Study Questions Macbeth Act IName: ________________
1. Who or what are Graymalkin and Paddock? How do you know this?
2. Where, when, and with whom will the witches next meet?
3. What offstage scene does the captain describe in lines 7 – 23?
4. What role has Macbeth played in the battle?
5. What information about the setting do you learn from the italicized stage directions? (Scene iii)
6. How does standing in an open wasteland enhance the eeriness of the scene?
7. What does the first witch mean by “I’ll do, I’ll do, and I’ll do”?
8. What is being established about the witches in Scene iii?
9. What descriptive details does Banquo use in his speech about the witches?
10. What has Macbeth earned through his exploits?
11. What have Banquo and Macbeth learned from the witches?
12. What does Banquo mean by the “insane root”?
13. How might you rephrase lines 120-121 in modern English?
14. As Macbeth thinks about what the witches have promised, “what horrid image” frightens him?
15. Describe Cawdor’s death.
16. What is the king saying in lines 11-14? (Scene iv)
17. Why is it significant that he says this just before Macbeth enters?
18. What action of Duncan’s upsets Macbeth?
19. What do lines 11-14 (Scene v.) tell us about Macbeth’s feelings for his wife?
20. What does Lady Macbeth’s soliloquy in lines 15-30 reveal about her ambitions and plans?
21. In lines 18-25 how does Lady Macbeth this Macbeth will approach the situation?
22. How does Lady Macbeth’s reaction to the situation (lines 38-53) contrast with Macbeth?
23. What does Lady Macbeth feel is Macbeth’s weakness?
24. What details does Banquo use in Scene vi, lines 3-10, to paint a word picture of Macbeth’s castle?
25. What deed does Lady Macbeth urge her husband to perform?
26. What doubts does Macbeth reveal in his soliloquy, Scene vii, lines 1-28?
27. What does Lady Macbeth mean by the “ornament of life”?
28. What arguments does Lady Macbeth use to convince Macbeth to carry out the murder?
