Penguin Readers Factsheets
Level 4 – Intermediate
Teacher’s Notes
Macbeth
by William Shakespeare
Summary
Macbeth and his friend Banquo meet three witches who predict that
Macbeth will become Thane of Cawdor and King of Scotland, and
that Banquo’s children will be future kings. Macbeth jokes about it
at first, but when he is rewarded by King Duncan for his heroism in
battle by being made Thane of Cawdor, he begins to take the rest
of his prophecy seriously. He lets his wife persuade him to kill King
Duncan, and the second part of the prophecy comes true. Instead
of happiness, however, fear and paranoia set in. He worries about
the witches’ prophecy concerning Banquo, so arranges to have his
friend and son murdered. Banquo dies, but his son escapes, and
Macbeth is haunted by Banquo’s ghost at a feast.
More and more people suspect Macbeth of the murders and
plan to get rid of him. Macbeth consults the witches again, and is
reassured to hear that he will be killed by ‘no man born from a
woman’, and will be safe from danger until the trees of Birnam
Wood march against him. He has the wife and family of his
arch-enemy, Macduff murdered, and confidently awaits battle with
his enemies. Just before the battle, Lady Macbeth kills herself. A
messenger then tells Macbeth that a forest is moving towards the
castle (in order to attack Macbeth’s castle, Macduff and the
soldiers camouflage themselves with branches cut from trees in
Birnam Wood). The battle is lost, but Macbeth refuses to surrender
because he still believes that he cannot be killed. He fights Macduff
and almost wins, but Macduff tells him that he was not born
naturally – he was cut from his mother’s body. Macbeth knows all is
lost but still doesn’t surrender. Macduff kills him, and King Duncan’s
son Malcolm is hailed as the new king of Scotland.
About William Shakespeare
Although Shakespeare is one of the world’s greatest writers,
surprisingly little is known about his life, especially his early years
in Stratford-upon-Avon. However, we do know that
• he was born on 23rd April 1564 and died on 23rd April 1616.
• his mother, Mary Arden, came from a higher social background
than his father, who was a civil servant.
• he went to a good school but did not attend university.
• in 1582 he married Anne Hathaway and they had three children.
From 1590, his plays began to be performed on the London
stage. Over a period of 23 years (1590–1613), he wrote 37 plays,
sometimes writing three plays a year! He also wrote poetry,
including a number of beautiful sonnets. His plays were performed
© Pearson Education Limited 2004
Macbeth
before the king (James I) and enjoyed critical and popular success.
By the time he died he was a wealthy man.
Shakespeare’s plays are famous throughout the world for their
poetry and their insights into the nature of life and the human
condition. A large number of them are set in the south of Europe,
particularly Italy. However, he chose gloomy northern European
landscapes for three of his darkest tragedies, Hamlet (1601), King
Lear (1605) and Macbeth (1605). Some of his other plays are The
Taming of the Shrew (1591), A Midsummer Night’s Dream
(1594), Romeo and Juliet (1595), The Merchant of Venice
(1596), Henry V (1599), Much Ado About Nothing (1599), Julius
Caesar (1599), Othello (1604) and The Tempest (1611).
Background and themes
Set in eleventh century Scotland, Macbeth is a play that explores
the nature of evil and ambition. Macbeth is more than just a
straightforward villain. He has some good qualities: he is brave and
heroic. We are drawn into Macbeth’s mind and we experience his
torments and temptations. But he is also a proud, violent and
fundamentally weak man. It is said that evil cannot exist without the
will behind it, and Lady Macbeth is the force which allows Macbeth
to act without will. Although we are appalled by his terrible actions,
we are fascinated by his complexity. In this way, we learn something
of the conflicting natures of man.
Another theme of the play is the relationship between men and
women. Lady Macbeth is seen by many feminists as a heroic figure.
She has a stronger character than her husband. She has
manoeuvred herself into the highest circles through a combination
of intelligence and cunning. She easily manipulates her husband
into doing what she wants. She takes her husband’s good qualities
(ambition, bravery) and turns them into instruments of wickedness.
A third interesting aspect of the play is the role of the
supernatural. Would Macbeth have been led to murder without the
vision of a knife or the predictions of the three witches? Would his
crimes have escaped detection had Banquo’s ghost not turned up
at the feast? Are the witches and ghost real, or a product of
Macbeth’s imagination? It is worth remembering that, when
Shakespeare wrote Macbeth, witches and ghosts were taken very
seriously. Even King James I believed that they were real!
Penguin Readers Factsheets

