Act 2 Scene 1

Question 1

‘Their candles are all out’

Answer 1

-stars cannot be seen

Question 2

Banquo says ‘restrain me in the cursed thoughts’

Answer 2

-banquo is also struggling against the ambition

EARLIER, MACBETH BEGGED THE STARS TO HIDE

Question 3

Macbeth says ‘is this a dagger which i see…. let me clutch thee’

Answer 3

• can’t grasp it, and can’t decide whether it’s phantom or his imagination, ‘nature seems dead’ to him
• as Macbeth gets closer to the murder, nature goes in turmoil

Question 4

Significant of the floating dagger in Macbeth’s soliloquy

Answer 4

• dagger is a symbolism of conscience, foreshadows Duncan’s death
• Macbeth hasn’t committed murder yet but his conscience is riddled with guilt