Macbeth Act II Packet
Name ______________________
Room 132 * English 10-Academic
Macbeth Act II Vocabulary
Husbandry: (n.) careful, thrifty management of domestic resources.
Summons- (n.) a request, demand, call to duty, task or performance.
Franchise- (v.) to make or set free.
Palpable- (adj.) plainly visible; tangible.
Marshal- (v.) to usher or lead.
Surfeit- (v.) to eat or drink excessively.
Content -(v.) to struggle or oppose.
Clamor-(v.) to make loud noises, to drive, force, influence noisily.
Badge- (v.) to furnish or mark with a badge.
Benison- (n.) benediction.
Stealthy- (adj.) behaving, done, or made in a cautious and surreptitious manner, so as not to be seen or heard.
Suborn-(v.) bribe or otherwise induce (someone) to commit an unlawful act such as perjury.
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New Literary Elements:
Comic relief: Comic episodes in a dramatic or literary work that offset more serious
sections.
Example: (Act II, scene iii, Line 24) Marry, sir, nose-painting, sleep, and urine.
Double entendre: Statement that has two different meanings.
Example: When the Porter invited in the Tailor he tells him “here you may roast your goose.”(l.14), meaning
he can heat his iron in the flames. The other meaning is that his goose will be cooked or he’ll have to suffer
the consequences of ripping people off.
Anticipation Guide:
Pre-Reading Activities
Predictions:
a. Who seems more determined to kill Duncan- Macbeth or Lady Macbeth? Why?
b. What faults do you anticipate with their plan to kill King Duncan? What could go wrong?
True/False Activity
Directions: In the following statements, choose “True” or “False,” and explain why.
1.
T / F: Loyalty to friends and family is the most important quality a person can have.
2. T / F: A person’s appearance, good or bad, can usually be trusted to reflect his or her real nature.
3. T / F: Doing wrong justifies getting what you want.
Quick Write: Respond to the following question by sharing a text-to-self connection.
Think of a time when you relied upon someone who was untrustworthy, how might you feel if a trusted friend
turned against you?
Letter Writing Activity –
Complete own your own paper.
The violence in Macbeth is indeed brutal, but it’s even worse because it is premeditated. Macbeth commits
atrocities knowing exactly what will happen to the victims. In the very beginning of Act II, we see Macbeth in
his last few moments as an innocent man.
To complete this exercise, assume that you now have access to a message service that can reach Macbeth
before he murders Duncan. Write a letter that will convince Macbeth to abandon his murderous scheme. In
your letter, include anything that you know about Macbeth’s life (spirituality, fears, etc.) that might make him
change his mind.
After you write to Macbeth, write a letter to Duncan in case Macbeth cannot be swayed. Warn him of the plan
and explain why Macbeth would do such a thing. Advise him on how to stay safe. Your letter must be
believable because Duncan trusts Macbeth.
Speculation Journal
For Macbeth Act II
Directions: Before reading the following scenes in Act II, take a few minutes to respond to the questions
below.
Scenes i and ii: Pretend to be Macbeth or Lady Macbeth and write a brief entry before reading further. What
fears do you have that would keep you from succeeding in your plans to murder Duncan?
Scenes iii and iv: How do you think the other nobles will react when they learn that Duncan has been
murdered? How do you think Duncan’s sons Donalbain and Malcolm will react? The common people of
Scotland? Macbeth and Lady Macbeth?
Reading Questions for Act II
Scene i
1.
In lines 6-8, Banquo asks that “cursed thoughts” leave him so that he can sleep. Predict what those thoughts may
be.
Directions: Compose a list of
10-15 words associated with
“sleep” in the play.
SLEEP
2.
When Macbeth asks Banquo to meet him later for some “words,” what incentive does he offer and how does
Banquo reply?
3.
Describe the vision that Macbeth has at the end of Scene 1. What details foreshadow the action to come?
4.
Scene 1, lines 25-28. What inference can you make after reading these lines? What specific information supports
your inference?
5. Re-Read lines 32-42. What does Macbeth’s vision of a bloody dagger before he kills the king reveal about his
state of mind? Will he kill the king when finally presented an opportunity to do so?
