Study Questions & Essay Topics
Study Questions
1. Characterize
the relationship between Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. If the main theme
of Macbeth is ambition, whose ambition is the driving
force of the play—Macbeth’s, Lady Macbeth’s, or both?
The Macbeths’ marriage, like the couple themselves,
is atypical, particularly by the standards of its time. Yet despite
their odd power dynamic, the two of them seem surprisingly attached
to one another, particularly compared to other married couples in
Shakespeare’s plays, in which romantic felicity appears primarily
during courtship and marriages tend to be troubled. Macbeth offers
an exception to this rule, as Macbeth and his wife are partners
in the truest sense of the word. Of course, the irony of their “happy”
marriage is clear—they are united by their crimes, their mutual
madness, and their mounting alienation from the rest of humanity.
Though Macbeth is a brave general and a powerful
lord, his wife is far from subordinate to his will. Indeed, she
often seems to control him, either by crafty manipulation or by
direct order. And it is Lady Macbeth’s deep-seated ambition, rather
than her husband’s, that ultimately propels the plot of the play
by goading Macbeth to murder Duncan. Macbeth does not need any help
coming up with the idea of murdering Duncan, but it seems unlikely
that he would have committed the murder without his wife’s powerful
taunts and persuasions.
2. One of the
important themes in Macbeth is the idea of political
legitimacy, of the moral authority that some kings possess and others
lack. With particular attention to Malcolm’s questioning of Macduff
in Act 4, scene 3, try to define some of the characteristics
that grant or invalidate the moral legitimacy of absolute power.
What makes Duncan a good king? What makes Macbeth a tyrant?
After Duncan’s death, the nobles of Scotland
begin to grumble among themselves about what they perceive as Macbeth’s
tyrannical behavior. When Macduff meets Malcolm in England, Malcolm pretends
that he would make an even worse king than Macbeth in order to test
Macduff’s loyalty to Scotland. The bad qualities he claims to possess
include lust, greed, and a chaotic and violent temperament. These
qualities all seem characteristic of Macbeth, whereas Duncan’s universally
lauded reign was marked by the king’s kindness, generosity, and
stabilizing presence. The king must be able to keep order and should
reward his subjects according to their merits. For example, Duncan
makes Macbeth thane of Cawdor after Macbeth’s victory over the invaders.
Perhaps the most important quality of a true king to emerge in Malcolm’s
conversation with Macduff is loyalty to Scotland and its people
above oneself. Macbeth wishes to be king to gratify his own desires,
while Duncan and Malcolm wear the crown out of love for their nation.
3. An important
theme in Macbeth is the relationship between gender
and power, particularly Shakespeare’s exploration of the values
that make up the idea of masculinity. What are these values, and
how do various characters embody them? How does Shakespeare subvert
his characters’ perception of gender roles?
Manhood, for most of the characters in Macbeth,
is tied to ideals of strength, power, physical courage, and force
of will; it is rarely tied to ideals of intelligence or moral fortitude.
At several points in the play, the characters goad one another into
action by questioning each other’s manhood. Most significantly,
Lady Macbeth emasculates her husband repeatedly, knowing that in
his desperation to prove his manhood he will perform the acts she
wishes him to perform. Macbeth echoes Lady Macbeth’s words when
he questions the manhood of the murderers he has hired to kill Banquo,
and after Macduff’s wife and children are killed, Malcolm urges
Macduff to take the news with manly reserve and to devote himself
to the destruction of Macbeth, his family’s murderer. Ultimately,
there is a strong suggestion that manhood is tied to cruelty and
violence: note Lady Macbeth’s speech in Act 1, scene 5, when she
asks to be “unsexed” so that she can help her husband commit murder.
Yet, at the same time, the audience is clearly meant to realize
that women provide the push that sets the bloody action of the play
in motion. Macduff, too, suggests that the equation of masculinity
with cruelty is not quite correct. His comments show that he believes
emotion and reflection are also important attributes of the true
man.
Suggested Essay Topics
1. The fantastical and grotesque
witches are among the most memorable figures in the play. How does
Shakespeare characterize the witches? What is their thematic significance?
2. Compare and contrast Macbeth,
Macduff, and Banquo. How are they alike? How are they different?
Is it possible to argue that Macbeth is the play’s villain and Macduff
or Banquo its hero, or is the matter more complicated than that?
3. Discuss the role that blood
plays in Macbeth, particularly immediately following
Duncan’s murder and late in the play. What does it symbolize for
Macbeth and his wife?
4. Discuss Macbeth’s visions
and hallucinations. What role do they play in the development of
his character?
5. Is Macbeth a
moral play? Is justice served at the end of the play? Defend your
answer.
6. Discuss Shakespeare’s use
of the technique of elision, in which certain key events take place
offstage. Why do you think he uses this technique?
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