Macbeth Responses
1. Act 1, Scenes 1 & 2. Up to this point, who do you consider
foul? Who is fair? Explain and support your answers.
The witches in scene 1 were making a concoction and discussing
foul and fair. After reading the second scene from Act 1, I believe
the foul is Macdonwald because the men talking describe him as
"merciless," "rebel," and "villanies." Macbeth must be the fair, for
he was fighting against the "traitor" Macdonwald. The men talking
used describing words for Macbeth such as "brave," "valour," and
"justice."
2. Act 1, Scene 3 How is Banquo different from Macbeth? Use
examples from Scenes 2 and 3 to indicate their differences.
First off, Banquo seems less heroic than the legendary Macbeth.
Whenever someone talks about Macbeth, they say how
extraordinary and powerful he is, yet Banquo seems like a regular
man. They are good friends, though. The differences between the
two brought up by the witches in scene 3 were that Macbeth will
be king, but Banquo's children will be royalty. This is a strange
foreshadow.
3. Act 1, Scene 4 When Macbeth offers to act as messenger, is he
acting out of gratitude and respect for the King, or might he have
other motives for arriving at Inverness before Duncan?
Macbeth is not acting out of gratitude for the King. In fact, he is
probably trying to come up wih a devise to kill the king, because
he was so intrigued by the witch's prophecy. He will become a
different man, and now all he wants is to become King.
4.Act 1, Scene 5 What is your opinion of Lady Macbeth? Use
examples from this scene to support your opinion.
Lady Macbeth seems like a terrible woman, because she is
planning to kill the king all by herself. She is as greedy as Macbeth
because she wants to become the Queen. She says, "fill me from
the crown to the toe top-full of direst cruelty!" This means that she
is asking for the ability to kill a man to get what she wants.
5. Act 1, Scenes 6 & 7 What arguments does Macbeth's wife use to
convince him to go ahead with the plan? How do you feel about
her comments and his reaction? What are his fears and how does
she reassures him? Are her arguments logical or emotional?
Macbeth is pacing in the corridor and finally comes to the
conclusion that he won't go through with the plan to kill Duncan.
His wife is outraged and she says that he isn't a man. This shows
the ugly personality of Lady Macbeth. Her greed turns her into an
immoral spirit that is willing to do whatever to achieve becoming
queen. Macbeth says he is scared because if it doesn't work, then
he will lose his good name. Lady Macbeth
reassures him by saying as long as they are bold, it will work. They
plan to smear Duncan's blood on the chamberlains to blame them.
Her arguments are not logical. She is a manipulator which means
she speaks only out of emotion for what she wants and she is good
at convincing people to do things the way she wants them to be
done.
1. Act 2, Scenes 1 - 2 What strengths and weaknesses of Lady
Macbeth are revealed in these scenes? Discuss her role in the
murder and its cover-up, her jittery response to the sound of her
husband's voice, why she did not murder Duncan herself, and how
she deals with her husband's fears. Lady Macbeth did not murder
King Duncan herself because he looked like her father when he
slept. This is a weakness, for someone who in the last scene
seemed like a cold-blooded murderer but she could not go through
with it because of what the victim looked like. Her strength is
shown when she is not at all afraid to go and blame the servants.
She brings the dagger back and smears the blood upon them. She
tells Macbeth to stop acting like a coward.
2. Act 2, Scenes 3 - 4 What is the most memorable mental picture
you formed while reading this act? Jot down a few vivid words and
phrases to describe that picture.
When Porter was saying how he got even with the alcohol, it
painted a vivid picture in my head. I like how he described it as a
battle. Instead of saying vomit, he said, "That it did, sir, i' th' very
throat on me; but I requited him for his lie, and, I think, being too
strong for him, though he took up my legs sometime, yet I made a
shift to cast him." It is a very creative and not disgusting way to
say he threw up the alcohol.
