Name:
English IV
Macbeth Notes Packet
Acts I-III
Completed Packet Due: January 31st/February 3rd
MACBETH: Sow the Seeds, Reap the Fruit
“Fair is foul, and foul is fair.”
Instructions:
Read the introductory material in this packet and keep it as a resource to be used throughout the
unit. Complete the comprehension questions as we proceed through each act. Once we’ve concluded our
reading, answer the final questions. These PostReading questions are useful in preparation for the paper we
will write.
Commentary
Macbeth, a bloody tale of ambition, dread, and the evil that imprisons men’s hearts, may be the
most theatrical of Shakespeare’s plays. At the heart of the turbulent action stand partners in a monstrous
crime: Macbeth and his lady. Their insidious actions open pathways in to the human psyche, leaving us
wondering what drives ambition, and what makes people become capable of unspeakable acts in pursuit of
that ambition.
Background
Holinshed’s Chronicles of England, Scotlande, and Irelande : Shakespeare borrowed the historical
information from this chronicle, changing some of the events. We know that there really was a Macbeth,
only he ruled for seventeen years. Even so, some scholars believe that Shakespeare really referred to
Buchanan's History of Scothlande because the elements of Macbeth's characterization are more similar to
this account.
King James’ Daemonologie : As a form of flattery to one of his greatest patrons, Shakespeare
borrowed information on witchcraft from King James’ book. This play was written for James as another
form of flattery because he claimed to be descended from Duncan and Banquo.
Time period: Shakespeare’s time was one of political turmoil. Macbeth was first performed in 1606,
three years after the ascension of King James to the throne of England. This was a bloodless transition,
much to the relief of the English people. At the time of this tale, the thought of a wrongful usurpation of
power was ghastly. This was a time of great peace and a sense of balance, thus the people of the time
appreciated these blessings. Too, the king and queen were considered to be representatives of God on earth.
A violation of these representatives would be considered the paramount of treachery. Macbeth would
indeed have been a great villain . . . much hated. Even so, many find the play disturbing not only because of
the murderous treachery that occurs but because Shakespeare’s characterization of Macbeth is complex,
making him both likeable and easy to identify with.
Elements of Drama
1. Characterization
2. Language –
2.1 Shakespeare wrote his plays in blank verse, an unrhymed iambic pentameter.
Blank verse gives characters a loftier tone. Oftentimes, tone and type of language
were matched with their speakers’ stations and personality, as well as the nature
of the subject matter.
2.2 Prose – Ordinary speech or writing, without metrical structure. Commonplace
expression or quality.
2.3 Rhyme
Devices
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
Soliloquy – a convention in which a character speaks his thoughts aloud (talking to himself)
Aside – a short passage spoken under the breath or directly to the audience (it was supposed
that the other characters did not hear it)
Comic relief – offered alleviate some of the tension created in a drama
Motif – a recurring image or concept; tends to add a sense of building upon something that the
playwright wishes to emphasize, especially the theme(s)
4.1 Ill-fitting clothing
4.2 Disorder
4.3 Darkness
4.4 Disease
4.5 Manliness
4.6 Blood imagery
4.7 Nature imagery, especially birds
4.8 Sleep
Theme – a central idea or insight of a work of literature
Dramatic irony – the words or acts of a character in a play may carry a meaning unperceived
by himself but understood by the audience
Paradox – a figure of speech that is an apparent contradiction which is actually true (“One
short sleep past, and we wake up eternally, / And Death shall be no more; Death, thou shalt
die.” – Donne)
Oxymoron – a figure of speech that combines contradictory ideas (bitter sweet)
Symbol – Something that stands for both itself and something else
Metaphor
MACBETH: Act I (p350)
1. When the play opens, we are introduced to three witches. Why are they meeting? Where will they
next meet and why?
2. What words do the witches use to describe the outcome of the battle?
3. At the end of Scene i, the witches make the contradictory statement of “Fair is foul, and foul is fair.”
What tone does this set for the play?
4. At the beginning of Scene ii, it is revealed that a battle is being fought. Between who? Why?
5. In Scene ii, we learn that Macbeth is a fearless and brutal man. What evidence from the text supports
this conclusion?
Line # ______
Supports that interpretation because
Line # ______
Supports that interpretation because
6. In Scene iii, Macbeth and Banquo meet the witches. They call themselves “weird sisters.” Why is this
significant?
7. What earlier statement from the play is echoed by Macbeth?
8. Why is this ominous? What does it foreshadow about Macbeth’s future associations?
9. What do the witches tell Macbeth and Banquo?
10. Upon hearing the prophesies of the witches, Macbeth shows his true desire that the prophecies are true
while Banquo shows his true nature of being an honest man. What evidence from the text supports this
conclusion?
