Name: ______Date: ______Class: ______
William Shakespeare’s
Macbeth
Act II Questions
- What is the central idea of Act II?
2. Why does Lady Macbeth drug Duncan’s servants?
- Why doesn’t Lady Macbeth kill Duncan herself?
- Discuss the importance of Macbeth’s Act II, scene i soliloquy.
- Why do you believe Banquo is the last person Macbeth sees before he kills Duncan?
- What sound (both in the play and film) marks Duncan’s death?
- Why does Macbeth declare he will “sleep no more”?
- What does Macbeth mean when he says that the blood on his hands will redden all the seas?
- Read Banquo’s lines on page 304. Why does he believe all parties at Macbeth’s castle need to meet soon?
- What is the significance of Donalbain’s statement, “There’s daggers in men’s smiles; the near in blood, the nearer bloody”?
- Read lines 10-13 of Act II, scene iv. Determine what metaphor is used to refer to Duncan within the Old Man’s lines. (This statement is not included in the film; you will have to use your textbook.)
- What is another name for unrhymed iambic pentameter?
William Shakespeare’s
Macbeth
Act III Questions
- Banquo’s speech at the beginning of Act III is an example of…
- Summarize Banquo’s ideas in this speech.
- Why does Macbeth fear Banquo?
- With whom has Macbeth suggested Banquo travel?
- Who does Macbeth hire to kill Banquo? What does he offer them?
- What is to happen to Fleance? Why?
- What does Lady Macbeth mean when she says, “Nought’s had, all’s spent;/Where our desire is got without content:/”?
- Who does Macbeth send at the last minute to ensure the murders take place?
- What does Macbeth mean when he says, “O, full of scorpions is my mind, dear wife”?
- What is the purpose of Act III within the play?
- Why is Fleance’s escape important to the drama/action of the play?
- Why does this escape create an external conflict for Macbeth?
- What does Lady Macbeth believe Macbeth’s friends will think of his outburst at the banquet?
- Who is it that Macbeth believes he sees?
- What might be the significance of Macbeth being the only character who can see the ghost?
- Read lines 131-141 on page 323. Pay close attention to lines 137-139. How do these lines mark a turning point in Macbeth’s internal conflict?
- What does Macbeth mean when he says to Lady Macbeth, “We are yet but young in deed”?
- Macbeth mentions that the witches told him he would have a “fruitless crown.” What does this mean?
- What important event in the plot structure of the play occurs with Fleance’s escape?
- In Act III, scene vi, what do we learn Macbeth’s friends are beginning to think about him? (specifically Lennox.)
- Where do we learn Macduff has gone?