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About the SelectionIn this act, thoughts become deeds.It appears that Macbeth and LadyMacbeth have committed the perfectcrime. In fact, it may have been moresuccessful than they had hoped—theattendants are slain and unable todefend themselves, and Duncan’ssons flee, casting suspicion on them-selves. However, their plot begins tounravel and hints of tragedy begin toappear. One of the play’s majorthemes—the fatal flaw of excessiveambition—begins to be developed asMacbeth becomes tortured by guilt.

Critical ViewingPossible response: Someone hon-orable and noble would be worthy.

Critical ThinkingInfer• Direct students’ attention to

lines 1–3.

• Ask students how Shakespeareuses the opening dialogue toinform the audience of the time ofthe action. Answer: Banquo and Fleance dis-cuss the moon and the hour, let-ting the audience know that it ispast midnight.

Reading StrategyReading Verse for Meaning• Remind students that reading blank

verse for meaning often requiresfollowing sentences past their lineendings.

• Have students look at lines 12–17.

• Then, ask them the ReadingStrategy question: Which line end-ings in lines 12–17 do not require apause? Answer: Lines 13 and 16 do notrequire a pause.

• Ask students what this passagereveals about the king and how itheightens the impact of hisimpending death.Answer: The king is generous andkind, and he has gone to bedhappy. These facts make his unde-served death more pitiable.

Reading CheckAnswer: Macbeth and Banquo meetafter midnight in a court of Inverness.

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Macbeth, Act II, Scene i ■ 327

Review and Anticipate In Act I, we learn that Macbeth has distinguished himself in battle. Returning from the battlefield, he and Banquo meet three witches who predict that Macbeth will not only be rewarded by King Duncan, but that he will become king himself. However, the witches also greet Banquo as a father of kings. Motivated by the witches’ prophecies, Macbeth considers killing Duncan. The assassination becomes more likely when the king decides to visit Macbeth’s castle. Lady Macbeth, on hearing about the witches’ predictions and the king’s visit, resolves that she and her husband will kill Duncan. When Macbeth hesitates, she urges him on. As Act II begins, they are about to perform this evil deed.

Scene i. Inverness. Court of Macbeth’s castle.

[Enter BANQUO, and FLEANCE, with a torch before him.]

BANQUO. How goes the night, boy?

FLEANCE. The moon is down; I have not heard the clock.

BANQUO. And she goes down at twelve.

FLEANCE. I take’t, ’tis later, sir.

BANQUO. Hold, take my sword. There’s husbandry1 in heaven.5 Their candles are all out. Take thee that2 too.

A heavy summons3 lies like lead upon me,And yet I would not sleep. Merciful powers,Restrain in me the cursèd thoughts that natureGives way to in repose!

[Enter MACBETH, and a SERVANT with a torch.]Give me my sword!

10 Who’s there?

MACBETH. A friend.

BANQUO. What, sir, not yet at rest? The King’s a-bed:He hath been in unusual pleasure, andSent forth great largess to your offices:4

15 This diamond he greets your wife withal,By the name of most kind hostess; and shut up5

In measureless content.

MACBETH. Being unprepared,Our will became the servant to defect,Which else should free have wrought.6

Critical Viewing What sort of person would be worthy of wearing a crown such as this one? [Generalize]

Reading StrategyReading Verse for Meaning Which line endings in lines 12–17 do not require a pause?

1. husbandry thrift.

2. that probably his sword belt.

3. summons weariness.

4. largess . . . offices gifts to your servants’ quarters.

5. shut up retired.

6. Being . . . wrought Because we did not have enough time to prepare, we were unable to entertain as lavishly as we wanted to.

Where and when do Macbeth and Banquo meet?

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328 ■ Celebrating Humanity (1485–1625)

BANQUO. All’s well.20 I dreamt last night of the three weird sisters:

To you they have showed some truth.

MACBETH. I think not of them.Yet, when we can entreat an hour to serve,We would spend it in some words upon that business,If you would grant the time.

BANQUO. At your kind’st leisure.

25 MACBETH. If you shall cleave to my consent, when ’tis,7

It shall make honor for you.

BANQUO. So8 I lose noneIn seeking to augment it, but still keepMy bosom franchised9 and allegiance clear,I shall be counseled.

MACBETH. Good repose the while!

30 BANQUO. Thanks, sir. The like to you!

[Exit BANQUO with FLEANCE.]

MACBETH. Go bid thy mistress, when my drink is ready,She strike upon the bell. Get thee to bed.

[Exit SERVANT.]

Is this a dagger which I see before me,The handle toward my hand? Come, let me clutch thee.

35 I have thee not, and yet I see thee still.Art thou not, fatal vision, sensible10

To feeling as to sight, or art thou butA dagger of the mind, a false creation,Proceeding from the heat-oppressèd brain?

40 I see thee yet, in form as palpableAs this which now I draw.Thou marshal’st11 me the way that I was going;And such an instrument I was to use.Mine eyes are made the fools o’ th’ other senses,

45 Or else worth all the rest. I see thee still;And on thy blade and dudgeon12 gouts13 of blood,Which was not so before. There’s no such thing.It is the bloody business which informs14

Thus to mine eyes. Now o’er the one half-world50 Nature seems dead, and wicked dreams abuse15

The curtained sleep; witchcraft celebratesPale Hecate’s offerings;16 and withered murder,Alarumed by his sentinel, the wolf,Whose howl’s his watch, thus with his stealthy pace,

55 With Tarquin’s17 ravishing strides, towards his designMoves like a ghost. Thou sure and firm-set earth,

7. cleave . . . ’tis Join my cause when the time comes.

8. So provided that.

Vocabulary Builderaugment (ôg ment«) v. make greater; enlarge

9. bosom franchised heart free (from guilt)

10. sensible able to be felt.

Vocabulary Builderpalpable (pal« pß bßl) adj. capable of being touched or felt

11. marshal’st leads.

12. dudgeon wooden hilt.

13. gouts large drops.

14. informs takes shape.

15. abuse deceive.

16. Hecate’s (hek«ß tèz) offerings offerings to Hecate, the Greek goddess of witch-craft.

Vocabulary Builderstealthy (stel« thè) adj. sly

17. Tarquin’s of Tarquin, a Roman tyrant.

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Reading StrategyReading Verse for Meaning • Have students read the exchange

between Banquo and Macbeth inlines 19–29.

• Ask how Banquo’s “All’s well” andMacbeth’s “I think not of them” aresimilar and different.Answer: Both are untrue, but onlyMacbeth knows that what he’ssaying is untrue.

