© Pearson Education, Inc., or its affiliates. All rights reserved.Comprehension Check
Complete the following items after you finish your first read.- As the witches complete their brew, how do they know that someone is coming?
- Why is Lady Macduff angry with her husband?
- What do Macduff and Malcolm resolve to do at the end of Act IV?
- Notebook Confirm your understanding of the text by writing a summary of Act IV.
RESEARCH
Research to Clarify Choose at least one unfamiliar detail from the text. Briefly
research that detail. In what way does the information you learned shed light on an
aspect of the play?Research to Explore Find out more about weapons and armaments used in Scotland
and the rest of Europe during the eleventh century, which is the time setting for The
Tragedy of Macbeth.330 UNIT 3 • FACING THE FUTURE, CONFRONTING THE PASTLIT17_SE12_U03_A4C_WC.indd 330 2/21/16 10:21 AMTEACHING
PERSONALIZE FOR LEARNING
Challenge
Make Connections Ask students to write an
essay comparing and contrasting the witches’
scene in Act I with the witches’ scene in Act IV.
Ask students to consider the following questions:- How has Macbeth’s attitude toward the witches
changed from Act I to Act IV? How has the
language of the witches and their chants changed?- Has the witches’ power over Macbeth increased/
decreased? Explain your reasons. - What accounts for these changes from Act I to
Act IV? What do they say about Macbeth and his
relationship with the witches?
Encourage students to use a graphic organizer to
record their responses.
- Has the witches’ power over Macbeth increased/
Comprehension Check
Possible responses:- The second witch cries out, “Something wicked
this way comes,” just before Macbeth enters.
Presumably, she sensed his coming. - Lady Macduff is angry because he has fled and
left them alone. She fears for his safety. - They resolve to get revenge.
- Scene i opens in a cavern where the witches are
concocting a vile brew. Macbeth approaches,
and they warn him to beware of Macduff. They
also predict that he cannot be harmed by a man
born of woman or defeated until Birnam Woods
comes to Dunsinane Hill. Moments after the
witches disappear, Lennox arrives with the news
that Macduff has fled. Macbeth resolves to kill
Macduff’s family. Scene ii opens at Macduff’s
castle, with Ross bringing Lady Macduff news
of her husband’s flight to England. After he
leaves, she tells her son that his father is dead,
as if preparing him for that possibility. Moments
later, Macbeth’s assassins arrive and begin their
bloody assault on the innocent family. Scene iii
opens at the king’s palace with Malcolm and
Macduff conversing. Malcolm questions why
Macduff has fled, and Macduff is insulted.
Malcolm tells him not to be offended. However,
he continues to test Macduff’s motives, apparently
fearing that he is allied with Macbeth. Malcolm
explains why he is even worse than Macbeth,
and eventually wears down Macduff to the
verge of hopelessness. At that point, Malcolm
finally trusts Macduff’s intentions and takes back
his own self- denigrations, explaining that they
were fabricated. Then Ross appears with terrible
news. First he discloses that Scotland is in horrible
straits. Eventually, he reveals to Macduff the truth
concerning his family’s murder. Malcolm and
Macduff vow revenge on Macbeth.
Research
Research to Clarify If students have difficulty
coming up with a detail for their research,
suggest that they focus on one of the following:
the geography of Scotland; medieval Scottish
castles; the attitude toward witches in
Shakespeare’s day; the relationship between real-
life historical figures and Shakespeare’s Malcolm,
Banquo, and/or Macbeth.
Research to Explore If students find the topic
is too broad, suggest that they focus on some
aspect of the topic related to weaponry that was
used in Scotland and elsewhere in Europe at the
time, such as swords; blunt weapons; cleaving
weapons; ranged weapons; siege weapons;
polearm or poleaxe weapons.330 UNIT 3 • FACING THE FUTURE, CONFRONTING THE PAST
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