6. In lines 16-18, Macbeth tells Banquo that he and his wife could not adequately host King Duncan because they
were unprepared. How is irony at work in these lines?
7. Fate v. Free Will: How is Macbeth allowing the prophecy of becoming king dictate his actions in lines 32-42. Cite
text evidence.
Scene ii:
1. Why does Macbeth have second thoughts after killing the king when his wife does not?
2. Internal conflict: In lines 24-27, Macbeth reveals to his wife that he could not say “Amen” after hearing the
guards’ prayers. What does this reveal about Macbeth’s state of mind when about to kill Duncan?
3. In lines 34-35, Macbeth thinks he hears a voice shout to him. How does this relate to the theme of supernatural
power?
4. Symbolism: re-read lines 39-41. What symbol is evident here? What happens to someone when they can no
longer sleep? How does this relate back to scene Act I, scene iii, when the witches are angry with the sailor’s
wife?
5. When Lady Macbeth sensibly suggests that Macbeth go wash the “filthy witness” (blood) from his hands, she
says, “so it is that easy,” but how does Macbeth’s response differ?
Directions: Compose a list of 1015 words that are associated with
“blood” in the play
BLOOD
6. Macbeth and Lady Macbeth’s relationship: In lines 56-70, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are reacting differently in
the aftermath of Duncan’s murder. Discuss how their differing reactions reveal guilt or lack thereof. Cite text
evidence.
Scene iii:
1. Based on their words to the others once the murder was revealed, how well have Macbeth and Lady Macbeth
disguised their actions?
2. Comic relief: Theorize why Shakespeare place comic relief in the beginning of scene iii.
3. What does the porter’s speech in lines 1-16 reveal about his social standing? How does it compare to that of other
characters, i.e., Macbeth, Banquo, & Lady Macbeth.
4. In lines 48-55, Lennox relays the previous night’s strange happenings. Determine how this revelation creates a
foreboding mood. Cite text evidence.
5. In lines 65-66, who s “the Lord’s anointed temple?” quote these lines and explain what Macduff means.
6. How do those happenings reflect the general reaction to Duncan’s death?
7. Examine lines 75-78, where Macduff refrains from telling Lady Macbeth about Duncan’s murder. Determine why
that is.
8. Cite Donalbain’s fear in lines 115-117. Discuss how the theme of fate is referenced again.
Scene iv:
1. In the opening of scene four, the old man states that he has never experienced such awful events as the evening of
Duncan’s murder. Explain what this reveals about the general opinion of King Duncan.
2. In lines 12-13, the Old Man tells of one “strange and unnatural” event of late—how a falcon (a majestic bird) that
was soaring at its summit was suddenly killed by an owl that normally eats mice. This is a symbol for the
unnaturalness of what has just happened in the play. Who would symbolize Macbeth-the majestic falcon or the
mouse-eating owl? Who is represented by the other bird?
3. Lines 20-30. How does the exchange between Macduff and Ross support the theme of ambition?
4. Re-read lines 38-39. Interpret what Macduff meant when he says to Ross: “ Adieu, Lest our old robes sit easier
than our new.”
MY QUESTIONS FOR GROUP DISCUSSION:
ACT II: NO REGRETS?
Macbeth’s character is not purely evil, but in Act II, Macbeth overcomes his reservations long enough to kill
King Duncan and two of the king’s grooms. Afterward Macbeth reveals his inner state.
Part A: Directions -- Search Act II for quotes to disclose Macbeth’s feelings about the murder. Write these
quotes in the upper dagger halves. In the lower dagger halves, explain each quote’s significance.
Part B: Answer the following questions in regards to Act II -1. Describe Macbeth’s general state of mind after the murders.
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2. What do you think Macbeth should do to gain control of his feelings?
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3. How do his feelings reference the theme of guilt?
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4. How does this contrast to Lady Macbeth’s reaction?
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Guide to Character Development: Lady Macbeth: Act II
As you read the play, examine the following scenes for what they reveal about Lady Macbeth’s character
and fill in the chart briefly using your own words.
