Macbeth Act 111 Scene 11
By: Nate, Ryan, & Alaia
Setting and Summary
❖ Setting- In the Castle
❖ Summary- Elsewhere in the castle, Lady Macbeth expresses despair and sends
a servant to fetch her husband. Macbeth enters and tells his wife that he
too is discontented, saying that his mind is “full of scorpions”. He feels
that the business is that they began killing Duncan is not yet complete
because there are still threats to the throne that must be eliminated.
Macbeth tells his wife that he has planned “a deed of dreadful note” for
Banquo and Fleance and urges her to be jovial and kind to Banquo during
the evening’s feast, in order to lure their next victim into a false sense
of security.
Study Guide Q & A
1.
Lines 11-27 What animal imagery does Macbeth use? What
does he mean by “scorched the snake, not killed it”? In what
ways is the image of a sake ironic?
- Macbeth uses the imagery of a snake to describe his
circumstance with Banquo “scorched the snake, not killed
it”. He has killed Duncan and is planning on killing
Banquo and his sons to keep the throne. He wants to
eliminate anything and anyone that will jeopardize him
keeping his position of being king.
Study Guide Q & A
2.
What is the meaning of Lady Macbeth’s saying:
“Naught’s had, all’s spent,/Where our desire is got without
content”?
- Lady Macbeth means that if you get what you want and
you’re still not happy, you’ve spent everything and
gained nothing.
Study Guide Q & A
3.
Lines 18-28, from affliction does Macbeth suffer?
- Macbeth is talking about the nightmares that are
reoccuring.
Study Guide Q & A
4.
Lines 29-34: What instruction does Macbeth give Lady Macbeth
with regard to speaking about Banquo? Which phrase suggests they
should hide their true feelings? What does Lady Macbeth’s comment in
line 34 tell the reader about the difference between Macbeth’s words
and the way he might be acting?
- Macbeth tells Lady Macbeth to give Banquo attention, flatter
him, and to make him feel important. The phrase “Come on relax,
put on a happy face and look cheerful and agreeable for your
guests tonight.” suggests that they should hide their true
feelings. Lady Macbeth’s comment tells the reader that Macbeth
is afraid of events that could occur in the future with Banquo
and Fleance living.
Study Guide Q & A
5.
Lines 51-52: Explain how Macbeth describes the ending
of the day. Which words describe the images of predators and
prey? What might “black agents” refer to? How does this
imagery contribute to the overall mood of Scene 2?
- Macbeth says that the sky's gloomy and filled with crows.
The black agents could refer to the evils of the night.
It helps build suspense and adds fear to this scene.
Study Guide Q & A
6.
In line 39, Lady Macbeth says, “You must leave this.”
What does she mean?
- Lady Macbeth is trying to tell Macbeth that he needs to
move on and stop letting all of the guilt, fear, and
anguish consume his mind and conscious.
Study Guide Q & A
7.
Examine Macbeth’s dialogue and explain the reason
Macbeth gives for ordering Fleance killed in lines 133-136.
- Macbeth wants Fleance killed because he wants to
eliminate any threats that could take the crown from him.
Study Guide Q & A
8.
How is the planning of Banquo’s murder quite different
from that of Duncan’s Cite text evidence from scenes 1 and 2?
- The planning of Banquo’s murder is different from
Duncan’s. Lady Macbeth is initially unaware of the plan
for murdering Banquo. In the murder of Duncan Lady
Macbeth was mostly in charge, but in the murder of
Banquo, the roles are reversed and Macbeth is in charge.
Lady Macbeth now possesses the weaker role. Instead of
Macbeth having to be convinced to go through with murder,
Lady Macbeth does.
Study Guide Q & A
8. Continued
Text Evidence: Scene 1 Lines 121-126 “Since I am king, I
could simply use my power to get rid of him. But i can’t do
that because he and i have friends in common whom i need, so
i have to be able to moan and cry over his death in public
even though I’ll be the one who had him killed.”
Literary Elements
Theme
The theme of the act is is appearance vs reality. They are going to appear
completely different from what they feel.
Irony
It is ironic that they are planning to be nice to Banquo when they plan on having
him murdered.
Tone/Mood
The mood of the act is eerie because they are talking about how comforting it
will be once Banquo and his Son get murdered.
Conflict
The conflict of the act is that Banquo and his Son are still alive, and how
Macbeth and Lady Macbeth want them dead.
Imagery
When Macbeth says we have slashed the snake but not killed it. And how they
will be threatened by its fangs once again.