Macbeth by William Shakespeare
Act III Study Guide
Scene 1
1. What is Banquo thinking in the first 3 lines of his opening soliloquy? Copy a short quote that shows what he fears.
2. What does Banquo hope? Why wouldn’t he want Macbeth to hear it?
3. After Banquo exits, what does Macbeth reveal in his soliloquy?
4. At the end of this soliloquy, Macbeth invites Fate into the ring to combat it. What is ironic about challenging Fate?
5. Why do the murderers agree to Macbeth’s plan for Banquo?
Scene 2
6. How do Macbeth and Lady Macbeth show that achieving an ambition may not automatically bring satisfaction?
7. What does he mean when Macbeth says, “Things bad begun make strong themselves by ill”?
Scene 3
7. What happens when the murderers attack Banquo and his son?
Scene 4
8. What happens during the feast that indicates that Macbeth’s imagination is perhaps too active?
9. What might this indicate about his mental state?
10. How does Lady Macbeth explain Macbeth’s behavior to her guests?
Scene 5
11. How does Hecate reveal that she is Macbeth’s antagonist?
Scene 6
In this scene, we learn that Lennox and Macduff have grown suspicious of Macbeth’s guilt in the deaths of Duncan and Banquo.
12. Where has Macduff gone? What is his mission?
Dramatic Irony. This type of irony occurs because we as an audience know something that a character or characters don’t know. The irony results because a character does or says something that we wouldn’t expect based on what we know. It gives the audience a feeling of being in on the secret.
Scene, Lines / What character says (& context) that creates irony / What the audience knowsScene 1, Lines 29-32 / Macbeth: (speaking to Banquo) “We hear our bloody cousins (Malcolm and Donalbain, Duncan’s sons) are bestowed in England and in Ireland, not confessing their cruel parricide, filling their hearers with strange invention (lies).” / Donalbain and Malcolm cannot confess because they are not guilty of their father’s murder. Macbeth himself killed Duncan.
Scene 4, Lines 53-58
Scene 4, Line 91