbeth completed by a 15-year-old student in timed conditions (50 mins writing, 10 mins planning).

It contained a few minor spelling and grammatical errors – but the quality of analysis overall was very high so this didn’t affect the grade. It is extremely good on form and structure, and perhaps could do with more language analysis of poetic and grammatical devices; as the quality of thought and interpretation is so high this again did not impede the overall mark. 

Thanks for reading! If you find this resource useful, you can take a look at our full online Macbeth course here . Use the code “SHAKESPEARE” to receive a 50% discount!

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• A range of example B-A* / L7-L9 grade essays, both at GCSE (ages 14-16) and A-Level (age 16+) with teacher comments and mark scheme feedback
• A bonus Macbeth workbook designed to guide you through each scene of the play!

For more help with Macbeth and Tragedy, read our article here .

MACBETH EXAMPLE ESSAY:

Macbeth’s ambition for status and power grows throughout the play. Shakespeare uses Macbeth as an embodiment of greed and asks the audience to question their own actions through the use of his wrongful deeds.

In the extract, Macbeth is demonstrated to possess some ambition but with overriding morals, when writing to his wife about the prophecies, Lady Macbeth uses metaphors to describe his kind hearted nature: “yet I do fear thy nature, / It is too full o’th’milk of human kindness”. Here, Shakespeare presents Macbeth as a more gentle natured being who is loyal to his king and country. However, the very act of writing the letter demonstrates his inklings of desire, and ambition to take the throne. Perhaps, Shakespeare is aiming to ask the audience about their own thoughts, and whether they would be willing to commit heinous deeds for power and control. 

Furthermore, the extract presents Macbeth’s indecisive tone when thinking of the murder – he doesn’t want to kill Duncan but knows it’s the only way to the throne. Lady Macbeth says she might need to interfere in order to persuade him; his ambition isn’t strong enough yet: “That I may pour my spirits in  thine ear / And chastise with the valour of my tongue”. Here, Shakespeare portrays Lady Macbeth as a manipulative character, conveying she will seduce him in order to “sway “ his mind into killing Duncan. The very need for her persuasion insinuates Macbeth is still weighing up the consequences in his head, his ambition equal with his morality. It would be shocking for the audience to see a female character act in this authoritative way. Lady Macbeth not only holds control of her husband in a patriarchal society but the stage too, speaking in iambic pentameter to portray her status: “To catch the nearest way. Thou wouldst be great”. It is interesting that Shakespeare uses Lady Macbeth in this way; she has more ambition for power than her husband at this part of play. 

As the play progresses, in Act 3, Macbeth’s ambition has grown and now kills with ease. He sends three murders to kill Banquo and his son, Fleance, as the witches predicted that he may have heirs to the throne which could end his reign. Macbeth is suspicious in this act, hiding his true intentions from his dearest companion and his wife: “I wish your horses swift and sure on foot” and “and make our faces vizards to our hearts”. There, we see, as an audience, Macbeth’s longing to remain King much stronger than his initial attitudes towards the throne He was toying with the idea of killing for the throne and now he is killing those that could interfere with his rule without a second thought. It is interesting that Shakespeare presents him this way, as though he is ignoring his morals or that they have been “numbed” by his ambition. Similarly to his wife in the first act, Macbeth also speaks in pentameter to illustrate his increase in power and dominance. 

In Act 4, his ambition and dependence on power has grown even more. When speaking with the witches about the three apparitions, he uses imperatives to portray his newly adopted controlling nature: “I conjure you” and “answer me”. Here, the use of his aggressive demanding demonstrates his reliance on the throne and his need for security. By the Witches showing him the apparitions and predicting his future, he gains a sense of superiority, believing he is safe and protected from everything. Shakespeare also lengthens Macbeth’s speech in front of the Witches in comparison to Act 1 to show his power and ambition has given him confidence, confidence to speak up to the “filthy nags” and expresses his desires. Although it would be easy to infer Macbeth’s greed and ambition has grown from his power-hungry nature, a more compassionate reading of Macbeth demonstrates the pressure he feels as a Jacobean man and soldier. Perhaps he feels he has to constantly strive for more to impress those around him or instead he may want to be king to feel more worthy and possibly less insecure. 

