Macbeth Act One Powerful Questions
In the comment feature, post TWO of your best questions about Act 1. Try not to repeat other's questions (this means you need to read other's comments first before you comment yourself). We will use these questions as the basis for our class discussion tomorrow to review for our quiz. Ask powerful questions!
posted by annes @ 9:19 AM
34 Comments:
One of the characteristics of a tragedy was a character with a fatal flaw. At first I thought it was a hunger for power but now I have a question. Is it possible that his flaw is his wife? She seems to be the one encouraging his movements.
?1: What does the thunder and lightning in the begining of Act I symbolize about the witches?
?2: What does Shakespeare want us to learn by continuously bringing up the concept of acting one way vs. reality?
Question 1: What is the role of women in this play? Is Lady Macbeth an early showing of feminism? If so, what does this show about Shakespeare himself and his thoughts in his times?
Question 2: If and how can this play be related to real life?
Here are my two burning questions:
Why hadn't Macbeth realized that becoming king was within his grasp before the witches told him?
Lady Macbeth seems to become more and more greedy the more she thinks about Macbeth becoming king. Why is she even more hungry for power than he is?
1) Lady Macbeth "calls on the powers of evil" at the beginning of Scene 5 to help her do what must be done- kill Duncan so that Macbeth can be king. Why does Lady Macbeth feel that she needs this help? Is she really as strong as she pretends to be, or is she also afraid of killing Duncan, as she believes Macbeth is?
2) In Scene 3, the witches seem to know Macbeth is coming and prepare to tell him their prophecies. How do the witches know who Macbeth is, and why should his fate or the fate of anyone else concern them?
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(1.5.151-163) This is a quick passage in which I am referring to. At this time, Macbeth is busy wondering whether or not the witches' prophecy is true or not and whether or not all of the events that will follow to him possibly being king will be considered good or bad. My question is:
What exactly determines something to be good or bad?
The witches are really creepy characters and I wonder what their whole part in the book is about. So for my second question I ask:
Will the Macbeth's future affect the witches in some way? If so, why or how?
1.) Does Macbeth have enough will power to kill Duncan himself? What will happen if he doesn't go through with it? How will Lady Macbeth react? Will Macbeth become king?
2.) Why doesn't Lady Macbeth just kill Duncan herself if she is so persistent about him being murdered? Is it because she really doesn't have the power too or because she doesn't want to give up her "image of innocence"?
Question: What caused Lady Macbeth to become so bloodthirsty, true enough to her word that she would kill her own child, and most importantly, power hungry? Was she secretly born a peasnt, and knew what it was like to have minimal power?
Another question, how many kids has she had... why does she show almost NO motherly qualites. Macbeth also doesn't show that he was dad, even if his kids are grown. Problem: If his kids are grown, then he would probably be too old to go riding off to war and become a war hero...
1: What is the intent of the witches, and what motivates them?
2: What elements of Macbeth's personality might give us clues as to how he might act?
1. Lady Macbeth said she had a child before. What happened to this child? Is it still alive? If it is dead, what happened?
2. Is Lady Macbeth using Macbeth as a puppet in order to gain more power for herself? She seems to have Macbeth wrapped around her finger, and she's got her hands around Duncan's neck via Macbeth, so to speak. Why doesn't she just make Macbeth kill Duncan or do it herself?
1) How would the play have changed if Duncan was going to the Macbeth Castel to tell him that he was really going to become king?
2)How will Lady Macbeth feel after she has killed/helped kill Duncan? Will she regret what she did later?
My two questions are as follows:
1. What is the role of Banquo? He seems to in a lot of scenes yet never says or does anything of importance.
2.How do the withches get the information the Macbeth is Thane of Cawdor? Is it just a wild guesss?
Okay here are my questions
1) Is Lady Macbeth pushing Macbeth to kill Duncan for her own benefit??
2) Is Macbeth a better soldier than a king??
3) SInce Lady Macbeth is like the brains and power of the family and Macbeth knows it(since she always talks him into things and pushes him) then will he end up killing Duncan himself since Lady Macbeth agrees with his idea??
1) Why is Macbeth suddenly doubting if he will kill King Duncan when he is such a brutal man that has cut someone in half??
2) How does King Duncan already trust Macbeth when he doesnt even know him well at all?
1)Is Macbeth really as unable to function off of his own ideas as he appears to be?
