Macbeth Acts IV and V Quiz- 2XC
Please write on your own paper!
Act IV
1.
What apparitions do the witches show Macbeth? What warning do the witches give Macbeth and what two
assurances do they give him (IV.i)?
2.
What does Macbeth see in response to his question regarding whether Banquo’s issue will be kings (stage
directions, page 383)? What is Macbeth’s response to this vision?
3.
Why does Macbeth order the slaughter of Macduff’s household? How does this scene show Macbeth has
changed since the beginning of the play (IV.i.141-156)?
4.
What is the purpose of Act IV, scene ii?
5.
Why does Malcolm say to Macduff that he—Malcolm—is more evil than Macbeth (IV.iii.55-137)?
6.
How does Malcolm say Macduff should respond to the news of his family’s slaughter, and how does Macduff
respond (IV.iii.219-240)? How does this scene show a contrast between Macduff and Macbeth?
Act V
7.
In scene i, what does Lady Macbeth say to reveal her guilt for murder?
8.
What does she do with her hands as she sleepwalks and what does this symbolize?
9.
What two reasons does Macbeth give for not being frightened by the desertion of many of his thanes (V.iii.110)?
10. How do Malcolm and his army fulfill one of the witches’ prophecies from Act IV (V.iv)?
11. How does Macbeth respond to the news of Lady Macbeth’s death (V.v.17-28)? Many critics classify this scene
as Macbeth’s anagnorisis. How can this scene be classified in this way?
12. Even after the tide of battle has turned against him, why is Macbeth not afraid to fight in the face of such
overwhelming odds (V.vii)?
13. How is the second of the witches’ prophecies proved true (V.viii)?
14. How does Macbeth meet his end in Act V, and who is put on the throne? What storyline does Shakespeare
leave “open” and unresolved at the end of the play?
15. Where does peripeteia occur in Act V?