It would be unusual to see a Jacobean citizen approaching an “embodiment” of the supernatural as forming alliance with them was forbidden and frowned upon. Perhaps Shakespeare uses Macbeth to defy these stereotypical views to show that there is a supernatural, a more dark side in us all and it is up to our own decisions whereas we act on these impulses to do what is morally incorrect. 

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Macbeth Character Analysis

The Scottish protagonist is more complex than your typical villain

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Macbeth is one of Shakespeare's most intense characters. While he is certainly no hero, he's not a typical villain, either. Macbeth is complex, and his guilt for his many bloody crimes is a central theme of the play. The presence of supernatural influences, another theme of "Macbeth," is another factor that affects the main character's choices. And like other Shakespeare characters who rely on ghosts and otherworldly portents, such as Hamlet and King Lear , Macbeth does not fare well in the end. 

A Character Fraught With Contradictions

At the beginning of the play, Macbeth is celebrated as a loyal and exceptionally brave and strong soldier, and he is rewarded with a new title from the king: the Thane of Cawdor. This proves true the prediction of three witches, whose scheming ultimately helps drive Macbeth’s ever-growing ambition and contributes to his transformation into a murderer and tyrant. How much of a push Macbeth needed to turn to murder is not clear. But the words of three mysterious women, together with his wife's conniving pressure, appear to be enough to push his ambition to be king toward bloodshed. 

Our initial perception of Macbeth as a brave soldier is further eroded when we see how easily he is manipulated by Lady Macbeth . For example, we watch how vulnerable this soldier is to Lady Macbeth's questioning of his masculinity. This is one place where we see that Macbeth is a mixed character—he has a seeming capacity for virtue at the start, but no strength of character to reign in his inner power lust or resist his wife's coercion.

As the play advances, Macbeth is overwhelmed with a combination of ambition, violence, self-doubt, and ever-increasing inner turmoil. But even as he questions his own actions, he is nevertheless compelled to commit further atrocities in order to cover up his previous wrongdoings.

Is Macbeth Evil?

Viewing Macbeth as an inherently evil creature is difficult because he lacks psychological stability and strength of character. We see the events of the play affect his mental clarity: His guilt causes him a great deal of mental anguish and leads to insomnia and hallucinations, such as the famous bloody dagger and the ghost of Banquo.

In his psychological torment, Macbeth has more in common with Hamlet than with Shakespeare’s clear-cut villains, such as Iago from "Othello." However, in marked contrast to Hamlet's endless stalling, Macbeth has the ability to act swiftly in order to fulfill his desires, even when it means committing murder upon murder.

He is a man controlled by forces both within and outside of himself. However, despite the inner division caused by these forces greater than his struggling and weakening conscience, he is still able to murder, acting decisively like the soldier we meet at the start of the play.

How Macbeth Responds to His Own Downfall

Macbeth is never happy with his actions—even when they have earned him his prize—because he is acutely aware of his own tyranny. This divided conscience continues to the end of the play, where there is a sense of relief when the soldiers arrive at his gate. However, Macbeth continues to remain foolhardily confident—perhaps due to his unerring belief in the witches’ predictions. At his end, Macbeth embodies an eternal archetype of the weak tyrant: the ruler whose brutality is borne of inner weakness, greed for power, guilt, and susceptibility to others' schemes and pressures.

The play ends where it began: with a battle. Although Macbeth is killed as a tyrant, there is a small redemptive notion that his soldier status is reinstated in the very final scenes of the play. The character of Macbeth, in a sense, comes full circle: He returns to battle, but now as a monstrous, broken, and desperate version of his earlier, honorable self.

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• Hamlet Character Analysis
• Character Analysis: King Lear
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• Shakespearean Tragedies: 10 Plays With Common Features
• Regan and Goneril Character Profile
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The Character of Macbeth – Essay

Antonious Mekheail

Shakespeare never fails to stun an audience with a complex yet entertaining character. His play of Macbeth is no exception. One might judge Macbeth to be the valiant hero of the play, to the audiences surprise and bewilderment, he is also the villain. To create such a character requires an unparalleled plot and great writing skill. Macbeth’s character is expressed in a way that relates to the audience. His moral transformation from valiant to vile, his moral hesitation and his torturing conscience are all elements that condemn Macbeth but at the same time evoke the audience’s sympathy.

