Act III, Scene Iv to Act V

English 3201– MACBETH NOTE-TAKING

Act III, scene iv to Act V

-For this section of the play, you are asked to take organized and thorough notes to demonstrate your understanding of the play.

-All answers and notes must be written in complete sentences. Each should clearly indicate the question being answered or the point being made; i.e. all comments and answers should be detailed and quotations included where they would further explain or enhance your notes.

Act Three - Scene 4

Note:Macbeth comments that “the table is full” at the banquet. Why? What does this reflect?

Note:This scene marks the beginning of the tragic hero’s reversal of fortune. How does Macbeth reveal his crimes to the noblemen? Provide two quotations.

Note:“I am in blood

stepped in so far that,

should I wade no more,

returning were as tedious as go over.”

What is the significance of this quotation with reference to Macbeth as a tragic hero.

Scene 5

Note:Discuss Hecate’s comment: “And you all know security/is mortals’ chiefest enemy.”

Act Four - Scene 1

Note:Copy the following chart in which you will describe (or draw) each apparition, identify the symbolic significance of each, and record the main prophecy of those apparitions which speak to Macbeth. Draw the fourth column which will be completed in a later scene.

Apparition / Symbolic
Significance / Prophecy / Realization of the Prophecy

Note:“The very firstlings of my heart shall be

The firstlings of my hand.” (l. 163-4)

Paraphrase this line and explain how it reflects a change in Macbeth’s character.

Note:What evil deed does Macbeth plan to carry out which illustrates that he is now without conscience, feeling or humanity?

Scene 3

Note:How does Macduff, in his conversation with Malcolm, reveal himself once again to be loyal to his country and its people? Provide two quotations to illustrate your answer.

Note:How does Macduff’s reaction to the murder of his family show his character to be in contrast to that of Macbeth’s at this point in the play? Quote two lines spoken by Macduff to illustrate this point.

Act Five

Scene 1

Note:What is the symbolic significance of Lady Macbeth’s sleepwalking?

Note:Complete the following table under your irony notes. Provided are excerpts from previous scenes. Find lines in Act Five, Scene 1 which create irony when compared with these earlier lines from the play.

“Come thick night,
And pall the in the dunnest smoke of hell
That my keen knife see not the wound it makes
Nor heaven peep through the blanket of the dark
To cry, “Hold, hold!” (Act One, Scene 5, 52-56)
“These deeds must not be thought
After these ways. So, it will make us mad..”
(Act Two, Scene 2, 41,42)
“A little water clears us of this deed”
(Act Two, Scene 2, 80)
“You lack the season of all natures, sleep”
(Act Three, Scene 4, 168)

Note: Explain how this scene illustrates the theme of the consequences of wrongdoing.

Scene 2

Note:This scene demonstrates the consequences of Macbeth’s evil ambition. Provide two examples of Macbeth’s reversal of fortune as indicated through the conversation of the noblemen.

Scene 3

Note:Provide evidence of Macbeth’s overconfidence.

Scene 4

Note:Refer to the tableabout the apparitions created under symbol. The realization of the third prophecy is an example of equivocation. What is that realization?

Scene 5

Note:Note the excerpts provided from previous acts. Next, find the quotations in Act Five, Scene 5 which directly contrast with those quotations to demonstrate the change in Macbeth’s character. Explain this change in the third column.

“If good, why do I yieldto that suggestion/ Whose horrid image doth unfix my hair/And makes my seated heart knock at my ribs/Against the use of nature?”(Act One, Scene 3, 145-7)
“How is it with me, when every noise appals me?”
(Act Two, Scene 2, 70)

Note:One of the most famous speeches from the play occurs in this scene. In his soliloquy, lines 18 - 30, Macbeth, in a series of metaphors, reflects upon his outlook on life following the death of his wife. Choose ametaphor from this speech and explain its significance.

Note:The tragic hero, as his life becomes more desperate, reaches an understanding. What words spoken by Macbeth in this scene demonstrate such an epiphany?

Scene 8

Note:Refer once again to the table about the apparitions under symbol. How does this scene fulfill the prophecy of the first and second apparition? Also, provide the quotation to demonstrate the realization of the third deceptive prophecy?

Note:Provide and explain a quotation from this scene which shows Macbeth expressing some remorse for his actions.

Note:The death of the tragic hero results in the restoration of order in society. How is order restored following Macbeth`s death?