MACBETH

Question 1

CHARACTER DESCRIPTION

Answer 1

. Scottish general
. Thane of Glamis
. Listens to the prophecies of 3 witches and begins having wicked thoughts
. Is made Thane of Cawdor
. He’s a brave soldier and powerful man
. He is also ambitious - wants throne too
. He kills king Duncan but isn’t happy
. The guilt gets to him
. However he no longer feels fear before killing
. He dies fighting as the prophecy is fulfilled

Question 2

MACBETH - AMBITION QUOTE

Answer 2

QUOTE -
“TWO TRUTHS ARE TOLD, AS HAPPY PROLOGUES TO THE SWELLING ACT OF TH’IMPERIAL THEME”

• Speaks these lines when he realises witches prophecies have come true. (Thane of Cawdor).
• Immediately starts to wonder whether third prophecy will also be true.
• His eagerness to this idea suggests he finds possibility of King appealing.
• These lines hint, Macbeths ambition foreshadows his later actions, although now he seems to refuse considering to act upon it.

Question 3

MACBETH - GUILT QUOTE

Answer 3

QUOTE -
“To be thus is nothing, but to be safely thus.”

• This is after Macbeth becomes King.
• Continues to rest restless and insecure.
• Afraid he might lose position, also frustrated he has no heir.
• Quote reveals how Macbeth giving into ambition has not brought him peace.
• Has left him more paranoid and anxious.
• Line also reveals how Macbeth’s first violent actions has triggered a chain reaction.

Question 4

IS MACBETH A TRAGIC HERO?

Answer 4

Macbeth is a tragic hero because he starts the play as a good man who is loyal to the king, but he then succumbs to moral corruption by giving in to his ambitious desire to become king himself. He puts his faith in the prophecies of the three witches, betrays his former friends, and commits murder in a quest for power that leads to his downfall by the end of the play.

Question 5

MACBETH - POWER QUOTE

Answer 5

“If good, why do I yield to that suggestion

Whose horrid image doth unfix my hair”

Macbeth is asking if the prophecies are good, why is it that he finds himself contemplating killing King Duncan, something that terrifies him incredibly because it is such an unnatural thing to want to do? This quote therefore points towards the way in which Macbeth is already contemplating committing regicide to gain the crown for himself.