8. What news did the messenger bring Macbeth about Birnam wood? How did Macbeth react to it? Was Birnam wood really moving? Why did Macbeth lose his confidence? What realization did Macbeth have while fighting with Macduff? Why did he rather prefer to be killed than to be imprisoned? How was he finally killed?             A messenger, pale and shaking with fear came to Macbeth and reported that he had just noticed Birnam woods to be moving.             At this, Macbeth roared in anger and called him a liar. He warned the messenger that if it came out false, he would hang him alive. But he himself began to doubt the prophesy of the witches that he would never be vanquished until Birnam woods advanced towards Dunsinane. However he decided that they should put on their armour and go out to Battle .             So...

7. Why did Lady Macbeth commit suicide? Why did Macbeth grow careless of life?             Lady Macbeth, the queen had been the sole partner of Macbeth in all his wickedness. But evil is repaid with evil. Unable to bear the remorse of guilt, the queen had begun to suffer terrible nightmares. She suffered from somnambulism that ultimately led her to commit suicide.             The queen died and Macbeth was left alone without anyone to care for him. Now he had no one with whom he could share his wicked plans. As a result Macbeth grew careless of life and even longed for death.

6. Why did Macbeth kill Macduff’s wife and children? Why did he begin to envy the condition of Duncan ?             Macbeth left the witches cave and soon he heard that Macduff, the thane of Fife had fled to England to join the army which was formed against him under the leadership of Malcolm. This enraged Macbeth so violently that he mercilessly killed Macduff’s wife and children.             Macbeth lost all his nobility and had become a tyrant and a murderer. The whole kingdom began to hate him and his rule. Nobody loved or honoured him any more. Moreover, many fled to England to join Malcolm and Macduff. This filled Macbeth with despair and made him restless. So he began to envy the dead Duncan who was sleeping undisturbed in his grave. Treason had done its worst to him but now neither sword nor poison, no domestic malice or foreign enemies could heart him any l...

5. Why did Macbeth visit the heath once more? What did he see there? What did the witches say to Macbeth and what did Macbeth asked them about Macduff? What happened when Macbeth asked them about Banquo?             The assassins appointed by Macbeth killed Banquo but his son Fleance somehow escaped. Now Macbeth and his wife found no peace thinking that Fleance would be the father to a line of kings in Scotland . So Macbeth decided to visit the heath once more in search of the three weird sisters to know his final outcome.             Macbeth reached a cave near the heath where some witches were engaged in preparing their charms. In a huge cauldron, they were boiling a number of awful things like toads, bats, serpents, the eye of a newt and so many others. [Book] Macbeth boldly demanded them to call the three witches. The three witches then appeared one by one. Th...

4. What did Malcolm and Donalbain do when they heard of the murder? Why was Banquo killed and what happened to his son? What happened to Macbeth in the banquet?             When it was discovered that Duncan was murdered, his two sons fled immediately. Malcolm, the elder son fled to England while Donalbain, the younger fled to Ireland .             Duncan was murdered and Macbeth became the king of Scotland . Macbeth and his wife still could not forget the prophesy of the weird sisters that the children of Banquo, not of Macbeth, would be the kings after him. This thought rankled within them and they decided to kill Banquo and his son Fleance to nullify the prediction. So they arranged a banquet and invited Banquo and his son . Macbeth had appointed some assassins who attacked Macbeth and his son on their way to the banquet. They killed Banquo but Fleance somehow m...

3. What were the strong reasons against the murder that Macbeth thought? Why did Lady Macbeth accuse Macbeth of cowardice and fickleness?   How did Macbeth attempt to kill Duncan and finally kill him? What did Macbeth hear while coming back to his room after murdering Duncan ? What did Lady Macbeth do with the blood stained dagger?             Macbeth thought that there were strong reasons against the murder. Macbeth was not only a subject but also a close relative to Duncan . Besides, he had been a host to the king, so his duty would be to protect the king from the threat of murderers, not to bear the dagger himself. Moreover, Duncan was so greatly loved and honoured by his subjects that his murder would surely stain Macbeth’s high reputation.             Conflicts of Macbeth’s mind were preventing him from executing the murder of Duncan . But Lady Macbeth had ...

2. How did Macbeth and his wife get the opportunity to fulfill their plan to murder Duncan ? How had Lady Macbeth developed the art of camouflaging? When and why did Lady Macbeth herself take the charge to murder Duncan ? How did her attempt fail?             Returning home, Macbeth told her wife about the predictions of the three witches and also its partial accomplishment. Lady Macbeth was an extremely ambitious woman. She encouraged Macbeth and they together thought that murdering Duncan could be the only way to the fulfillment of the prophesy that Macbeth would be the king of Scotland . The opportunity itself came along. It happened that at that time Duncan came to visit Macbeth’s castle to honour Macbeth for his triumph against the rebels.             Lady Macbeth had already thought of murdering Duncan and was looking for an opportunity. Yet while treating Du...

1. Who were Duncan & Macbeth? When did the two Scottish Generals meet the witches? How did the witches look? What did they say? What did miraculously correspond to the prediction made by the second witch? What was Macbeth’s reaction to that? What was Banquo’s opinion about the predictions made by the witches?             Duncan was the king of Scotland . He was a meek king.             Macbeth was a brave General who lived in Scotland . He was the thane of Glamis. He had great valour and skill in wars. He was also a close relative of the old king Duncan.             Two Scottish Generals, Macbeth and Banquo were returning from a great battle. On the way they met three witches.             The three witches looked like women, except that they had b...

MACBETH Duncan was                                        :           the king of Scotland Macbeth was                                       :           the thane of Glamis ‘Thane’ means                                     :           lord/baron Macbeth defeate...

LEELA’S FRIEND R. K. NARAYAN 1. a) When did Mr. Sivasanker subject Sidda to a scrutiny and what observation did he make? b) What did Sivasanker inquire of Sidda and what did Sidda reply? c) Why did Sivasanker call his wife and what observation did she make? d) “ and that decided it” – What was decided and how? e) On what conditions Sidda was appointed? a)          Sidda was hanging about the gate when Mr. Sivasanker was standing in the front veranda of his house. Sivasanker was brooding over the servant problem. As Sidda told him that he was looking for a job of a servant, Sivasanker asked him to come inside the gate and subjected him to a scrutiny.             To Mr. Sivasanker, Sidda didn’t seem to be a bad sort at any rate and he also looked tidy. b)          Sivasanker asked Sidda where he had been before, what his master’s name ...