Macbeth is merely mentioned by the witches at the start of the play. We first meet “Brave Macbeth” while at work as a thane protecting his king from rebels and Norwegian invaders. “Valour’s minion…ne’er shook hands, nor bad farewell to him till he unseamed him from the nave to th’chaps” . A very detailed account of Macbeth as a warrior is given by an injured officer to Duncan. From this source it is proven how brave and courageous Macbeth is. “Cannons overcharged with double cracks…memorise another Golgotha” . This establishes that Macbeth is accustomed to killing and death, on the battlefield that is, but he is not a murderer.

“Bellona’s bridegroom” is also a “Valliant cousin” to the king of Scotland himself, which proves to be a loyal servant of somewhat royal blood. He is also conveyed as noble and worthy of praise: “what he hath lost noble Macbeth hath won” . A title is not a trifle for a reward, which proves that Macbeth is a sublime character loved by all. However not everyone is perfect, even Macbeth has some deep forgotten desire that will eventually come to surface through catalysts in the plot, and will led him to his pitiful demise.

Macbeth’s currently established character is put into question when it is discovered that he is so easily corrupted by the prophecy of the three wired sisters. Despite the good news of his promotion, Macbeth is shocked and frightened. The witches have awakened the long dormant vaulting ambition for him take hold of the crown. This puts into question if he was innocent and pure initially or was he stained with deep and dark desire to usurp the crown: “stay… speak… would they have stayed” . The fact that Macbeth wanted the witches to stay puts into question his loyalty to sovereign.

Even though the witches are evil characters, Macbeth does not want to believe in this. The first part of their prophecy came true, maybe the crown will be his after all. He is blinded by their equivocation and by his vaulting ambition: “Why do I yield to such a suggestion whose horrid image doth unfix my hair and make my seated heart knock at my ribs” . Macbeth is slowly goaded into the thought of murder which shows that he was initially a little corrupted by his dormant ambition. However he does not succumb easily to this ghastly deed; his morals and his noble nature are in vicious conflict with his ambition. He is being torn apart by his desire for the crown and his moral prevention to achieve it. “chance may crown me without my stir” . Finally Macbeth mediates by hoping there to be a way to achieve kingship without murder.

The corruption of Macbeth is accelerated by an event and a character. Duncan proclaims Malcolm heir to the throne. To his un-awareness, this was Duncan’s greatest mistake as it gives Macbeth a motive for the murder. Now it is a “step” which he must “o’er leap for in my way it lies” . Now he realises that “chance” will not crown him without his inevitable “stir” . Even though Macbeth now has a motive for murder he is still in moral turmoil. “We’d jump the life to come” . Macbeth is bewildered, will he be able to trade his soul in the next life for kingship in this one. His intimacy with himself proves to him that his only motive for this murder is his bare ambition to be king: “I have no spur/ to prick the sides of my intent, but only/ vaulting ambition” . In his vacillation he decides not to carry out the deed.

This decision infuriates Lady Macbeth and she kills him morally. “was the hope drunk/ wherein you dressed yourself” . Lady Macbeth uses reverse psychology by insulting her husband’s manliness: When you durst do it, then you were a man” . This flawless tactic works well on Macbeth and he is won over by her “undaunted mettle” . “I am settled and bend up each corporal agent to this terrible feat” . The verb “bend” shows the struggle in him to carry out the act, it goes against his nature. The decision for the murder is nevertheless Macbeth’s. Although Lady Macbeth is the catalyst he must ultimately take full responsibility for his own actions.

The murder of Duncan may be depicted as the point of no return for the character of Macbeth. He is now frail and quite paranoid just after the murder, this contrasts with him being confident and brave on the battlefield; killing then seemed normal to him, but murder, he feels that he has condemned his soul. “Will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood clean from my hand?” . The amount of guilt that Macbeth feels is unbearable to any man, which shows that he has not completed the course of his moral deterioration. Macbeth has now become a tyrant that will suspect everyone, even those closest to him.