2)If Duncan does get killed whether by Macbeth or not, how will Macbeth feel knowing that he has killed someone who trusts him deepls? How will he be affected by that remorse?
Why are the witches in the play?
Who is more ambitious, Macbeth or Lady Macbeth? In what way?
1. Is Mcbeth really a coward as Lady Macbeth percieves him to be, or is he stugling with the fact that killing a man for no other reason than personal gain is wrong?
2. The witches in the play have thusfar confused and led astray Macbeth they have made him power hungry, and twisted his desires. Will he be to blame for his future actions against Ducan? or will it be the witches fault? WHY?
1. Why are the witches trying to cause so much caos? Do they (ever) tell the truth?
2. What has made Macbeth so power hungry?
Here are my two questions:
1) We are still unsure if Macbeth with actually go through with killing Duncan. But is there a clue in the text when we discover that Duncan had formed a strong trust with the Thane of Cawdor, then he betrayed him, and now he has already formed a strong trust with Macbeth? Does this mean Macbeth will break the trust or not? Why or why not?
2) Throughout the text, Shakespeare says "Fair is Foul and Foul is Fair" on more than one ocassion. What does that really mean and could it be used as a theme for what is going on right now in the play? Or even the entire play?
WHy are the witches wanting to throw everything into choas? is there somthing in it for them? Or are they really prophecising, by them knowing Macbeth would duie what it takes to become king once being nudged in the right direction?
1. Was Macbeth "famous" before the war? If so, why?
2. Was Lady Macbeth so evil and murderous when she married Macbeth? Has she always been that way?
1. Lady Macbeth seems to be pressuring Macbeth into doing her bidding...is there some setup in this?
2. Are the witches orchestrating something to help them out in someway?
Okay her it goes!
Question 1: Is Macbeth the kind of person that if he is the leader then he is weak and cannont follow through with plans, or is he the type of person that when he is told what to do, or the follower, then nothing can stand in his way, and killing is no problem?
Question 2:When reading the text and watching the three renactments of Macbeth the witches were called the Weird Sisters. To me they don't sound at all like sisters and wouldn't they just call them the Weird Witches or something else to that matter?
My other question is this: If it weren't for the witches, would the idea have been planted that Macbeth would be king or would he have just gone on as a war hero? Would his wife have cooked up a scheme?
My first question has to do with what Lady Macbeth says in scene five, page 35. "Come, you spirits that tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here, and fill me, from my crown to the toe, top-full of direst cruelty! Make thick my blood; stop up the access and passage to remorse." My question is, if Lady Macbeth is so canniving and cruel, than why does she call upon spirits to fill her with cruelty and keep her from remorse? Is Lady Macbeth this insanely cruel person, or is she truly weak?
Why does Macbeth automatically assume that to become king, he must murder Duncan? He didn't have to murder the Thane of Cawdor to get his title, so why does he think he has to take matters into his own hands?
1.From what we know of Macbeth so far, why would he make a good King? A bad King? What characteristics make a good king?
2.Why did the witches tell Macbeth of the prophecy? How might they be able to gain from his knowing of it? How might Macbeth's knowing of the prophecy change the outcome of it?
My two questions are:
1. Why is Macbeth afraid of murdering King Duncan when he has already killed so many other people in battle?
2. Does the act of King Duncan giving Macbeth the title of the traitor Thane of Cawdor have any foreshadowing to how Macbeth will act farther into the play?
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1. Why does Macbeth want to kill his very own king to become king himself?
2. WHat motivates Lady Macbeth to passionately encourage Macbeth to kill King Duncan?
1) Did Macbeth become powerhungry because he heard the witches prophecy about him becoming king?
2) The three witches seem like they are chanting a lot. Does this have anything to do with the story or is it just Shakespeare wanting to use poetry?
I have another important question!!!
What is the role of women in this play? The witches and Lady Macbeth all seem to be a bit more powerful and aggressive then their male companions. What does this say about Shakespeare himself?
Since we now finished Act 3, looking back on the witches prophecy, I do not understand how it came true. Or if it will even come true. When the witches were talking about Banquo and his future, they said that he would be "not so happy, yet much happier." I understand that Banquo can still not be a king, but his descendants will be, but how can he be happier if he was already murdered without the knowledge that his family will take over the throne at some point?
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