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The Tragedy of Macbeth, Act
1
Shakespeare, 10th English p.210-230
Read pages 210-211
A tragic hero usually exhibits extraordinary abilities, such as bravery, but also
has a tragic flaw, or a fatal error in judgment or weakness of character, that
leads directly to his or her downfall. Not all tragedies end with a tragic hero’s
death: however, the tragic hero’s unhappy end usually involves a loss of some
kind. Although the tragic hero is an important person in society, the tragic
flaw he or she has in not unique to the right and powerful. On some level,
every reader or audience member identifies with the hero’s tragic flaw. Pay
close attention to how the choices Macbeth makes and the motivations for
those choices set up his ultimate fate.
1. What are archetypes in literature?
2. Identify the archetypes at the heart of The Tragedy of Macbeth.
3. What is a tragedy?
4. In a tragedy, the main character, who is usually involved in a catastrophe,
is called a
hero.
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Pages 210-211 continued:
5. Describe a tragic flaw within the main character?
6. What is dramatic irony?
7. Give an example from Macbeth of Dramatic Irony.
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8. What do we call a speech given by a character when he/she is
alone on stage?
9. Describe an aside in a play.
10. What type of play did Shakespeare write?
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11. What is blank verse and how does it relate to iambic
pentameter?
12. Give two examples of rhetorical devices.
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Read pages 212-213
Although Shakespeare wrote his tragedies, comedies, and histories centuries
ago, they explore characters and universal themes that speak to people across
the ages and around the world – not just Elizabethan England. His works
continue to be widely read in schools and by casual readers and scholars, and
his plays are frequently staged and regularly adapted to film. His popularity is
not limited to the English-speaking world – his works have been adapted
across a wide range of languages and cultures. Because of his timeless
characters and themes, as well as the beauty of his language and style,
Shakespeare is considered one of the most influential and famous English
authors.
13. Develop a list of strategies to help you understand Shakespearean drama.
14. Why do we continue to read Shakespeare? What makes his writing so
popular?
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Read page 214
Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Macbeth has been performed on stage and in
film countless times. The play has even been adapted to settings other than
11th century Scotland. In a 2010 adaptation, the play was set in a mid 20th
century military society. In a 2006 adaptation of the play, all main characters
are gangsters in modern-day Australia.
Shakespeare’s plays, like most dramas, include a cast list, as well as brief
descriptions noting societal roles or relationships between major characters.
Some playwrights also include brief descriptions of the characters to help
readers visualize them.
15. Identify who Duncan is.
16. Explain who Macbeth is in relation to Duncan.
17. How will understanding this relationship help you as you read? What can
you predict based on the character descriptions?
18. Identify what additional information is provided on this page.
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Read page 215
The theme is the message about life or humanity the author wants to share
with the reader. A work of literature, especially one as complex and intense as
Macbeth, can have multiple themes.
19. Scene 1, Line 10: What do the three witches mean?
20. What prediction could you make about the significance of the statement
from line 10 to the drama as a whole?
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Figurative language is not to be read literally. An author uses figurative
language, such as metaphors and similes, in order to compare two things to
help a reader better understand difficult or unfamiliar ideas. Read the lines
that compare the battle to two exhausted swimmers clinging to each other.
21. Scene 2, Lines 8-9: Identify the figurative language in these lines and
explain what comparison Shakespeare is making.
22. Explain what idea Shakespeare is trying to communicate through this
simile.
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Read page 216
Authors don’t always explicitly say what they mean. Readers must use details
from the text to make inferences, or logical assumptions, about the characters
or actions.
23. Lines 16-23: Explain what the Captain says Macbeth has done to
Macdonwald.
24. Use details in the Captain’s description of the act to make inferences
about Macbeth, citing the evidence in the text to support your inferences.
25. Compare your inferences to the description of a tragic hero in the
introduction to Shakespearean tragedy.
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Read page 217
When reading difficult or complicated text, it is helpful to stop periodically and
paraphrase or summarize what they are reading.
26. Lines 66-70: Summarize the exchange between Duncan and Ross.
27. Why is Macbeth given this reward?
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A character’s actions and how he or she interacts with other characters can
provide a reader with insight into the character’s motivations.
28. Scene 3, lines 4-25: What are the witches discussing?
29. What does this act suggest about the witches?
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Read page 218
Authors develop their themes over the course of a text. Readers must use
details throughout the story to recognize how the author continues to refine
it. Recall your discussion on page 215 about the witches’ line “Fair is foul, and
foul is fair” and how this line hints at one theme. Relate this line and
discussion to what Macbeth says in line 38.
30. Line 38: Why does Macbeth call the day both foul and fair?
31. Explain how the line relates to the theme and why it is relevant that
Macbeth says this in line 38.
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Read page 219
What characters say and do and how others react to them reveals a great deal
about their personalities and motivations. Reread lines 48-61 and lines 65-76.
32. What do the witches say to Macbeth?
33. How does Macbeth respond?
34. Explain what Macbeth’s response reveals about his character.
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A tragic hero comes to ruin because of a tragic flaw, which can be an error in
judgment or a weakness in character.
35. Lines 48-50, 70-76: How could the witches’ greeting and Macbeth’s
reaction to it foreshadow his tragic flaw?
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Read page 220
Paraphrasing and summarizing are important reading strategies that you
should employ throughout a text to ensure that you understand the plot and
the characters.
36. Lines 79-85: Summarize the exchange between Banquo and Macbeth.
37. What do these different reactions suggest about their characters?
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Another way an author reveals a character’s personality and motives is
through what others say about him or her. However, since characters are not
always reliable, readers must consider what they know about all the
characters to understand which characters are reliable, which ones are naïve,
and which ones may have hidden motives.
