Scene 1
“Fair is foul, and foul is fair.” This essentially means that what seems good is actually bad and bad things are actually good. Nothing is as it appears to be. This theme of deception reoccurs throughout the play of Macbeth.

Scene 2
Macbeth is a hero, and his king loves and trusts him calling him “worthy cousin”. Macbeth is loyal to his king in turn and is humble about his skill with a sword, even as he is proclaimed as “Bellona’s bridegroom”. He has the “golden opinions” of his fellow Thanes, but does not abuse them.

Scene 3
The three witches predict that Banquo will be the father of kings, and be both “lesser than Macbeth and greater” and “not so happy, yet much happier” than Macbeth. For Macbeth they hail him as “Thane of Glamis”, “Thane of Cawdor” and “king [to be] hereafter”. Banquo wonders why Macbeth is so disturbed by things that seem to be so good. Macbeth is worried because he believes that to become King he must kill the present King. He and Banquo alike are both wary and disbelieving of the witches’ statements. Banquo’s question, “Are ye fantastical, or that indeed which outwardly ye show.” addresses the themes of deception and fate in Macbeth.

Scene 4
Duncan’s remark of the treasonous Thane of Cawdor “There’s no art to find the mind’s construction in the face.” is particularly true. Through the characters’ facial expressions, you can not tell whether they are mad or loyal to you. It is ironic that Macbeth, the newly appointed Thane of Cawdor, is also going to present a false face and commit highest treason, just like the hanged Thane. Banquo’s reply to Duncan expresses his undying loyalty to the King. Macbeth, on the other hand, is not saying all that he means. When he discusses going home to tell his wife about Duncan’s visit so that they can prepare for the royal company, he really is meaning that he must go home to plan the murder of Duncan.

Scene 5
Lady Macbeth fears that Macbeth is too cowardly to kill the King and so she asks the spirits to “unsex her” so that she can become brave and masculine like a man. Lady Macbeth believes that she will be able to murder the King herself if she is manlier. She tells Macbeth to pretend that everything is good, and that she will come up with the plan for murdering the King and will tell it to him later.

Scene 6
Shakespeare probably included Scene 6 in the play so that the audience can see how Duncan is loved and cared for by his people, but also to show how trusting and ultimately vulnerable he is.

Scene 7
Macbeth regrets the decision he has made to kill the king because it is morally wrong and will destroy his soul and send him to hell. He likes Duncan, because Duncan is a good king. Also, Duncan is trusting Macbeth to keep him safe in Macbeth’s home and Macbeth is planning to betray him. Lady Macbeth compares Macbeth to herself because she is strong. She insults his manliness and calls him weak and cowardly for not having the guts to kill Duncan. Lady Macbeth suggests that they should blame the guards for Duncan’s murder by using their daggers to kill the king and smear blood all over their faces.

Macbeth – Act 2 Questions

Scene 1
Macbeth doubts that the dagger he sees is real because when he moves to touch the dagger it “jumps” away from him. His imagination is getting the better of his feverish brain, projecting images that do not exist to the senses other than his eyes. Macbeth has become obsessed with the whole murder and is very nervous about committing the deed. When Macbeth realises he is procrastinating, he tells himself to start acting. He doesn’t really want to murder the king, but Lady Macbeth tells him he must, or risk looking alike a coward in her eyes. He feels nervous and delirious about committing the deed, hesitating until the bell rings, breaking him from his stupor.

Scene 2
After Macbeth kills Duncan, he cannot believe that he has done it. He fears to think on what he has done, and to look at his bloodied hands. Lady Macbeth fears that he will give them away because he has not followed her plan of leaving the daggers with the guards. The sounds of the night frighten her, because they have upset the natural order and anything can happen.

Scene 3
During the night the natural world has responded to the king’s murder – chimneys fall, strange screams are in the air and the earth shudders. The natural order has been upset. See attached printout for translation of “Had I but….this vault to brag of.” In this touching speech, Macbeth expresses his regrets of the king’s death, because his life was good before, but now it is bad. Malcolm and Donalbain flee to England and Ireland because they do not believe the version of events setup by Macbeth and his wife. They fear that they will be the next to die because they are next in line for the throne. They could also be implicated for the crime because they would have a lot to gain from their father’s death in normal circumstances.