• Point out that Macbeth’s next sen-tence runs almost three lines. Hesuggests that when he and Banquohave some time, they should talkabout the witches.

• Ask students what Macbeth is ask-ing and promising Banquo in lines25–26.Answer: He is asking Banquo tojoin his cause, and he promises himhonor.

• Ask how Banquo responds.Answer: He is not interested inhonors that might diminish his ownsense of honor. But if he can have aclear conscience and remain faith-ful, he would consider promotion.

Critical ThinkingAnalyze• In this famous soliloquy, Macbeth

sees his planned actions floatingbefore him. Discuss what Macbethsees and what the vision adds tothe play.Answer: He sees a dagger thatkeeps moving away from him. Thedagger becomes covered withblood. The vision heightens thedrama, points to what is to come,and perhaps makes us ask ifMacbeth is becoming unhinged.

• Ask students at which point in thepassage Macbeth ceases to halluci-nate and proceeds with his plan. Answer: In line 47, when he says“There’s no such thing,” the hallu-cination has ceased––or beendismissed.

• Of what story element do lines49–52 remind the audience?Answer: These lines tie in with thewitchcraft that has perhapsbrought Macbeth to this point.

• Ask students if lines 56–57 remindthem of an earlier request ofMacbeth’s. Answer: In Act I, Scene iv, lines50–51, Macbeth asks that the starshide so light doesn’t see his blackdesires.

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Shakespeare AdaptationsOnly the Bible has been translated into morelanguages than Shakespeare’s works. In addi-tion to appearing in every language of WesternEurope, Shakespeare has been translated intotwenty-eight of the languages spoken in theformer Soviet Union. Shakespeare is also verypopular in Asia.

In addition to translations, Shakespeare’splays have been adapted to other art forms. InItaly, composer Giuseppe Verdi turned three ofShakespeare’s plays into operas: Macbeth, Otello(Othello), and Falstaff (based on The Merry

Wives of Windsor). Two Russian composers,Tchaikovsky and Prokofiev, created ballets basedon Romeo and Juliet. Japanese film director AkiraKurosawa turned Macbeth into a film calledThrone of Blood. His story is set in medievalJapan and the Scottish king was changed to asamurai lord. Kurosawa also adapted King Learfor his film Ran. Leonard Bernstein based WestSide Story on Romeo and Juliet. The sci-fi classicForbidden Planet is based on Shakespeare’s TheTempest.

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Critical ThinkingAnalyze• Have students review Lady

Macbeth’s comments in lines 1–13.Ask students what it is that she hascontributed to the murder plot.Answer: She has drugged theking’s servants and has placed theirdaggers where they can easily befound.

• Ask students what comments indi-cate that Lady Macbeth is not ashard and cold as she’d like to think. Answer: In line 2, she is jumpy,spooked by the owl. In lines 12–13,she admits that she could not havemurdered Duncan herself, becausehe looked like her father while heslept.

Literary AnalysisBlank Verse• Ask students what mood or atmos-

phere the series of short lines ofdialogue, lines 14–19, creates.Answer: These lines suggest anatmosphere of tension, as if thecharacters are jumping at thesound of each other’s voice.

• Point out that, though it looks atfirst as if Shakespeare has aban-doned writing in verse, the iambicpentameter is actually continuedacross these lines of dialogue, start-ing in line 16. Ask students theLiterary Analysis question: Whymight the playwright have chosenthis artistry? Possible response: The choppyspeech contributes to the mood.Also, having Macbeth and LadyMacbeth finishing each other’slines adds to the sense of theircomplicity in the murder.

Reading CheckAnswer: They have murderedDuncan.

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Macbeth, Act II, Scene ii ■ 329

Hear not my steps, which way they walk, for fearThy very stones prate of my whereabout,And take the present horror from the time,

60 Which now suits with it.18 Whiles I threat, he lives:Words to the heat of deeds too cold breath gives.

[A bell rings.]I go, and it is done: the bell invites me.Hear it not, Duncan, for it is a knellThat summons thee to heaven, or to hell. [Exit.]

Scene ii. Macbeth’s castle

[Enter LADY MACBETH.]

LADY MACBETH. That which hath made them drunk hath made me bold;

What hath quenched them hath given me fire. Hark! Peace!It was the owl that shrieked, the fatal bellman,Which gives the stern’st good-night.1 He is about it.

5 The doors are open, and the surfeited grooms2

Do mock their charge with snores. I have drugged their possets,3

That death and nature do contend about them,Whether they live or die.

MACBETH. [Within] Who’s there? What, ho?

LADY MACBETH. Alack, I am afraid they have awaked10 And ’tis not done! Th’ attempt and not the deed

Confounds4 us. Hark! I laid their daggers ready;He could not miss ’em. Had he not resembledMy father as he slept, I had done ’t.

[Enter MACBETH.]

My husband!

MACBETH. I have done the deed. Didst thou not hear a noise?

15 LADY MACBETH. I heard the owl scream and the crickets cry.Did not you speak?

MACBETH. When?

LADY MACBETH. Now.

MACBETH. As I descended?

LADY MACBETH. Ay.

MACBETH. Hark!Who lies i’ th’ second chamber?

LADY MACBETH. Donalbain.

20 MACBETH. This is a sorry5 sight.

18. take . . . it remove the horrible silence which suits this moment.

1. bellman . . . good-night It was customary for a bell to be rung at midnight outside a condemned person’s cell on the night before an execution.

2. surfeited grooms overfed servants.

3. possets warm bedtime drinks.

4. Confounds ruins.

Literary AnalysisBlank Verse Notice that the iambic pentameter of line 16 is shared in dialogue between Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. Why might the playwright have chosen this artistry?

5. sorry miserable.

What deed have Macbeth and Lady Macbeth performed?

Support for Less Proficient ReadersHave students read the firstscene of Act II in the Reader’sNotebook. This version pro-vides basic-level instruction inan interactive format withquestions and write-on lines.This will prepare students toapply the Reading Strategyand Literary Analysis skills asthey read the rest of Act II inthe Student Edition.

Support for English LearnersTo help students understandthe first scene of Act II, youmay wish to have them read itin the English Learner’sNotebook. This summarizesthe scene’s actions and ideasand gives students a chance toread the scene in a format cre-ated to aid comprehension.

Strategy for Advanced ReadersAllow students to read Act IIindependently. Ask them tolook for sentences or speechesthat reveal the personalities ofthe characters. Then, havethem pick a character and cre-ate a word sketch that com-bines their own observationsand reactions to that characterwith the lines that illustratetheir observations.

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LADY MACBETH. A foolish thought, to say a sorry sight.

