| How and why does Macbeth arrange Banquo’s murder? Is Lady Macbeth involved in the murder? | Macbeth sees Banquo as a threat. He hires murderers and convinces them that Banquo wronger them. Lady Macbeth is not involved |
| In the soliloquy that opens Scene 1, what does Banquo reveal that he knows about Macbeth? What does Banquo decide to do? | Banquo suspects that Macbeth murdered Duncan, but he decides not to voice his suspicions |
| What happens in Scene 4 when Ross, Lennox, and the other lords invite Macbeth to share their table? What does Macbeth do? What does Lady Macbeth do? | He sees Banquo’s ghost and Lady Macbeth tells the lords to leave the table. |
| Macbeth does not kill Banquo with his own hands, as he killed Duncan and the two guards. What can you infer about Macbeth’s changing character after seeing how he engages in this complex plan involving professional murderers? | He is not only growing accustomed to murder but becoming more devious in his planning and arranging of the crime |
| how has The relationship between Macbeth and Lady Macbeth has changed in since they became rulers of Scotland | They are more suspicious |
| How is Fleance’s escape a turning point in this play? | since Fleance escaped Macbeth is worried that Fleance will come back |
| What ingredients go into the witches’ stew? What symbolic purpose does this vile concoction have? | Liver of a blasphemous Jew, nose of a turk, the finger of a bay strangled at birth after being born in a ditch to a prostitute, helps to show how evil the witches really are |
| What has Macbeth come to ask the witches, and how do they answer? | He wants to know if he will remain in power and if Banquo’s heirs will rule. The witches let the apparitions answer for them |
| what do the three apparitions tell Macbeth? | 1) Beware Macduff 2) No man born of a woman can harm Macbeth 3) Macbeth will reign until Birnam (woods) comes to Dunsinane |
| At the end of Scene 1, what does Macbeth vow? How is his vow carried out in Scene 2? | He plans to kill Macduff’s family. Lady Macduff and her son are murdered along with all of the servants of the house |
| According to the conversation between Malcolm and Macduff in Scene 3, what has happened to Scotland during Macbeth’s reign? | Scotland has fallen on hard times, with many widows, orphans, and sorrows |
| How has Macbeth’s moral character deteriorated? | … |
| Do you think the witches have caused any of the changes in Macbeth’s character, either directly or indirectly? Explain your reasons. | Yes, the witches set in motion a chain of events. Macbeth resists as best as he can but fate overcomes him. No, Macbeth chooses to act of his own free will |
| Both the murderer and Lady Macduff herself call Macduff a traitor. In what sense does each mean it? Do you think Macduff is a traitor, in either sense? | The murderer sees Macduff as a traitor to Macbeth. Lady Macduff thinks Macduff is a traitor to his family and has abandoned them |
| in Scene 3, Malcolm deliberately lies to Macduff. What does this behavior, and reason for it, reveal about Malcolm? | … |
| Why, according to the doctor, is Lady Macbeth walking in her sleep? | … |
| what opinion of Macbeth do the Scottish lords now hold? | … |
| What changes in personality does Macbeth describe in Scene5, lines 9-15? | He is no longer afraid , nothing scares him |
| “Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow…” how does Macbeth describe life? What metaphors does he use? | That life is meaningless |
| How are the prophecies proclaimed by the three apparitions in Act IV, Scene 1, fulfilled in Act V? | beware Macduff, Macduff kills Macbeth. No man born of woman can harm macbeth. Macduff was torn prematurely from his mother’s womb. Macbeth will not be defeated until Birnam Wood comes to Duncinane. Malcolm’s army carried tree branches in front of them as they approached the castle making it look like the woods were moving |
| Theoretically, the spectacle of Lady Macbeth walking in her sleep is one of the most striking scenes in the play,. It is entirely Shakespeare’s invention, not found or suggested in his source. Why do you suppose Shakespeare has herwalk in her sleep? How is this scene related to the remarks that Macbeth makes about sleep in Act II, Scene 2, just after he kills Duncan? | … |
| In the sleepwalking scene, Lady Macbeth refer to many of her waking experiences. Find traces of her experiences in what she says while sleepwalking. | Trying to wash the blood from her hands; putting their night clothes on so they do not look suspicious; the amount of blood from Duncan’s body. |
| Which part of Act V do you consider to be the climax- the most emotional and suspenseful part of the action when the conflict is resolved? | Macbeth is killed |
| Do you think “the dead butcher and his fiendlike queen” are accurate descriptions of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth? Explain. | … |
Macbeth Act III-IV
August 26, 2019