Scene 4
The discussion between Ross and the old man about the weather and other natural evens is included to further show the upheaval of the natural world. An owl has attacked a falcon, the king’s well-trained horses have started eating each other, the weather was very stormy and the sun did not rise at the correct time, leaving the “day” in darkness. Duncan could be compared to the sun, because he does not rise from his bed and his death signals the reign of darkness by Macbeth. Macbeth is currently on his way to Scone to be crowned king. Macduff refuses to go to Macbeth’s coronation, snubbing Macbeth. Malcolm and Donalbain have fled to England and Ireland and because of this, are blamed for the murder. Important quotes in this scene foretelling the future events in the play are said by both the Old Man and Macduff. The Old Man says “That would make good of bad, and friends of foe.” This actually means that everything is going to be reversed, and that Scotland is no longer safe. Nobody knows who to trust because everyone is trying to hide their true face. Macduff says that “our old robes sit easier than our new”. In our new English this means that the future may be harder to cope with than the past. This is particularly true for Macduff, because he makes his life harder because he sides against Macbeth for the greater good of all.

Macbeth – Act 3 Questions

Scene 1
Banquo probably did not want to help the prophecies about him come true because he did not believe that the witches were speaking the truth. Macbeth as a character has become more callous as the play progresses, as show by his soliloquy justifying his wish to have Banquo killed. Macbeth believes in the prophesies made by the witches, showing him to be a superstitious man. His deductive reasoning however does not excuse the murder of Banquo. Macbeth persuades the murderers to kill Banquo because if they talk, he doesn’t want to be blamed for the murder of an ‘innocent’. If Macbeth makes it appear that Banquo is a threat to the crown, Banquo’s death will not appear so suspicious. Also, Macbeth is trying to convince himself that it is the right thing to do.

Scene 2
The murder of Duncan has not brought Lady Macbeth the happiness she expected because she is being haunted by the blood on her hands. Also, she is no longer in charge of Macbeth. Macbeth arranges to have Banquo killed, without her knowing. He tells her to “be innocent of the knowledge, dearest chuck.” Lady Macbeth becomes worried about this change in her husband, because she can not control it. Macbeth decides not to tell Lady Macbeth of how he has arranged for Banquo to be killed, because he wants her to be innocent of the knowledge, and not have to lie if she is asked about it. Macbeth begins the ruination of his marriage to Lady Macbeth by excluding her from his plans. Lady Macbeth feels left out and rejected and so she is less interested in her husband and becomes more self-centred.

Scene 4
When Macbeth hears that Banquo has been murdered, but Fleance has escaped, he is still worried about retaining his kingship through his own bloodline. Fleance is a son of Banquo, and according to the witches prophesy, the sons of Banquo shall be kings. Macbeth doesn’t want to go to hell for killing Duncan and not even have his own child on the throne. The people gathered at the feast must have thought that Macbeth was ill or mad, or he had great guilt on his conscience when Macbeth reacts to the presence of Banquo’s ghost. Macbeth fears Fleance and his own future after his death in hell. He decides to go back to the witches and ask for confirmation. Towards the end of the scene, Macbeth realises that his strange visions (Banquo’s ghost) are due only to his fear as a beginner who is inexperienced in crime.

Scene 6
Lennox and the Lord believe that Macbeth killed Duncan. Lennox uses sarcasm to express his hatred of his own king. Macduff has asked for aid from the other kings, namely the king of England, to help deal with the problem of Macbeth. Macbeth is preparing for war on the king of England and to exact his revenge on Macduff, who refused to come to his coronation.

Macbeth – Act 4 Questions

Scene 1
The warnings issued by the three apparitions were: “Beware the Thane of Fife” – beware Macduff, “none of woman born shall harm Macbeth” – none born from a woman shall kill Macbeth and “Macbeth, shall never vanquished be, until Great Birnam Wood to high Dunsinane Hill” – Macbeth shouldn’t fear death Birnam Wood comes to Dusinane. The first apparition confirms his suspicions about Macduff, the second and third both boost his confidence of living to an old age. In an aside, Macbeth says ‘The very firstlings of my heart shall be the firstlings of my hand.” By this he means that the things that he feels in the future will be acted upon immediately. Macbeth has become cruel and mean.

Scene 2
Lady Macduff regards the flight of her husband with dismay and anger. She feels that Macduff’s running away will only make him appear guilty because his actions make him appear guilty not his fears. Lady Macduff doesn’t want to flee because she is happy where she is. She now feels that her husband is a traitor to her, because he has forsaken her and his marriage vows. Lady Macduff feels that the world she lives in is corrupt and deceiving, stating that she could easily find a new husband at the market! Also, in her back to front world, to do harm is praise worth and to be nice is stupid. She believes that this is all the fault of the natural order being upset.

Scene 3
Malcolm is suspicious of Macduff because Macduff tries to persuade him to return to Scotland with an army to overthrow Macbeth. Malcolm fears that Macduff has been sent by Macbeth to lure him into a trap. Malcolm tests Macduff’s loyalty by pretending that, if he were to become King, he would be an even worse tyrant than Macbeth. Malcolm is fit to rule because he cares about his country, and wants to do something about the blight of Macbeth on it. Also, he describes all the things he would do to his country if he was King, but Macduff feels that these things could not happen because of Malcolm’s generous nature. Malcolm is pretending that he is the opposite of what he really is.

