© Pearson Education, Inc., or its affiliates. All rights reserved.NOTESTo wake Northumberland and warlike Siward;^13
That by the help of these, with Him above
To ratify the work, we may again
Give to our tables meat, sleep to our nights,
Free from our feasts and banquets bloody knives,
Do faithful homage and receive free honors:^14
All which we pine for now. And this report
Hath so exasperate the King that he
Prepares for some attempt of war.
Lennox. Sent he to Macduff?
Lord. He did: and with an absolute “Sir, not I,”
The cloudy^15 messenger turns me his back,
And hums, as who should say “You’ll rue the time
That clogs^16 me with this answer.”
Lennox. And that well might
Advise him to a caution, t’ hold what distance
His wisdom can provide. Some holy angel
Fly to the court of England and unfold
His message ere he come, that a swift blessing
May soon return to this our suffering country
Under a hand accursed!
Lord. I’ll send my prayers with him. [Exit.]- To... Siward to call to arms
the commander of the
English forces, the Earl of
Northumberland, and his
son, Siward. - free honors honors given
to freemen.
3540- cloudy disturbed.
- clogs burdens.
45Comprehension Check
Complete the following items after you finish your first read.- In what part of Macbeth’s plan do the two murderers succeed, and in what part do
they fail? - In the banquet scene, what causes Macbeth to behave so strangely?
- Notebook Confirm your understanding of the text by writing a summary.
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?310 UNIT 3 • FACING THE FUTURE, CONFRONTING THE PASTLIT17_SE12_U03_A3_WC.indd 310 3/14/16 1:11 AMTEACHING
Comprehension Check
Possible responses:- The murderers succeed by killing Banquo; they fail
because they do not kill Fleance and he escapes,
upsetting Macbeth’s plan to make sure Banquo’s
children could not be king. - At the banquet, Macbeth behaves strangely
because he alone can see Banquo’s ghost. People
were seated according to rank, so the ghost is
seated in the number 1 position, where the king
would be. - In Act III, Banquo suspects that Macbeth killed
Duncan, and when Macbeth plans a banquet to
honor Banquo, he says he will be back in time
for the feast. Macbeth hires murderers to kill
Banquo and Fleance so the witches’ prediction
that Banquo’s children will be kings doesn’t
come true. The men do kill Banquo, but Fleance
escapes, and people assume he killed his father.
At the banquet, Macbeth sees Banquo’s ghost and
talks to it, confusing the guests by his behavior.
Lady Macbeth explains that he’s had fits since he
was young, and she asks everyone to go home.
Meanwhile, Hecate, queen of witches, scolds the
other witches for interfering in Macbeth’s affairs
without her. Back at the palace, Lennox comments
on the recent deaths and the improbability that
Malcolm and Donalbain killed their father or that
Fleance killed his.
Research
Research to Clarify If students struggle to
identify a detail to research, you might suggest
that they focus on Hecate’s role in Greek
mythology or on traditional medieval banquets.PERSONALIZE FOR LEARNING
Challenge
Ask students to act out a “one-man show,” telling the story thus
far from Macbeth’s viewpoint. Have them note his thoughts about
the witches, about his wife’s speeches, about the murder, and about
Banquo. Tell students they need to prepare only a page or two.
Clarify that they may pick up speeches directly from the play if they
wish, but encourage them to relate the events in their own words.
Have students do a dramatic reading of their works.310 UNIT 3 • FACING THE FUTURE, CONFRONTING THE PAST
LIT17_TE12_U03_A3_WC.indd 310 16-03-29 12:21 PM