Macbeth Act 1 Study Guide/Discussion Questions

Name: ______Period: ______Date: ______

Macbeth Act 1 Study Guide/Discussion Questions

Vocabulary – Define words prior to reading.

Valor: ______

Treason: ______

Imperial: ______

Liege: ______

Heath: ______

Literary Elements (look up definition and be able to discuss how utilized in Act 1):

Allusion:

Aside:

Soliloquy:

Questions:

1.  In Scene 1 who are the witches planning to meet with? When? Where?

2.  Who are Graymalkin and Paddock?

3.  What two people are battling in lines 7-23?

4.  What does the captain tell King Duncan about Macbeth’s performance in battle? Support your answer with a quote from the play (cite act, scene and lines).

5.  What is the significance of Golgotha?

6.  What is a thane?

7.  What has the thane of Cawdor done?

8.  Who is Bellona’s bridegroom?

9.  What does Sweno, Norway’s king, want at the end of scene ii?

10.  What does Macbeth gain at the end of scene ii?

11.  What information about the setting in scene iii do you learn from the italicized stage directions?

12.  What do we learn about superstitions about witches in scene iii?

13.  How does Banquo describe the witches?

14.  What do the witches tell Macbeth about his future?

15.  What do the witches tell Banquo about his future?

16.  What does Banquo say in lines 123-126 in scene iii?

17.  What is Macbeth contemplating at the end of the scene? What is his motivation?

18.  Who is executed at the opening of scene iv?

19.  Whom does the king appoint as his heir and Prince of Cumberland?

20.  What do the stage directions with line 48 tell you about how Macbeth is to deliver this speech?

21.  What is Macbeth’s reaction to King Duncan’s declaration of his heir?

22.  What is Iverness?

23.  What does Macbeth reveal to Lady Macbeth in his letter in lines 1-14?

24.  What does Lady Macbeth’s soliloquy in lines 15-30 reveal about her ambition and plans?

25.  What does Lady Macbeth think about how Macbeth would approach the situation in lines 18-25?

26.  How does Lady Macbeth’s reaction to the situation contrast with Macbeth’s?

27.  How does Lady Macbeth’s desire for concealment (50-54 of scene v) compare with Macbeth’s (48-54 of scene iv)?

28.  What doubts does Macbeth reveal in his soliloquy (lines 1-28)?

29.  What arguments does Lady Macbeth use to convince Macbeth to carry out the murder? (lines 47-59).

30.  What statements do the witches and Macbeth make about “foul and fair”? What meaning does each remark have?