Paige Rowley

English 12
Cindy Rogers
November 4, 2016
English 12 A10 Macbeth

1.) Act2,Scenes12.WhatstrengthsandweaknessesofLadyMacbetharerevealedin
thesescenes?Discussherroleinthemurderanditscoverup,herjitteryresponsetothe
soundofherhusband'svoice,whyshedidnotmurderDuncanherself,andhowshedeals
withherhusband'sfears.
In Act 2, Scenes 1 & 2, a weakness Lady Macbeth shows is when she cannot kill
Duncan herself, because he reminded her of her father. She sees Duncan as an authority
figure to whom she needs to be loyal to, just as her father was. It's the only point so far at
which Lady Macbeth appears at all vulnerable. Some of her strengths include being
persuasive and following through. Every time her husband shows any weakness, Lady
Macbeth is adamant that they must go through with the plan, and each time, she succeeds
in persuading Macbeth to allow his darker thoughts take over. Lady Macbeth plays a
huge part in the murder and cover-up of Duncan. Though she does not actively murder
Duncan herself, Lady Macbeth persuaded Macbeth to murder Duncan, thought up the
plan, got the guards drunk, set up the signals and timing, and completely planned out the
cover-up by going in herself and planting the bloody daggers on the sleeping guards, and
smearing them with blood. I don't think the murder would've been successful, or may not
had even happened without Lady Macbeth. Macbeth himself may have had misgivings

about the idea and not followed through. Later on, Lady Macbeth thought she heard
noise coming from the room, and feared Macbeth had failed in the murder, or that the
guards has woken up, which was why her voice was jittery. Lady Macbeth deals with her
husbands fears by first trying to comfort and persuade him that it will all work out
according to plan, but gets angry at him and calls him a coward after he refuses to go
back into the room and plant the daggers and the blood on the guards, because he was
afraid.

2.) Act 2, Scenes 3 4. What is the most memorable mental picture you formed while
reading this act? Jot down a few vivid words and phrases to describe that picture.
The most vivid mental picture I formed from reading this act is the room where
the guards lay bloody. I imagine this when Lennox is explaining to Malcolm who killed
the king. A few phrases I could use to describe this mental picture is "covered in blood,"
"stared at us in confusion," and, "bloody daggers unwiped on the pillows."

3.) Act 2, Scenes 3 4. How has Macbeth changed as a result of the events in this act?
Find lines that illustrate these changes. What happens before and after he kills Duncan?
Discuss his state of mind and fears for the future. Do you feel sympathy for Macbeth?
As a result of the events in this act, Macbeth feels deep regret and guilt. This is
shown when he says, "Where is that knocking coming from? Whats happening to me,
that Im frightened of every noise? Whose hands are these? Ha! Theyre plucking out my
eyes. Will all the water in the ocean wash this blood from my hands? No, instead my
hands will stain the seas scarlet, turning the green waters red." Before the murder,

Macbeth failed to finish the job and cover his tracks, because his guilt was weighing so
heavily on him. After the murder, he decides to kill Banquo and his son for fear they
might take his throne. As a result of all this, Macbeth's state of mind becomes paranoid.
I am slip between whether I feel sympathy for Macbeth or not. If Macbeth was alone, he
may have decided against the plan to murder the king because of a guilty conscience or
cowardice. However, his manipulative wife, Lady Macbeth, enticed him into it and
corrupted his goodness. I suppose I feel a bit of sympathy for him because of this.

4.) Act 3, Scenes 1 - 3 Why are Macbeth and Lady Macbeth unhappy as king and queen?
Macbeth and Lay Macbeth are unhappy as king and queen because both are
plagued with guilt at their past actions now, and Macbeth is still threatened by the witches
prophecy of Fleance, Banquo's son, taking his throne from him.

5.) Act 3, Scenes 4 - 6 So far, Macbeth has seen a bloody ghost and a floating dagger and
has heard voices. What does his active imagination reveal about his inner conflicts?
As a result of Macbeth's guilt, he becomes very conflicted. Because of his inner
conflict, he becomes psychologically unstable. He feels so guilty about murdering
Banquo, he sees a hallucination in the form of Banquo's ghost and makes a scene in the
middle of his feast. His active imagination shows his intense guilt.