MACBETH. There’s one did laugh in ’s sleep, and one cried“Murder!”

That they did wake each other. I stood and heard them.But they did say their prayers, and addressed themAgain to sleep.

25 LADY MACBETH. There are two6 lodged together.

MACBETH. One cried “God bless us!” and “Amen” the other,As they had seen me with these hangman’s hands:List’ning their fear, I could not say “Amen,”When they did say “God bless us!”

LADY MACBETH. Consider it not so deeply.

30 MACBETH. But wherefore could not I pronounce “Amen”?I had most need of blessing, and “Amen”Stuck in my throat.

LADY MACBETH. These deeds must not be thoughtAfter these ways; so, it will make us mad.

MACBETH. Methought I heard a voice cry “Sleep no more!35 Macbeth does murder sleep”—the innocent sleep,

Sleep that knits up the raveled sleave7 of care,The death of each day’s life, sore labor’s bath,Balm of hurt minds, great nature’s second course,8

Chief nourisher in life’s feast—

LADY MACBETH. What do you mean?

40 MACBETH. Still it cried “Sleep no more!” to all the house:“Glamis hath murdered sleep, and therefore CawdorShall sleep no more: Macbeth shall sleep no more.”

LADY MACBETH. Who was it that thus cried? Why, worthy Thane,You do unbend9 your noble strength, to think

45 So brainsickly of things. Go get some water,And wash this filthy witness10 from your hand.Why did you bring these daggers from the place?They must lie there: go carry them, and smearThe sleepy grooms with blood.

MACBETH. I’ll go no more.50 I am afraid to think what I have done;

Look on ’t again I dare not.

LADY MACBETH. Infirm of purpose!Give me the daggers. The sleeping and the deadAre but as pictures. ’Tis the eye of childhoodThat fears a painted devil. If he do bleed,

55 I’ll gild11 the faces of the grooms withal,For it must seem their guilt. [Exit. Knock within.]

6. two Malcolm and Donalbain, Duncan’s sons.

7. knits . . . sleave straight-ens out the tangled threads.

8. second course main course; sleep.

9. unbend relax.

10. witness evidence.

11. gild paint.

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Critical ThinkingInfer• Ask students why Macbeth would

have listened with such care towhat was being said by the twowakened sleepers.Answer: He would want to knowif they heard him, if he was aboutto be discovered.

• Ask students what significancethey draw from the fact thatMacbeth is unable to respond tothe blessing with “Amen.”Possible responses: Macbeth’sinability to engage in prayer sug-gests that he feels a strong sense ofguilt and of divine disapproval ofhis act; he has descended so farinto evil that he can no longer doanything that would be viewed asgood or holy.

Critical ThinkingAnalysis• Have students analyze lines 34–38

and list at least three qualities thatMacbeth ascribes to sleep.Possible responses: Sleep isinnocent. Sleep helps untangle theworrisome issues of life. Sleep helpsone’s body heal from the day’swork and one’s mind to heal fromthe day’s problems. Sleep is nour-ishing––it builds one up and givesstrength.

• Ask students what Macbeth meanswhen he says that he has murderedsleep. As is stated in line 42,“Macbeth shall sleep no more.”Possible response: By murderingsleep, Macbeth has lost the vitalgifts bestowed by sleep.

• In the lines that follow, how doesLady Macbeth react to Macbeth’sguilt and worry?Answer: She chides him for losinghis nerve and mocks him for beingchildlike in his fear.

• Have students review lines 43–62.Ask how Macbeth’s reaction to theblood on his hands compares withLady Macbeth’s.Answer: She sees the blood as evi-dence that must be washed off. Hesees it as the symbol of his crimeand the guilt he’ll never escape.

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PsychologyPsychologists have devoted considerableresearch to the subject of guilt and its effect onan individual who has committed a crime.Certain patterns of behavior have been noted inresearch and have been used to identify sus-pects and to further our understanding ofhuman behavior.

The effect of profound guilt on individuals isalso an important theme in literature. One ofthe best known examples is Hawthorne’s The

Scarlet Letter, which explores the effects of con-cealed guilt and confessed guilt. Shakespeare’sMacbeth is, to a large degree, also a study ofthe effects of guilt. In Act II, the guilt Macbethfeels after he murders Duncan is manifest inseveral ways: He is unable to answer a blessingwith “Amen,” and he thinks he hears a voicesaying “Sleep no more!” The effects of guilt aremanifested even more dramatically in later acts.

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HumanitiesPoster for Orson Welles’sfilm of MacbethOrson Welles, famous for the filmCitizen Kane and the radio broadcastWar of the Worlds, adaptedShakespeare’s Macbeth for the screenand then directed and starred in theproduction. This 1948 version alsofeatured Jeanette Nolan and RoddyMcDowall. The production is notablefor its papier-mâché sets and brood-ing atmosphere.

The shadowy poster for Welles’s1948 version of Macbeth emphasizesthe darkness of the play’s content.Orson Welles’s face, made up asMacbeth at various points during thedrama, conveys to viewers that theplay is about a tortured individual.

Use these questions for discussion:

1. What emotion is portrayed byeach of the expressions in Welles’sface in this poster? Possible responses: Welles’sface conjures up images of cold-blooded determination, fear,hate, helplessness, remorse, andresignation.

2. Do you find that the poster cap-tures the essence of The Tragedy ofMacbeth? Possible responses: Yes, thevarious expressions of Macbethshow that it is ultimately a humantragedy; no, the poster focusestoo much on the Macbeth charac-ter and not enough on the others.

Critical ViewingAnswer: The sinister shadows reflectthe treachery that is hatched in Act II.The eyes of Macbeth reflect a senseof shock at the horrible nature of thecrime. Lady Macbeth’s posture andfacial expression suggest cold, almostmechanical determination.

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Macbeth, Act II, Scene ii ■ 331

Critical Viewing How do these images from a poster advertising a production of Macbeth capture the suspense created in Act II? [Connect]

Strategy for Special Needs StudentsHave students use the Adapted Reader’sNotebook to help them get involved in thestory. The summary and simplified version ofthe first scene may give them just the start theyneed to discover the story “buried” in the lan-guage. Then, as students continue readingAct II in the Student Edition, summarize eachscene, so they don’t lose the thread of thestory. Read important speeches aloud, so thatthe students can begin to get a feel for the lan-guage without getting lost in it.

