Studying Shakespeare

Macbeth

Name: Date:

Macbeth

Worksheet One
This worksheet accompanies slide 4 of Macbeth.ppt

Studying Shakespeare

Find three words or phrases in Act One, Scene Two that you do not understand, then discuss them as a class to find out what they mean. Write the phrases and their definitions

below:

1. ______

Definition: ______

______

2. ______

Definition: ______

______

3. ______

Definition: ______

______

Worksheet Two
This worksheet accompanies slide 6 of Macbeth.ppt

Plot summary exercise

Fill in the gaps in the passage below using the words given.

Macbeth and his friend ______have just won a battle for King ______. On their way home, they come across three ______. The witches tell Macbeth that he will become Thane of ______and King of ______. They tell Banquo that his ______will be kings of Scotland in the future. Immediately, their first ______is fulfilled when Macbeth is rewarded for his bravery in battle with a title.
When he returns home, his wife ______Macbeth convinces him that he must murder King ______. Macbeth ______Duncan to death. Next, he hires some men to kill ______, so that his sons cannot become kings. Banquo’s ______comes back from the dead to haunt him. He goes to visit the ______again, and they warn him against ______, who is the Thane of Fife.
They also tell him that he can only be killed by someone not of ______born, and when ______forest comes to Dunsinane. When Macbeth finds out that Macduff has gone to England, he murders his ______. Lady Macbeth goes ______and believes her hands are covered in ______. Malcolm and Macduff come to attack his castle, camouflaged by ______from the forest. Macduff tells Macbeth that he was cut from his mother, and he kills him. ______is crowned king.

Cawdor blood Macduff Duncan children ghost mad stabs

Banquo witches sleep Macduff Banquo prophecy Lady

Birnam woman branches Malcolm Scotland witches Duncan family

Worksheet Three
This worksheet accompanies slide 10 of Macbeth.ppt

Themes wordsearch

A / G / Z / S / S / E / N / D / A / M / Y / I / G / S
D / I / L / L / H / N / A / F / H / T / U / K / N / V
A / M / S / N / O / I / T / I / B / M / A / E / F / G
K / A / L / I / R / B / U / N / M / I / P / E / P / L
G / G / F / W / M / K / R / P / X / B / J / H / M / L
W / E / R / M / C / D / E / K / L / I / O / J / F / A
J / R / E / D / V / E / N / J / G / D / E / R / T / Y
J / Y / D / B / L / I / T / C / G / D / K / P / O / A
C / G / R / S / I / M / L / O / M / G / O / V / B / R
N / Y / U / E / V / Q / W / D / C / K / G / O / N / T
R / S / M / A / E / R / D / C / B / N / K / T / L / E
Q / C / H / N / K / I / Y / R / D / A / A / G / H / B

List ten themes in Macbeth that you can see in the wordsearch above.

1. ______6. ______

2. ______7. ______

3. ______8. ______

4. ______9. ______

5. ______10. ______

Worksheet Four
This worksheet accompanies slide 15 of Macbeth.ppt

Is this a dagger?

Reread Macbeth’s ‘Is this a dagger?’ speech in Act Two, Scene One. Then have a look at

the excerpts below and write the modern-day equivalents next to each one.

Come, let me clutch thee: ______

There’s no such thing. / It is the bloody business which informs / Thus to mine eyes: _____

______

Or art thou but / A dagger of the mind: ______

______

I have thee not and yet I see thee still! ______

______

I see thee still; / And, on thy blade and dudgeon, gouts of blood: ______

______

Mine eyes are made the fools o’the other senses: ______

______

Nature seems dead: ______

Thou marshall’st me the way that I was going: ______

Worksheet Five
This worksheet accompanies slide 16 of Macbeth.ppt

Headline techniques

Think of at least one headline that contains an example of the following linguistic

techniques:

Emotive language: Alliteration:

Pun: Facts:

Question:

Worksheet Six
This worksheet accompanies slide 20 of Macbeth.ppt

In the hotseat

Fill in the table below from the points of view of each of the characters.

Macbeth / Lady Macbeth / King Duncan / Macduff / Banquo
How do you feel at the end of the play and why?
Which other character do you blame most of all for the events of the play?
What would you have changed about your actions, and why?
When in the play were you happiest?
When in the play were you most unhappy?
What would you do differently and why?
Why do you think the witches tricked Macbeth?

Macbeth – The Essay

Worksheet Seven
This worksheet accompanies slide 2 of Macbeth – The Essay.ppt

Revision

Are these statements true or false? Circle either ‘T’ or ‘F’ in each case.

Macbeth pays someone else to kill Banquo. / T / F
Lady Macbeth outlives her husband. / T / F
Malcolm is Duncan’s son. / T / F
Donalbain flees to Ireland. / T / F
Macduff is Macbeth’s brother. / T / F
Duncan always suspects Macbeth of being disloyal. / T / F
Lady Macbeth supports Duncan’s murder. / T / F
The witches say that Banquo will be king. / T / F
Ross finds Duncan’s body. / T / F
Lady Macbeth takes the daggers back to the scene of the murder after Duncan has been killed. / T / F

Worksheet Nine
This worksheet accompanies slide 4 of Macbeth – The Essay.ppt

The essay title

Write down the six scenes in which Lady Macbeth plays an important role and sum them

up in one or two sentences below.