Level 4 – Intermediate
Teacher’s Notes

Acts 4 and 5
Communicative activities
• Put students into groups to discuss these questions.
The following teacher-led activities cover the same sections of (a) Why does Macbeth kill Macduff’s family?
text as the exercises at the back of the Reader, and (b) Why does Macbeth’s wife kill herself?
supplement those exercises. Further supplementary exercises (c) How does Macbeth feel about his wife’s death? Why
covering shorter sections of the book can be found on the does he feel this way?
photocopiable Student’s Activities pages of this Factsheet. (d) Why doesn’t Macbeth surrender to Macduff?
These are primarily for use with class readers, but with the
ACTIVITIES AFTER READING THE BOOK
exception of pair/group work questions, can also be used by
students working alone in a self-access centre. 1 Put students into groups of three. Ask them to act out this

ACTIVITIES BEFORE READING THE BOOK
1 Put students into small groups. Ask them
(a) what Shakespeare plays they know.
(b) what they know about the characters, story or setting of
any of these plays.
(c) what they know about Macbeth.
Discuss group findings as a class.
2 Write these words on the board: armour, battle, betray,
c rown, fate, predict, surrender, trust, tyrant and witch.
Ask students to write sentences using these words. Ask them
to read out their sentences. Write the best ones on the board.
Macbeth
conversation.
Student A: You think everything is Macbeth’s fault. Say why
Student B: You think everything is Lady Macbeth’s fault. Say
why.
Student C: You think everything is the witches’ fault. Say why.
2 Put students into small groups. Ask them to choose one of
the following scenes:
Act 1 Scene 3, Act 2 Scene 2, Act 2 Scene 3,
Act 3 Scene 4, Act 4 Scene 1 or Act 5 Scene 1.
Students choose parts and read the scene together. When they are
ready, they act out the scene in front of the class.

ACTIVITIES AFTER READING A SECTION

Glossary
Act 1
1 Put students into small groups and ask them to discuss these It will be useful for your students to know the new words found on
questions. page 56 of the Reader. They are practised in the ‘Before you read’
sections at the back of the book. (Definitions are based on those
(a) Do you believe in witches or ghosts? Why, or why not? used in the Longman Active Study Dictionary).
(b) What other supernatural things can you think of?
(c) Have you ever had your fortune told?
(d) Would you like to know your future? Why, or why not?
2 Put students into pairs. Ask them to act out this conversation.
Student A: You believe in supernatural experiences. Tell your
partner about one (invent one if you like). Say why you believe
it.
Student B: You don’t believe in supernatural experiences.
Listen to your partner’s story and say why.
3 Class discussion: On page 9, Lady Macbeth says ‘…take
away all my womanly qualities and make me strong and cruel
from head to foot.’ What are ‘womanly qualities’? Do you
agree that men are crueller than women?
Acts 2 and 3
1 Put students into groups. Ask them to discuss these
questions.
(a) What can Macbeth do to save his kingdom?
(b) What advice will the witches give him now?
(c) The next act is called ‘Death of the Innocents’. Who will
die next? Why?
2 Put students into pairs. Ask them to act out this conversation.
Student A: You are Macbeth’s doctor. You think Macbeth needs
a holiday. Tell him why.
Student B: You are Macbeth. You think it’s impossible to have
a holiday now. Say why.

