Macbeth & his manipulative bae <3
Why does Lady Macbeth say she can't kill King Duncan?
She says he looks like her father.
Why do you think Macbeth chooses not to put his armor on when he goes out to do battle?
He believes that he can't be killed by a man "born of woman."
Who are King Duncan's sons?
Who is the oldest and who is the youngest?
Malcolm (oldest)
Donalbain (youngest)
Give one example of dramatic irony from the play and explain why this example is correct.
Lady Macbeth's fainting.
It gives the people the sense that she is completely shocked that the King has been murdered. It is an example of dramatic irony because she planned the entire thing and the audience knows it, but the characters don't.
What role do the witches play in Macbeth’s downfall?
They ignite his ambition and feed it with prophecy, but they never force his hand. They symbolize temptation and fate’s dark mystery. Their manipulation is subtle but powerful.
What 2 things does Lady Macbeth do to help Macbeth kill Duncan?
1. She gets the guards drunk.
2. She plants the daggers with blood on the pillows.
Who kills Macbeth?
What does this person bring to the Thanes to prove it?
Macduff.
He brings Macbeth's head to the Thanes.
Who is Banquo's son and what happens to him?
Fleance.
He flees after his father is killed by Macbeth's murderers.
Describe 2 of 3 the witches apparitions. What do they look like and what do they tell Macbeth?
1. The bloody baby who claims no person "born of a woman" can kill him.
2. A child holding a tree that claims Macbeth will never be defeated until Birnham Wood moves.
3. An armor head warning Macbeth to "Beware Macduff"
How is the prophesy of Birnam Wood moving to Dusinane Hill fulfilled?
Each man in the English force cuts down a Birnam Wood bough (large tree branch) to provide cover so that the size of the army is not known. As they march toward Dunsinane, it looks like the forest is moving.
What frightens Macbeth before he is killed by Macduff?
Macduff tells Macbeth that he was ripped from his mother's womb at an untimely moment, not "born of woman" in a typical way.
What title is given to Macbeth for bravery in the battle at the beginning of the play?
Thane of Cawdor
Who is Hecate?
The goddess of witchcraft and the ruler of the three witches.
How does guilt affect Macbeth and Lady Macbeth differently as the play progresses?
Macbeth becomes desensitized over time—though haunted, he suppresses guilt with further violence. Lady Macbeth, on the other hand, is mentally destroyed by it, leading to sleepwalking and eventual suicide.
Analyze the following passage. Who said it and why? What are they trying to say?
"Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player, That struts and frets his hour upon the stage And then is heard no more. It is a tale Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, Signifying nothing."
Macbeth is saying that life is meaningless, chaotic, and empty of purpose. His loss, guilt, and isolation have drained him of hope or belief in anything enduring. The speech captures the existential despair that defines his tragic end. It’s one of Shakespeare’s most powerful expressions of hopelessness and the disillusionment that can follow unchecked ambition and moral collapse.
How does Lady Macbeth manipulate Macbeth—and how does her power change over time?
She uses guilt, emasculation, and persuasion to push Macbeth toward murder. Over time, her influence fades as Macbeth grows more independent—and more ruthless. Eventually, she’s consumed by guilt and loses control entirely.
Name ALL the people Macbeth killed or sent murderers to kill (successfully).
🔪 People Macbeth Kills Himself:
1. King Duncan
2. Duncans Guards (2 of them)
3. Young Siward
🩸 People Macbeth Sends Murderers to Kill:
4. Banquo
5. Lady Macduff
6. Macduff’s son
7. Other unnamed members of Macduff’s household –
Servants and possibly more children are implied to have been killed offstage.
Who was Macbeth's good friend?
What happens to him and why?
Banquo.
Macbeth sends murderers to kill him and his son (Fleance) because he is afraid Banquo suspects him of killing King Duncan.
Banquo is killed but Fleance gets away.
1. Where does the play (Macbeth) take place?
2. Who was the play written by and where was it written?
3. About how old is the play?
4. Why was the play written about a Scottish King named Duncan?
1. Scotland
2. Shakespeare, in London, England.
3. The early 17th century, about 1606 or 1607. It was published 1623.
4. King Duncan was a real person in history who was a relative of King James VI, the King of Scotland, who had also recently become the King of England known as King James I.
What role does sleep play as a symbol in the play?
