What happens act by act, the Jacobean context that shaped the play, and how Shakespeare structures Macbeths rise and fall as a tragedy.
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1.Who wrote Macbeth and roughly when?
William Shakespeare, around 1606.
2.What genre is Macbeth?
A tragedy. The protagonist has a fatal flaw that leads to his downfall and death.
3.Who was on the throne when Macbeth was written?
King James I, who had become King of England in 1603.
4.Why does the play flatter King James?
James was said to be descended from Banquo, who is presented as noble, and James had written a book about witchcraft.
5.What was the Gunpowder Plot and why does it matter?
A failed attempt to kill James I in 1605. Regicide was therefore a live and terrifying subject for the original audience.
6.What is the Divine Right of Kings?
The belief that a king is chosen by God, so killing a king is a crime against God as well as the state.
7.What did Jacobean audiences believe about witches?
Many genuinely believed in them and feared them as agents of the devil, so the witches would have been genuinely frightening.
8.What is the Great Chain of Being?
The belief in a fixed divine order with God at the top, then the king, then people, animals and objects. Disrupting it causes chaos.
9.How does the play show the natural order being disrupted?
After Duncan is killed, horses eat each other, an owl kills a falcon, and darkness covers the day.
10.What happens in Act 1?
The witches greet Macbeth with prophecies, he is made Thane of Cawdor, and Lady Macbeth persuades him to murder Duncan.
11.What are the three prophecies given to Macbeth?
That he will be Thane of Glamis, Thane of Cawdor, and king hereafter.
12.What is prophesied to Banquo?
That he will be lesser than Macbeth and greater, not so happy yet much happier, and that his descendants will be kings.
13.What happens in Act 2?
Macbeth murders Duncan, is overcome with guilt, and Duncans sons flee, which makes them appear guilty.
14.What happens in Act 3?
Macbeth has Banquo murdered, Fleance escapes, and Banquos ghost appears at the banquet.
15.Why does Macbeth fear Banquo?
Because of the prophecy that Banquos descendants will be kings, which means Macbeths crime benefits Banquos line and not his own.
16.What happens in Act 4?
The witches give Macbeth three new apparitions, and he has Macduffs wife and children murdered.
17.What are the three apparitions?
Beware Macduff; none of woman born shall harm Macbeth; and Macbeth will not be defeated until Birnam Wood comes to Dunsinane.
18.Why do the apparitions make Macbeth overconfident?
They seem to promise he cannot be beaten, so he ignores the warnings hidden inside them.
19.How are the last two apparitions fulfilled?
The army disguises itself with branches from Birnam Wood, and Macduff was delivered by caesarean rather than born naturally.
20.What happens in Act 5?
Lady Macbeth sleepwalks and dies, the English army advances, and Macduff kills Macbeth. Malcolm becomes king.
21.What is a soliloquy?
A speech where a character alone on stage speaks their thoughts aloud, letting the audience hear what others cannot.
22.Why are the soliloquies important in Macbeth?
They show Macbeths inner conflict, so the audience understands his guilt even as he acts ruthlessly.
23.What is dramatic irony?
When the audience knows something a character does not, such as Duncan praising the castle where he will be killed.
24.Why is Macbeth a short play?
The rapid pace mirrors how quickly Macbeth falls, giving a sense of events spiralling out of control.
25.What is the significance of the play beginning with the witches?
It establishes a world of disorder and supernatural influence before any human character appears.
26.How does the ending restore order?
The rightful heir Malcolm becomes king, which repairs the Great Chain of Being that Macbeth broke.
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