Macbeth Act V Discussion Questions*
These questions will be asked in class as part of discussion, or they may be given out as homework, exit/entrance tickets, or essay assignments. Not all of these questions may be asked, but many of them will. Please pay attention to in-class directions.
ACT FIVE
Scene One
This is Lady Macbeth's sleepwalking scene. Read the scene carefully.
- Are we to take this scene as evidence that Lady Macbeth is insane?
- Is sleepwalking the same thing as insanity?
- Previously, we have seen Macbeth experience visions (the dagger), auditory hallucinations ("Sleep no more!") and apparitions. Macbeth's capacity to project his fears and anxieties outside of himself seems contrasted to Lady Macbeth's tendency to repress and conceal those same fears. Does gender play a role in each character's "keep it inside" / "project it outside" approach to guilt and repression?
- In what ways is this scene linked to her “Unsex me…” speech in Act One, scene five?
- Look carefully at the images that come out of her subconscious mind (light, water…) . What do these specific images suggest about her state of mind?
- Why does Shakespeare want us to feel more sympathetic to Lady Macbeth at this moment? Does he succeed in evoking our sympathies?
- What is Shakespeare saying about the nature of evil if we feel sympathy (or at least pity) for an evildoer?
Scene Three
Read Macbeth's speech which begins with “I am sick at heart...”
- Why is he disillusioned?
- In the scene as a whole, in what ways is he still placing his faith in the witches?
- To what disease is Macbeth referring? How is this ironic?
_______________________________________________________________
Scene Four
- How are the forces going to camouflage themselves?
_______________________________________________________________
Scene Five
- Read Macbeth's speech in response to Lady Macbeth's death. How does he respond?
- What metaphors does he use for life?
- What admirable quality does Macbeth finally display?
_______________________________________________________________
Scene Seven
- Why does Macbeth kill again? What is his motivation?
- How is Macduff’s motivation for killing different than Macbeth’s?
_______________________________________________________________
Scene Eight
- What does Macbeth’s line: “My soul is too much charged… already” mean?
- What is significant about Macbeth being tricked in a “double sense”?
- Macbeth is killed brutally. How does this parallel another event early in the play?
- Who is King in the end?
- What prophecy was not fulfilled?
* Questions taken or adapted from this site: www.appohigh.org/.../Macbeth%20Study%20Questions%20Act%201.doc