Macbeth Act 4 Study Questions

Macbeth Act Four

Macbeth

4.1

1) What are the four visions that Macbeth sees?

-A child holding a tree with a crown

-Eight Kings and Banquo

-Armed head

-Bloody Child

2) Which visions does he misread or misunderstand and why?

That he’s invincible because trees will never move and everyone is born from a woman.

3) What news does Lennox bring Macbeth?

That Macduff is plotting against him in England.

4) What does Macbeth decide from Lennox’s news?

To kill everyone!!!!!!

5) How might this scene be a possible climax for the play?

This scene is the climax because this is where Macbeth begins to believe he is invincible and become a tyrant.

4.2

1) Why does Shakespeare include a scene with Lady Macduff and her son?
To show the choices that Macduff has to make. Lady Macbeth is upset with Macduff because he left them to save the country.

2) What is important about this scene?

Show Macbeth’s cruelty, and how he is trying to hurt Macbeth by killing innocent people.

3) List one motif or symbol from this scene?
How Lady Macduff is the wren that protects her chicks and Macbeth is the Owl that kills the chicks.

4.3

1) Why has Macduff come to England?

To recruit Malcolm and an army

2) What is Malcolm’s fear in lines 10-19?

You were buddies with Macbeth and I don’t trust you.

3) Who does the lamb represent in these lines?

The lamb is Malcolm

4) What is significant in the lines “Angles are bright still, though the brightest fell./Though all things foul would wear the brows of grace,/ yet grace must still look so.”

Macbeth is a fallen angel like Lucifer.

5) What is significant in the line, “Bleed, bleed, pour country!”
The country is falling apart because no one will stand up to Macbeth.

6) What does Malcolm call Macbeth? What list of adjectives does he use?

Macbeth is not a good ruler.
I grant him bloody,

Luxurious, avaricious, false, deceitful,

Sudden, malicious, smacking of every sin

That has a name.

7) How has Malcolm changed since Act II?
He runs away in Act II, but now he is coming back to fight

8) What is the atmosphere of this scene? Why is this important?
Hopeful, because Malcolm is saying he’ll come back and fight. This is important because it shows someone may take down Macbeth.

9) What news does the doctor bring? How is this symbolic to the scene, especially to Malcolm?
The doctor says a crowd is waiting for Edward the Confessor to heal him. God appoints kings, and the right king (Malcolm) can heal the country.

10) How many men did England lend Macduff?
10,000 soldiers

11) What does Macduff mean when he says, “But I must also feel it as a man.”

I still have to grieve, because I’m a person with emotions.