Macbeth Comprehension Questions PDF

2. The ‘inward eye’ or the mind is the seat of intellect. He human mind brings forward new and revolutionary ideas with its creative abilities. The inward eye is capable of bringing forth new ideas at a time when the person is relaxed and in deep thought. 3. The words ‘lonely’, ‘sad’, ‘blissful’ and...

2. The ‘inward eye’ or the mind is the seat of intellect. He human mind brings forward new and revolutionary ideas with its creative abilities. The inward eye is capable of bringing forth new ideas at a time when the person is relaxed and in deep thought. 3. The words ‘lonely’, ‘sad’, ‘blissful’ and ‘pensive’ describe the mood of the poem. It is evident from the poem that the speaker is used to wandering amidst nature. Sights from nature add the exuberant and peaceful qualities of the poem. While loneliness brings sadness, the speaker can turn to nature and change his loneliness into blissful solitude. The poem paints a thought-provoking picture of a musing individual who feels a deep sense of attachment with nature. Appreciating the Poem 1. Another simile from the poem is ‘Continuous as the stars that shine / And twinkle on the Milky Way’. 2. The similes have contributed to the beauty of the poem. The use of similes allows the poet to bring together bright and colourful images in order to describe the beauty of nature. Vocabulary 1. wandered 2. crowd 3. margin 4. sparkling 5. bliss 6. solitude Going Further Free response MACBETH UNIT 3 Comprehension A. 1. When Macbeth and Banquo were returning from the war, three strange witches appeared out of nowhere. They danced around a large cauldron and saluted Macbeth as the Thane of Glamis, the Thane of Cawdor and the future King of Scotland. They addressed Banquo as ‘lesser than Macbeth, yet greater’ and added that he would father the future line of kings though he would never be one himself. 2. Macbeth was puzzled by the second and third prophecies because he was the Thane of Glamis, not the Thane of Cawdor. To become the King of Scotland was not a possibility since King Duncan was alive and so were his sons, Malcolm and Donalbain. 3. Macbeth’s desperate ambition to become the King of Scotland and his wife’s fierce determination to make her husband ascend the throne by any means possible made Macbeth put aside the horror of killing his king. 4. After ascending the throne, Macbeth held a feast for all his nobles. Banquo, whom he had cleverly arranged to be murdered, appeared as a ghost smeared with blood to take his seat at the table. Upon seeing this, Macbeth’s horror knew no bounds and he began to ‘go mad with fear’. 5. Lady Macbeth began to have nightmares about the murder of King Duncan. She dreamed that she had blood-marks on her hands all the time―marks that would never come off. She became depressed and unhappy, and finally took her own life. 6. Towards the end of the play, a gruesome battle took place at Macbeth’s castle. Confronted by Macduff, Macbeth realised that his end was near and that he should never have trusted the witches. This incident suggests that perhaps Macbeth regretted his actions. B. 1. a. Banquo said this to Macbeth. b. Banquo refers to the three witches as ‘evil powers’. The three witches tried to mislead them by saluting Macbeth as the Thane of Glamis, the Thane of Cawdor and the future King of Scotland. They sowed the seeds of ambition in Macbeth’s mind. They tried to mislead Banquo by saying that he would be the father of future kings though he would never be king himself. Banquo was not misled by the witches’ words at all. c. Macbeth’s misplaced trust on the witches’ prophecies made him desperate to ascend the throne by any means possible. In the process, he and his wife devised a plot to murder King Duncan while he was a guest in their castle. Despite becoming king and queen, neither could escape from guilt and depression. In the end, Lady Macbeth killed herself and Macbeth lost his life in the battle against Macduff’s army. Banquo, prophesied to be the father of the future line of kings, lost his life as Macbeth saw him as a threat and cleverly arranged for his murder. 2. a. One of the witches said this to Macbeth. b. This prediction reassured Macbeth as he took it literally and thought that Birnam Wood, a forest, could not possibly move like a person to his castle and thus he was safe. c. Macduff, leading Malcolm’s army to battle against Macbeth, ordered his soldiers to carry branches from Birnam Wood as a disguise to prevent the enemy from counting their numbers. Thus Birnam Wood moved to Macbeth’s castle and the prophesy came true. 3. a. This statement refers the period in which Macbeth was king as the ‘reign of terror’. b. This period was a reign of terror because, anyone whom Macbeth considered a threat was murdered just like Banquo and Macduff’s wife and children. c. The ruler, Macbeth, could not be at peace during his reign because he was troubled by the witches’ prophecy about Banquo descendants becoming the future kings of Scotland and cleverly arranged his murder. Soon after that, he saw Banquo’s ghost at the feast to which he had invited all the nobles. Macduff’s wife and children were murdered. So was anyone who seemed to be a danger