Name____________________________ Block ______Date__________ Unit: Shakespeare/Macbeth
Macbeth—Act II Response Questions
Read the drama The Tragedy of Macbeth by William Shakespeare. Then, reread the lines indicated
with each question below. Answer (in complete sentences) each question, citing text evidence.
1.
Sc. 1, Lines 6–20: Read ahead to find the probable cause of Banquo’s insomnia. What is it?
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2. Sc. 1, Lines 16–18: Paraphrase these lines. What makes these remarks ironic? How does this help build
suspense?
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3. Sc. 1, Lines 25–28: What inference can you make after reading these lines? What specific information
supports your inference?
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4. Sc. 1, Lines 32–42: How does Shakespeare use Macbeth’s dialogue to develop the theme of fate vs. free
will?
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5. Sc. 2, Lines 15–19: Explain how Shakespeare creates tension in these lines. What specific examples
support your answer?
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6. Sc. 2, Lines 24–38: What conflict arises in this passage that could develop into a major theme? How
does Shakespeare use the exchange between Macbeth and his wife to develop this conflict?
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7. Sc. 2, Lines 39–41: What symbol is repeated here? What mental state might the inability to sleep reflect?
How does this symbolism help develop the theme about guilt?
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8. Sc. 2, Lines 56–72: Reread the dialogue between Macbeth and his wife in these lines. Which details
shape and refine the theme of guilt? Does Lady Macbeth feel the same guilt as Macbeth? How do you
know? Based on your response, form a preliminary statement of a theme about guilt.
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9. Sc. 3, Lines 1–2: What ironic statement does the porter make? What makes this statement ironic?
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10. Sc. 3, Lines 1–16: How does Shakespeare use the porter as comic relief? What do you notice about the
printed lines and how they differ from the lines in the rest of the drama? What is the effect of this
choice by the playwright?
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11. Sc. 3, Lines 48–55: Which words set a foreboding mood in these lines?
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12. Sc. 3, Lines 65–67: What metaphor does Macduff make in these lines? Why is this metaphor effective?
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13. Sc. 3, Lines 75–80: Why are Lady Macbeth’s words ironic? How does this create suspense? How do
Macduff’s words in lines 75–78 ironically echo Lady Macbeth’s speech in Act I, in which she calls on the
spirits of evil to “unsex her”?
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14. Sc. 3, Lines 85–90: How is the theme of guilt refined in these lines?
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15. Sc. 3, Lines 102–112: How does Shakespeare invoke the theme of guilt here?
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16. Sc. 3, Lines 115–117: What is Donalbain’s fear?
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17. Sc. 3, Lines 129–140: What inference can you make about the kind of king Malcolm will be? What
specific information supports your inference?
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18. Sc. 4, Lines 20–30: How does the exchange between Macduff and Ross support the theme of ambition?
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19. Sc. 4, Lines 38–39: What warning does Macduff convey in these lines through the clothing metaphor?
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Literary Devices and Drama Terms Practice
20. “With Tarquin's ravishing {strides,} towards his design
Moves like a ghost. Thou and firm-set earth”
21. “The death of each day's life, sore labor's bath…”
22. “Will all great Neptune's ocean wash this blood”
23. “O gentle lady,
'Tis not for you to hear what I can speak.
The repetition in a woman's ear
Would murder as it fell.”
24. “Confusion now hath made his masterpiece.
Most sacrilegious murder hath broke ope
The Lord's anointed temple and stole thence
The life o' th' building.”
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