The crown has defiled Macbeth and he realizes that it only brings sadness and despair. Macbeth is even jealous of Duncan who is dead that he is resting in peace and him who is unable to even sleep is living in torment torn by guilt and paranoia. A new feature of the new Macbeth is also hypocrisy: “fail not our feast” . Macbeth sends off Banquo with a warm farewell and probably a smile. Here Macbeth is following his wife’s advice: “look like the innocent flower but be the serpent underneath” . Another trait acquired by Macbeth, again from Lady Macbeth is the power of manipulation. Macbeth appeals to the murders’ desire for revenge and mocks their patience for tolerating such injustice rendered to them by Banquo. Macbeth has also become cold and calculating in nature, even human life does not seem to posses any value to him. Terms like: “business” and “work” in reference to the murder and his attitude towards the innocent child Fleance, is merely another obstacle to Macbeth’s security. All of this reinforces his cold clinical attitude towards people and his morally corrupt attitude.

Macbeth has also become dead inside. When Macduff flees the realm of Scotland for England to conspire with Malcolm against Macbeth, Macbeth resorts to the most cowardly and ruthless of ways to punish Macduff for his insolence. Macbeth murders Macduff’s family. He has become so heartless that murder seems like a hobby to him. This is in stark contrast with the Macbeth whom the thought of murder “shook my very state of man” .

A final turning point that affects the character of Macbeth, is the death of his spouse. Although Macbeth has committed monstrous deeds, he is not a monster. In fact he feels, which is quite surprising, sadness and compassion towards the tragedy. Life now seems to him utterly futile, a slow inexorable progression toward death: “It is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury signifying nothing” . One cannot help but feel at least some sympathy for Macbeth. He has been equivocated upon by the witches, his wife died, all of Scotland scorns him and he is carrying an unimaginable burden of guilt. However he still retains some of his original traits. In his fight against Macduff Macbeth refuses to go down without a fight: “ I will not yield to kiss the ground before young Malcolm’s feet… “hold, enough”” . A formidable warrior indeed. Even when the entire world is against him he holds his head high with pride.

“Macbeth” would not have been the masterpiece of literature that it is without such a character. Notice that Macbeth is the protagonist, and also the antagonist. Hero and villain. Good and evil. Macbeth is not the average character which just defeats the villain and the play ends happily ever after; he is much more complex than that, much more alive. His transformation from the loyal, virtuous, moral individual to the abomination of a tyrant and finally to the heartbroken, empty individual. The moral turmoil that is experienced by Macbeth and his deep, delving sense of guilt proves him to be somewhat of a good person. But his heinous acts of murder and manipulation show the dark side of his character which is solely fuelled on his one flaw: his vaulting ambition. Macbeth was not originally a murderer, but he was bound to become one eventually. The turn of events at the end of the play also suggest that the spirit of Macbeth will live on, as most likely Macduff will become another Macbeth. Macbeth is a skilfully created character that possesses more than one personality within him; this is what makes him remembered by all, it makes him immortal.

Macbeth: Characters ( Edexcel GCSE English Literature )

Revision note.

It is vital that you understand the way Shakespeare uses his two main characters in the play, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. However, understanding less prominent characters and, crucially, how they compare to the main characters, will lead to the very best responses. Below you will find character profiles of:

