Welcome to our blog post ISC Macbeth Workbook Answers : Act 5, Scene 8 of William Shakespeare’s timeless masterpiece, “Macbeth.” As dedicated learners and educators, we recognize the importance of unraveling the nuances of Shakespearean literature, which is why we’ve curated this comprehensive guide specifically tailored to the ISC curriculum.
Within this blog, we’ll explore Act 5, Scene 8, utilizing the meticulously crafted workbook provided by Morning Star publishers. Our objective is to not only present multiple-choice questions (MCQs) and detailed answers but also to foster a deeper comprehension of the play’s themes, characters, and linguistic complexities.
While our responses are structured based on the workbook, we encourage students to use this resource as a springboard for their own exploration. Shakespeare’s works offer rich layers of interpretation, inviting individual analysis. Therefore, feel empowered to adapt and personalize our insights to suit your unique learning style and needs.
Whether you’re striving for academic excellence or simply eager to unravel the depths of “Macbeth,” join us on this enlightening journey through Act 5, Scene 8. Let’s embark on an adventure where Shakespeare’s words transcend time, captivating minds across generations.
Table of Contents
Workbook Summary :
Macduff’s Desperation : In this scene, we find Macbeth in a desperate state. His own friends and thanes have deserted him and have joined Malcolm’s side; the prophecies of the witches proved to be deceptive; Lady Macbeth has died. In this condition, Macbeth thinks of committing suicide. Then his heroic qualities prevent him from such a step, as he says:
Why should I play the Roman fool and die
On mine own sword? Whiles I see lives, the gashes
Do better upon them.
He does not want to behave like the ancient Roman generals committing suicide with their sword. He resolves to live as long as he sees living men and carry on his fight. Meanwhile, after a frantic search Macduff at last finds Macbeth. However, Macbeth’s human nature suddenly surfaces, as he is faced with the man who loved him well and whom he has so wronged :
But get thee back, my soul is too much charg’d
With blood of thine already.
Macbeth and Macduff Fight : Macbeth accepts Macduff’s challenge to fight. After fighting for some time, Macbeth warns Macduff that he can never expect to defeat him, as his efforts to harm him will be futile. Macbeth tells Macduff that he is invulnerable and can never be beaten in a battle by a person born of woman. Hence, he asks him to try his sword on persons who can be wounded. Macduff, to Macbeth’s great dismay, tells him to give up his faith in such a charm as he was not born in a natural way, he was prematurely taken out of his mother’s womb. Macbeth curses Macduff saying :
Accursed be that tongue that tells me so,
For it hath cow’d my better part of man.
Macbeth realises the deceptive nature of the prophecies of the witches :
That palter with us in a double sense,
That keep the word of promise to our ear
And break it to our hope.
The witches deceive men by tempting them with prophecies to bring about their ultimate doom. After losing all his hopes, he now expresses his desire not to fight with Macduff.
End of Macbeth : Macduff calls him a coward and asks him to surrender. After his surrender, he will have to live as an object to be shown as a tyrant to all men. As a rare monster, he will be exhibited. Just to inform the public, his image will be painted on a piece of cloth, hung from a pole and kept in front of him. Beneath this painting the following words will be written Here may you see the tyrant.
Macbeth refuses to surrender. He says :
Though Birnam Wood be come to Dunsinane
And thou oppos’d being of no woman born,
Yet I will try the last.
Macbeth fights desperately only to be killed by Macduff.
Workbook MCQs :
1. Which of the following acts of Romans, Macbeth does not want to imitates ?
(a) Devotion
(b) Committing suicide
(c) Loyalty towards king
(d) None of the above.
Answer :- (b) Committing suicide
2. For whom does Macbeth say that he has ‘avoided thee”?
(a) Malcolm
(b) Old Siward
(c) Macduff
(d) None of the above.
Answer :- (c) Macduff
3. Which charm that protects Macbeth is being referred to in this scene?
(a) He will remain the king as long as he is alive
(b) He is unassailable
(c) He will not be defeated by any king
(d) He cannot be defeated by a man born of woman.
Answer :- (d) He cannot be defeated by a man born of woman.
4. What does Macduff tell Macbeth about the latter’s invincibility on the battle field?
(a) He was not born of a woman in a natural way
(b) He was told by the witches that the king would die by his sword
(c) He is a descendant of Banquo
(d) None of the above.
Answer :- (a) He was not born of a woman in a natural way
5. What does Macbeth decide to do after he realises the deceptive nature of the witches prophecy?
(a) Not to fight with Macduff
(b) Not to hurt Macduff
(c) To surrender to the enemy
(d) To commit suicide
Answer :- ( For Full Answers Get The Workbook Answers PDF – View )
6. What option does Macduff offer to Macbeth if he refuses to fight?
(a) To run away
(b) To surrender
(c) To commit suicide
(d) None of the above.
Answer :- ( For Full Answers Get The Workbook Answers PDF – View )
Complete The Sentences :
1. Macbeth decides not to ‘play the Roman fool’ because he wanted to live as long as he sees living men and carry on his fight.
2. Macbeth is seen in a desperate state because his generals and friends have deserted him and have joined the enemy and the prophecies of the witches have proved deceptive.
3. Macbeth at one point thinks of committing suicide but does not do so because ( For Full Answers Get The Workbook Answers PDF – View )
4. Macbeth decides not to fight with Macduff because ( For Full Answers Get The Workbook Answers PDF – View )
