Name ______Per.______Date______
Macbeth: Study Guide for Acts 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5
Please answer the following questions completelyin full sentences.
Act I
1. In Scene 2, Angus and others give King Duncan updates about the rebellion. Macbeth’s deeds receive a lot of the king’s attention. What has Macbeth done?
Based on the reports from the battlefield and the king’s reaction, what is your first impression of Macbeth?
2. In Scene 3, what predictions do the witches make concerning Macbeth?
3. In Scene 3, what predictions do the witches make concerning Banquo?
4. Lady Macbeth speaks about her husband in Scene 5, what do we learn about him?
Who do you think has the stronger personality, Lady Macbeth or Macbeth?
5. In Scene 7, what bothers Macbeth about killing King Duncan?
6. How does Lady Macbeth convince Macbeth to act?
Name ______Per.______Date______
Macbeth: Study Guide for Acts 2, 3, 4, and 5
Please answer the following questions completelyin full sentences.
Act II
1. What does Macbeth’s “Is this a dagger” speech (II.i. 33-61) tell you about his mental state before killing king Duncan?
2. What excuse does Lady Macbeth give in Scene II for not killing Duncan herself?
3. Later in Scene II, what physical part does Lady Macbeth does she play in Duncan’s murder?
4. How does Macbeth show in Scene II that he understands the enormity of the deed he has done?
5. What excuse does Macbeth give for killing Duncan’s grooms? How do the other characters react to Macbeth’s words? Why?
6. Why do Malcolm and Donalbain flee? How does Macbeth use their flight to his advantage?
7. What single idea became most clear to you as you read Act II?
Name ______Per.______Date______
Macbeth: Study Guide for Acts 2, 3, 4, and 5
Please answer the following questions completelyin full sentences.
Act III
1. How does Macbeth’s speech beginning “To be thus is nothing,/But to be safely thus.”
(III. i. 47-71) explain why he decides to kill Banquo and Fleance?
2. What arguments does Macbeth use to convince the two murderers to act on his behalf?
3. Why does Macbeth not tell Lady Macbeth about Banquo’s upcoming murder? Of what speech of Lady Macbeth’s does his “Come, seeling night” soliloquy (III. ii. 46-56) remind you?
4. Why does Macbeth react so strongly to the visit from Banquo’s ghost?
5. What excuse does Lady Macbeth give for Macbeth’s strange behavior in front of his banquest
guests?
6. What happens at the end of Act III that may make Macbeth’s throne less secure?
7. What single idea became most clear to you as you read Act III?
Name ______Per.______Date______
Macbeth: Study Guide for Acts 2, 3, 4, and 5
Please answer the following questions completelyin full sentences.
Act IV
1. Why does Macbeth call upon the witches? What does he learn from the first three apparitions?
2. How does Macbeth’s response to the first three apparitions differ from his response to the fourth?
3. When Macduff flees, Macbeth says, “From this moment/The very firstlings of my heart shall be/The firstlings of my hand.” (IV. i. 146-148). What does he mean? How has he changed?
4. Why does Macbeth kill Macduff’s wife and child?
5. In Scene III, what offenses does Malcolm tell Macduff he is guilty of? Why does he tell him?
6. How does Macduff react in Scene III when he hears that his family has been slaughtered?
Name ______Per.______Date______
Macbeth: Study Guide for Acts 2, 3, 4, and 5
Please answer the following questions completelyin full sentences.
Act V
1. What does Lady Macbeth talk about as she sleepwalks? Why?
2. What do you learn in Scene II about Macbeth’s ability to rule?
3. How does Birnam Wood move to Dunsinane?
4. Use Scene V, lines 1-15, to describe the depths to which Macbeth has fallen. By the end of the scene, does he recognize his plight? Why?
5. To what mistaken belief about himself does Macbeth cling in Scene VIII? How does Macduff prove this belief false?
6. Why does Macbeth continue to fight to the death, even though everything is against him?
Ticket Out
Name ______Period ______Date ______
What one idea became most clear to you as you read Act IV?
Ticket Out
Name ______Period ______Date ______
What one idea became most clear to you as you read Act IV?
Ticket Out
Name ______Period ______Date ______
What one idea became most clear to you as you read Act V?
Ticket Out
Name ______Period ______Date ______
What one idea became most clear to you as you read Act V?