Name: _______________________ Period: _____
MACBETH: 4.1 Questions
1. Macbeth says he will go to the Witches, yet they know he is coming before they see him. What
makes the audience realize this?
2. The ingredients for the cauldron signal malice and danger: How many references to poisonous
substances are there? Which substance do you think is the most powerful? Why?
3. Although Macbeth told his wife he would go to see the Witches, he did not bring her with him.
Why do you think Macbeth didn’t bring Lady Macbeth?
4. What, in Macbeth’s first speech, shows that the Witches do harm, not just to sailors and
farmers and kings, but to religion, too?
5. When Macbeth arrives he thinks he can interrogate or command the supernatural creatures.
What words, phrases and tone suggest this?
6. In Macbeth’s last speech, what words and tone suggest that Macbeth is confident again and
feels in charge of his life?
7. How do we realize that the Witches do not feel any loyalty to or sympathy with Macbeth?
8. An audience in Shakespeare’s time might view Macbeth as a victim of supernatural forces more
readily than today’s audience. Do you think Macbeth is a victim, or are the Witches reinforcing
what was in him anyway? Explain.