Macbeth_ACT_4

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    apparition: a ghost or ghost-like image of a person

Read ACT I

Read Act II

Question 1: Read carefully Act 4, scene 3, a dialogue between Malcolm and Macduff. What is the meaning of this dialogue, and what textual features does Shakespeare use to shape his meaning?

Question 2: What are characteristic traits of The Macduffs? How are these traits different from The Macbeths' traits?

Question 3: Discuss the maxim: ' Adversity, not good fortune, is the true test of character.' Explain how this line introduces the resolution in Act Five.

maxim: a short, pithy statement expressing a general truth or rule of conduct.

adversity: difficulties; misfortune

Angels are bright still even though Lucifer, the brightest angel, fell from heaven.'

Act 4, scene 3, page 169

What happened to Scotland?

ROSS: Alas, our poor country! It's too frightened to look at itself. Scotland is no longer the land where we were born; it's the land where we'll die. Where no one ever smiles except for the fool who knows nothing. Where sighs, groans, and shrieks rip through the air but no one notices. Where violent sorrow is a common emotion. When the funeral bells ring, people no longer ask who died. Good men die before the flowers in their caps wilt. They die before even fall sick. (P. 169)

Film: 1.49