Which plot element provides background information?
answer
Exposition
question
Which act of Macbeth contains the climax?
answer
Act 3
question
Which of these lines provides important information for the exposition of the play?
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And, for an earnest of a greater honor,/He bade me, from him, call thee Thane of Cawdor
question
Why are these lines from Act III important in the plot of the play? You must cite from and explain these lines in your response.
Macbeth to Lady Macbeth
the time has been,
That, when the brains were out, the man would die,
And there an end; but now they rise again,
With twenty mortal murders on their crowns,
And push us from our stools: this is more strange
Than such a murder is
answer
This is important to the plot of the play because MacBeth is seeing a ghost of Banquo after he has been murdered. He thinks that once "the brains were out, the man would die, and there an end", meaning, once the man is dead, he would see no more of him. MacBeth is clearly losing his mind and is confused why this is happening and he says that "this is more strange than such a murder is".
question
Using these lines from Act I and Act IV, explain how the Macbeth described in the beginning of the play is different from the Macbeth who is speaking these lines in ACT IV.
ACT I
Soldier
But all's too weak;
For brave Macbeth,—well he deserves that name,—
Disdaining fortune, with his brandish'd steel,
Which smok'd with bloody execution,
Like valor's minion,Carv'd out his passage
Till he fac'd the slave;
And ne'er shook hands, nor bade farewell to him,
Till he unseam'd him from the nave to the chaps,
And fix'd his head upon our battlements.
Duncan.
O valiant cousin! worthy gentleman!
ACT IV
Macbeth.
Time, thou anticipat'st my dread exploits:
The flighty purpose never is o'ertook
Unless the deed go with it: from this moment
The very firstlings of my heart shall be
The firstlings of my hand. And even now,
To crown my thoughts with acts, be it thought and done:
The castle of Macduff I will surprise;
Seize upon Fife; give to the edge o' the sword
His wife, his babes, and all unfortunate souls
That trace him in his line. No boasting like a fool;
This deed I'll do before this purpose cool:
But no more sights!—
answer
The MacBeth that is being described by the Soldier is a man who uses all his strength and power to fight for his King. He is loyal to King Duncan and puts his all into any battle. The fight that the Soldier is describing is the one between MacBeth and MacDonwald and at the end, MacBeth "fix'd his head upon [their] battlements" to show off his victory (Act I Scene II). Later on in Act IV, MacBeth has completely changed. MacBeth says that "the very firstlings of my heart shall be/ The firstlings of my hand", which means that whenever he thinks of doing something, he will commit it to it right away. The first action being the murder of MacDuff and "his wife, his babes, and all unfortunate souls" (Act IV Scene I). Instead of fighting in a war for his King, he is planning on murder with no hesitation.
question
Choose an event from the play. Focus on the purpose it serves in the story. Consider how the story would change if that event was altered. Form your ideas into a paragraph of at least five sentences. Make sure to include supporting evidence from the play. Your answer must cite directly from the lines of Macbeth that you read in the lesson.
answer
The three sisters tell MacBeth and Banquo their prophecies. MacBeth doesn't completely believe them because King Duncan and the Thane of Cawdor are still alive. He asks them, "but how of Cawdor? The thane of Cawdor lives" (Act I Scene III), however, the witches don't give him any insight on how they came to these predictions. Banquo notices that MacBeth seems "to fear [these] things that do sound so fair" (Act I Scene III). This scene is important because it is foreshadowing MacBeth's future. If the scene were to be altered then the whole story would change. This is the first main event in the story and it starts it off by telling the audience some things to expect later on.
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