Macbeth 3

Study Guide Questions for Act 2, Scenes 1-4

If you are looking for the beginning of the study for Shakespeare’s Macbeth then you can go HERE for a brief introduction. At the bottom of the introduction you will find the links to each section of the study guide as it becomes available. If you would like to see the growing list of book studies available for free on this site you can go HERE. Enjoy!

Virtues/Vices/Great Ideas: (Find them in the Text)

Appearance vs. Reality, Betrayal, Deception, Death, Light vs. Darkness

Grammar Questions: (The Information of the Text)

1. What gift did Banquo deliver to Macbeth on behalf of King Duncan?

2. What did Macbeth envision himself holding though there was not really anything in his hand?

3. What caused Donalbain and Duncan to temporarily wake from sleep?

4. What did Macbeth think he heard a voice say after he had slain Duncan?

5. What did Lady Macbeth do to aid her husband in the treachery?

6. What was the porter’s behavior like when someone knocked at the door?

7. What strange and disturbing events took place during the night according to Lennox?

8. At least initially, who did most of the men think was responsible for the murder of Duncan?

9. Who decided to flee from Macbeth’s castle and where did they go?

10. What became of Duncan’s horses?

11. Where had Macbeth gone to, and for what purpose, by the end of Scene 4?

Logic Questions: (Interpreting, Comparing/Contrasting, Reasoning)

1. What contrast can be made between Banquo’s prayer in Scene 1 of Act 2 versus Lady Macbeth’s prayer in Act 1 Scene 4?

2. What did Macbeth mean when he said, “Mine eyes are made the fools o’ th’ other senses, Or else worth all the rest?”

3. What did Lady Macbeth mean by saying, “the sleeping and the dead are but as pictures?”

4. Given the porter’s use of the term “equivocate,” what do you understand that term to mean?

5. What did Macduff mean by calling sleep “death’s counterfeit?”

6. What did Macbeth mean when he said, “There’s nothing serious in mortality. All is but toys.”

7. Why did Duncan’s sons run away, and why did they split up?

Rhetoric Questions: (The Analysis of Ideas in the Text)

1. The term “hypocrisy” goes back to ancient Greece where it referred to actors playing a part on the stage, pretending to be someone other than who they really are. How does the concept of hypocrisy apply to our current reading? Which characters are embodying the concept of hypocrisy? Give some examples.

2. Macbeth said, “Who can be wise, amazed, temp’rate, and furious, loyal, and neutral, in a moment? No man.” Can virtue and vice coexist in the same person? If so, are there certain kinds of virtues and vices which cannot coexist while others can? Regardless of which way you answer, offer some justification for your position.

Theological Analysis: (Sola Scriptura)

1. Read Matthew 27:45-56. What connection can we make between this passage of Scripture concerning the death of Christ and the current reading about the death of Duncan?

2. Read James 3:1-12. How does this passage affect or interact with your answer to the Rhetoric questions?