Welcome to our blog post ISC Macbeth Workbook Answers : Act 4, Scene 1 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 4, Scene 1, 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 4, Scene 1. Let’s embark on an adventure where Shakespeare’s words transcend time, captivating minds across generations.
Table of Contents
Workbook Summary :
Witches Meet : This is the third witch-scene in the play. It is laid in a dark cave on a desolate heath. The weather is foul and the witches are seen busy preparing a magic broth from strange ingredients. Some of the ingredients in the boiling cauldron are : a toad’s venom, a slice of a snake, the eye of a newt, the wool of a bat, the tongue of a dog, and the leg of a lizard. Dancing around the cauldron and casting their magic spells, they sing their song with the refrain :
Double, double, toil and trouble;
Fire burn, and cauldron bubble.
Hecate arrives on the scene and compliments the witches on their having prepared their magic spell so well. One of the witches says that there is a pricking in her thumbs. It shows that some wicked person is coming to meet them.
They wait for Macbeth who comes to seek their guidance on his future course of action. He does not mind if, in providing such information, great destruction in Nature takes place. They may cause whirlwinds to rage against churches; they may raise hurricanes and cause the foaming waves to drown the tall trees; they may shake the foundation of palaces and structures as strong as the pyramids.
Apparitions : The witches raise strange apparitions from the cauldron to predict Macbeth’s future.
- The first apparition is of an armed head which anticipates his questions and warns him to beware of Macduff.
- The second apparition is that of a bloody child. It asks him to be cruel, courageous and firm and predicts that none born of woman can harm him. The first apparition has already warned him to be cautious of Macduff. After hearing from the second apparition, Macbeth thinks that he need not be afraid of any person born of woman, Although he sees no need to fear Macduff, he resolves to kill him and be sure of his own safety.
- The third apparition is of a crowned child, holding a tree in his hand. The third apparition asks Macbeth to be bold and not to be afraid of anybody. It indicates Macbeth feels that it is impossible for anyone to command the trees of a forest to to him that he can never be defeated until the Birnam Wood comes to Dunsinane. uproot themselves and move from one place to another.
More Apparitions : Macbeth is still anxious to know more about his future. He wants to know from the witches whether Banquo’s issues will ever become the rulers of Scotland. The witches command some more apparitions to come to the scene. Then, to the accompaniment of music, a procession of eight kings slowly appears. The eighth one is holding a magic mirror. The magic mirror held by the eighth king reveals many more to come in procession.
Macbeth sees that some figures among these have two balls and treble sceptres in their hands. Then he sees the ghost of Banquo at the end of the mysterious procession of the kings. Macbeth is upset after seeing this apparition. He says :
Horrible sight! Now I see ’tis true,
For the blood-bolter’d Banquo smiles upon me,
And points at them for his.
Macduff’s Flight : The witches vanish into the thin air. Lennox comes with the news that Macduff has fled to England. On hearing the news, Macbeth begins to regret that he has not been wise enough to capture Macduff. He sadly realises that resolutions become futile if they are not acted upon without delay. Macbeth decides to attack Macduff’s castle and to give orders for the murder of Macduff’s wife and children.
Workbook MCQs :
1. What is the name of the third witch’s attendant spirit?
(a) Graymalkin
(b) Paddock
(c) Harpier
(d) None of the above.
Answer :- (c) Harpier
2. What does the Harpier tell the third witch?
(a) It is time for dinner
(b) It is time for the magic spell
(c) It is time for sleep
(d) It is time to meet the guest
Answer :- (b) It is time for the magic spell
3. What does the second witch imply with the itching of her thumb?
(a) Someone evil is approaching
(b) The broth is perfectly cooked
(c) Hecate is pleased with her
(d) None of the above.
Answer :- (a) Someone evil is approaching
4. What does the first apparition tell Macbeth?
(a) Beware of Lennox
(b) Beware of Malcolm
(c) Beware of Macduff
(d) Beware of Fleance.
Answer :- (c) Beware of Macduff
5. What does the second apparition tell Macbeth?
(a) No man born of woman can harm him
(b) No man born at night can harm him
(c) Noman whose father has died can harm him
(d) None of the above.
Answer :- (a) No man born of woman can harm him
6. What does the third apparition tell Macbeth?
(a) He cannot be defeated until it is day
(b) He cannot be defeated until the mountains move
(c) He cannot be defeated until the Birnam word comes to Dunsinane
(d) None of the above.
Answer :- (c) He cannot be defeated until Birnam Wood comes to Dunsinane
7. Which of the following apparitions are not produced by the witches?
(a) An armed head
(b) Bloody child
(c) Crowned child with a tree in his hand
(d) A bleeding soldier.
Answer :- (d) A bleeding soldier.
8. Why does Macbeth feel that the warning given by the third apparition can never happen?
(a) Only witches can make the forest to move
(b) No one can command the trees of a forest to move
(c) This warning is only a fantasy
(d) None of the above.
Answer :- (b) No one can command the trees of a forest to move
9. What news does Lennox give to Macbeth?
(a) Macduff has declared war on him
(b) Macduff has fled to England
(c) Macduff has joined hands with Fleance
(d) None of the above.
Answer :- (b) Macduff has fled to England
10. What does the first apparition having an armed head represent?
(a) Macduff as a future king
(b) Macduff as the present king
(c) Macduff as a soldier
(d) None of the above
Answer :- ( For Full Answers Get The Workbook Answers PDF – View )
11. What does the second apparition of a bloody child represent?
(a) Macduff, untimely ripped from his mother’s womb
(b) Macduff’s unnatural behaviour
(c) Macduff’s revengeful mood
(d) Macduff’s arrogance and pride.
Answer :- ( For Full Answers Get The Workbook Answers PDF – View )
12. What does the third apparition of a child crowned, having a tree in his hang represent?
(a) Fleance as a king
(b) Malcolm as a king
(c) Donalbain as a king
(d) Siward as a king
Answer :- ( For Full Answers Get The Workbook Answers PDF – View )
13. How does Macbeth feel after hearing the prophecies of witches in this scene?
(a) Extreme fear
(b) Loss of self-worth
(c) Total security
(d) None of the above.
Answer :- ( For Full Answers Get The Workbook Answers PDF – View )
14. What do the two balls in the hands of some figures revealed by the magic miro indicate?
(a) Two descendants of Banquo .
(b) Two coronations of King James in England and Scotland
(c) Two enemies of Macbeth
(d) None of the above.
Answer :- ( For Full Answers Get The Workbook Answers PDF – View )
15. What resolution does Macbeth make at the end of this scene?
(a) He will never again consult the witches
(b) He will give up his evil designs
(c) He will no longer trust his intuition
(d) He will send soldiers to arrest Macduff.
Answer :- ( For Full Answers Get The Workbook Answers PDF – View )
Complete The Sentences :
- One of the witches says that there is a pricking in her thumbs because it is a supernatural sign indicating the presence of evil or impending danger.
- Macbeth asks the witches to give more information about his future irrespective of the consequences because he is desperate for reassurance and wants to know every detail to feel in control of his destiny.
- Macbeth says that he need not have to fear Macduff because he believes that he is invincible and protected by the prophecies of the witches, especially the one that says no man born of a woman can harm him.
- The third apparition tells Macbeth he need not have to worry about the rebels because ( For Full Answers Get The Workbook Answers PDF – View )
- Macbeth has regrets for not acting swiftly in the past because ( For Full Answers Get The Workbook Answers PDF – View )
- The figures seen by Macbeth in the magic mirror had two balls because ( For Full Answers Get The Workbook Answers PDF – View )
