Name:_______________________________________
Period:_____
Macbeth Questions and Critical Analysis Topics
English IV Dual Credit/Mrs. Sharp
Questions are a Stratford Quiz Grade/Journals are HCC Quiz Grade
Directions: After reading each act, answer the following questions in complete
sentences and with text evidence when needed. Your homework is to finish these
questions and bring them to class before beginning the next act. At the end of any act, I
may check the study guides and journal questions.
At the end of each act, you will write a 150 word response to a journal question.**Type
these responses and either attach to back of this study guide or cut/paste onto
study guide.** Your responses are an individual effort: do not share them because that
would constitute plagiarism.
.
Macbeth is on pages 348-431 in the green literature textbook.
Act I
1. What does the brief opening scene of Macbeth reveal about the rest of the play?
How does the weather reflect the human passions revealed in the rest of the act?
2. In Scene 1, where do the witches plan to meet again and why?
3. What do the witches predict for Macbeth?
4. Explain the paradox, or the apparently contradictory nature, of the witches’ greeting
to Banquo in Scene 3: “Lesser than Macbeth and greater.” How is this paradox true?
5. How does Banquo’s reaction to the witches differ from Macbeth’s?
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6. One of the most interesting parts of any serious play is what goes on in the
characters’ minds. What conflict rages in Macbeth after he hears the witches’
prophecy?
7. In the beginning of scene v, Lady Macbeth worries that Macbeth is “too full o’ th’ milk
of human kindess.” Why is this a problem, according to her?
8. Lady Macbeth invokes spirits in scene v. What “spirits” might Lady Macbeth be
calling upon?
What does her soliloquy reveal about her feelings on masculinity versus
femininity?
9. What does Lady Macbeth mean when she tells Macbeth, “ Look like the time; bear
welcome in your eye, / Your hand, your tongue; look like th’ innocent flower, / But be the
serpent under’t”? (I.v.62-64)
10. Lady Macbeth tells her husband to “leave all the rest to me” (I.v.71). Is her
motivation selfishness or selflessness? Explain your answer.
Journal Question and Response for Act I:
Think about why the witches choose to manipulate Macbeth in particular, as they plan to meet
him from the very beginning of the play. What is it about his personality that makes him more
susceptible to believing their prophecies than Banquo does? Use text evidence as support. Cite
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quotes from the play with Act.scene.line numbers in ( ). The act and scene numbers are written
as Roman numerals.
Act II
1.In the opening scene, Banquo comments, “A heavy summons lies like lead upon me”
(II.i.6). What do you think is the cause of Banquo’s unease?
2. In Scene i, Macbeth asks Banquo to meet him later for “some words.” What
incentive does he offer Banquo?
How does Banquo respond?
3. Describe the vision that Macbeth has at the end of Scene i. What details foreshadow
the action to come?
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4. After Duncan’s murder, Lady Macbeth both chides and soothes Macbeth by saying,
“These deeds must not be thought / After these ways; so, it will make us mad” (II.ii.3334). How much do you think she understands his state of mind?
Do you think she would have been able to kill Duncan herself?
5. In Scene iii, what is the porter pretending as he goes to open the gate?
What is the function of this scene?
6. Lady Macbeth’s fainting spell, like everything else she has done so far, has a
purpose. What message do you think she wants her fainting spell to convey?
7. What reason does Macbeth give for killing Duncan’s two guards?
8. Where do Duncan’s sons decide to go?
9. Though Macbeth encounters no opposition until long after Duncan is murdered,
Shakespeare foreshadows trouble. For there to be suspense, one character must start
to suspect Macbeth. Who is this, and what hints does he give?
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Journal Question and Response:
What are the tempermental differences between Macbeth and his wife? How is Lady Macbeth’s
relationship with her husband beyond being just his wife?
Act III
1.
In the short soliloquy that opens Scene 1, what does Banquo reveal about
Macbeth?
2.
How does Macbeth arrange Banquo’s murder?
Why does he arrange it?
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Why do you suppose Shakespeare did not have Macbeth kill Banquo with his
own hands, as he killed Duncan and his two guards?
3.
Macbeth tells the murderers, “So he is mine... For sundry weighty reasons”
(III.i.116-127). How do you compare Macbeth here (talking to the murderers) to
Macbeth before the murder of Duncan?
4.
In Scene ii, Lady Macbeth quietly tells herself, “Nought’s had, all’s spent, / Where
our desire is got without content; / ‘Tis safer to be that which we destroy / Than
by destruction dwell in doubtful joy” (III.ii.4-7). What does she mean by this?
5.
In Scene iii, who escapes the murderers?
Why is his escape significant?
6.
Why do you think Shakespeare has Duncan’s murder happen offstage, but this
murder occurs onstage?
7.
Describe what happens in Scene 4 when Ross, Lennox, and the other lords
invite Macbeth to share their table.
How does Macbeth respond?
What does Lady Macbeth do?
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8. What effect is created by having Banquo appear at the banquet, made up as a
ghost?
What is gained by having it appear as though no person motivates Macbeth’s
terrifying behavior (no ghost appearing on stage)?