3. Act 2, Scenes 3 - 4 How has Macbeth changed as a result of the
events in this act? Find lines that illustrate these changes. What
happens before and after he kills Duncan? Discuss his state of
mind and fears for the future. Do you feel sympathy for Macbeth?
Macbeth has changed a lot since the beginning of the story already.
Before he the murder he was a trustworthy man, but after he is
deranged. He was extremely scared after the murder but his wife
told him to stop acting like a coward. He now is afraid because he
fears he will not go to heaven because he could not say amen. He
is getting more crazy because he immediately killed the guards
whom he knew were innocent. The old Macbeth would never have
done this. He says, "Who can be wise, amazed,
temp'rate, and furious,
Loyal and neutral, in a moment? No man.
Th' expedition of my violent love
Outrun the pauser, reason. Here lay Duncan, His silver skin laced
with his golden blood, And his gashed stabs looked like a breach in
nature." He is showing that he is coping with the guilt and is
becoming a good liar. he is losing
all of his good morals. I do feel sorry for macbeth because I think
if he had a better wife, he wouldn't have gone through with the
plan.
4. Act 3, Scenes 1 - 3 Why are Macbeth and Lady Macbeth
unhappy as king and queen?
They are unhappy because Macbeth is still very worried about
everything. Lady Macbeth has no conscience and therefore wants
her husband to stop fretting, but he cannot do this. It is making him
crazy and he is arranging more murders for people to keep his
royalty safe. He wants to pass on the crown to his sons, but the
weird sister have prophesied that Banquo's sons will be royalty.
Macbeth is extremely unhappy that he was the tool to take the
crown away from Duncan just to hand it to Banquo's family. It has
turned a friendship to hatred. Macbeth shows that he has changed
when he says," Thou marvel’st at my words: but hold thee still.
Things bad begun make strong themselves by ill. So, prithee, go
with me." This shows that the murder of Duncan is only forcing
him to do more bad things, because he has already risked going to
hell, he has nothing to lose.
5. Act 3, Scenes 4 - 6 So far, Macbeth has seen a bloody ghost and
a floating dagger and has heard voices. What does his active
imagination reveal about his inner conflicts?
Macbeth's imagination proves that he has a conscience, for he used
to be a noble man. On the other hand, his wife has little conscience
and therefore always tries to snap him out of his hallucinations.
She always goes back to bullying him and asking if he is a "real
man." His inner conflicts show how Macbeth is truly sorry and
scared for what he has done.
1. Act 4 Do you have any sympathy left for Macbeth? Why or why
not?
I have no sympathy for Macbeth, now. Some of the things he has
done are so terrible because he is too caught up in trying to protect
himself. He is a lost cause. One example is how he hired the
murderers to assassinate Macduff's wife and son. The innocent
little kid was murdered heartlessly, which is very sad and shows
that Macbeth is hopelessly evil now.
2. Act 5 Were you satisfied with the way the play ended? Why or
why not?
I am satisfied with the way the play ended because Macbeth died.
He deserved to die, and Banquo's son will be king which was also
deserved. One thing that I would have liked Shakespeare to write
about at the end is why the witches did this. It seems as though
they directed this whole story and it would have been good to wrap
up the story with them watching.
3. Act 5 Compare and contrast the final days of Lady Macbeth and
Macbeth. How are both characters affected by the knowledge of
their evil deeds? Whom do you find more sympathetic at the end?
Why?
Lady Macbeth and Macbeth live miserable endings to their lives.
Macbeth has turned very calloused and will kill any one that he
fears as a threat to his crown. Lady Macbeth had a sleepwalking
syndrome that was driving her crazy from her guilt. She kept trying
to wash her hands of the blood from the murder. In the beginning,
Macbeth had more sorrow for his murder, and his wife was telling
him to be a man and don't let it affect him. But, in the end,
Macbeth did harden and had little emotion but his wife was full of
a guilty conscience. I feel more sympathy in the end for Macbeth
because he still would not have done it if his wife was not such a
bad influence.