Line # ______
Supports that interpretation because
Line # ______
Supports that interpretation because
11. At the end of Scene iii, Ross enters to tell Macbeth that he has been awarded what title?
12. Why is this so significant for Macbeth?
13. In Scene iii, Macbeth and Banquo both give asides. Why are these asides necessary, and what do they
reveal?
14. In Scene iv, who is executed? Why does this execution become relevant to Macbeth?
15. What does Duncan reveal about his nature in lines 11-14?
16. What does Macbeth’s aside (lines 48-53) reveal about his nature?
17. At the beginning of scene v, Lady Macbeth reads a letter from her husband and then makes the
following observations about Macbeth’s personality:
 “Thou art too full o’ the milk of human kindness / to catch the nearest way” (lines 14-15)
 “Thou wouldst be great, / art not without ambition, but without/ the illness should attend it” (lines
16-17)
 “What thou wouldst highly, /That wouldst thou holily” (lines 17-18)
Find one line of text from her soliloquy (not cited above) to support the interpretation that Lady Macbeth
finds these attributes to be weaknesses in her husband.
Line # ______
Supports that interpretation because
18. The phrase “unsex me here” (line 38) means what, in this context?
19. What does Lady Macbeth’s soliloquy reveal her character?
20. When Macbeth enters, Lady Macbeth and he have a discussion. What instruction does Lady Macbeth
give to her husband? What does her instruction reveal about her as a person?
21. Scene vi opens with the arrival of Duncan at Macbeth’s castle. What is ironic about Duncan’s
comments?
22. In Scene vii, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth argue. How do their feelings differ?
23. What is Lady Macbeth’s form of persuasion? Is it effective?
24. What examples of paradox and/ or oxymoron can you find in Act I?
25. What reasons does Macbeth have for not killing Duncan?
26. What character traits in Macbeth will lead to committing the crime anyway?
27. On line 74 of scene vii, Macbeth tells his wife she is made of “undaunted mettle.” Use a dictionary and
context clues to explain what this phrase means when he says it.
28. What ambiguous feelings does Macbeth have? How does the last line of this act express that ambiguity?
MACBETH: Act II (p368)
29. When Banquo tells Macbeth that he can’t sleep because he’s thinking of the witches’ positive
prophecies (despite their evil nature), why does Macbeth respond with “I think not of them”?
30. What does Macbeth “see” in Scene i?
31. What can this illusion be attributed to? In other words, what is Macbeth’s state of mind immediately
before the murder?
32. Why does Macbeth “forget” to take the daggers from the guards?
33. How does Macbeth react when Lady Macbeth tells him to return to the scene of Duncan’s murder?
What can you infer about his current state of mind?
34. In Scene ii, what is significant about Macbeth being unable to say “Amen”?
35. What is Lady Macbeth’s reaction to this?
36. Why does she counsel her husband not to think too deeply about their acts?
37. In Scene ii, what does Macbeth claim to hear a voice say something about sleep? What can this mean?
Why is it symbolic?
38. In Scene iii, Lennox reports strange disturbances in nature on the night of Duncan’s murder. What are
they? What do they represent?
39. In Scene i, Macbeth describes the night in horrific terms. What other descriptions and scenes in this act
add to the horrific atmosphere surrounding the murder?
40. How do Macbeth and his bride attempt to cover their tracks?
41. Macbeth says that he will never be able to cleanse the blood from his hands, since killing Duncan was a
triple sin. In making his statement about the blood on his hands, Macbeth speaks in hyperbole. What is
the hyperbole, and why is it so effective?
42. What can you infer from Malcolm’s statement that “Where we are,/ There’s daggers in men’s smiles; the
nea’er in blood,/ the nearer bloody”? Of whom is he afraid?
43. What suspicion does Macduff report regarding the king’s son?
MACBETH: Act III (p382)
44. What question is Banquo considering at the very beginning of the act?
45. Why does Macbeth arrange for Banquo’s murder?
46. What is the result of the assassination attempt against Banquo and Fleance?
47. How does the news of this outcome affect Macbeth?
48. What does Macbeth see at the banquet?
49. Is what Macbeth sees real, or an illusion? How can you tell?
50. What does Macbeth’s behavior at the banquet reveal about Macbeth’s state of being?
51. What excuse does Lady Macbeth make for her husband?
52. At the end of Scene iv, Macbeth indicates that he will continue to remove anyone who gets in his way.
Record the lines numbers and the quoted text below.
53. Why does Macbeth care that Macduff is not at the feast?
54. Lady Macbeth says, “You lack the season of all natures, sleep.” What motifs are expressed in this, and
why are they so significant?