Macbeth – Act 5 Questions

Scene 1
Lady Macbeth has taken to sleepwalking and getting out of bed at night, writing on paper, then folding it and returning to bed. She rubs her hands and talks to herself about the blood of Duncan on them. Lady Macbeth is obcessing over the murder of Duncan, and also that of Macduff’s wife and children.

The doctor says that Lady Macbeth’s illness is “beyond [his] practice” because he does not deal with things like murdering kings. However, he has known others who have walked in their sleep and he feels that Lady Macbeth’s rare condition is due to the horrific things she has taken part in.

Scene 2
Macbeth is said to be either mad, or filled with fury, because he is fortifying his castle home of Dunsinane. Macbeth is unable to control his undisciplined followers with his rule alone.

Scene 3
Macbeth has become disillusioned with his life and the venents happening in it. He wants the doctor to cure Lady Macbeth of her disease, but he really doesn’t care much about her anymore.

Scene 4
Malcolm intends the soldiers to disguise their numbers by carrying branches. He doesn’t realise it but he is also fulfilling the witches’ prophecy, by bringing Burnam Wood to Dunsinaine.

Scene 5
Macbeth does not really react to his wife’s death, because he doesn’t really care about he and he really is thinking “Oh well, she would have died eventually anyway.” Macbeth does not believe that the wood is moving, he doesn’t want to believe it. He thinks that the servant is lying, but still he is afraid, so now he must depend on the other prophesies.

Scene 7
Macbeth is still relying on the prophesy of “None of woman born shall harm Macbeth”. Macbeth feels very scared of his future, because he is no longer protected by the woods.

Scene 8
Macbeth wants to avoid Macduff in the battle because he has already killed the rest of Macduff’s family. He feels that there is already enough of that blood on his hands. In Macbeth’s last few moments of life he doesn’t want to be considered a coward. This feeling is stronger than that of fear of death.

Scene 9
Order has been restored because Macbeth has been slain, and the rightful king is not on the throne. The Macbeths are now considered mad murderers – “the dead butcher, and his fiendish queen.”

A set of questions/quotes highlighting the synopsis of Shakespeare’s Macbeth

Macbeth is mostly a victim of the witches’ prophecies. Macbeth would never have considered killing Duncan without their words about the future, and his wife’s powerful hold over him. Macbeth regrets the deed after he has done it and wishes that he could bring Duncan back to life. The witches were expected by the people in the play to be tricksters and untrustworthy, yet Macbeth ignored these feelings because of their “fair” prophecies about his future.

Macbeth considers the murder of Duncan carefully and decides “[that] we shall go no further in this business.” He is really an honourable man who respects and loves his king. He already has the “golden opinions” of the other Thanes and his king, and he is Duncan’s friend.

Lady Macbeth goads Macbeth into killing Duncan by saying “and live a coward in thine own esteem.” and various other insults. Without Lady Macbeth as a “spur to prick the sides of [his] intent”, Macbeth would never have killed Duncan. When Lady Macbeth stated earlier that her husband was “too full of the milk of human kindness” she was right. Even if Macbeth had heard the witches’ prophecies and then not told his wife, he would still have become king, but he would not have had to kill Duncan and damn himself. Lady Macbeth works with the witches (unintentionally) to bring about her own downfall and her husband’s.

The witches wanted to create havoc in the human world by targeting Macbeth. They are equivocators, twisting the truth or telling half truths to confuse their victims and drive them to ruin. The first witch says of Macbeth “by the pricking of my thumbs, something wicked this way comes.” By this, the audience can tell that the witches have a hand in Macbeth’s nature, because he was not wicked before they told him the prophecies. Without the witches’ prophecies, killing Duncan would never have occurred to Macbeth. Macbeth was not ambitious enough to think of killing Duncan to become king, and he would not have known that he would become King after Duncan died because of Duncan’s two healthy sons, ready and named to rule after Duncan.

Macbeth regrets killing Duncan almost as soon as he has done the deed. He says to Lady Macbeth after killing Duncan “Wake Duncan with thy knocking! I would thou couldst!” He loved his king, and killing him was a betrayal as well as treason. By killing Duncan, he has damned his immortal soul and killed his sleep.

When Macbeth is first told of the prophecies, he is afraid. Banquo remarks “Why do you start, and seem to fear things that do sound so fair?” Macbeth is afraid of what he might have to do to become king. Macbeth’s powerful imagination is also his downfall. He was the one who first imagined that he must kill Duncan to become king, and he is drawn to Duncan’s chamber by an imaginary knife.

Macbeth is mostly a victim of the witches’ prophecies because he would never have considered killing Duncan without their promises of Kingship. However, his ambition and his wife’s ambition also attributed to his regicide.

Year 11 English Essay