The teacher, or a student, asks the questions. Answer in full sentences, then ask a follow-up question to your partner. Change roles every three questions.
Questions to answer orally
Who are the three witches and what do they announce?
Why does Lady Macbeth call on the spirits?
Why does Macbeth hesitate before the murder?
What does the dagger represent?
Why does Macbeth have Banquo killed?
How do the prophecies of Act IV trick Macbeth?
What does the sleepwalking scene show?
Is Macbeth a tragic hero? Justify.
Model answers
They are mysterious women on the heath; they announce that Macbeth will be thane of Cawdor and then king, and that Banquo's children will be kings.
She wants them to remove her feminine softness and fill her with cruelty so she can push Macbeth to kill Duncan.
Duncan is his king, his relative and his guest; he fears judgement; his only motive is ambition.
His guilt and his desire; perhaps a hallucination, "a dagger of the mind".
Banquo suspects him, and the witches said Banquo's children would be kings.
They are equivocal: Macduff was not born naturally, and the soldiers carry branches of Birnam wood.
Lady Macbeth's guilt destroys her; she relives the murders and tries to wash invisible blood.
Yes: a brave man of high rank destroyed by a flaw, ambition; but his crimes make it hard to pity him.
Question forms: ask the question
Write the question that matches each answer. The underlined words are the answer.