9.
Macduff does not appear at all in Act III. Where is he, and why?
Journal Question and Response:
Why do you suppose Shakespeare did not have Macbeth kill Banquo with his own hands, as he
killed Duncan and his two guards? What can you infer about Macbeth’s changing character
after seeing how he engages in the complex plan involving professional murderers?
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Act IV
1.
In this act, Macbeth seeks out the witches, whereas they initiated the encounter
in Act I How has his situation changed since he last talked with them?
How has his moral character deteriorated?
2.
What has Macbeth come to ask the witches?
How do they answer?
3.
Describe the three apparitions Macbeth sees when he visits the witches. What
does each apparition tell him?
1.
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2.
3.
What does the appearance of the eight kings in a row represent?
4.
Do you think the apparitions and/or the witches are trying to deceive Macbeth, or
is the problem how Macbeth interprets them?
5.
In scene 2, Lady Macduff tells her son that “Father’d he is, and yet he’s
fatherless.” What do you think of Macduff’s flight England, especially after
hearing the danger to his family?
6.
What does this reveal about Macduff’s character
7.
Compare Lady Macduff to Lady Macbeth, particularly with (but not limited to the)
reference to their support of their husbands.
8.
According to the conversation between malcolm and Macduff in Scene 3, what
has happened to Scotland during Macbeth’s reign?
9.
What faults does Malcolm claim to have?
How does Macduff respond?
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10.
Why does Malcolm tell Macduff his faults?
Journal Question and Response:
The murder of Macduff’s small son is one of the most pitiful and shocking scenes in
Shakespeare. Do you think it might have been better to have it reported after the fact rather
than to have shown the carnage onstage? What would be lost and what would be gained by
this change?
Act V
1.
Why, according to the doctor, is Lady Macbeth walking her sleep?
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2.
How is the sleep-walking scene related to the remarks that Macbeth makes
about sleep in Act II, Scene ii, just after he kills Duncan?
3.
In scene ii, what opinion of Macbeth do the scottish lords now hold?
4.
When does Lady Macbeth die?
5.
Macbeth’s response to finding out about her death is “She should have died
hereafter...signifying nothing” (V:v.16-28). This is one of the most famous
monologues of the play, and perhaps of all Shakespeare. Why is it significant to
the overall play?
What does Macbeth’s reaction to the fate of his wife reveal about his state of
mind?
6.
How are the prophecies proclaimed by the three apparitions in Act IV, scene i,
fulfilled in Act V?
7.
At the end of the play, what has become of Macbeth?
Who becomes king?
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8.
In scene viii, Macduff declares that “The time is free” (V.viii.55). Do you think his
statement is true or ironic?
9.
Consider that a repeating motif in Shakespearean plays is how nature in chaos
must eventually return to order. Is everything at the end of Macbeth back in
order, or is the truth more complex?
Journal Response and Question for Act V:
This act contains the play’s climax—the most emotional and suspenseful part of the action—the
moment when the characters’ conflicts are finally resolved. Which part of Act V do you consider
the climax? Explain.
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Critical Analysis Topics
Length: 800-1,000 words
After we finish reading Macbeth in class, which should take a little over two weeks, you
will write a critical response to one of the following prompts using specific text evidence
as support. It is a good idea to start thinking about the prompts and making notes as
we read so it will be easier for you to remember where certain passages are when it is
time to write the analysis.
1.Symbolism plays a key role in developing the thematic elements and plot of the play.
In a well-organized essay, explain both how and why the symbolism in Macbeth drives
the scenes described and affects the work as a whole. Do not merely summarize. You
may want to consider one of the following symbols to analyze in terms of how it relates
to the theme and plot of Macbeth: blood, water, babies, nature in chaos, or the reversal
of gender roles, to name a few.
If you are considering the above prompt, then you may want to keep a list of where and
how often that symbol appears in the play.
2. Consider a complex and important character in Macbeth who might--on the basis of
the character’s actions alone--be considered evil or immoral. In a well-organized essay,
explain both how and why the full presentation of the character in Macbeth makes the
audience react more sympathetically than it otherwise might.
3. A recurring theme in literature is “the classic war between a passion and
responsibility.” For instance, a personal cause, ambition, a love, a desire for revenge, a
determination to redress a wrong, or some other emotion or drive may conflict with
moral duty. In Macbeth, choose a character who confronts the demands of a private
passion that conflicts with his or her responsibilities. In a well-written essay show
clearly the nature of the conflict, its effects upon the character, and its significance to
the play, Macbeth.
4. In Macbeth, a character’s apparent madness or irrational behavior plays an
important role. Write a well-organized essay in which you explain what this delusion or
eccentric behavior consists of and how it might be judged reasonable. Explain the
significance of the “madness” to the play and its theme.
5. One of the strongest human drives seems to be a desire for power. Write an essay in
which you discuss how a character in Macbeth struggles to free himself or herself from
the power of others or seeks to gain power over others. Be sure to demonstrate in your
essay how Shakespeare uses this power struuggle to enhancce the theme of the play.
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