Macbeth structure

Question 1

Most of Shakespeare’s writing style…

Answer 1

iambic pentameter

Question 2

Witches speak in…

Answer 2

incomplete trochaic tetrameter
- seems abnormal + outcasts to readers

Question 3

Thunder, lightning or in rain

Answer 3

Pathetic fallacy
- sinister atmosphere from the beginning

Question 4

Act 1 scene 1 is written with

Answer 4

rhyming couplets

Question 5

Upon this blasted heath

Answer 5

First time Macbeth met the witches was on desolate land which parallels their evil nature and depravity

Question 6

Lady Macbeth’s entrance in Act 1 Scene 7…

Answer 6

is a spur for Macbeth as she will persuade him to kill the king

Question 7

In Act 2 Scene 2 the Macbeths utilise…

Answer 7

stichomythia (alternating lines) to emphasize the stress and carried burden regarding Duncan’s murder

Question 8

Act 3 Scene 2 ends with…

Answer 8

double rhyming couplets which relate to the witches + the general theme of casting spells to show Macbeth’s depravity

Question 9

Act 3 Scene 4 is a banquet. What does this represent?

Answer 9

• metaphor for the great chain of being which will be disrupted by Macbeth’s actions
• also a symbol of hierarchy and order in society

Question 10

In Act 3, Scene 5, when Hecate meets with the witches, what teaching does he give?

Answer 10

• overconfidence is the downfall of humans
• ‘security is mortal’s chiefest enemy’

Question 11

What is Macbeth’s hamartia?

Answer 11

his unchecked ambition

Question 12

In Act 4 Scene 1, what do the witches’ grotesque ingredients symbolise?

Answer 12

their depravity

Question 13

How does the conversation between the Macduffs portray Macbeth’s ruthfullness?

Answer 13

• humanises the Macduffs and is more traumatising for the audience when they are murdered
• Macbeth is ruthless as he has killed these innocent people

Question 14

Why did Malcolm test Macduff?

Answer 14

• he is a good king as he has learnt to be less trusting in people
• Malcolm lies very easily and could suggest he is manipulative and untrustworthy

Question 15

Act 4 Scene 3 sets up…

Answer 15

Macbeth as heinous and Malcolm as a good king

Question 16

Why was Lady Macbeth not in Scene 4?

Answer 16

• symbolically shows that Macbeth doesn’t need her anymore
• the last time we saw her contrasts to her insanity now
• rational to insane

Question 17

What does Macbeth’s speech of nihilism signify in Act 5 Scene 5?

Answer 17

• Macbeth realises he is doomed and has a final moment of clarity
• Last moment of pathos before the final denouement

Question 18

What is the traditional reading of the end of Macbeth?

Answer 18

• order is restored
• rightful king on the throne
• loyalty is rewarded by Malcolm distributing titles like earls to noble soldiers
• transgression is punished

Question 19

What is an alternative reading of the end of Macbeth?

Answer 19

• Malcolm rewards loyalty the same way Duncan rewarded traitors like Macbeth (could be a continuous cycle)
• Macduff is in the same position as Macbeth as he killed the king
• audience questions whether Malcolm will be a good king as he ran away when Duncan was killed, and lied easily to Macduff