Enrichment for Gifted/Talented StudentsSuggest that students create their own “movieposters” for this play, using color, images, andwords to “hook” potential audiences into com-ing to see Macbeth. Encourage them to thinkabout the characters, actions, emotions, andimages of the play as they plan their posters.When their posters are done, have studentsdescribe what message they were trying to getacross, and what elements they chose to high-light. Hang their posters in the classroom.

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MACBETH. Whence is that knocking?How is ’t with me, when every noise appalls me?What hands are here? Ha! They pluck out mine eyes!Will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood

60 Clean from my hand? No; this my hand will ratherThe multitudinous seas incarnadine,12

Making the green one red.

[Enter LADY MACBETH.]

LADY MACBETH. My hands are of your color, but I shameTo wear a heart so white. [Knock.] I hear a knocking

65 At the south entry. Retire we to our chamber.A little water clears us of this deed:How easy is it then! Your constancyHath left you unattended.13 [Knock.] Hark! more knocking.Get on your nightgown, lest occasion call us

70 And show us to be watchers.14 Be not lostSo poorly in your thoughts.

MACBETH. To know my deed, ’twere best not know myself. [Knock.]Wake Duncan with thy knocking! I would thou couldst!

[Exit.]

Scene iii. Macbeth’s castle.

[Enter a PORTER.1 Knocking within.]

PORTER. Here’s a knocking indeed! If a man were porterof hell gate, he should have old2 turning the key.[Knock.] Knock, knock, knock! Who’s there, i’ th’name of Beelzebub?3 Here’s a farmer, that

5 hanged himself on th’ expectation of plenty.4 Comein time! Have napkins enow5 about you; here you’llsweat for ’t. [Knock.] Knock, knock! Who’s there, inth’ other devil’s name? Faith, here’s an equivocator,that could swear in both the scales against

10 either scale;6 who committed treason enough forGod’s sake, yet could not equivocate to heaven. O,come in, equivocator. [Knock.] Knock, knock, knock!Who’s there? Faith, here’s an English tailor comehither for stealing out of a French hose:7

15 come in, tailor. Here you may roast your goose.8

[Knock.] Knock, knock; never at quiet! What are you?But this place is too cold for hell. I’ll devil-porter it nofurther. I had thought to have let in some of allprofessions that go the primrose way to th’

20 everlasting bonfire. [Knock.] Anon, anon![Opens an entrance.] I pray you, remember the porter.

Vocabulary Buildermultitudinous (mul« tß tØd« ’n ßs) adj. existing in great numbers

12. incarnadine (in kär« nß dìn) redden.

13. Your constancy . . . unattended Your firmness of purpose has left you.

14. watchers up late.

Literary AnalysisBlank Verse, Prose, and Comic Relief How do the shift from verse to prose in Scene iii and the porter’s remarks affect the mood?

1. porter doorkeeper.

2. should have old would have plenty of.

3. Beelzebub (bè el« zß bub«) the chief devil.

4. A farmer . . . plenty a farmer who hoarded grain, hoping that the prices would come up after a bad harvest.

5. enow enough.

Vocabulary Builderequivocate (è kwiv« ß kàt«) v. to use terms that have two or more meanings to mislead purposely or deceive

6. an equivocator . . . scale a liar who could make two contradictory statements and swear that both were true.

7. stealing . . . hose stealing some cloth from the hose while making them.

8. goose pressing iron.

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Literary AnalysisBlank Verse, Prose, andComic Relief

Reteach: Remind students thatShakespeare sometimes interruptshis blank verse with prose. Prose isusually reserved for low-rankingcharacters. Also, only low-rankingcharacters were bawdy or vulgar.Their often humorous speecheshelped break up the dramatic nar-rative. This device is called comicrelief and is common in Elizabethandrama.

• Then, ask students the LiteraryAnalysis question: How do the shiftfrom verse to prose in Scene iii andthe porter’s remarks affect themood? Answer: The mood shifts fromone of great tension to one oflight-hearted humor; this sceneoffers the audience some relieffrom the tension.

• Discuss how and why the porter’sreaction to the knocking is differentfrom the reactions of Macbeth andLady Macbeth in the previous scene.Possible responses: For theporter, it is a job; for Macbeth andLady Macbeth, it is a warning thatpeople approach. Macbeth isappalled, certain that the knockingis related to his guilt; Lady Macbethviews it as a signal to get moving,so they don’t get caught; the porteris annoyed at being awakened.

Vocabulary BuilderThe Latin Root -voc-• Call students’ attention to the word

equivocate and its definition. Tellstudents that the Latin word root -voc- means “voice” or “calling.”

• Tell students that this root is some-times spelled -vok-, and it is theroot of a large number of words.

• Ask students to suggest any wordsthey can think of that contain thisword. Supplement their sugges-tions as necessary, writing thewords on the board. Possibilitiesinclude advocate, avocation, convo-cation, equivocal, evoke, invocation,irrevocable, provocation, provocative,revoke, vocabulary, vocal, vocation,vociferous.

• Have students look up the mean-ings of unfamiliar words in the dic-tionary.

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The Porter’s SceneThis excerpt is from Thomas De Quincey’s(1785–1859) essay “On the Knocking at theGate in Macbeth”:

The knocking at the gate which succeeds tothe murder of Duncan produced to my feel-ings an effect for which I never couldaccount. The effect was that it reflectedback upon the murderer a peculiar awful-ness and a depth of solemnity.

. . . All action in any direction is best expounded,measured, and made apprehensible by reaction.

Now apply this to the case in Macbeth. Here, asI have said, the retiring of the human heart andthe entrance of the fiendish heart was to beexpressed and made sensible. Another worldhas stepped in . . . Hence it is that, when thedeed is done, when the work of darkness is per-fect, then the world of darkness passes awaylike a pageantry in the cloud: the knocking atthe gate is heard, and it makes known audiblythat the reaction has commenced.

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Critical ThinkingInterpret• Explain that, while the porter’s

speech does not really further theplot, his slowness does.

• Point out that the ideas the porterraises, though apparently off thepoint, still are tied to the ideas ofthe play: references to the diaboli-cal reflect the character of Macbethand references to drink reflect thecondition of the king’s servants.

• Note that the porter uses two ver-sions of the same word severaltimes. Ask students to identify itand determine how it reflects onthe play. (Hint: one form is avocabulary word.)Answer: equivocator (lines 8, 12,32) and equivocate (lines 11, 36).They reflect on what is about tohappen––intentional misleadingand deception.

Literary AnalysisBlank Verse• Direct students’ attention to lines

43–44.