to Macbeth. Lady Macbeth took her own life. Macbeth himself had to face Macduff in a battle where he lost his life. C. Suggested answers (Accept any logical answer) 1. Ambition is much like fire. If it is put to careful use, it can take a person to great heights. But uncontrolled ambition can cause total destruction in a person’s life, as well the lives of people around them. Therefore one should try to channelise one’s ambitions in a proper manner. Macbeth, being a worthy and valiant soldier was already honoured by the king as the Thane of Cawdor. But power-hungry Macbeth wanted more. He did not flinch even once before stabbing the king, who had taken shelter that night as his guest, and who had absolute trust in him. He did not stop even after securing the throne. His ambition made him kill Banquo and Macduff’s family, without realising that he had turned into a maniac and a murderer. Ambition made him over-confident and he disregarded the fact that he too was mortal and could be killed. Macbeth is a classic example of unharnessed ambition. 2. Shakespeare’s Macbeth ends with Macbeth’s tragic downfall which suggests that justice will be served according to our deeds. This may true hold for everyone and we should always take responsibilities for our actions. We can balance our desires with rationality and prevent ourselves from being blinded by them, and every action can be based on a well thought-out plan without harming our fellow beings. Grammar A. 2. They 3. They, she 4. They 5. He 6. They B. 2. they 3. its 4. he, his Vocabulary 1. no way 2. no choice 3. no chance 4. no need 5. no good 6. no use 7. no problem 8. no doubt Listening 1. most famous 2. appears to be 3. committing the murder 4. more strongly 5. to wash away 6. kills herself Speaking Answers vary. Sample answers: The witches are responsible for Macbeth’s actions. The witches incited Macbeth with the prophecies. The witches are evil forces of nature who bring about destruction. It was Macbeth’s destiny to fall; the witches brought about his downfall. The witches misguided Macbeth about the moving forest. He was not informed about the fact that the soldiers would come with branches from Birnam Wood. The witches are not responsible for Macbeth’s actions. The seed of limitless ambition was already there in Macbeth. The witches’ words only acted as a catalyst. The witches had made a prophesy for Banquo too. However, he did not indulge in misdeeds, while Macbeth did. Macbeth’s wife was responsible for making Macbeth murder King Duncan.  The witches did not prescribe the ways by which Macbeth could make the prophecies come true. It was Macbeth who chose ruthless murder. Writing Answers vary. Sample answer: My friend and I were returning home from school. Our summer vacation was around the corner and we were busy planning activities that we could do. In order to spend a little more time with each other, we decided to take the long route back home—we made our way through a deserted park. It was a place we used to visit frequently when we were in primary school, but now it had fallen into disuse. We were midway across the park when quite unexpectedly a sudden dust storm blurred our vision. We were surprised to find three unearthly creatures standing hand in hand in front of us. I was both intrigued and shocked as I was sure that we both couldn’t be dreaming at the same time. They were exactly similar to the witches I had read about in medieval stories and folklore. One of them was as white as paper, the second as dark as coal and the third one had a sickly greenish hue. Before we could ask questions they started mumbling something. They predicted that someday I would land in an unknown place without any friend or relative. This was destined to happen, but it would also depend on how I helped myself. My friend who was told that she would face a crisis in her life, where she would have to save a dear one’s life. But she would also face the dilemma of choosing between two lives, as she would have the option of saving only one of them. Then the witches disappeared as suddenly as they had appeared. After the witches had left us awestruck through their prophecies, we slowly walked back home thinking about our strange experience. Dictionary Work 1. supernatural 2. tempt 3. descendants 4. credibility 5. predict 6. prophesise THE AUTOGRAPH UNIT 4 Comprehension A. 1. Mark could not go to the football match because he had broken his leg while cycling home from school the previous day. Although his brother Steve had helped him up and rushed him to the hospital, an x-ray showed that his leg was broken. So, the leg was put in plaster. The doctor told him rather firmly that he must not put it down and must give it a rest. 2. Mark could not believe his rotten luck. This was the day he had been eagerly looking forward to—the day when he was going to watch, for the first time in his life, a real, live football match. The tickets had been bought many weeks ago and they had been impatiently counting down to this match. 3. Vince Oliver managed to score two goals. The sad thing was that, nearly at the end of the match, he had a fall and was injured. He had to be carried away on a stretcher because he had broken his arm.