Name: Date: Block:

As we read Macbeth, keep up to date on this packet. This will count as a test grade. J

Character List—Fill in as we meet each character

Character / Act, Scene / Position/Relationship / Characteristics
Three Witches
Duncan
Malcolm
Lennox
Ross
Macbeth
Banquo
Angus
Lady Macbeth
Fleance
Macduff
Donalbain
Lady Macduff

Use this chart to track the soliloquies of Macbeth

Act, scene / Lines / Page # / Speaker / Content

There are many motifs running through the play. Pay attention as you read to them, and jot down and explain at least 3 instances (and line numbers!) for each as you go.

Blood/Violence:

Clothing:

Visions:

Birds:

Answer the following questions on a separate piece of paper. I will check these periodically to make sure everyone is on track.

ACT I

1. After reading (and maybe watching) the first few scenes of the play, list at least 3 traits for the significant characters (Macbeth, Banquo, Lady Macbeth, Duncan). Find a quote to support each trait.

2. What image of womanhood does Shakespeare present in Act I, scenes i and III?

3. In scene V, Lady Macbeth sums up the conditions that would make her able to murder Duncan. What does she need to be like to do this?

4. Paraphrase the discussion between Lady Macbeth and Macbeth in scene vii. Include Macbeth’s objections to murdering Duncan and Lady Macbeth’s attempts to overcome his fears. To what horrific action does she equate the murder?

5. Find as many parallels as you can between the witches’ words “Fair is foul, and foul is fair” and the events in Act I.

ACT II

1. Explain the meaning and significance in the play of the following quotes:

a) “I had most need of blessing, and ‘Amen’ / Stuck in my throat.” (32)

b) “My hands are of your colour, but I shame / to wear a heart so white.” (64-65)

2. List at least three references to the supernatural in Act II.

3. List the character traits which lead Macbeth to do what he did.

4. What evidence is there that both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are not as sure of their deed as they might be? (scenes i and ii)

5. Why did Macbeth murder the grooms? Was this a wise or foolish thing to do?

6. Why do Malcolm and Donaldbain leave so hastily?

7. If you were Macbeth, what evidence is there that you might have reason to eventually fear both Banquo and Macduff.

ACT III

1. Was Macbeth justified in having Banquo murdered? Why and why not?

2. Explain the meaning and significance of the following lines:

a) “Thou cans’t not say I did it : never shake / thy gory locks at me.”

b) “I am in blood / Stepp’d in so far, that, should I wade no more,

Returning were as tedious as go o’er.”

3. Look closely at the end of III, iv. What plot developments are foreshadowed?

ACT IV

1. Explain the meaning and significance of the following lines:

a) “By the pricking of my thumbs, / something wicked this way comes”.

b) “ Macbeth / is ripe for shaking.”

2. What is the witches’ second set of prophesies?

3. How does Macduff ruin Macbeth’s plans? What is Macbeth’s reaction?

4. Show that Macbeth’s acts are becoming increasingly evil.

5. Describe the range of emotions that Macduff experiences when he is told of his family’s death. What of his character is revealed here?

ACT V

1. What is the mental state of Lady Macbeth during the sleepwalking scene?

2. Relate scene iv to the prophecies given to Macbeth by the apparitions.

3. What does the “Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow” soliloquy reveal about Macbeth?

4. How does Macbeth’s final act show that he still possesses a trace of his former nobility?

5. Is death the ultimate disaster for Macbeth? Explain.

Success! You have finished reading and analyzing Macbeth!