Monitor Progress: Then, askstudents to answer the LiteraryAnalysis question: Why is it appro-priate for the dialogue in lines43–44 to change back from proseto blank verse? Answer: It is appropriate for thedialogue to change back fromprose to blank verse because thecomic relief provided by the porterhas ended, and serious matters areabout to begin. Also, prose is usedfor low-ranking characters, such asthe porter, so blank verse is appro-priate for the high-ranking Macduffand Lennox.

Reading CheckAnswer: The porter compares thegate of Macbeth’s castle to the gateof hell.

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Macbeth, Act II, Scene iii ■ 333

[Enter MACDUFF and LENNOX.]

MACDUFF. Was it so late, friend, ere you went to bed,That you do lie so late?

PORTER. Faith, sir, we were carousing till the second25 cock:9 and drink, sir, is a great provoker of three

things.

MACDUFF. What three things does drink especiallyprovoke?

PORTER. Marry, sir, nose-painting, sleep, and urine.30 Lechery, sir, it provokes and unprovokes; it provokes

the desire, but it takes away the performance: there-fore much drink may be said to be an equivocatorwith lechery: it makes him and it mars him; itsets him on and it takes him off; it persuades him

35 and disheartens him; makes him stand to and notstand to; in conclusion equivocates him in a sleep,and giving him the lie, leaves him.

MACDUFF. I believe drink gave thee the lie10 last night.

PORTER. That it did, sir, i’ the very throat on me: but I40 requited him for his lie, and, I think, being too strong

for him, though he took up my legs sometime, yet Imake a shift to cast11 him.

MACDUFF. Is thy master stirring?

[Enter MACBETH.]

Our knocking has awaked him; here he comes.

LENNOX. Good morrow, noble sir.

45 MACBETH. Good morrow, both.

MACDUFF. Is the king stirring, worthy Thane?

MACBETH. Not yet.

MACDUFF. He did command me to call timely12 on him:I have almost slipped the hour.

MACBETH. I’ll bring you to him.

MACDUFF. I know this is a joyful trouble to you;50 But yet ’tis one.

MACBETH. The labor we delight in physics pain.13

This is the door.

MACDUFF. I’ll make so bold to call,For ’tis my limited service.14 [Exit MACDUFF.]

LENNOX. Goes the king hence today?

9. second cock 3:00 A.M.

10. gave thee the lie laid you out.

11. cast vomit.

Literary AnalysisBlank Verse Why is it appropriate for the dialogue in lines 43–44 to change back from prose to blank verse?

12. timely early.

13. labor . . . pain Labor that we enjoy cures discomfort.

14. limited service assigned duty.

To what gate does the porter compare the gate of Macbeth’s castle?

Strategy for Less Proficient ReadersExplain that the porter’sspeeches are comic interrup-tions. Other than the delay inopening the door, there is noplot development. “Knock,knock, who’s there” in line 7adds only humor. Discusswhether the lines are funny, orif the porter’s behavior addsthe most humor.

Background for English LearnersExplain that low-ranking char-acters are often vulgar inShakespeare. Hence, thishumorous passage uses imagesthat students may be surprisedto see in “serious” literature.Ask them to think of what theyknow of drunkenness, for exam-ple, as they read lines 29–37.Their knowledge may helpthem understand the images.

Strategy for Advanced ReadersAsk students to review thedefinitions of prose and comicrelief on p. 326. Have studentsdiscuss the comic impact ofthe porter’s speech. Then,have them research the use ofcomic relief in drama. Youmay wish to have them sharetheir findings with the class.

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MACBETH. He does: he did appoint so.

55 LENNOX. The night has been unruly. Where we lay,Our chimneys were blown down, and, as they say,Lamentings heard i’ th’ air, strange screams of death,And prophesying with accents terribleOf dire combustion15 and confused events

60 New hatched to th’ woeful time: the obscure bird16

Clamored the livelong night. Some say, the earthWas feverous and did shake.

MACBETH. ’Twas a rough night.

LENNOX. My young remembrance cannot parallelA fellow to it.

[Enter MACDUFF.]

65 MACDUFF. O horror, horror, horror! Tongue nor heartCannot conceive nor name thee.

MACBETH AND LENNOX. What’s the matter?

MACDUFF. Confusion17 now hath made his masterpiece.Most sacrilegious murder hath broke opeThe Lord’s anointed temple,18 and stole thenceThe life o’ th’ building.♦

70 MACBETH. What is ’t you say? The life?

LENNOX. Mean you his Majesty?

MACDUFF. Approach the chamber, and destroy your sightWith a new Gorgon:19 do not bid me speak;See, and then speak yourselves. Awake, awake!

[Exit MACBETH and LENNOX.]

75 Ring the alarum bell. Murder and Treason!Banquo and Donalbain! Malcolm! Awake!Shake off this downy sleep, death’s counterfeit,

Cultural Connection♦ Elizabethan Concepts of Monarchy

For the Elizabethans, the monarch was God’s representative on Earth. For this reason, the expression “the Lord’s anointed” is used to describe the head of state. Killing the ruler, therefore, was not just an act of political assassination; it was also a horrifying desecration of religious values.

How does Macduff’s line 68 reflect this concept of monarchy?

Reading StrategyReading Verse for Meaning Read lines55–62 aloud. How many sentences are there in these lines?

15. combustion confusion.

16. obscure bird bird of darkness, the owl.

17. Confusion destruction.

18. The Lord’s anointed temple the King’s body.

Reading StrategyReading Verse for Meaning In the latter part of Macduff’s speech, lines 75–81, where should you not pause at the ends of lines?

19. Gorgon Medusa, a mythological monster whose appearance was so ghastly that those who looked at it turned to stone.

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Reading StrategyReading Verse for Meaning • Have students read lines 55–62.

• Ask them the first ReadingStrategy question.Answer: There are three sentencesin lines 55–62.

• Have students describe the nightLennox has experienced.Answer: The wind was wild andblew down the chimney. Therewere a lot of ominous sounds. Anowl screeched all night. Somereported an earthquake.

Reading StrategyReading Verse for Meaning • Have students read the bracketed

passage on this page and the nextpage.

• Then ask them the second ReadingStrategy question.Answer: You should not pause atthe ends of lines 77, 78, and 80.

• Ask what comparison Macduffmakes between sleep and death.Answer: He says that sleep is acounterfeit, or “fake” death.

Literature in ContextMonarchy The idea that themonarch was appointed by God fitinto the whole Elizabethan idea of anordered universe. Remind students ofthe idea of a universal order, whereeverything is connected. Point outthat this connection is reflected inLennox’s speech in lines 55–62;because the king has been killed, theorder of nature itself responds withhowling and shaking. But the idea ofa monarch being appointed by Godis not an Elizabethan invention. Theidea goes back thousands of years.