Explain thoroughly.
Sleep represents peace, innocence, and a clear conscience. After killing Duncan, Macbeth says he "does murder sleep," showing how guilt disrupts natural rest. Lady Macbeth’s sleepwalking and lack of "real" sleep later symbolizes her mental torment.
In what way does Lady Macbeth continually insult and manipulate Macbeth?
🗡️ 1. She questions his manhood. Lady Macbeth repeatedly suggests Macbeth isn’t a “real man” unless he follows through with the murder of King Duncan. She equates masculinity with violence and decisiveness. “When you durst do it, then you were a man” (Act 1, Scene 7). Here, she says that Macbeth was only a man when he planned to kill Duncan—suggesting that backing out makes him weak and unworthy of her respect.
🧠 2. She calls him cowardly and inconsistent. She mocks his hesitations and makes him feel ashamed of his conscience: “Art thou afeard / To be the same in thine own act and valor / As thou art in desire?” (Act 1, Scene 7). She’s basically saying: “Are you too scared to act on your own ambitions?”
👶 3. She uses brutal, shocking comparisons. In one of the most intense lines in the play, she compares her own supposed resolve to Macbeth’s weakness: “I have given suck, and know / How tender ’tis to love the babe that milks me: / I would, while it was smiling in my face, / Have plucked my nipple from his boneless gums / And dashed the brains out, had I so sworn as you / Have done to this” (Act 1, Scene 7). This horrifying image is meant to shame Macbeth—she’s saying “I would kill my own child if I had promised to. So why can’t you kill Duncan?”
🎭 4. She mocks his fear and guilt. Even after the murder, when Macbeth is shaken, she belittles his emotions: “My hands are of your color, but I shame / To wear a heart so white” (Act 2, Scene 2). Translation: “Yeah, I’m just as guilty as you, but I’m not acting like a coward about it.”
Who is Macduff? Name at least TWO major things he does in the play.
He represents moral clarity and justice
He’s a foil to Macbeth, showing what true loyalty and courage look like
His arc turns the political struggle into a personal one—he’s not just fighting for Scotland, but for his murdered family
Name 2 Thanes besides Macduff and Macbeth.
Ross
Lennox
Banquo
Angus
Menteith
Caithness
What is the significance of light and darkness imagery in the play?
Use quotes from the play to support and explain your answer.
Darkness symbolizes evil, concealment, and moral blindness. Characters repeatedly call on night to hide their deeds. Light is associated with truth, innocence, and God’s order.
🌑 Darkness as a Symbol of Evil and Concealment:
1. Lady Macbeth’s “Come, thick night…” (Act 1, Scene 5):
“Come, thick night,
And pall thee 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!’”
2. Banquo before the murder (Act 2, Scene 1):
“There’s husbandry in heaven;
Their candles are all out.”
Meaning: Banquo notes that it’s unnaturally dark at night—no stars or moonlight. Significance: The lack of light reflects the moral darkness of what is about to happen—Duncan’s murder.
3. Macbeth after Duncan’s murder:
“Stars, hide your fires;
Let not light see my black and deep desires.” (Act 1, Scene 4)
Meaning: Even earlier, Macbeth hoped for darkness to conceal his ambition to kill Duncan. Significance: Darkness = concealment of sin and guilt.
🔦 Light as a Symbol of Goodness and Order:
4. The Natural Order is Disrupted (Act 2, Scene 4):
“By th’ clock ’tis day,
And yet dark night strangles the travelling lamp.”
Meaning: It’s daytime, but it’s still dark—nature is reacting to Duncan’s murder. Significance: The unnatural darkness symbolizes the moral disorder Macbeth has unleashed.
5. Malcolm Describes Macbeth (Act 4, Scene 3):
“Angels are bright still, though the brightest fell.”
6. Lady Macbeth’s Madness (Act 5, Scene 1):
“She has light by her continually; ’tis her command.”
Meaning: While sleepwalking, Lady Macbeth demands a candle at all times. Significance: She’s terrified of darkness now—symbolic of her guilt. The light becomes her only comfort in her tormented state.
In Macbeth, does Shakespeare portray evil as internal, external, or both?
Explain thoroughly.
Both. The witches and supernatural represent external forces, but Macbeth’s decisions reveal that evil also comes from within. Shakespeare explores how external temptation meets internal vulnerability.