1. Scene: ______

Summary: ______

______

2. Scene: ______

Summary: ______

______

3. Scene: ______

Summary: ______

______

4. Scene: ______

Summary: ______

______

5. Scene: ______

Summary: ______

______

6. Scene: ______

Summary: ______

______

Worksheet Nine
This worksheet accompanies slide 7 of Macbeth – The Essay.ppt

Act One, Scene Five, lines 1–12

The actress playing Lady Macbeth needs to make a decision about how to read the letter.

Do you think she is excited? Amazed? Curious? Why? ______

______

Judging by the contents of the letter, what kind of relationship do you think Macbeth and

his wife have? ______

______

Imagine you are Lady Macbeth and you have to wait longer for your husband’s arrival. Write your own letter to him describing your feelings about his news and thoughts on his return.

______

Worksheet Ten
This worksheet accompanies slide 15 of Macbeth – The Essay.ppt

Act One, Scene Seven, lines 47–59

Fill in the gaps in the passage, written about Lady Macbeth’s speech in Act One, Scene Seven, lines 47–59. Select the correct words to fill in from the list below.

Lady Macbeth attacks Macbeth's (1)______a number of times in this speech, accusing him of having (2)______qualities that stop him from having the (3)______to kill Duncan. The feminine, tender image that she describes of her breastfeeding a baby has the effect of conveying her (4)______'masculinity' because of the horrific act that she describes shortly after. She is trying to suggest that although she is (5)______a woman, her mind is (6)______and therefore more masculine than her husband's. In expressing this thought, she is hoping to (7)______him

into agreeing to her plan.

1. thoughtlessness/masculinity/stupidity 5. hypothetically/mentally/biologically

2. feminine/childish/aggressive 6. stronger/larger/more loving

3. desire/courage/initiative 7. intimidate/shame/confuse

4. physical/identical/contradicting

Worksheet Eleven
This worksheet accompanies slide 17 of Macbeth – The Essay.ppt

Act Two, Scene Two, lines 32–48

Find five qualities that Lady Macbeth exhibits in this scene in lines 32–47. Give

quotations to back up your points.

Quality / Evidence

Worksheet Twelve
This worksheet accompanies slides 20 and 21 of Macbeth – The Essay.ppt

Act Three, Scene Four, lines 49–58

Which qualities does Lady Macbeth exhibit in this scene? Compare them to the qualities

she exhibited in Act Two, Scene Two.

______

Act Three, Scene Four, lines 59–73

How many examples of Lady Macbeth’s mockery of her husband can you see in the

extract below? Underline them and annotate them.

Lady Macbeth: O proper stuff!

This is the very painting of your fear.

This is the air-drawn dagger which you said

Led you to Duncan. O, these flaws and starts,

Impostors to true fear, would well become

A woman’s story at a winter’s fire,

Authorized by her grandam. Shame itself!

Why do you make such faces? When all’s done

You look but on a stool.

Macbeth: Prithee, see there!

Behold! Look! Lo! – How say you? …

Lady Macbeth: What, quite unmanned in folly?

Macbeth:

If I stand here, I saw him.

Lady Macbeth: Fie, for shame!

Worksheet Thirteen
This worksheet accompanies slide 28 of Macbeth – The Essay.ppt

Part One

Fill in the table below by writing lists of adjectives that describe Lady Macbeth, don’t

describe her or sometimes describe her.

Words that describe Lady Macbeth / Words that sometimes describe Lady Macbeth / Words that don’t describe Lady Macbeth

Worksheet Fifteen
This worksheet accompanies slide 29 of Macbeth – The Essay.ppt

Quotations

Write the numbers 1–6 next to the quotations below to show how Lady Macbeth changes over the course of the play.

___ When you durst do it, then you were a man.

___ These deeds must not be thought

After these ways; so, it will make us mad.

___ Naught’s had, all’s spent,

Where our desire is got without content.

___ The Thane of Fife had a wife; where is she now? – What, will these hands ne’er be

clean?

___ Sit, worthy friends. My lord is often thus;

And hath been from his youth. Pray you keep seat.

___ Thy letters have transported me beyond

This ignorant present…

Part One – power

On a scale of -5–5, rate how much power either Macbeth or Lady Macbeth has in the different acts of the play. A score of -5 means that Macbeth has by far the most power, 5 means that Lady Macbeth has by far the most power, and a score of 0 means that you are unsure, or that they have equal power.

Act One ____ Act Four ____

Act Two ____ Act Five ____

Act Three ____

Worksheet Sixteen
This worksheet accompanies slides 32 and 34 of Macbeth – The Essay.ppt

Part One

Use the brainstorm below to write out your ideas about what to include when answering the first part of the essay question.

Worksheet Seventeen
This worksheet accompanies slides 35 and 36 of Macbeth – The Essay.ppt

Part Two

Use the brainstorm below to write out your ideas about what to include when answering the first part of the essay question.

Worksheet Eighteen
This worksheet accompanies slides 37 and 38 of Macbeth – The Essay.ppt

Part Three

Use the brainstorm below to write out your ideas about what to include when answering the first part of the essay question.