Connect to the Literature Pointout the religious imagery Macduffuses in lines 68–69. Then ask theConnect to the Literature question. Answer: Macduff refers to the king’sbody as the “Lord’s anointed temple”and calls the murder “sacrilegious.”

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ForensicsIn Shakespeare’s time, little was known of bloodtypes, fingerprints, and similar modern evi-dence-gathering methods. As is seen in Act II,conclusions about the manner in which a crimewas committed and the guilt or innocence of asuspect were made largely on the basis ofappearances and unsubstantiated theories.

Today, crime scenes are preserved and inves-tigated in depth. Blood samples and finger-prints are collected. Weapons are scientificallyexamined, and witnesses, victims, and suspects

are questioned. Of course, even modern foren-sic methods may not have prevailed in thiscase. The weapons used belonged to theaccused, the blood on them was the victim’sblood. Even today, some crimes are solvedbecause the criminals “crack” from fear orguilt––or they brag.

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Critical ThinkingAnalyze• Point out that each of Macbeth’s

speeches on this page are designedto make him look loyal and lovingtoward the king.

• Ask students to paraphraseMacbeth’s words in lines 92–97.Possible response: He says that,if he had died without hearing thisbad news, he would have had ahappy life. From now on, there’snothing worthwhile in his life.

• Have students compare Macbeth’s“act” with that of Lady Macbeth.Does it seem, since the previousnight, that the control and passionhave shifted from one to the other?Possible response: Lady Macbethseems to be at a loss, now. All shecan say is, “What, in our house?”Suddenly, Macbeth is the one incontrol. He has the passion, thespeeches, the action––and hesprings pretty easily into the nextmurder.

Literary AnalysisBlank Verse• Direct students’ attention to

line 100.

• Ask students the Literary Analysisquestion: Where is there a pause inline 100? How does it reinforce themeaning? Answer: The pause occurs afterthe phrase, “Is stopped;” at thesemicolon. The pause underscoresthe emotion, as if the dreadfulwords are catching in his throat orhe is choking back tears.

• Ask students what Macbeth’swords in lines 98–100 mean.Answer: Malcolm and Donalbainare Duncan’s sons, so Duncan wasthe “source” of their blood. Theydon’t know it yet, but their father isdead.

Reading CheckAnswer: According to Macbeth, hekilled the grooms because he wasunable to be calm and rational afterhaving seen Duncan’s body. Heclaims his emotions got the betterof him.

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And look on death itself! Up, up, and seeThe great doom’s image!20 Malcolm! Banquo!

80 As from your graves rise up, and walk like sprites,21

To countenance22 this horror. Ring the bell.

[Bell rings. Enter LADY MACBETH.]

LADY MACBETH. What’s the business,That such a hideous trumpet calls to parley23

The sleepers of the house? Speak, speak!

MACDUFF. O gentle lady,85 ’Tis not for you to hear what I can speak:

The repetition, in a woman’s ear,Would murder as it fell.

[Enter BANQUO.]

O Banquo, Banquo!Our royal master’s murdered.

LADY MACBETH. Woe, alas!What, in our house?

BANQUO. Too cruel anywhere.90 Dear Duff, I prithee, contradict thyself,

And say it is not so.

[Enter MACBETH, LENNOX, and ROSS.]

MACBETH. Had I but died an hour before this chance,I had lived a blessèd time; for from this instantThere’s nothing serious in mortality:24

95 All is but toys.25 Renown and grace is dead,The wine of life is drawn, and the mere lees26

Is left this vault27 to brag of.

[Enter MALCOLM and DONALBAIN.]

DONALBAIN. What is amiss?

MACBETH. You are, and do not know ’t.The spring, the head, the fountain of your blood

100 Is stopped; the very source of it is stopped.

MACDUFF. Your royal father’s murdered.

MALCOLM. O, by whom?

LENNOX. Those of his chamber, as it seemed, had done ’t:Their hands and faces were all badged28 with blood;So were their daggers, which unwiped we found

105 Upon their pillows. They stared, and were distracted.No man’s life was to be trusted with them.

MACBETH. O, yet I do repent me of my fury,That I did kill them.

20. great doom’s image likeness of Judgment Day.

21. sprites spirits.

22. countenance be in keeping with.

23. parley war conference.

24. serious in mortality worthwhile in mortal life.

25. toys trifles.

26. lees dregs.

27. vault world.

Literary AnalysisBlank Verse Where is there a pause in line 100? How does it reinforce the meaning?

28. badged marked.

According to Macbeth, why did he kill the grooms?

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MACDUFF. Wherefore did you so?

MACBETH. Who can be wise, amazed, temp’rate and furious,110 Loyal and neutral, in a moment? No man.

The expedition29 of my violent loveOutrun the pauser, reason. Here lay Duncan,His silver skin laced with his golden blood,And his gashed stabs looked like a breach in nature

115 For ruin’s wasteful entrance: there, the murderers,Steeped in the colors of their trade, their daggersUnmannerly breeched with gore.30 Who could refrain,

Lad

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acb

eth

Sei

zin

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he

Dag

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s, H

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Fus

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The

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Gal

lery

, Lon

don

Critical Viewing This painting depicts the moment when Macbeth comes from murdering Duncan (II, ii, 14). However, it also captures the nature of the relationship between Macbeth and Lady Macbeth in the first part of the play. What do their facial expressions and body language suggest about that relationship? [Interpret]

29. expedition haste.

30. breeched with gore covered with blood.

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HumanitiesLady Macbeth Seizing the Daggers,1812 by Henry Fuseli

This painting by Henry Fuseli(1741–1825) depicts the sceneimmediately after the murder ofDuncan. It shows the horror Macbethfeels for what he has done and theunshaken control Lady Macbeth hasover him. Like most of Fuseli’s work,it has a surrealistic, nightmarish qual-ity that reflects the disordered mindsof the characters. He created thispainting from a sketch he made in1760 after seeing David Garrick andMrs. Pritchard in a performance ofMacbeth. Use these questions for dis-cussion:

1. How does the lack of color con-tribute to the mood of this scene? Answer: The lack of color createsa dream-like scene, as if the char-acters were ghosts, or fromanother world. It also makes theblood on the daggers stand out.

2. How does the artist’s depiction ofthese two characters comparewith your conception of them? Possible responses: Some stu-dents will be surprised by thecowardly, submissive appearanceof Macbeth. Lady Macbeth’saggressive posturing and deter-mined look may be more in keep-ing with students’ mental pictureof the character.

