| What does Lady Macbeth talk about while she is sleepwalking? | She talks about the stain and smell of blood on her hands, and that she can’t remove it |
| What events do Lady Macbeth’s words refer to in the first scene of Act V? | The murders of King Duncan, Lady Macduff, and Banquo, and Macbeth’s complaint about not being able to wash away the blood with an ocean after he kills the king |
| What does the sleepwalking scene reveal about Lady Macbeth? | She is so tortured by guilt that her mind dwells constantly on the crimes |
| Why does the gentlewoman refuse to disclose what she has overheard Lady Macbeth say? | She’s probably afraid she will be killed for what she has heard already |
| What does Lady Macbeth do with her hands while she walks in her sleep? | She continually rubs her hands together to ‘wash’ the blood off |
| Why does Macbeth not fear death at the hands of the rebel army? | Because he has faith in the witches’ prophecies |
| What is a tragedy? | A literary work in which the main character, or hero, suffers a downfall as a result of a character flaw or an error of judgment |
| What is a tragic hero? | A person of high rank who violates a human, natural, or divine law |
| What is Macbeth’s tragic flaw? | Ambition, an unchecked desire for power, is Macbeth’s tragic flaw |
| What does the “tomorrow” soliloquy reveal about Macbeth? | A sense that life is meaningless |
| How do Caithness and Angus describe Macbeth’s state of mind? | Caithness says that Macbeth is either insane or in a rage, while Angus says his deeds have come back to haunt him |
| Why do Malcolm and Macduff believe their army will be victorious over that of Macbeth’s? | They believe Macbeth’s army is only doing what they are commanded to do, and not out of any love for Macbeth–they’re no more than mercenaries |
| What is the significance of Macbeth feeling “his title hang loose about him, like a giant’s robe upon a dwarfish thief”? | This is part of the motif of the play, the recurring imagery of ill-fitting clothing |
| Why does Macbeth not fear Malcolm or his forces in Scene 3 of the last act of the play? | None of woman born can harm him, and he’s safe until Birnam Wood marches to his castle at Dunsinane |
| What happens in Scene 3 that reminds us that Macbeth is still the tragic hero we met in Act I? | He says that he will fight till his bones are hacked from his flesh, unafraid of doing battle with the enemy |
| Why is it ironic that Macbeth asks the doctor to diagnose his country’s ailment? | The ailment is Macbeth himself, and his seizure of power |
| When Malcolm bids his troops to take a bough from a tree and carry them as they approach Dunsinane, of what literary device is this an example, and why? | Dramatic irony–we know what this means and they don’t–and foreshadowing |
| How does Macbeth react when he hears of the death of Lady Macbeth? | He wishes it could have happened at a time when he could mourn her properly |
| What metaphors does Shakespeare use to convey Macbeth’s attitude toward life after Lady Macbeth’s death? | He describes life as a brief candle, a bad actor, and a tale told by and idiot–loud and angry, but meaningless |
| Why does Macbeth decide to leave the safety of his castle at Dunsinane and attack his enemy? | He realizes he was blinded by ambition and the approach of “Birnam Wood” shows the prophecies are coming true |
| How are the prophecies fulfilled in Act V? | Birnham Wood marches on Dunsinane, and Macbeth should have avoided Macduff, who was not of woman born, having been delivered by Caesarian section |
| What dramatic function do the prophecies of the apparitions serve in Acts IV & V? | The prophecies intensify the tragic flaw in Macbeth’s character, his ambition |
| Did Macbeth’s death “set everything right”? | Social order is restored, but the suffering caused by Macbeth can never be undone |
| Why does Macbeth say he won’t fight with Macduff in the battle? | Macbeth has already done enough to Macduff by having his family murdered |
| Why does Macbeth fight to the death against Macduff? | Macbeth fights Macduff to the death because he prefers an honourable defeat to a humiliating surrender |
| Who kills Macbeth? | Macduff, the Thane of Fife |
Macbeth: Study Guide Questions, Act V
August 9, 2019