Pre-Seminar Activities

PRE-SEMINAR QUESTIONS

Answer the questions below in complete sentences during your reading of the play and prior to the seminar. Include quotations or specific details from the play to support your answers.

1.   Explain how Macbeth is initially presented in the opening act of the play. [Refer to Act I scenes ii, iii, and iv.] How does this change throughout the play?

2.      At the beginning of the play, Macbeth writes to his wife as “my dearest partner of greatness” [I.v.10–11]. 

a)      Are the Macbeths true “partners”?  Why or why not?

b)    Upon considering the shifts in power that occur between the spouses and Macbeth’s response to Lady Macbeth’s death, explain how their relationship changes throughout the play.

c)      Would you define the Macbeths’ relationship as an emotionally fulfilling marriage or a marriage of convenience designed to improve their social status?  Why?

3.      Shakespeare uses two antagonists, Banquo and Macduff, as character foils to Macbeth. Describe the characters of Banquo and Macduff by explaining how Shakespeare wins respect and approval for them.  Include references to whether their primary responsibilities are to the state or to their families.

4.      Lady Macbeth functions as an intriguing character study within the play. 

a)      What qualities does Lady Macbeth possess that may render her a better assassin than her husband?

b)      Does she challenge or conform to common expectations of women during Elizabethan times?  Why?

c)      Explain the significance of Macbeth’s supposed compliment to his wife, that is, to “bring forth men children only” [I.vii].

5.      Discuss the role of the supernatural in Macbeth.  In doing so, explain the significance of: 

a)      the Witches

b)      the banquet scene [consider Banquo’s ghost and the reaction of the Thanes]

c)      the floating dagger

d)      the strange voices that Macbeth hears after murdering Duncan

e)      the unnatural events following Duncan’s murder.

6.      Discuss the importance of sleep, or lack thereof, in Macbeth. Consider the effects of insomnia or the lack of restful sleep on: 

a)      Macbeth

b)      Lady Macbeth

c)      Banquo.

7.      Re-read the scenes that include comedy [II.iii.1-40 and IV.ii.33-72]. In 50 to 60 words, paraphrase these lines and explain the purpose of these scenes and their impact on the audience. [HINT: Consider the juxtaposition of the scenes immediately before and after these comedic scenes.]

8.      Compare and contrast Lady Macbeth and Lady Macduff with respect to their:

a)      roles as wives

b)      attitudes toward children

c)      perception of themselves.

9. How does setting contribute to the mood of the play?

10.    The line, “Fair is foul and foul is fair” is famous paradox in "Macbeth." Consider where (characters, theme, juxtaposition) we see this recurring idea throughout the play?

11. Re-read Act 1, Scene 6. Remember Lady Macbeth tells Macbeth to “Look like the innocent flower, but be the serpent under’t.” Examine the subtext of this scene, which is what you imagine the speaker is really thinking while they are talking. We are doing this to crawl inside Lady Macbeth’s and Macbeth’s head so we can learn more about their character. Write down the scene using what you imagine as their sub-text.  

12.      Explain whether or not you feel any empathy for Macbeth’s “fiend-like queen” [V.ix.41] or for Macbeth himself [V.iii.22-31 and V.v.10-30] at the end of the play.  In doing so, consider whether or not the Witches are responsible for the play’s outcome.

13.  Choose a crucial soliloquy for one of the following characters: Banquo, Lady Macbeth, or Macbeth. [You may need to look for scenes where these characters begin the scene by themselves or remain by themselves after several other characters exit.] Paraphrase the soliloquy, explain the significance of this soliloquy, and address the presence of dramatic irony.