55. What other motifs are examined thus far in the play? List 2, with supporting examples for each.
1st Motif: ___________________
Supporting examples:
___________________________________________ (Act _____ scene _____lines___)
___________________________________________ (Act _____ scene _____lines___)
2nd Motif: ___________________
Supporting examples:
___________________________________________ (Act _____ scene _____lines___)
___________________________________________ (Act _____ scene _____lines___)
56. How do these motifs relate to one another?
57. How has the relationship between Macbeth and his wife changed? Cite 2 examples (line 3#s and quoted
text):
1:________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________ (Act _____ scene _____lines___)
2: ________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________ (Act _____ scene _____lines___)
58. Macbeth is capable of being redeemed.
True or False?
Please explain your answer below and support it with one solid piece of evidence (quoted text) from the
work:
Post reading
The following 2 excerpts are from a critical essay by Robert Lanier Reid. Read each excerpt. Then answer
the questions that follow. Remember, you may end up using these ideas in your final paper, so it is to your
advantage to be as thoughtful and diligent in your answers as possible.
Excerpt I:
Like most of these critics, I believe that Macbeth's capacious mind, despite its moral degeneration, remains
at center-stage, showing the horrific consequences of a truly heroic spirit embracing evil. But instead of
conceiving the tragedy as one great cosmos-shaking act of regicide followed by two subordinate
aftershocks, I would characterize the Macbeths' journey into darkness as three equally significant stages of
spiritual catastrophe, three distinctive and theatrically potent dimensions of evil as it evolves and festers in
the human psyche. Macbeth murders first a politically authoritative parental ruler, then a brotherly friend
(his "chiefest friend" according to Holinshed), and finally a mother and her children.6 His victims thus
represent the three fundamental human bonds, together comprising (in reverse order) the three basic stages
of human maturation, or the three essential cathexes of the human psyche. Thus, in the course of the three
murders Macbeth deconstructs the entire psychological infrastructure of human identity.
Question 1: This paragraph contains the thesis of Reid’s essay. Underline the thesis in the paragraph. Then
PARAPHRASE it on the lines below.
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
Excerpt II
Killing Banquo: Envying the Ego Ideal
The murder of Macbeth's "chiefest friend" in act 3 is motivated not by further aspiration to greatness, but
by rivalrous envy of a brotherly alter-ego.
This assault on a warrior-friend who is virtually the mirror-image or double of Macbeth ("all hail, Macbeth
and Banquo! / Banquo and Macbeth, all hail!" 1.3.68–69) is a direct violation of ego, involving a
psychological"splitting" into self and shadow-self, as Macbeth perversely identifies with the darker, more
illusory component. Though he rationalizes the murder of Banquo in only one soliloquy, far less grandiose
than the monologues of acts 1–2, Macbeth throughout act 3 continues the fiery expression of his inner
powers by a number of intense dialogues in which he no longer effectively communicates his deeper
meaning either to his auditors or to himself. They can only guess at the dark nuances in his spate of bestial
images: serpents and scorpions (3.2.13–15, 36; 3.4.28–30); bat, "shard–bound beetle," and crow (3.2.40–42,
50–53); "greyhounds, mongrels, spaniels, curs" (3.1.92–94); "Russian bear, arm'd rhinoceros, or th'Hyrcan
tiger" (3.4.99–100); "magot-pies, and choughs, and rooks" (3.4.121–24). Jorgensen calls these speeches (like
the similar ravings of Lear in act 3) "soliloquies made public."19 Equally important, they are soliloquies made
obscure through intense repression, so that neither Macbeth and Lear nor their auditors can easily fathom
the profound self–divulgence in their speeches.
Question 2: Reid cites several phrases from Macbeth. Choose any of the underlined phrases. Use the
parenthetical citation to give the context and exact quote.
Phrase cited by Reid: _________________
Exact quote (write out the full sentence as it appears in Macbeth) and page number
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
Page #_________
Question 2: Reid is basically arguing that Macbeth uses these “bestial images” because he is repressing his
true feelings. Based on the context (where the line occurs in the plot), what feelings is Macbeth repressing?
Context of the image: ____________________________________________________
Emotion Macbeth is repressing: ____________________________
Explanation of how you came to this conclusion:
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
MLA citation for Reid’s article
Reid, Robert Lanier. “Macbeth’s Three Murders.” Shakespeare’s Tragic Form: Spirit in the Wheel. New
York: Chelsea House Publishing, 2010. Bloom’s Literary Reference Online. Print.
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MCIMAC08&SingleRecord=True.>
TOPICAL FOCUS STUDY for Macbeth
As we read, you should be filling in the following table according to the column headers.
Chosen Quote
Relationship to Topic
pg#/ act.scene.line