"Macbeth" reading questions
Macbeth reading questions
Act I, Scenes v-vii
1. How does Lady Macbeth respond to her husband’s letter? (I.v.15-33)
Lady Macbeth fears that Macbeth is “too full o’ the milk of human kindness” (I.v.15), that his kindness will restrain him from taking the necessary actions to make himself king; according, she vows to do anything she can to win him the crown.
2. What does Macbeth think about Duncan as a king? (I.vii.1-28)
Macbeth thinks that Duncan “hath been so clear in his great office” (I.vii.17-18), and that he should be loyal to such a great and admired king, especially since he is their guest for the night.
3. What tactics does Lady Macbeth use to spur Macbeth to action? (I.vii.34-61)
Lady Macbeth dares Macbeth to commit murder, giving the impression that murder defines manhood, and she uses taunts rather than persuasive speech to seduce Macbeth to follow her plan, saying, “When you durst do it, then you were a man” (I.vii.49).
Act II, Scenes i-ii
4. How have Macbeth’s plans affected his mental state? (II.i.44-74)
Macbeth starts having visions/hallucinations of a bloody dagger floating in the air before him, and he praises witchcraft and murder; put simply, he goes crazy.
5. What is Lady Macbeth’s role in executing their plan? (II.ii.1-13, 37-73)
Lady Macbeth makes the chamberlains who guard the king’s chamber drunk so that Macbeth can murder the king, and after the murder, she takes the bloody daggers and lays them with the drunken chamberlains so as to make them look like the murderers.
6. Contrast Macbeth and Lady Macbeth’s responses to their deeds. (II.ii.74-88)
Macbeth is shaken with fear, wondering if “all great Neptune’s ocean [will] wash this blood / Clean from [his hands]” (II.ii.58-59), but Lady Macbeth takes the aftermath of the murder in a rather lighthearted manner, saying that “a little water clears us of this deed” (II.ii.65).
Act II, Scenes iii-iv
7. What is Macbeth’s public response to Duncan’s death? (II.iii.107-112)
Act I, Scenes v-vii
1. How does Lady Macbeth respond to her husband’s letter? (I.v.15-33)
Lady Macbeth fears that Macbeth is “too full o’ the milk of human kindness” (I.v.15), that his kindness will restrain him from taking the necessary actions to make himself king; according, she vows to do anything she can to win him the crown.
2. What does Macbeth think about Duncan as a king? (I.vii.1-28)
Macbeth thinks that Duncan “hath been so clear in his great office” (I.vii.17-18), and that he should be loyal to such a great and admired king, especially since he is their guest for the night.
3. What tactics does Lady Macbeth use to spur Macbeth to action? (I.vii.34-61)
Lady Macbeth dares Macbeth to commit murder, giving the impression that murder defines manhood, and she uses taunts rather than persuasive speech to seduce Macbeth to follow her plan, saying, “When you durst do it, then you were a man” (I.vii.49).
Act II, Scenes i-ii
4. How have Macbeth’s plans affected his mental state? (II.i.44-74)
Macbeth starts having visions/hallucinations of a bloody dagger floating in the air before him, and he praises witchcraft and murder; put simply, he goes crazy.
5. What is Lady Macbeth’s role in executing their plan? (II.ii.1-13, 37-73)
Lady Macbeth makes the chamberlains who guard the king’s chamber drunk so that Macbeth can murder the king, and after the murder, she takes the bloody daggers and lays them with the drunken chamberlains so as to make them look like the murderers.
6. Contrast Macbeth and Lady Macbeth’s responses to their deeds. (II.ii.74-88)
Macbeth is shaken with fear, wondering if “all great Neptune’s ocean [will] wash this blood / Clean from [his hands]” (II.ii.58-59), but Lady Macbeth takes the aftermath of the murder in a rather lighthearted manner, saying that “a little water clears us of this deed” (II.ii.65).
Act II, Scenes iii-iv
7. What is Macbeth’s public response to Duncan’s death? (II.iii.107-112)