Lady Macbeth

• The minor characters of the Three Witches and Malcolm

• The play’s tragic hero.  This means:
• He displays heroic characteristics
• He has a fatal character flaw ( hamartia ): his ambition
• Despite his hamartia,  the audience does feel some sympathy for him
• He is doomed to die at the end of the play
• At the beginning of the play, Macbeth is presented as:
• Brave : he is shown to be a fearless warrior (an “eagle” and a “lion” in battle)
• Noble: it is reported that he has killed a traitor in battle, showing his loyalty to King Duncan and Scotland in general
• Ambitious: unlike his comrade Banquo, he is easily seduced by the witches’ dangerous prophecies
• Conscientious:  he questions the morality of committing regicide, which leads Lady Macbeth to challenge his courage and manliness 
• For Macbeth, there is a tension between the heroic and loyal aspect of his character and the ambition. This results in him questioning his actions repeatedly, but ultimately succumbing to his darker desires
• As the play progresses, Macbeth becomes a less sympathetic character. He is shown to be:
• Cruel: he murders his best friend, Banquo, and the wife and children of Macduff
• Paranoid: he begins to suspect even innocent people are threats to his power, and even stops sharing things with Lady Macbeth (“full of scorpions is my mind”)
• Guilty: his hallucinations represent his increasing feelings of guilt for the regicide  and murder of Banquo
• Masculine: he becomes the cruel, violent man that Lady Macbeth accuses him of not being, and becomes the dominant force in their relationship
• Nihilistic:  ultimately, he questions the pointlessness of life. For a Christian, Jacobean audience, this would be seen as disturbing
• Despite his hamartia , and the barbaric villain Macbeth becomes, there are still reasons for an audience to feel sympathy for him:
• He is tempted by evil witches
• He is encouraged by a thoroughly unnatural woman, Lady Macbeth
• He is thoroughly human: he is not pure evil, but a mixture of positive and negative character traits
• His emotional reaction to his wife’s death and questioning of his own actions as a result (Act V, Scene V)
• Even at the end of the play, he dies a warrior’s death, which could be seen by a Jacobean  audience as heroic

Your exam paper will contain an extract that will hold some significance to the play as a whole. Examiners will always award the highest marks to those students who refer to the plot and character beyond just the extract. Think of the extract as a springboard to the rest of the play and take a whole-text approach to write your essay.

In practice, this means it is very successful to reference other parts of the play that relate to the extract, and even better if they contrast with the ideas or characterisation that Shakespeare is presenting in the chosen extract. So think: does Shakespeare present this character differently in other parts of the play? Do we see any character development? What ideas is he exploring when showing this contrast? You don’t always need to use quotations to show these changes, with the exam board suggesting that “looking at contrasts and parallels in characters and situations at different points in the text” is just as successful.

• Ambitious: she has a thirst for power unmatched even by Macbeth. She even calls on evil spirits to help her achieve it
• Ruthless: she will do anything to gain this power. She lacks the conscience to question committing the mortal sin of regicide.  She even says she would have “dashed out the brains” of her own baby if she had sworn to do so
• Duplicitous: when welcoming Duncan to Dunsinane, she has no hesitation greeting him warmly, knowing full well he would be murdered that evening
• Controlling: she plans to commit regicide , and she dominates her husband Macbeth when he questions it
• She is also shown to be thoroughly untypical of a woman in the Jacobean era
• She is not dutiful:  she does not do what her husband tells her and is not loyal to her king
• She is not compassionate : she wants to stop herself from feeling remorse for evil acts
• She is not nurturing : she wants to replace the mother’s milk in her breasts with “gall”: courage, or in its other meaning, poison
• In many ways, Lady Macbeth is a less complex character than Macbeth. She does not have the same feelings of doubt or pangs of conscience that Macbeth does
• of her resolve: in Act V, she finally realises the true extent of her crime and its eternal consequences
• of her relationship : Macbeth does not share his plans with her after Act II and becomes the dominant force in their relationship
• she begins hallucinating blood (a symbol of her responsibility and guilt for the murder of Duncan)
• she cannot stop walking and talking in her sleep (sleep is a symbol of peace, so she is now never at peace) 
• she is so tormented by guilt that she can no longer live with it and commits suicide
• Shakespeare presents a role reversal  in the traditional husband and wife relationship:
• However, as the play progresses, Macbeth assumes the traditional, dominant role in their relationship
• Shakespeare could be suggesting that because she is a woman, Lady Macbeth is less capable of handling the power that comes with being a king or queen
• Shakespeare could also be comparing Lady Macbeth – as a woman – to the evil influence of the witches
• She is ‘unnatural’, just like the witches are, because of her untypical attributes and her dominance over Macbeth

For more on the key character of Lady Macbeth, including an exemplar question paper and model paragraph, click here .