Critical ViewingAnswer: Lady Macbeth’s face andbody suggest a determined andaggressive personality. She seems todominate her shrinking, horrifiedhusband.

Critical ThinkingInterpret• Direct students’ attention to lines

119–120.

• Ask students if they think LadyMacbeth has actually fainted, or ifshe is merely pretending to faint todeflect suspicion. Possible responses: A case canbe made for either position.However, most students will proba-bly think that Lady Macbeth hasshown herself to be a treacherous,plotting villain, and her actions areas false as Macbeth’s protests oflove and loyalty.

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Critical ThinkingAnalyze• Duncan’s sons are quick to assess

their danger. Have students readthe exchanges between the broth-ers (lines 120–126 and 136–147),then ask what their biggest con-cern is.Answer: They are concerned thatwhoever is behind the murder willwant to murder them, too.

• What does this tell us about theirthoughts regarding the dead servants?Answer: They believe that the twoservants are either innocent or inthe employ of someone else.Otherwise, they would feel safe.

• Why do they decide to go in differ-ent directions?Answer: They feel that if they areseparate, the chances of one ofthem surviving is greater.

Critical ThinkingInfer• Ask students what is significant

about Banquo’s words. Answer: Banquo feels that thingsare not as they appear and warrantfurther investigation.

• Ask students what two recentevents might make Banquo thinkthat someone would have a reasonfor killing the king?Answer: Banquo heard thewitches promise Macbeth thecrown; Malcolm was just namedheir to the thrown.

Reading StrategyReading Verse for Meaning • Have students explain what

Malcolm is saying in lines 136–138.Answer: He asks Donalbain whathe’s going to do. He suggests thatthey not talk with the others. Hestates that those who are lying caneasily make a show of their sorrow.He says he’s heading for England.

Monitor Progress: Then, ask stu-dents the Reading Strategy question:How do the brief sentences in lines136–138 reinforce the meaning?Answer: The brief sentenceslend a sense of urgency to theconversation.

Reading CheckAnswer: Malcolm and Donalbaindecide to flee the scene.

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That had a heart to love, and in that heartCourage to make ’s love known?

LADY MACBETH. Help me hence, ho!

MACDUFF. Look to the lady.

120 MALCOLM. [Aside to DONALBAIN] Why do we hold our tongues,That most may claim this argument for ours?31

DONALBAIN. [Aside to MALCOLM] What should be spoken here,Where our fate, hid in an auger-hole,32

May rush, and seize us? Let’s away:Our tears are not yet brewed.

125 MALCOLM. [Aside to DONALBAIN] Nor our strong sorrowUpon the foot of motion.33

BANQUO. Look to the lady.

[LADY MACBETH is carried out.]

And when we have our naked frailties hid,34

That suffer in exposure, let us meetAnd question35 this most bloody piece of work,

130 To know it further. Fears and scruples36 shake us.In the great hand of God I stand, and thenceAgainst the undivulged pretense37 I fightOf treasonous malice.

MACDUFF. And so do I.

ALL. So all.

MACBETH. Let’s briefly38 put on manly readiness,And meet i’ th’ hall together.

135 ALL. Well contented.

[Exit all but MALCOLM and DONALBAIN.]

MALCOLM. What will you do? Let’s not consort with them.To show an unfelt sorrow is an office39

Which the false man does easy. I’ll to England.

DONALBAIN. To Ireland, I; our separated fortune140 Shall keep us both the safer. Where we are

There’s daggers in men’s smiles; the near in blood,The nearer bloody.40

MALCOLM. This murderous shaft that’s shotHath not yet lighted,41 and our safest wayIs to avoid the aim. Therefore to horse;

145 And let us not be dainty of leave-taking,But shift away. There’s warrant42 in that theftWhich steals itself43 when there’s no mercy left.

[Exit.]

31. That most . . . ours who are the most concerned with this topic.

32. auger-hole tiny hole, an unsuspected place because of its size.

33. Our tears . . . motion We have not yet had time for tears nor to turn our sorrow into action.

34. when . . . hid when we have put on our clothes.

35. question investigate.

36. scruples doubts.

37. undivulged pretense hidden purpose.

38. briefly quickly.

Reading StrategyReading Verse for Meaning How do the brief sentences in lines 136–138 reinforce the meaning?

39. office function.

40. the near . . . bloody The closer we are in blood relationship to Duncan, the greater our chance of being murdered.

41. lighted reached its target.

42. warrant justification.

43. that theft . . . itself stealing away.

What do Malcolm and Donalbain decide to do?

Strategy for Special Needs StudentsHave students consider thepainting by Henry Fuseli onthe facing page. Read aloudAct II, scene ii, in which LadyMacbeth and Macbeth carryout the murder of Duncan.Discuss in class how the imagecontributes to an understand-ing of the events.

Enrichment forGifted/Talented StudentsHave students work in smallgroups to act out the dialoguebetween Malcolm andDonalbain in Act II, scene iii.Remind students that theyshould capture in theirperform-ances the feelings ofpeople who are suspicious ofthe people around them.

Enrichment for Advanced ReadersHave students consider thedialogue between Malcolmand Donalbain in Act II,scene iii. Then, have studentswork in pairs gathering “evi-dence” that either supports orrefutes the following thesis:Duncan’s sons should neverhave left Inverness. Studentsmay wish to read ahead in theplay to bolster their arguments.

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Scene iv. Outside Macbeth’s castle.

[Enter ROSS with an OLD MAN.]

OLD MAN. Threescore and ten I can remember well:Within the volume of which time I have seenHours dreadful and things strange, but this sore1 nightHath trifled former knowings.

ROSS. Ha, good father,5 Thou seest the heavens, as troubled with man’s act,

Threatens his bloody stage. By th’ clock ’tis day,And yet dark night strangles the traveling lamp:2

Is ’t night’s predominance, or the day’s shame,That darkness does the face of earth entomb,When living light should kiss it?

10 OLD MAN. ’Tis unnatural,Even like the deed that’s done. On Tuesday lastA falcon, tow’ring in her pride of place,3

Was by a mousing owl hawked at and killed.

ROSS. And Duncan’s horses—a thing most strange and certain—

15 Beauteous and swift, the minions of their race,Turned wild in nature, broke their stalls, flung out,Contending ’gainst obedience, as they would makeWar with mankind.

OLD MAN. ’Tis said they eat4 each other.

ROSS. They did so, to th’ amazement of mine eyes,That looked upon ’t.

[Enter MACDUFF.]

20 Here comes the good Macduff.How goes the world, sir, now?

MACDUFF. Why, see you not?

ROSS. Is ’t known who did this more than bloody deed?