Scene
Act II, scene ii
Macbeth and Lady Macbeth
meet after Macbeth
murdered Duncan
Act II, scene ii
Someone is knocking at the
gate
Act II, scene iii
Macduff and Lennox come to
escort Duncan
Act II, scene iv
Macduff discovers Duncan’s
body
What Lady Macbeth says, does, or
what others say about her
What this reveals about Lady
Macbeth’s character
Scene Summaries: Act II
Scene i:
Banquo, who has come to Inverness with Duncan, wrestles with the witches' prophecy. He must
restrain himself the “cursed thoughts” that tempt him in his dreams (II i 8). When Banquo raises the topic of
the prophecy as Macbeth enters the scene, Macbeth pretends that he has given little thought to the witches'
prophesy. After Banquo and his son Fleance leave the scene, Macbeth imagines that he sees a bloody dagger
pointing toward Duncan's chamber. Frightened by the apparition of a "dagger of the mind," he prays that the
earth will "hear not [his] steps" as he completes his bloody plan (38, 57). The bell rings—a signal from Lady
Macbeth—and he sets off toward Duncan's room.
Scene ii:
Lady Macbeth waits fitfully for Macbeth to return from killing Duncan. Upon hearing a noise within,
she worries that the bodyguards have awakened before Macbeth has had a chance to plant the evidence on
them.
Macbeth enters, still carrying the bloody daggers with which he killed Duncan. He is deeply shaken: as
he entered Duncan's chamber, he heard the bodyguards praying and could not say "Amen" when they finished
their prayers. Lady Macbeth’s counsels to think "after these ways” as “it will make [them] mad" (32).
Nonetheless, Macbeth also tells her that he also thought he heard a voice saying, "’sleep no more, / Macbeth
does murder sleep. . . Glamis hath murdered sleep, and therefore Cawdor / Shall sleep no more, Macbeth shall
sleep no more" (33-41). Lady Macbeth again warns him not to think of such "brain-sickly of things" and tells
him to wash the blood from his hands (44). Seeing the daggers he carries, she chastises him for bringing them
in and tells him to plant them on the bodyguards according to the plan. When Macbeth, still horrified by the
crime he has just committed, refuses to reenter Duncan’s chamber, Lady Macbeth herself brings the daggers
back in.
While she is gone, Macbeth hears a knocking and imagines that he sees hands plucking at his eyes. He
is guilt-stricken and mourns: “Will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood / clean from my hand?” (58-59)?
When Lady Macbeth hears his words upon reentering, she states that her hands are of the same color but her
heart remains shamelessly unstained. “A little water,” she continues, “will clear [them] of th[e] deed” (65). As
the knocking persists, the two retire to put on their nightgowns so as not to arouse suspicion when others
arrive.
Scene iii:
In a scene of comic relief, the Porter hears knocking at the gate and imagines that he is the porter at the door to
Hell. He imagines admitting a farmer who has committed suicide after a bad harvest, an "equivocator" who has
committed a sin by swearing to half-truths, and an English tailor who stole cloth to make fashionable clothes and visited
brothels. Since it is "too cold for hell" at the gate, he opens the door instead of continuing with a longer catalogue of
sinners (16). Outside stand Macduff and Lennox, who scold him for taking so long to respond to their knowcking. The
Porter claims that he was tired after drinking until late and delivers a short sermon on the ills of drink.
Macbeth enters and Macduff asks him whether the king is awake yet. On hearing that the king is still asleep,
Macduff leaves to wake him. While he is gone, Lennox tells Macbeth that the weather by night was full of strange
events: chimneys were blown down, birds screeched all night, the earth shook, and ghostly voices were heard
prophesying ominously. A stunned Macduff returns with the news that the king is dead. He tells them to go see for
themselves and
Scene iv:
Ross and an old man discuss the unnatural events that have taken place recently: days are as dark as nights,
owls hunt falcons, and Duncan's horses have gone mad and eaten each other. When Macduff enters, Ross asks whether
the culprit has been discovered. Macduff tells him that the bodyguards killed the king. The hasty flight on the part of
Malcolm and Donalbain, however, has also cast suspicion on the two sons as well. Ross comments that Macbeth will
surely be named the next king, to which Macduff responds that he has already been named and has gone to Scone to be
crowned. Ross leaves for Scone to see the coronation while Macduff heads home to Fife.
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Language Activity