Macbeth Act IV and Act V

Wednesday, April 5 (A) Thursday, April 6 (B, F)
Read Act IV Scenes ii and iii and respond to the following:

Act IV Scene ii:

1)  Why is Lady MacDuff upset with MacDuff?


2)  How do we know her tone with her son is more bantering than serious?


3)  In the short time we get to know the Macduff son, what endears him to us?  Why is it important that we respond to him in this way?


4)  Identify a specific line or two of text from either Lady MacDuff or her son that underscores Shakespeare's thematic intent.

Act IV scene iii

Before reading:  Macbeth has tried to lure Malcolm back to Scotland by various schemes that he has been able to see as traps.  If you were Malcolm how would you respond to Macduff who has come to England to convince you to return to Scotland for the purposes of overthrowing Macbeth?






How does Malcolm respond to Macduff?  What is the resolution of their conversations?







Complete the following passage from Gervinius's  "Shakespeare Commentaries" written in 1885: (First three are all the same word)
"Macduff is, by nature, what Macbeth once was, a mixture of mildness and force; he is more than Macbeth, because he is without any admixture of ______________.  When Malcolm accuses himself to Macduff of every imaginable  vice , not a shadow of _________________ to force himself into the usurper's place comes over Macduff.  So noble, so blameless, so mild, Macduff lacks the goad of sharp __________________ necessary to make him a victorious opponent of Macbeth: [Shakespeare], therefore by the horrible extermination of his family, drains him of the 'milk of human _____________________, and so fit him to be the conqueror of Macbeth."


Thursday, April 6 (A) Friday, April 7 (B,F)

Read Macbeth Act V scenes i and ii.  Annotate at least five symbols or motifs.

Monday, April 10
Read Macbeth ActV scenes iii, iv, and v and William Maxwell's "Nearing Ninety".  Write down 3-5 direct contrasts with Macbeth's thoughts on life in Act V scene iii lines 26-33 and Act V sce v lines 22-31
Nearing Ninety Essay

Thursday April 13

Proposal For Final Macbeth project