• Banquo acts as a contrast to the character of Macbeth. In literature, this is known as being a foil:
• A foil (Banquo) is used to contrast with the characteristics of a protagonist (Macbeth)
• A foil, therefore, highlights character traits that are very particular to the protagonist, that an author wants to explore
• Banquo represents the typical behaviours and attitudes of the Jacobean era, the societal norms:  
• Unlike Macbeth, he is very suspicious of the witches . After they give their first prophecies, Banquo appeals to “reason”
• Unlike Macbeth, he is honest : he tells Macbeth that he had been dreaming about the witches. In response, Macbeth lies and tells Banquo he hadn’t given them any more thought
• Unlike Macbeth, he is loyal : after Duncan’s murdered body is discovered, he vows to fight “treasonous malice”
• Unlike Macbeth, he is devoutly Christian : he compares the witches to the Devil; after the regicide, he says “in the great hand of God I stand”
• Because Banquo represents the societal norms , Shakespeare makes him rightly suspicious of Macbeth’s behaviour:
• Immediately after meeting the witches, he thinks Macbeth is strange “rapt”, or spellbound
• After Macbeth becomes king, he says that he believes Macbeth “play’dst most foully for it”: he thinks Macbeth got the crown by evil means

• In the play, Macduff acts as an avenging agent who stands in contrast to the villainous Macbeth
• Like Banquo, he also represents the attributes a Jacobean audience would expect in a Scottish thane:  
• He is noble : when told the news of the murder of his wife and children, he gives a moving speech stating that there is more to manhood than violence and ambition. Men must also have compassion and feel grief: “I must also feel it as a man”
• He is loyal: his loyalty is tested by Malcolm and he passes the test: “I am not treacherous”. He also repeatedly calls Macbeth a “tyrant”, i.e. not a true ruler, but one who rules cruelly
• He is brave : he has no hesitation facing Macbeth – himself a fearsome warrior – in one-to-one combat, and he defeats him
• The audience would feel sympathy for Macduff because of the cruel murder of his innocent family
• He also acts as a symbol of the status quo: the actions of Macduff return order to the Kingdom of Scotland and return the rightful, God-chosen king to the throne

Other characters

The Witches

• One way of seeing the witches is as a symbol of external evil: they are the representatives of the Devil on earth, and so do the devil’s work
• They are also presented by Shakespeare as:
• Grotesque: they are described as having bearded faces, which heightens the sense that they are supernatural, or unnatural, and not part of God’s natural order
• Duplicitous: Their prophecies are deliberately misleading, leading to characters misunderstanding them
• Malevolent:  before delivering their first three prophecies (Act I, Scene III) they are seen plotting evil acts of torture against ordinary people. This may lead the audience to suspect they have evil ideas for Macbeth, too
• Disruptive: they are constantly seen to disrupt nature (with storms and spells) and, ultimately, seek to disrupt the Great Chain of Being and God’s authority over the world
• They can be seen as agents of fate, only predicting the inevitable consequences of characters’ actions
• Shakespeare may also be suggesting that the witches are only manifestations of the characters’ psychological realities: they only encourage characters to be true to their own – evil – selves
• Shakespeare uses Malcolm more as a symbol than a fully fleshed-out character
• He represents order or the status quo : he is the true heir to Duncan and the rightful king, as appointed by God according to the Divine Right of Kings
• This stands in contrast to Macbeth, who represents chaos
• Shakespeare uses Malcolm to explore the idea of what makes a good, rightful king:
• In contrast to Macbeth, he unites the Scottish thanes to battle against Macbeth
• In contrast to Macbeth, he is not presented as a tyrant
• In Act IV, Scene III, Malcolm discusses with Macduff what makes a tyrant, and then assures Macduff he is no such thing
• With the rightful king (Malcolm) not on the throne, the world is thrown into disorder: the Great Chain of Being has been disrupted
• Shakespeare returns Malcolm to the throne in the last scene of the play and, therefore, the order is restored to the kingdom

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Author: Nick

Nick is a graduate of the University of Cambridge and King’s College London. He started his career in journalism and publishing, working as an editor on a political magazine and a number of books, before training as an English teacher. After nearly 10 years working in London schools, where he held leadership positions in English departments and within a Sixth Form, he moved on to become an examiner and education consultant. With more than a decade of experience as a tutor, Nick specialises in English, but has also taught Politics, Classical Civilisation and Religious Studies.