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Macbeth-Act 1 and 2

Terms in this set (35)

-ACT 1-
-ACT 1-
How many witches/weird sisters were there in act 1?
3
Where do the witches meet at the beginning of the book and why?
The 3 witches meet up with each other in a field to discuss what's their plan for when they're going to meet up again to talk with Banquo and Macbeth in the near future after the war.
A riddle-like phrase that seems to have opposites of each other is a
Paradox
The books opens up with this scene? Why do you think Shakespeare did so?
This opening scene is full of the evil, mystery and the supernatural. This sets the mood for the events to come. The people during the time of when the play was written were interested in witches, which one of those people during the time period was Shakespeare himself. Maybe, the reason why he opened up with this scene was until he could grab the watcher's attention to stay until the end.
Who tells Macbeth that he has claimed the title of Thane of Cawdor?
Ross, the messenger, tells him that he had been bestowed with the title of Thane of Cawdor By King Duncan.
How do Macbeth and Banquo find out that Macbeth is going to be Thane of Cawdor?
The 3 witches meet up with each other in a field with Macbeth and Banquo to talk about their predicted future.
Apparently, Macbeth will be the next Thane of Cawdor, Thane of Glamis, and king.
Also, Banquo's sons will be the next kings after Macbeth.
What did Macbeth and Banquo do during the war?
Macbeth and Banquo were commanders for King Duncan during the war. Because of Macbeth's bravery through the war that helped the King of Scotland conquer Norway, he gives him the title of Thane of Cawdor. One of his acts of bravery was killing The leader of Norway's army, MacDonald. Macbeth cut him from belly to jaws and placed his head high on the castle walls to show his act of bravery for Scotland.
What happens when he has been bestowed with the title of Thane of Cawdor?
He starts to believe that the witches were right about their predictions, since one of their predictions was that he was going to become The Thane of Cawdor. He now has the belief that he will eventually become the King of Scotland.
Why was the original Thane of Cawdor executed?
He committed treason against King Duncan and Scotland; he was a traitor. The penalty for treason is execution.
What is Duncan's reply when Malcolm describes the moments prior to Cawdor's execution?
Duncan's reply is similar as to saying, you'll never know whats inside a persons heart by just looking at their face. He feels betrayed and he thought of him as a friend, who he trusted until he found out that he betrayed him
How does Macbeth tell Lady Macbeth,his wife, about his new position as Thane of Cawdor?
Macbeth sends a letter to her. In the letter, he tells Lady Macbeth that he got the position of Thane of Cawdor. Also, the letter tells Lady Macbeth about his talk with the witches about being the upcoming King of Scotland.
How does Lady Macbeth react to the letter?
She reacts by thinking that he is too kind and innocent to complete the steps needed to become king. After she read the letter, she decided that she is going to convince Macbeth into doing anything for the crown.
What happens when Macbeth arrives in Scotland after the talk with the witches?
Before Macbeth arrives, Lady macbeth makes a little prayer/promise to herself that she'll put her natural femininity aside so that she can do the bloody deeds necessary to seize the crown. He first meets with Lady Macbeth to talk about the king's arrival. They talk about formulating a plan to kill him until nothing can stand in his way of being the King of Scotland. He meets with the king the next morning. At the end of their talk, Lady Macbeth says to Macbeth that he needs to leave it all to her. Lady Macbeth also tells him to act innocent, but still have the urge to kill him inside.
Why does Macbeth want to kill King Duncan?
Macbeth wants to be king himself and the witches encouraged him to become so by saying he'll be the next king. The only problem is that once the witches told him of this "future of his", he became too power hungry. This power hungry feeling that Macbeth has can be proved through his desire of killing in order to get the throne.
Macbeth says, "Stars, stop shining! Let darkness hide my wicked ambitions." What are Macbeth's desires or ambitions?
Macbeth's wicked ambition is the planning on getting the throne by killing the king.
What does Banquo mean when he tells Macbeth "But sometimes to tempt us to evil, the devil wins our confidence with trifling bits of truth. Then he betrays us in the big things that really matter."