MACDUFF. Those that Macbeth hath slain.

ROSS. Alas, the day!What good could they pretend?5

MACDUFF. They were suborned:6

25 Malcolm and Donalbain, the king’s two sons,Are stol’n away and fled, which puts upon themSuspicion of the deed.

ROSS. ’Gainst nature still.Thriftless ambition, that will ravin up7

Thine own life’s means! Then ’tis most like

1. sore grievous.

2. traveling lamp the sun.

Vocabulary Builderpredominance (prè däm« ß nßns) n. superiority

3. tow’ring . . . place soaring at its summit.

4. eat ate.

Literary AnalysisBlank Verse What rhythmic variation in the blank verse do you find at the beginning of line 23?

5. pretend hope for.

6. suborned bribed.

7. ravin up devour greedily.

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Literary AnalysisBlank Verse• Have students read line 23 aloud,

listening for the meter.

• Encourage students to look at met-ric patterns listed under Meter inthe Literary Terms Handbook at theback of their texts.

• Then, ask students to answer theLiterary Analysis question: Whatrhythmic variation in the blankverse do you find at the beginningof line 23? Answer: The line begins with twostressed syllables creating aspondee: Those / that / Mac/beth / hath/ slain.

Critical ThinkingAnalyze• Point out that, in lines 8–9, Ross

notes that it is dark out, when itshould be light. Ask students whatthis fact signifies.Answer: It is, like the wild night, asign that the natural order is dis-rupted by Duncan’s murder.

• Explain to students that the oldman’s comment that the darknessis unnatural, like the deed that isdone, is the first indication thatDuncan’s sons are suspect. Thechild’s loyalty to a parent was seenas being as much a part of the nat-ural order as a subject’s loyalty tothe king.

• Have students look at lines 22–30.Ask them what is now believed tohave been the plot behind themurder. Why?Answer: It is believed thatDuncan’s sons paid the servants tocommit the murder. This isbelieved because the servantswould have nothing to gain fromthe murder without someone pay-ing them, and Duncan’s sons havefled the scene of the crime.

• Remind students that one of thereasons Macbeth hesitated to killDuncan is that they were related.What does that explain in thisscene?Answer: It explains why the crownwould come next to Macbeth. Amember of the royal family wouldinherit the throne.

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Many tests require students to recognize a per-suasive speech. Use the following to teach stu-dents how to recognize the purpose of aspeech.

Macbeth. . . . The expedition of my violentlove Outrun the pauser, reason. Here lay Duncan, His silver skin laced with his golden blood, . . . .there, the murderers, Steeped in the colors of their trade, theirdaggers . . .

Macbeth speaks these lines in the presence ofthe other characters primarily to—

A explain why he killed the groomsB persuade them that the grooms were

guilty and that he was loyal to DuncanC describe the appearance of the groomsD convince them that he lost control and

that he killed the grooms out of revenge. Choices A, C, and D are true but are not the pri-mary purposes of the speech. The correctanswer is B.

Forms of Propaganda (For more practice, see Standardized Test Preparation Workbook, p. 13.)

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Answers

1. Possible responses: Studentsmay feel that Lady Macbeth ismore responsible for the king’smurder because she manipulatedMacbeth. Others may feel thatMacbeth is more responsiblebecause he carried out the act.

2. (a) Macbeth is horrified by hisactions and almost incapacitated.Lady Macbeth is practical: washup, make the servants look guilty,go to bed. (b) Macbeth is imme-diately swept up in feelings ofguilt. Lady Macbeth, on the otherhand, seems cool and in charge.

3. (a) The porter imagines he istending the gate to hell. (b) Theporter’s imaginings are a com-ment on Macbeth’s situationbecause the murders Macbethand his wife commit are hellish.

4. (a) Two of the strange things thatoccur in this act are the sky’sremaining dark during the dayand Duncan’s horses eating eachother. (b) Shakespeare reportssuch occurrences at this point toshow that nature is responding tothe king’s death. (c) TheElizabethan concept that the uni-verse is orderly and intercon-nected would require that therebe consequences to the disruptionof order represented by murder—especially the murder of a king.

5. (a) Ross asks what good thegroomsmen could have hoped forby killing Duncan. There was nomotive, because they had nothingto gain. (b) Ross seems doubtfulstill, because it would be againstnature and foolish to destroy theirmeans of making a living.

6. Possible response: Studentsmay feel that political assassina-tions are sometimes necessary toend the rule of evil dictators.Others may feel that revolutionsshould be bloodless and that assas-sinations are never appropriate.

For additional informa-tion about William

Shakespeare, have students type in theWeb Code, then select S from the alpha-bet, and then select the author’s name.

Macbeth, Act II, Scene iv ■ 339

30 The sovereignty will fall upon Macbeth.

MACDUFF. He is already named, and gone to Scone8

To be invested.

ROSS. Where is Duncan’s body?

MACDUFF. Carried to Colmekill,The sacred storehouse of his predecessorsAnd guardian of their bones.

35 ROSS. Will you to Scone?

MACDUFF. No, cousin, I’ll to Fife.9

ROSS. Well, I will thither.

MACDUFF. Well, may you see things well done there.Adieu,

Lest our old robes sit easier than our new!

ROSS. Farewell, father.

40 OLD MAN. God’s benison10 go with you, and with thoseThat would make good of bad, and friends of foes!

[Exit.]

Critical Reading1. Respond: Whom do you blame more for the murder of King Duncan—

Macbeth or Lady Macbeth? Explain.

2. (a) Recall: Describe Macbeth’s and Lady Macbeth’s reactions to the murder just after it is committed. (b) Compare and Contrast: Compare and contrast their reactions to the deed.

3. (a) Recall: What kind of gate does the porter imagine he is tending? (b) Interpret: In what way is the porter’s playful fantasy a comment on Macbeth’s situation?

4. (a) Recall: What two strange occurrences are reported in this act? (b) Interpret: Why would Shakespeare include reports of such occurrences at this point in the play? (c) Connect: In what way do these strange occurrences relate to the Elizabethan notion of an orderly and interconnected universe?

5. (a) Analyze: What question does Ross ask that indicates he doubts that the grooms committed the murder? Explain. (b) Infer: Is Ross satisfied by the answer? Explain.

6. Speculate: Do you think a political assassination like the one Macbeth commits is ever justifiable? Why or why not?

8. Scone (skØn) where Scottish kings were crowned.

9. Fife where Macduff’s castle is located.

10. benison blessing.

For: More about William Shakespeare

Visit: www.PHSchool.comWeb Code: ese-9209

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