Macbeth Retrieval Information

Question 1

Define the term “hamartia”.

Answer 1

Fatal flaw.

Question 2

What is Macbeth’s hamartia?

Answer 2

His ambition and hunger for power.

Question 3

What is the purpose of the Captain’s speech in A1S2?

Answer 3

To plant a positive image of Macbeth in the minds of the audience, despite not yet meeting him.

Question 4

How does Macbeth call for darkness in A1S4 and what is the significance of this?

Answer 4

“Stars, hide your fires, let not light see my black and deep desires”. He already feels guilty about his dark plan and does not want the “light” (good people) to uncover it.

Question 5

What are the three prophecies given to Macbeth in A1S3?

Answer 5

He will be Thane of Glamis, Thane of Cawdor and “king hereafter”.

Question 6

What are the three prophecies given to Banquo in A1S3?

Answer 6

“Lesser than Macbeth, and greater.”
“Not so happy, yet much happier.”
“Thou shalt get kings, though thou be none”

Question 7

How is Banquo used to appear to Duncan that Macbeth and his wife are loyal people?

Answer 7

He compliments Macbeth’s castle and has a strong relationship with him.

Question 8

Why did Macbeth initially not want to kill Duncan?

Answer 8

· He should be protecting him
· Duncan is a great ruler
· The people of Scotland would mourn him dearly

Question 9

Why did Lady Macbeth not kill Duncan herself?

Answer 9

He looked like her father as he slept.

Question 10

Why does Lady Macbeth want to be “unsexed”?

Answer 10

She wants to be devoid of feminine qualities so she can commit the worst of deeds.

Question 11

What techniques are used in the phrase “fair is foul, and foul is fair”?

Answer 11

Paradox, equivocation, repetition and alliteration.

Question 12

What does “fair is foul, and foul is fair” suggest about the witches?

Answer 12

They derive enjoyment from causing misfortune to others, and have connections with the future.

Question 13

What does the Porter imagine himself to be in A2S3?

Answer 13

The gatekeeper of Hell.

Question 14

Who does the Porter imagine entering Macbeth’s castle (Hell) in A2S3? What is the significance of this?

Answer 14

A farmer who stole crops from his harvest to feed himself, a tailor who stole clothing from customers and “an equivocator” who shifted cases in law for others for monetary gain. They all match Macbeth’s crimes, showing how deserving of punishment he is.

Question 15

Which “unnatural” things does the Old Man describe in A2S4? What does it symbolise?

Answer 15

· A hawk was killed by an owl
· The king’s horses ate each other

These show that the Great Chain of Being is broken and nature is imbalanced, which is symbolic of Macbeth’s situation.

Question 16

A2S3, Macbeth: “all is but ____”. What technique is used here and what is meant by this?

Answer 16

toys

This metaphor shows that Macbeth is expressing that life is futile.

Question 17

What does Lady Macbeth pretend to do in A2S3? Why?

Answer 17

She pretends to faint to distract everyone from Macbeth while feigning her own innocence and incapability.

Question 18

What does the killing of Duncan show about Macbeth?

Answer 18

He is willing to defy God to get what he wants (power).

Question 19

Define the term “peripeteia”.

Answer 19

A sudden reversal of fortune or change in circumstances.

Question 20

What peripeteia occurs between Macbeth and his wife in Act 3?

Answer 20

Macbeth feels as though he has become “a man” after killing Duncan (because of Lady Macbeth’s words). He becomes dominant, dismissive, and ignorant to his wife’s emasculation and insults.

Question 21

How is Banquo the antithesis of Macbeth?

Answer 21

He is noble and fights for goodness.

Question 22

Define the term “Machiavellian”.

Answer 22

Cunning, scheming, and unscrupulous, especially in politics.

Question 23

List key moments in Act 3 which demonstrate that Macbeth is Machiavellian.

Answer 23

· Schemes behind his wife’s back, excluding her (“Be innocent of the knowledge, dearest chuck”)
· Kills his best friend, Banquo

Question 24

Who does Macbeth order to be killed? Why?

Answer 24

Banquo and his son, so that Banquo’s bloodline cannot become monarchs (as the prophecy says will happen).

Question 25

How does Macbeth manipulate the two murderers into killing Banquo?

Answer 25

He convinces them that Banquo is the source of their misfortune and is therefore their enemy.

Question 26

What three things are said to be happening in Scotland in A3S6? Why are we told this?

Answer 26

· People couldn’t sleep
· There was no food for people
· Violence had dramatically risen

They show how terrible and tyrannical of a leader Macbeth is.

Question 27

A3S4, Macbeth: “I am in _____, stepp’d in so far that to return would be as tedious as to go o’er”. What is meant by this quote?

Answer 27

blood

This quote shows that Macbeth’s actions are beyond redemption and he thinks that, rather than stop where he is, he will cause more suffering to others.

Question 28

How does Lady Macduff feel about her husband? What is Shakespeare showing about him?

Answer 28

She thinks he is a traitor. Shakespeare shows that Macduff is willing to sacrifice his reputation and family in order to save the country.

Question 29

What are the appearances of the three apparitions in A4S1?

Answer 29

· An armoured head
· A crowned child holding a tree
· A bloody child

Question 30

What happens in A4S2?

Answer 30

Macduff’s family and servants are murdered.

Question 31

What are Macduff and Malcolm discussing in A4S3?

Answer 31

Why Malcolm should/shouldn’t be king. Malcolm falsely claims that he would be a terrible ruler to test whether Macduff really wants the best ruler of Scotland, or if it is just a trap.

Question 32

What three warnings do the apparitions tell Macbeth in A4S1?

Answer 32

· “beware Macduff”
· “none of woman born shall harm Macbeth”
· “Macbeth shall never vanquished be, until Great Birnam wood to high Dunsinane hill shall come against him”

Question 33

Macbeth can “feel his title hang loose about him, like a _____’s robe on a dwarfish _____”. What is meant by this?

Answer 33

giant, thief

Macbeth is an insignificant criminal who easily gives in to sin.

Question 34

How does Macbeth react to the death of his wife in A5S5?

Answer 34

“She should have died hereafter” - he realises that life is futile.

Question 34

How does Macbeth react to the death of his wife in A5S5?

Answer 34

“She should have died hereafter” - he realises that life is futile.

Question 35

What secrets does Lady Macbeth reveal in A5S1?

Answer 35

· Killing of Duncan
· Killing of Banquo
· Killing of Macduff’s family and servants

Question 36

Who kills Macbeth in A5S8?

Answer 36

Macduff

Question 37

Who becomes King of Scotland in A5S8?

Answer 37

Malcolm, Duncan’s son.

Question 38

What could Shakespeare be teaching the audience through the play?

Answer 38

Challenging the monarchy and the Great Chain of Being has dire consequences and will lead to great suffering.

Question 39

How could Macbeth be considered to have a cyclical structure?

Answer 39

A traitor is beheaded by a hero. The hero then becomes the traitor.

Question 40

What aspects of Macbeth would King James I have been pleased with when first watching it?

Answer 40

· Negative portrayal of the witches
· Banquo’s nobility. He would have viewed him as his ancestor
· Duncan being such a good ruler