Macbeth Reading Guide

Macbeth Reading Guide

Act I

1.  What is the setting of Act One, Scene One? Discuss its significance (3 sentences).

2.  What literary element is I: i: 10, “Fair is foul, and foul is fair”? (3 sentences).

3.  How does the above line relate to Macbeth later on in the act? (Paragraph 8-12 sentences).

4.  In the Captain’s speech, I: ii: 34-42 (“Yes; As sparrows eagles…my gashes cry for help”) there is a biblical allusion. What is it and how does it affect the meaning? (Paragraph 8-12 sentences).

5.  What prophecies for Macbeth and Banquo are made by the Three Witches? (3 sentences).

6.  Compare and contrast Macbeth and Banquo’s attitude towards the prophecies (Paragraph 8-12 sentences).

7.  In I: iii: 130-131, it states, “This supernatural soliciting, cannot be ill, cannot be good.” What literary element is this? What is its significance? (3 sentences).

8.  What is going on in I: iii: 139-142? (“My thought, whose murder…but what is not”) (3 sentences).

9.  Read I: iv: 48-53 (“The Prince of Cumberland…when it is done, to see”). Discuss how the diction reveals the characterization of Macbeth (Paragraph 8-12 sentences)

10.  Read I: v: 39-54 (“The raven himself is hoarse…Hold, hold!”). Discuss how the diction reveals the characterization of Lady Macbeth (Paragraph 8-12 sentences).

Act II

1.  What is the weather in scene one? How does this contribute to the meaning? (3 sentences).

2.  What role do dreams play in this act? (Paragraph 8-12 sentences).

3.  Discuss the diction and imagery used in Macbeth’s soliloquy in II: i: 33 (“Is this a dagger, which I see before me….”) (Paragraph 8-12 sentences).

4.  Discuss the conversation between Macbeth and Lady Macbeth after the murder. Comment of the shift in Lady Macbeth in II: ii: 63-64 (“My hands are of your color…”) (Paragraph 8-12 sentences).

5.  Why does Shakespeare write the Porter scene after the murder? (Paragraph 8-12 sentences).

6.  Look closely at the imagery and diction in II: iii: 1-21 (“Here’s a knocking indeed….I pray you, remember the porter”). How do these images tie-in with the tone of the play? (Paragraph 8-12 sentences).

7.  How does the weather convey the mood and meaning of the play? (Paragraph 8-12 sentences).

8.  Why does Lady Macbeth faint? (3 sentences).

Act III

1.  What has happened to Malcolm and Donalbain according to Macbeth? How does this differ from Malcolm and Donalbain’s perspective stated in Act II? (3 sentences).

2.  Why does Macbeth ask Banquo so many questions in Act III, Scene I? (3 sentences).

3.  What is Macbeth’s fear, as stated in III: i: 50-70 (“Our fears in Banquo stick deep…to make them kings, the seeds of Banquo kings!”). Discuss the allusion in this soliloquy (Paragraph 8-12 sentences).

4.  In Act III, Scene II, there is a distancing between Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. Give evidence of this. Why does this happen? (Paragraph 8-12 sentences).

5.  What literary device is the following an example of?

III: iv: 16-17

Murderer: My Lord, his throat is cut, that I did for him.

Macbeth: Thou art the best o’th’cutthroats (3 sentences).

6.  How does the famous banquet scene affect the meaning of the drama? (Paragraph 8-12 sentences).

7.  Describe the entanglement of Macbeth and the Three Witches. Discuss the equivocal nature of the Three Witches and its impact on Macbeth (Paragraph 8-12 sentences).

8.  At first, Macbeth states that fate would have him Thane of Cawdor and King. How does this change as the play progresses? Why? (Paragraph 8-12 sentences).

9.  Why is Hecate’s monologue written in Heroic couplets? What is the effect in Scene Five? (Paragraph 8-12 sentences).

10.  What is the state of affairs at the end of Scene Six? (3 sentences).

Act IV

1.  Describe in detail the three apparitions and words of warning given to Macbeth by the witches (3 sentences).

2.  What is Macbeth’s plan for Macduff? (3 sentences).

3.  Why does Macbeth murder Lady Macduff and her son? (3 sentences).

4.  What is the state of affairs at the end of Act IV? (3 sentences).

Act V

1.  Why does Lady Macbeth have a “light by her continually?” (V: i: 25) (Paragraph 8-12 sentences).

2.  How does Lady Macbeth change by the end of the drama? Is she a dynamic character? Why or why not? (Paragraph 8-12 sentences).

3.  Discuss the significance of the word “foul” throughout the drama (Paragraph 8-12 sentences).

4.  Discuss the importance of the equivocation of the Witches in the drama. How does this drive the plot, develop the characters and enhance the meaning? (Paragraph 8-12 sentences).

5.  How did all three prophecies come to pass? (Paragraph 8-12 sentences).

6.  How could Macbeth have misinterpreted the apparitions? (Paragraph 8-12 sentences).

7.  Analyze V: v: 17-28 (“She should have died hereafter…signifying nothing”). Discuss the tone, diction, imagery and language (Paragraph 8-12 sentences).

8.  What is ironic about V: v: 35? (“Liar and slave!”) (Paragraph 8-12 sentences).

9.  Is Macbeth evil or is he a victim? (Paragraph 8-12 sentences).

10.  What role does fate and the supernatural play in this? (Paragraph 8-12 sentences).