| Why does Shakespeare begin the play with the three witches? | To set an eerie and wicked tone and mood for the play and to appeal to the king who was not a fan of plays (James).-the 3 witches foreshadow that there will be evil and murder throughout the story |
| What happened with the Thane of Cawdor? | He was executed for treason |
| What happened with the King of Norway? | Forced to pay $10,000 to bury his men |
| Describe the three witches. | They look weird as if they are not from this planet. They are frail and withered with fingers upon chapped lips. They have beards and thin lips, are women, but wild in the way they dress. They are creepy and talk in ‘opposites’. Their predictions prompt Macbeth’s actions |
| What do they prophesy for Macbeth? | He will be king; He will be Thane of Cawdor; His descendants will not be kings |
| What do they prophesy for Banquo? | He will not be king; His descendants will be king |
| After reading his letter, how does Lady Macbeth describe Macbeth? | Ambitious but not ruthless |
| What does she ask the ‘spirits’ and ‘ministers of murder’ to do to her? What does she claim she is willing to do to help Macbeth become king? | Maker her like a man; murder her own child |
| Why and how does Lady Macbeth criticize Macbeth, when they first discuss the plot face-to-face? | She tells him that he is a coward and is not a real man because he doesn’t want to follow through with the plan; She questions if he was drunk or asleep when he said that he would carry out the plan and kill Duncan, because now he is hesitant and she does not think he truly has what it takes to carry out the necessary means to be king- like a man would; Also she says if he doesn’t kill Duncan he doesn’t love her |
| Opposites that appear in Act I. | -The witches say they will meet again when the battle is lost and won-Macbeth describes the day of the battle as being both fair and foul; fair is foul and foul is fair-not so happy, yet much happier -The witches tell Banquo he will be lesser than Macbeth, but greater-The witches have beards but they are women (un-lady like assets) |
| After their conversation at the start of Act II, Macbeth believes Banquo _____? | will not help Macbeth kill Duncan |
| What vision does he see on his way to kill Duncan? | a dagger, pointing toward Duncan’s room (bloody) |
| Who made the preparations for Duncan’s murder? | Lady Macbeth |
| Why didn’t Lady Macbeth kill Duncan? | Duncan reminder her of her father |
| How did Macbeth almost mess up the plan? | Forgot to leave the knives by the guards |
| How did Lady Macbeth fix it? | Smeared blood from the knives on the guards |
| How did Macbeth explain away what happened to the guards? | He lost his temper |
| Who got blamed for ‘suborn(ing)’ the guards? Why did he/she/they get blamed? | Duncan’s sons; they disappeared |
| What happens to Macbeth by the end of Act II as a result of Duncan’s murder? | He is chosen to be king |
| After Duncan’s death, Ross and an old man talk of ‘unnatural’ scenes they have recently witnessed. Describe. | -A falcon that is circling high in the sky is killed by an owl, which is unnatural because an owl is much weaker, falcons are much faster, and owls usually hunt mice -Duncan’s horses of the finest breed, who are usually calm, gentle, swift and beautiful, lose their minds, go crazy, and eat each other. This is unnatural because horses are herbivores -It’s dark out when it’s daytime, which is very unusual |
| Why do the murderers kill Banquo? | Macbeth will reward them; Macbeth says Banquo lied about who wronged them |
| What is odd about the murder scene? What is one possible explanation? | There is an extra murderer; it’s Macbeth |
| What is the explanation given for Macbeth’s odd behavior at the feast, and who offers it first? | Lady Macbeth says he has had this problem for, like, ever |
| What makes Macbeth suspicious of Macduff? | Macduff did not show up at the coronation or the feast |
| Why does Hecate berate the witches? | They didn’t let her help them; They didn’t check with her first; Macbeth doesn’t care about them |
| How does Hecate plant to destroy Macbeth? | trick him into feeling safe |
| Why does Macbeth return to the witches? | To ask about Macduff; To ask about Banquo’s children |
| Name some objects thrown into the witches cauldron, and explain the theme that connects them. | -poisonous toad -the finger of a baby left to die in a ditch by a prostitute -a blasphemous jew’s liver -a lizard’s leg -the scale of a dragon-eye of newt-root of hemlock-tongue of dogThey are all symbols of death, evil or darkness |
| What is the First Apparition and what does it say? | A head with armor that tells Macbeth to beware of Macduff |
| What is the Second Apparition and what does it say? | A bloody child that says that no man on earth born from a woman can harm Macbeth |
| What is the Third Apparition and what does it say? | a young child crowned, with a tree in his hand, who says that Macbeth cannot be beaten until the trees in the forest surrounding his castle attack him (Macbeth won’t be vanquished until the woods March up the Dunisane Hill to come against him) |
| What is the final vision, and what does it mean? | it is banquo, showing a line of kings (including James the patron) as his descendants |
| How does Malcolm initially describe himself to Macduff, and why does he do this? | as worse a man than Macbeth; to test Macduff’s loyalty to Scotland |
| What is Ross’s news, as it applies to Macduff? | Macduff’s family was murdered by Macbeth |
| How does Malcom advise Macduff to respond? How does Macduff reply? | Malcolm tells Macduff to use his grief and turn that energy into revenge, and go kill Macbeth right away. Macduff replies by saying he will go kill Macbeth, but first he needs time to grieve; he must feel like a man before he fights like a man. |
| What do the Doctor and the servant woman observe? What does the Doctor tell the servant woman to do? | Lady Macbeth sleepwalking; protect her |
| Why is Macbeth still confident, even as the English army approaches? | he believes the prophecies that Hecate told him |
| What does Malcolm tell the army to do as they near Dunsinane? | cut down and carry a tree branch |
| What happens in the fight between Macbeth and young Siward? What question does the elder Siward ask when he finds out? | Macbeth kills young Siward easily; where young Siward was wounded |
| What news does Macduff have for Macbeth? How goes their battle? | That Macduff was “not born of woman”; Macduff kills Macbeth after a difficult battle |
| For whom did Shakespeare write Macbeth? How did he modify the story? | He wrote it for King James. He modified the story to appeal to him by changing Banquo’s role to appear as more of a hero by having him not assist Macbeth with the murder like in the original, by giving the English king the heavenly power to heal people by touch, and by including a vision of 8 kings descended from Banquo, including James, holding a mirror reflecting that Banquo’s line will rule for eternity -Also he adds the witches to entertain at the beginning. |
| Shakespeare background: | Shakespeare’s father was a middle class business owner (NOT wealthy), Shakespeare attended grammar school but NOT a university, and he was married, but probably unhappily. |
| What parts, if any, of the story are based in actual fact? | Duncan, Macbeth, and James were Scottish kings; Scottish kings were crowned at scone |
| What was the name of Shakespeare’s theater? Describe it. What happened to it? | The Globe Theater.-it was octagonal, had no roof, and 3 tiers of seating-it was burned down because they shot a canon off and it caught fire |
| What evidence is there that Shakespeare may not have written the plays accredited to him? | very little, most of it is weak |
Macbeth- all acts
July 9, 2019