38. What does Ross say in lines 89-100?
39. Do you think this is a fair and accurate assessment of Macbeth? Why or
why not?
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Read page 221
When analyzing a character, readers must consider the character’s words and
their reactions to situations. Readers need to continually analyze these
character details because a character’s motivations may change or conflict.
40. Contrast Banquo’s and Macbeth’s reactions now that the first part of the
witches’ prophecy has come true (Lines 118-126).
41. What do these reactions tell you about Macbeth’s ambition?
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A literary work may have multiple themes that are intertwined or that build on
each other. One theme that has emerged involves appearance vs. reality.
42. (Lines 143-144) Identify another theme that has emerged involving
Macbeth specifically.
43. Lines 143-144 suggest another theme. What does Macbeth mean in these
lines?
44. Explain what theme this helps to establish.
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Read page 222
A character’s beliefs may direct his or her actions. Read Macbeth’s aside in
lines 146-147.
42. What do these lines reveal about Macbeth’s beliefs?
Authors develop their themes throughout the text. Recall the theme related
to the witches’ “fair is foul, foul is fair” statement. Consider how the king’s
statement about the rebellious former Thane of Cawdor relates to this theme.
43. (Lines 11-14) What does Duncan say about the former Thane of Cawdor?
44. Use text evidence to explain how Duncan’s first line supports the theme
about appearance vs. reality.
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Read page 223
A character’s words can reveal personality and motivations. A writer can also
use a character’s words to foreshadow events or develop the theme. Recall
Duncan’s statement on the previous page about how he had placed his
absolute trust in the former Thane of Cawdor.
45. (Lines 27-30) What does Duncan plan to do?
46. Given Duncan’s earlier statement, what does this reveal about Duncan’s
nature? How do his words help develop the plot or hint at future events?
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A story’s theme is its message about life or human nature. Recall one of the
play’s themes suggested by Macbeth’s earlier statement “if chance will have
me king, why, chance may / crown me / Without my stir.”
47. Paraphrase lines 48-53.
48. How do these lines contrast with his earlier thoughts about his destiny?
49. How do Macbeth’s thoughts help develop the theme?
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Read page 224
A soliloquy is a speech made when a character is alone on the stage.
Playwrights use soliloquies to reveal a character’s inner thoughts and
emotions. In lines 12-27, Lady Macbeth reveals her thoughts about the
prophecies, herself, and her husband.
50. What can you infer about Lady Macbeth based on her soliloquy?
Another way readers can learn about a character is through the way
others perceive him or her. Look at Lady Macbeth’s line regarding her
husband, “Yet do I fear thy nature.” (line 13)
51. Explain what “nature’ of Macbeth the Lady Macbeth fears. Use text
evidence to support your response.
52. Based on Macbeth’s words and actions so far, do you believe Lady
Macbeth has a reason to be concerned?
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Read page 225
Authors choose words carefully to reveal information about characters and set
the mood, or atmosphere. Shakespeare uses descriptive details and words
with powerful connotations in Lady Macbeth’s soliloquy.
53. Identify words or phrases with strong connotations in Lady Macbeth’s
soliloquy (lines 35-50).
54. What mood do these words create and what do they reveal about Lady
Macbeth?
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Read page 226
Longer literary works often have multiple themes that may relate to each
other. Authors refine their themes as the plot unfolds. Reread lines 60-63 and
recall some of the themes that have been discussed.
55. How do these lines reflect one of more of the themes? How do these
themes relate to one another?
Figurative Language, such as similes, metaphors, and allusions, help readers
understand or visualize complex ideas or emotions.
56. What does Lady Macbeth tell her husband to act like? (Scene 5, lines 6263)
57. Share who you think is more like a serpent – Macbeth or Lady Macbeth –
and support your answer with evidence.
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Read page 227
In dramatic irony, the audience is privy to information of which a character is
unaware. Reread the dialogue between Duncan and Lady Macbeth (Scene 6,
lines 24-31).
58. How does the way the kind addresses Lady Macbeth show dramatic irony?
Scene 7 begins with a famous soliloquy in which Macbeth acknowledges that
ambition alone drives him to kill Duncan.
59. (Lines 1-28) What change has occurred in Macbeth’s character?
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Read page 228
In dramas, another character may act as a catalyst, someone who drives the
hero into action. Lady Macbeth plays this role, as the “spur” who will “prick
the sides of [Macbeth’s] intent.”
60. Predict what lines 25-28 foreshadow.
A well-developed character is complex and often has multiple or contradictory
motivations. In tragedies, the hero, while in some ways noble, is also flawed.
This contradiction leads to internal conflict as the hero struggles to decide
which motivation is more important.
61. (Lines 30-35) What do Macbeth’s thoughts and his declaration to Lady
Macbeth reveal about his motivations and internal conflict? Use evidence
from the text to support your answer.
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Read page 229
Sarcasm is a type of verbal irony. Sarcasm is a critical remark in the form of a
statement in which literal meaning is opposite actual meaning. Sarcasm is
mocking and intended to hurt someone.
62. What is the effect of the sarcasm in Lady Macbeth’s lines? (36-45)
Pausing to paraphrase or summarize text will help ensure that you understand
complex plots and characters.
63. Paraphrase what Macbeth says to Lady Macbeth in lines 73-75.
64. Explain how this line reflects Lady Macbeth’s earlier request (Scene 5, line
38) that dark spirits “unsex her.”
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Read page 230
A story’s theme, or its message about life, can be revealed through the
character’s words, thoughts, and actions. Consider the themes that have been
discussed so far.
65. (Lines 77-82) How does the dialogue between Macbeth and Lady
Macbeth reflect one of the themes of the play? Use text evidence to
support your response.
66. Compare how Banquo and Macbeth each react to the witches’ words.
What might be the reason for Macbeth’s reaction? Cite evidence.
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