Macbeth
Name ________________________
5.1-5.8
Date _________________________
Discussion Questions
Period __________
5.1
1.
What are the doctor and the gentlewoman discussing as the scene opens?
2.
According to 5.1.4-9, what has the gentlewoman witnessed Lady Macbeth doing?
3.
To which two motifs do lines 5.1.10-12, spoken by the doctor, relate? Explain how.
4.
What is Lady Macbeth attempting to remove by “washing her hands”?
What can you infer about her mental state because of this?
To which motifs do these actions relate? Explain how.
5.
What “secrets” does Lady Macbeth reveal to the doctor and the gentlewoman in this
scene?
6.
Reread lines 5.1.75-79. Then, paraphrase them.
To which motifs do these lines relate? Explain how.
5.2
7.
Who is leading the English army?
What is motivating their actions?
8.
Which way are these approaching armies taking?
Where is Macbeth?
How does this relate to the third apparition’s advice?
What might this foreshadow?
9.
According to Caithness, Angus, and Menteith, what is Macbeth’s mental state at this
point? Why?
10.
Discuss the “loyalty” of Macbeth’s troops. What might this foreshadow?
5.3
11.
Within 5.3.1-9, Macbeth says, “Let them fly all.” and “Then fly, false thanes, / And
mingle with the English epicures.” About whom is he speaking here? What does this tell
us about Macbeth’s current situation?
12.
To what is Macbeth clinging for hope as this scene opens? List two quotes to support
your answer.
13.
In 5.3.38-39, Macbeth says, “I’ll fight till from my bones my flesh be hacked. / Give me
my armor.” What does this make you think of him? Why?
14.
When speaking to the Doctor in 5.3.50-55, Macbeth says the following:
“Canst thou not minister to a mind diseased,
Pluck from the memory a rooted sorrow,
Raze out the written troubles of the brain,
And with some sweet oblivious antidote
Cleanse the stuffed bosom of that perilous stuff
Which weighs upon the heart?”
About whom and what are they speaking here?
According to the quote, what has caused this problem?
What do Macbeth’s words here imply about his relationship with this individual?
15.
Explain why the following lines spoken by Macbeth to the Doctor in 5.3.62-66 are ironic:
“If thou couldst, doctor, cast / The water of my land, find her disease, / And purge it to a
sound and pristine health, / I would applaud thee to the very echo / That should applaud
again.” (Look at the footnotes for some help.)
5.4
16.
How do Malcolm’s order in 5.4.6-9, “Let every soldier hew him down a bough / And
bear ‘t before him. Thereby shall we shadow / The numbers of our host and make
discovery / Err in report of us,” and Macbeth’s current location relate to the third
apparition’s prophecy? What does this foreshadow?
17.
How do Malcolm’s lines in 5.4.15-18 reinforce what we learned in the previous scene?
5.5
18.
Reread 5.5.11-17. Keeping in mind the earlier events in the play, what do these lines tell
you of the changes in Macbeth’s character?
19.
What do we learn in 5.5.19? Did this surprise you? Why, or why not?
20.
Reread 5.5.22-30. What is Macbeth discussing here? What does he determine about it?
What literary devices does Shakespeare have Macbeth use to give these lines? Find at
least three examples, list what they are, and give quotes to show them.
21.
What news does the Messenger share with Macbeth in 5.5.37-39? Why is this important?
22.
What does Macbeth begin to realize in 5.5.48-52?
23.
What does Macbeth reveal about himself in 5.5.55-57? How might this influence his
later actions?
5.6
24.
What is the purpose of this scene?
25.
To which prophecy does it relate? How?
26.
To which motif does it relate? How? Give a quote to support your opinion.
5.7
27.
To which prophecy does Macbeth allude in 5.7.1-4? What is concern? Why?
28.
Describe what occurs between Macbeth and Young Siward.
29.
To which prophecy does the outcome of their encounter allude? How?
What might this offer Macbeth?
30.
In 5.7.34-35, Malcolm says, “We have met with foes / That strike beside us.” What does
this mean? What does it mean for Macbeth?
5.8
31.
What does Macbeth briefly consider in 5.8.1-2? What does he decide to do instead?
32.
To which motif do Macbeth and Macduff’s words in 5.8.6-10 relate? How?
33.
What is Macbeth doing in 5.8.11-16? How does it backfire on him?
34.
What information is discovered in 5.8.17-20 that solidifies Macbeth’s fate? To which
prophecy does it relate? How?
35.
How does Macbeth initially react to this revelation?
36.
In 5.8.32-37, Macbeth says, “Though Birnam Wood be come to Dunsinane / And thou
opposed, being of no woman born, / Yet I will try the last.” What does this mean? What
do you think of Macbeth for doing this? Why?
37.
Why is Old Siward pleased by the way Young Siward dies?
38.
What does Malcolm reveal about Lady Macbeth’s death? What would this mean to a
Jacobean audience?
39.
Once hailed as King of Scotland, what does Malcolm immediately begin to do? How
does this connect with our earlier discussion of Edward of England? What does it offer
the audience as the play comes to an end?