CONTEXTUAL QUESTION ONE
ACT1 SC V11
MACBETH
If it were done when 'tis done, then 'twere well
It were done quickly: if the assassination
Could trammel up the consequence, and catch
With his surcease success; that but this blow
Might be the be-all and the end-all here,
But here, upon this bank and shoal of time,
We'ld jump the life to come. But in these cases
We still have judgment here; that we but teach
Bloody instructions, which, being taught, return
To plague the inventor: this even-handed justice
Commends the ingredients of our poison'd chalice
To our own lips. He's here in double trust;
First, as I am his kinsman and his subject,
Strong both against the deed; then, as his host,
Who should against his murderer shut the door,
Not bear the knife myself. Besides, this Duncan
Hath borne his faculties so meek, hath been
So clear in his great office, that his virtues
Will plead like angels, trumpet-tongued, against
The deep damnation of his taking-off;
And pity, like a naked new-born babe,
Striding the blast, or heaven's cherubim, horsed
Upon the sightless couriers of the air,
Shall blow the horrid deed in every eye,
That tears shall drown the wind. I have no spur
To prick the sides of my intent, but only
Vaulting ambition, which o'erleaps itself
And falls on the other.
Enter LADY MACBETH
How now! what news?
1. This is a soliloquy. What is a soliloquy and what is its functions? /3/
2. This soliloquy is in blank verse. Explain the statement. /2/
3. “If it were done” To what is Macbeth referring? /1/
4. Why does he want to do this deed? Explain the background. /3/
5. Why is it best if it “were done quickly”? /1/
6. According to the text, what is stopping Macbeth from doing the act? /8/
7. What is Macbeth saying about justice in this soliloquy? /2/
8. What is the reason Macbeth givesS for killing Duncan? /1/
MACBETH: ACT TWO QUESTIONS
1. Write a single summary sentence for each of the scenes in this act. /4/
2. Refer to Scene 1
2.1. Banquo asks Macbeth about the Weird sisters. How does Macbeth respond and
why do you think he responds like this? /3/
2.2.What does this reveal about his nature? /2/
2.3. Refer to lines 32 to 65
Is this a dagger which I see before me,
The handle toward my hand? Come, let me clutch thee.
I have thee not, and yet I see thee still.
Art thou not, fatal vision, sensible
To feeling as to sight? or art thou but
A dagger of the mind, a false creation,
Proceeding from the heat-oppressed brain?
I see thee yet, in form as palpable
As this which now I draw.
Thou marshall'st me the way that I was going;
And such an instrument I was to use.
Mine eyes are made the fools o' the other senses,
Or else worth all the rest; I see thee still,
And on thy blade and dudgeon gouts of blood,
Which was not so before. There's no such thing:
It is the bloody business which informs
Thus to mine eyes. Now o'er the one halfworld
Nature seems dead, and wicked dreams abuse
The curtain'd sleep; witchcraft celebrates
Pale Hecate's offerings, and wither'd murder,
Alarum'd by his sentinel, the wolf,
Whose howl's his watch, thus with his stealthy pace.
With Tarquin's ravishing strides, towards his design
Moves like a ghost. Thou sure and firm-set earth,
Hear not my steps, which way they walk, for fear
Thy very stones prate of my whereabout,
And take the present horror from the time,
Which now suits with it. 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 knell
That summons thee to heaven or to hell.
Exit
2.3.1. What does this soliloquy reveal to us about the stat of Macbeth’s
mind at this stage of the play? Substantiate your answer. /3/
2.3.2. Explain what is meant by the lines “Whiles I threat,….gives” /3/
2.3.2. Do you think the bell summoned Ducan to heaven or to hell?
Justify your answer with evidence from the play.
/2/
2.3.3. Where else in the play does Macbeth hallucinate? (2)
2.3.4. According to the play, where would Duncan be going, heaven or
hell? Justify your answer. (2)
2.3.5. Reference is made to sleep in this soliloquy. Where else is the
theme developed in the play? Discuss its importance. (4)
