Macbeth: Discussion Questions
1. The witches plan to meet upon the hill and prophesize Macbeth’s future and their intent is to cause harm.
2. King Duncan decides to give Macbeth Cawdor’s land/title as a reward for saving the nation.
3. The Witches name Macbeth Thane of Glamis and Cawdor, then King later on. The witches tell Banquo that he will be greater but not as great as Macbeth, he will be happier but not as happy as Macbeth and Banquo’s descendants will be kings and queens but he himself will not gain royalty
4. Lady Macbeth plans to kill King Duncan upon his arrival.
Thinking Critically:
5. The thunder and lightning in the opening scene with the introduction of the three witches is symbolic of the havoc they plan to wreck on human nature by using Macbeth as their harbinger of destruction.
6. …show more content…
A paradox is a contradictory statement that expresses a truth and by the witches calling Banquo lesser than Macbeth they mean by Macbeth’s political power, Macbeth is a Thane and while Banquo is a powerful General he is not as powerful as Macbeth, but by the witches calling Banquo greater than Macbeth they are talking about Banquo’s intelligence and being grounded in his principles and not trusting the witches which is the better judgment.
7. Banquo being more intelligent than Macbeth does not fall for the witches sweet words and is highly untrusting in them, but Macbeth on the other hand falls for their prophecy and commands them to tell him more right as they vanish into thin air, based on Macbeth’s reaction you can automatically tell that Macbeth is constantly thinking about himself and his higher gains.
8. At first Macbeth is thrilled to hear that he will become king but is confused because the king is still alive and his sons are also alive and healthy and his mind is rotted by horrible thoughts, Macbeth then comes to the resolution that he will have to murder his Cousin King Duncan and his sons in order to become king and those are the horrible thoughts that plague Macbeth’s
mind.
9. Lady Macbeth is ultimately more Single-minded and logical over her husband because she is able to come up with a plan to kill the king and not get caught. Lady Macbeth is also more argumentative because William Shakespeare played off of what every man during his time had and that was his pride so Lady Macbeth played with Macbeth’s pride and eventually she can win every argument. Though Macbeth is a little more sensitive over his wife, this is because Macbeth doesn’t want to kill his cousin King Duncan.
Extending and Evaluating
10. No, because before the prophecy I don’t think Macbeth ever wanted to be king, he seems to be happy with his hero status as the “Thane of Glamis”. When he receives the message of his new title as the Thane of Cawdor though he begins to believe that the witches prophecy is coming true.
2. King Duncan decides to give Macbeth Cawdor’s land/title as a reward for saving the nation.
3. The Witches name Macbeth Thane of Glamis and Cawdor, then King later on. The witches tell Banquo that he will be greater but not as great as Macbeth, he will be happier but not as happy as Macbeth and Banquo’s descendants will be kings and queens but he himself will not gain royalty
4. Lady Macbeth plans to kill King Duncan upon his arrival.
Thinking Critically:
5. The thunder and lightning in the opening scene with the introduction of the three witches is symbolic of the havoc they plan to wreck on human nature by using Macbeth as their harbinger of destruction.
6. …show more content…
A paradox is a contradictory statement that expresses a truth and by the witches calling Banquo lesser than Macbeth they mean by Macbeth’s political power, Macbeth is a Thane and while Banquo is a powerful General he is not as powerful as Macbeth, but by the witches calling Banquo greater than Macbeth they are talking about Banquo’s intelligence and being grounded in his principles and not trusting the witches which is the better judgment.
7. Banquo being more intelligent than Macbeth does not fall for the witches sweet words and is highly untrusting in them, but Macbeth on the other hand falls for their prophecy and commands them to tell him more right as they vanish into thin air, based on Macbeth’s reaction you can automatically tell that Macbeth is constantly thinking about himself and his higher gains.
8. At first Macbeth is thrilled to hear that he will become king but is confused because the king is still alive and his sons are also alive and healthy and his mind is rotted by horrible thoughts, Macbeth then comes to the resolution that he will have to murder his Cousin King Duncan and his sons in order to become king and those are the horrible thoughts that plague Macbeth’s
mind.
9. Lady Macbeth is ultimately more Single-minded and logical over her husband because she is able to come up with a plan to kill the king and not get caught. Lady Macbeth is also more argumentative because William Shakespeare played off of what every man during his time had and that was his pride so Lady Macbeth played with Macbeth’s pride and eventually she can win every argument. Though Macbeth is a little more sensitive over his wife, this is because Macbeth doesn’t want to kill his cousin King Duncan.
Extending and Evaluating
10. No, because before the prophecy I don’t think Macbeth ever wanted to be king, he seems to be happy with his hero status as the “Thane of Glamis”. When he receives the message of his new title as the Thane of Cawdor though he begins to believe that the witches prophecy is coming true.