If you're tempted with evil, sometimes it will take over and ruin your power. He see's that Macbeth believes that the little things are going to come true. So, this leads to him to believing in such evil things as becoming the King of Scotland. The reason why this belief is evil is because this makes Macbeth consume the need to having power, which causes him to kill people in order the obtain this type of power.
Who helps Macbeth come up with his plan to kill the king?
Lady Macbeth
What does Lady Macbeth want to do?
She wants to become a guy, since all the power comes from men versus women. Through the play Macbeth, she believes that in order to carry out murder, she mist behave more like a man than a woman.
What is Macbeth's relationship with Lady Macbeth?
Macbeth values and respects his wife, shown through the text in Macbeth.
What does Lady Macbeth vow on when she makes promises in Macbeth?
Lady Macbeth vows that she would even kill her own child until she shows that she'll keep the promise that she makes. Even though she doesn't have a child of her own, she still vows this until she shows that she'll keep whatever promise she makes.
What happens once the king arrives the next day?
Lady Macbeth opens the door to greet the king. Then, they start preparing for the feast with the king in Macbeth's castle.
Why does Macbeth start debating about killing the king?
- Macbeth is Duncan's kinsman, subject, and host
- the king is universally admired as a virtuous ruler
-Macbeth notes that these circumstances offer him nothing that he can use to motivate himself
- He faces the fact that there is no reason to kill the king other than his own ambition, which he realizes is an unreliable guide
-He doesn't want to get caught
-He doesn't want to feeling of guilt on his hands
How does Lady Macbeth deal with the fact that Macbeth doesn't want to kill King Duncan anymore?
She tells him that he's a coward and he questions his manhood. She then tells him that if they are bold, they will be successful with the murder. After Lady Macbeth gives to him her speech, he is now ready to kill him.
What is Lady Macbeth's 3-part plan?
While King Duncan is sleeping in his chambers:
STEP 1: they get the guards drunk on wine
STEP 2: Macbeth goes into bedroom to kill him
STEP 3: After the job is done, they plant the daggers and blood on the guard's hands
-ACT 2-
-ACT 2-
When Macbeth decides to lie about the witched predictions to Banquo, what does he say?
He says he had never thought about the predictions the witches gave them about him being King of Scotland, Thane of Glammis, and Thane of Cawdor. Although, he said that they should talk together about it when they have time to.
Why does Lady Macbeth not kill the king herself?
King Duncan looks like her sleeping father; so, she would hesitate on killing him.
Macbeth is worried because he is not able to say "Amen." What does Lady Macbeth Advise him to do?
She was telling him to relax about killing Duncan. She knew that the thought of killing him is eating him up alive. Amen is usually used after prayer, but he believes he is not worthy of prayer because of his sin that he's about to commit.
When Macbeth hears a voice that says "Macbeth does murder sleep," what does Lady Macbeth tell him?
She tells him to go get some water and wash "this filthy witness" from his hands. In other
words, get cleaned up and forget about it.
Why does Macbeth refuse to return the daggers to the crime scene?
He is filled with guilt once he killed him. When Macbeth, still horrified by the crime he has just committed, refuses to reenter Duncan's chamber, Lady Macbeth herself brings the daggers back in.
What discovery did Macduff make?
Macduff found out that the king was dead. In his chambers, he was speechless with the horror of discovering his king's dead body in his bed.
Macduff says, "Oh, gentle lady, my words are not for your ears. No woman could survive the telling" What is ironic about this?
It shows that women were considered weak and innocent; women are those who should be afraid of blood and non violence. The fact lady macbeth is not gentle lady is ironic about this phrase.
What was Macbeths excuse for killing the guards, and what was the real reason?
His excuse was that his love for Duncan was so intense that it gave him "courage" to kill the guards, the supposed murders of the king. The real reason was that when he went to approach Duncan, one of the guards yelled "Murder!" in his sleep and caused both guards to awaken. He kills them to cover his tracks, as witnesses were not an option.
What happens to Malcolm and Donalbain and why?
They run away right after the death of their father because they didn't want to risk their lives. They were afraid that since they killed the king, they will come after the sons next. Right before King Duncan got killed, he announced that Malcolm was going to be the next king. If they stayed around, Macbeth would've killed them also since they would be in the way of his path to the crown.
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