Macbeth
WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE
Questions are taken from Barron’s Simply Shakespeare.
Macbeth
Questions are taken from Barron’s Simply Shakespeare.
Macbeth
WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE
Questions are taken from Barron’s Simply Shakespeare.
Macbeth
Act 2
 How does Macbeth
attempt to gain Banquo’s
support?
 How does Banquo
respond?
Scene 1
Macbeth tells Banquo if he
supports Macbeth, it shall make
honor for him. Banquo will benefit.
So long as I don’t lose my honor in
trying to gain more, I will support
you; I need to remain free of guilt
and loyal to the king.
Questions are taken from Barron’s Simply Shakespeare.
Macbeth
Act 2
Scene 1
 What does Macbeth see
A bloody dagger
as he prepares to kill the
king?
 What conclusion does
he come to about what
he sees?
It must be his
imagination.
Questions are taken from Barron’s Simply Shakespeare.
Macbeth
Act 2
 Why is Macbeth so troubled by his
inability to say, “Amen,” when he
overhears one of Duncan’s sons
say, “God bless us!”?
 How does Lady Macbeth react to
Macbeth’s uneasiness?
Scene 2
He is afraid that he has been
cursed; he fears he will never
sleep again (nightly one would
say prayers before sleep; the
prayer ends in “amen.”)
Stop or you will drive us both crazy.
Macbeth
Act 2
 Why is Lady
Macbeth
upset that
Macbeth
has brought
the knives
back with
him?
 How does
she fix the
problem?
Scene 2
Macbeth was supposed to
make it look as though the
guards had killed them;
therefore, the daggers need to
be near them.
She returns to the room and
gets blood from Duncan’s
body and smears the guards
faces with it.
Questions are taken from Barron’s Simply Shakespeare.
Macbeth
Act 2
Scene 2
 Compare the way that
Macbeth is emotional and
distraught.
Macbeth and Lady
Macbeth react to the
murders.
Lady Macbeth is calm and
centered; she is focused on
their not getting caught.
Questions are taken from Barron’s Simply Shakespeare.
Macbeth
Act 2
 Who does the drunken
Porter imagine he is?
Scene 3
The porter at the gates of
hell
Questions are taken from Barron’s Simply Shakespeare.
Macbeth
Act 2
 His comments add
some humor to a very
dark scene, but they
also may be indicators
of the evil that is
overtaking the play.
Read his speeches to
find these indications.
Scene 3
farmer
who killed himself because grain was
cheap
equivocator
slick, two-faced con man who lied
under oath
English tailor
who liked to skimp on the fabric
All who enter the “gates of hell” are
either a devil or tortured by a devil.
Questions are taken from Barron’s Simply Shakespeare.
Macbeth
Act 2
 How do Macduff’s and
Banquo’s reactions differ
when the king’s murder is
discovered?
Scene 3
Macduff is
horrified at
the
assassination
of the king.
Banquo
seems very
calm in
comparison.
Questions are taken from Barron’s Simply Shakespeare.
Macbeth
Act 2
 How does Macbeth
explain why he killed
Duncan’s servants?
Scene 3
He did so in a rage.
Of course, the audience
knows that it was to
cover up the crime.
Questions are taken from Barron’s Simply Shakespeare.
Macbeth
Act 2
 Why do Malcolm and
Donalbain decide to
flee?
Scene 3
They are afraid that they will
be murdered next.
They think they are guilty.
 How do the other
thanes respond to
their flight?
Questions are taken from Barron’s Simply Shakespeare.
Macbeth
Act 2
 What do the old
man and Ross
think about the
strange events
that have been
taking place in
nature?
Scene 4
That the events signify
that the world is out of
balance.
Questions are taken from Barron’s Simply Shakespeare.
Macbeth
Act 2
 How does
Macduff explain
the seemingly
senseless murder
of Duncan by his
servants?
Scene 4
That Malcolm and
Donalbain might have
paid them to kill
Duncan.
Questions are taken from Barron’s Simply Shakespeare.
Macbeth
Act 2
Appearance vs.
Reality
 People
 Places
 Objects
Questions are taken from Barron’s Simply Shakespeare.
Macbeth
Act 2
Nature of Man
Good or Bad
Evil or Honorable
Born or Created
Questions are taken from Barron’s Simply Shakespeare.
Macbeth
Questions are taken from Barron’s Simply Shakespeare.