© Pearson Education Limited 2004 Published and distributed by Pearson Education

Factsheet written by Christopher Rice
Factsheet series developed by Louise James
Penguin Readers Factsheets

Level 4 – Intermediate
Student’s activities

Macbeth
by William Shakespeare

Macbeth
Students can do these activities alone or with one or more (b) The king’s body is discovered by
other students. Pair/group-only activities are marked.
(1) Lennox.
(2) Malcolm.

Photocopiable
ACTIVITIES BEFORE READING THE BOOK
(3) Macduff.
1 Look at the pictures in the book. On which page or pages can
(c) Macduff goes to
you see:
(1) England.
(a) a dagger?
(2) Ireland.
(b) witches?
(3) Fife.
(c) a sword?
(d) a crown? 2 Are these statements from Act 3 true or false?
(e) a lamp? (a) Banquo thinks Macbeth killed the king.
(f) a moor? (b) Lady Macbeth wants Banquo to die.
(g) armour? (c) The guests can’t see the ghost.
(h) a ghost? (d) The ghost doesn’t speak.
2 Read the introduction and answer these questions. (e) Lady Macbeth feels sorry for her husband.
(f) Macbeth is surprised that Macduff is absent.
(a) Was Macbeth printed before or after Shakespeare’s death?
(g) Four people have died because of Macbeth.
(b) When does the story take place?
(h) The King of England will lead an army against Macbeth.
(c) Where was Shakespeare born?
(d) How many plays did he write? ACTS 4 AND 5
(e) Where is Macbeth’s castle?
1 Underline the correct word(s).
(f) What do some actors call Macbeth?Why?
(a) A witch / a ghost warns Macbeth about Macduff.
ACTIVITIES WHILE READING THE BOOK (b) The ghost of Banquo leads / follows eight kings across
the stage.
ACT 1 (c) Lady Macduff feels upset / pleased with her husband.
(d) A murderer kills Macduff’s son with a knife / a sword.
1 Put these people in the order that Macbeth speaks to them.
(e) Ross brings Macduff good / bad news about his family.
(a) Ross (f) Lady Macbeth washes her face / hands in her sleep.
(b) the witches (g) Macbeth is popular / unpopular with his friends.
(c) Banquo (h) Lady Macbeth is killed / kills herself.
(d) Lady Macbeth (i) Macbeth wants / doesn’t want to kill Macduff.
(e) the King (j) Banquo’s / Duncan’s son becomes King of Scotland.
(f) Angus
2 Who says these things? What do the underlined words
2 Which of these words describe Macbeth? Give reasons for mean?
your answers.
(a) ‘I will do this thing before I can change my mind.’
ambitious angry brave disbelieving excited (b) ‘He was not patient. It was mad of him to run away.’
gentle happy noble weak (c) ‘I will push the length of my sword through his body.’
(d) ‘See how she rubs her hands.’
(e) ‘You cannot harm me.’
ACTS 2 AND 3 (f) ‘They have broken their promises.’
1 Choose the correct answer.
(a) Macbeth decides to kill Duncan because
(1) he hears a bell.
(2) he sees a knife.
(3) he dreams about the witches.

© Pearson Education Limited 2004

Penguin Readers Factsheets

Level 4 – Intermediate
Student’s activities

ACTIVITIES AFTER READING THE BOOK

1 Work in pairs and discuss these questions.
(a) Who do you feel most sorry for at the end of the play?
Why?
(b) Was Macbeth evil or mad?
(c) What was the worst thing that Macbeth did? Why?
2 You are Macbeth’s doctor. You are in prison and you are
going to be executed tomorrow. Write a letter to King
Malcolm. Tell him why you think you don’t deserve to die.

Macbeth
3 You are a journalist. Write a description of the attack on
Dunsinane Castle for your newspaper.

Photocopiable

© Pearson Education Limited 2004 Published and distributed by Pearson Education

Factsheet written by Christopher Rice
Factsheet series developed by Louise James