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The Tragedy of Macbeth, Act II, by William Shakespeare
Build Vocabulary
Spelling Strategy Many words end in an unstressed syllable spelled with a consonant +
-le, as does palpable. To add -ly, drop the -le: palpably. To add other endings, drop the final
-e except when it spells a separate syllable: wrestling, trickled, puzzlement.
Using the Root -vocUnit 2: Celebrating Humanity
(1485–1625)
A. DIRECTIONS: The word root -voc- means “voice” or “calling.” Read each definition and then
choose the word that best completes each sentence.
evocative (adj.), calling forth an emotional response
provocative (adj.), serving to provoke or stimulate
vocation (n.), a summons or strong inclination to a particular state or course of action; the
work at which a person is regularly employed
vociferously (adv.), marked by or given to insistent outcry
vocalize (adj.), to give voice to
1. The witches speak to Macbeth ___________________________; they will not be quieted.
2. Macbeth finds the witches’ predictions very ___________________________.
3. The setting of the first scene in Macbeth is ___________________________ of loneliness.
4. Macbeth’s __________________ at the beginning of the play might be said to be that of a warrior.
5. Lady Macbeth is able to ___________________________ a horrifying idea that her husband has
only thought about.
Using the Word Bank
augment
multitudinous
palpable
equivocate
stealthy
predominance
B. DIRECTIONS: Each question below consists of a pair of words in CAPITAL LETTERS followed
by four lettered pairs of words. Choose the pair that best expresses a relationship similar to
that expressed in the pair in capital letters.
____
1. MULTITUDINOUS : MANY ::
a. gigantic : large
b. some : few
c. up : down
d. survive : prosper
____
4. PALPABLE : TANGIBLE ::
a. stealthy : furtive
b. shy : outgoing
c. few : multitudinous
d. ambitious : lazy
____
2. AUGMENT : PREVENT ::
a. terrify : frighten
b. beg : plead
c. hollow : empty
d. help : hinder
____
5. EQUIVOCATE : DECEPTION ::
a. whine : exhibit
b. beautiful : attractive
c. death : die
d. sing : song
____
3. STEALTHY : OBVIOUS ::
a. quiet : healthful
b. adventuresome : timid
c. fat : heavy
d. polluted : filthy
____
6. PREDOMINANCE : WEAKNESS ::
a. valor : courage
b. success : failure
c. happiness : gladness
d. selfishness : miserliness
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The Tragedy of Macbeth, Act II, by William Shakespeare
Grammar and Style: Commonly Confused Words: Lie and Lay
Many people find it difficult to distinguish between the words lie and lay. A few simple rules
can help you use these words correctly every time.
Lie means “to lie down or recline.”
Example: I’m going to lie down before dinner.
Lay means “to place.”
Example: Lay the king’s robe over the chair.
The past tense of lie is lay; the past participle is lain.
Example: Macbeth devised his plot while the king lay sleeping; the king had lain in his bed
scarcely two hours when he was murdered.
The past tense of lay is laid; the past participle is laid.
Example: Lady Macbeth laid the king’s robe aside; the robe had been laid in the king’s blood
after the murder.
A. Practice: If the underlined verb form in each sentence is correct, write OK in the blank. If it
is incorrect, write the correct verb form on the blank.
____
1. Morning came but still the revelers lay in their beds.
____
2. Lady Macbeth laid the daggers down by the sleeping guards.
____
3. Foul deeds lie heavily upon the conscience.
____
4. The porter had already gone to lay down when Macduff arrived.
____
5. The servants will lie the table for a great feast.
B. Writing Application: Follow the directions to write sentences using lie and lay correctly.
1. Use lie to tell about taking a nap.
2. Use laid in reference to putting away some clothes.
3. Use lain to describe the dust on an old piece of furniture.
4. Use lay to describe a sleeping cat.
5. Use lying to describe someone who is sleeping in the next room at the moment.
6. Use laying to describe a hen producing an egg.
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The Tragedy of Macbeth, Act II, by William Shakespeare
Reading Strategy: Reading Verse for Meaning
MALCOLM. This murderous shaft that’s shot
Hath not yet lighted, and our safest way
Is to avoid the aim. Therefore to horse;
And let us not be dainty of leave-taking,
But shift away. There’s warrant in that theft
Which steals itself when there’s no mercy left.
1. How many sentences are there in this passage?
2. Paraphrase the first sentence.
3. Paraphrase the next two sentences.
4. What is the basic thrust of the passage?
As you continue reading The Tragedy of Macbeth, break long passages down into individual
sentences and restate the sentences in your own words.
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The Tragedy of Macbeth, Act II
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Unit 2: Celebrating Humanity
(1485–1625)
Some readers see that a text is written in verse and automatically assume they will have
a difficult time understanding it. Verse texts can indeed seem more complicated than prose.
However, there are many tools a reader can use to break verse down into manageable and understandable ideas. A good strategy is to read verse passages for the ideas that they present
rather than simply as individual lines of poetry. One way to do this is to read the lines aloud in
order to better follow complete sentences or thoughts. If you stop at the end of each line, rather
than reading all the way to the end of the thought, you will probably become confused. Pay
close attention to punctuation to note where a sentence ends. If you reach the end of the
thought in a passage and you don’t understand what you’ve read, go back through the passage
slowly, paraphrasing as you go. Look at this example from Act II of The Tragedy of Macbeth.
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The Tragedy of Macbeth, Act II, by William Shakespeare
Literary Analysis: Blank Verse
Blank verse consists of lines of poetry written in iambic pentameter. Each line contains five
poetic feet of stressed and unstressed syllables. The form is flexible and versatile and can produce the effect of smooth, natural speech in a way that other metrical patterns cannot. For this
reason, Shakespeare relied primarily on blank verse throughout his plays. However, Shakespeare occasionally used prose, especially for the speech of characters from lower stations in
life. He also employed occasional rhymes when it seemed appropriate to a particular character:
The witches in The Tragedy of MacBeth, for example, often speak in rhymes. Finally, like most
dramatists of the English Renaissance, Shakespeare often used one or more rhymed lines of dialogue to signal that a scene had ended or that new players must make their entrances, in this
way alerting offstage players or other members of the company.
Following is a series of passages from The Tragedy of Macbeth. On the line below each passage, identify it as “prose,” “rhyme,” or “blank verse.” Then scan the lines that are in blank
verse by marking the stressed and unstressed syllables.
1.
SECOND WITCH.
When the hurlyburly’s done.
When the battle’s lost and won.
2.
3.
ROSS.
I’ll see it done.
KING.
What he hath lost, noble Macbeth hath won.
ROSS.
The King hath happily received, Macbeth,
The news of thy success. And when he reads
Thy personal venture in the rebel’s fight,
His wonders and his praises do contend
Which should be thine or his.
4.
(Reads). They met me in the day of success; and I have learned by the perfect’st report they have more in them than mortal knowledge. When I burned in desire to question them further, they made themselves air, into which they vanished.
LADY MACBETH
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