What is the main message of Act 5, scene I, which includes Lady Macbeth’s sleepwalking scene? | A guilty conscience is not easily mended |
In Act 5, scene III, what does Macbeth’s behavior toward the servant who comes to deliver a message ultimately show about Macbeth’s character? | He has grown brutal |
In Macbeth, when Macbeth reveals in Act 5, scene v, that he has grown impervious to fear and horror, he is underscoring the plays theme of what? | Destructiveness of blind ambition |
At what point in Act 5 does Macbeth first begin to realize that he has been tricked by the prophecies? | When he learns that Birnam Wood is moving toward the castle |
In Act 5, in what way does Macbeth revert to his former self? | He fights with courage and skill |
Why does Shakespeare have Macbeth display certain admirable traits at the end of Macbeth? | To reinforce the idea that Macbeth is a victim to his tragic flaw |
In Act 5, what of the following represents the resolution of the plot? | Macduff kills Macbeth |
When the doctor watches Lady Macbeth sleepwalking he is what? | Completely baffled |
From the doctor’s observations in Act 5, you can infer that the doctors in Shakespeare’s time knew very little about what? | Psychology, emotional distress, and the mind-body connection |
In Act 5, when the doctor tells the waiting-gentlewoman to take from Lady Macbeth “the means of all annoyance” it is because he fears that Lady Macbeth might be or do what? | Try to kill herself |
In Act 5, when Macbeth says “Out, out, brief candle!” The word candle refers to what? | Life |
In Act 5, scene I, you can tell that the waiting-gentlewoman is what? | Loyal to Lady Macbeth |
In Act 5, Lady Macbeth kills herself because of what reason? | She cannot bear her guilt |
At the end of Macbeth, how does Macbeth’s courage in battle affect the reader? | It brings the reader full circle by once again pointing up an aspect of his noble nature |
What incidents does Lady Macbeth recall as she sleepwalks in Act 5? | Duncan’s murder, the appearance of Banquo’s ghost, and the murder of Lady Macduff |
What earlier remark of Macbeth’s does Lady Macbeth clearly echo in Act 5, lines 51-53 of her sleepwalking scene? | “Will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blodd/Clean from my hand?” |
What emotion of attitude does Lady Macbeth display in her sleepwalking scene in Act 5? | Guilt for her crimes |
What does the sleepwalking scene in Act 5, suggest about customs and practices of the past? | Medical knowledge of mental disorders was far more limited than it is today |
In Act 5, what word most clearly identifies Macbeth’s feelings in his famous soliloquy after learning of his wife’s death? | Despair |
What incident in Act 5, is most clearly a harbinger of Macbeth’s downfall? | The messenger’s remark, “I looked toward Birnam, and anon, methought,/The wood began to move” |
How do the two prophecies that Macbeth thought never would come true actually do come true in Act 5? | Macbeth is indeed killed by someone “not of woman born”-apparently, Macudff was delivered in a Caesarian section and so, in an era when this medical procedure was uncommon, seems not to be “born” in the usual biological way. Macbeth is also killed when Birnam wood comes to Dunsinane, since the soldiers attacking Dunsinane camouflage themselves with tree boughs that make it look like Birnam wood is approaching. |
As the tragedy moves to a climax in Act 5, how would you describe Macbeth’s behavior? | Courageous |
From the battles in Act 5, what can you conclude about warfare in Macbeth’s day? | Swords were among the weapons used in close combat |
Think about the definition of tragedy and the events that have unfolded in Macbeth. What would you say is Macbeth’s tragic flaw, and why? | Macbeth’s flaw is his excessive ambition, or willingness to do anything (even commit murder) to succeed |
Perturbation | Disturbance |
Pristine | Orginal, unspoiled |
Clamorous | Noisey |
Harbingers | Forerunners |
Macbeth Act 5 Study Guide
September 4, 2019