Welcome to our blog post ISC Macbeth Workbook Answers : Act 1, 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 1, 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 1, Scene 1. Let’s embark on an adventure where Shakespeare’s words transcend time, captivating minds across generations.
Table of Contents
Workbook Summary :
The opening scene of the play takes place on a desolate wasteland with thunder and lightning raking the darkness. Amid this dark and gloomy atmosphere appear three withered old witches and ask themselves when they should next meet, deciding that it will be
‘When the hurly burly’s done /
When the battle’s lost and won.
The time would be ere the set of sun.
Their intention to reassemble on this wasteland is
to meet with Macbeth (on his way back from the battle).
The witches then state that their attendant spirits who have taken the shape of a cat and a toad are calling out to them and they must leave immediately. The cat mews calling the first witch while the second witch is summoned by the toad croaking out to her.
They disappear through the fog and filthy air chanting the tone and temper of the play:
Fair is foul and foul is fair
Hover through the fog and filthy air
The scene invokes horror in the minds of the audience.
Workbook MCQs :
1. What country serves as the setting of this play?
a. Scotland
b. England
c. Ireland
d. Cumberland
Answer :- (a) Scotland
2. What is the weather like when the scene opens?
a. Bright and sunny
b. Storm with thunder and lightning
c. Hot and humid
d. Icy and windy
Answer :- (b) Storm with thunder and lightning
3. Who are the first characters we meet?
a. Macbeth and Banquo
b. Duncan and his sons
c. The three witches
d. The cat and the toad
Answer :- (c) The three witches
4. Where do the witches meet?
a. On an island
b. On a high hill
c. On a desolate heath
d. By the wayside
Answer :- On a desolate heath
5. What two questions does the first witch ask?
a. When and where shall they meet again?
b. Why and when shall they meet?
c. Whom and why shall they meet?
d. Should they meet again?
Answer :- (a) When and where shall they meet again?
6. What does ‘hurly burly’ signify?
a. Commotion, confusion and noise
b. Peace and quiet
C. Riddles and verses
d. Evil and loathsome
Answer :- (a) Commotion, confusion and noise
7. What is the intention of each witch in this scene?
a. To rid temptation from a human being’s mind
b. To cause chaos and tempt man to do evil.
c. To warn human beings against evil
d. To create the right thoughts in a man’s mind
Answer :- (b) To cause chaos and tempt man to do evil.
8. ‘When the hurly-burly ‘s done’
What do the witches mean by this line?
a. When the noise and confusion of battle is over
b. When the thunder and lightning subsides.
c. When the witches work is over
d. When the day is over
Answer :- (a) When the noise and confusion of battle is over
9. ‘When the battle’s lost and won’.
Which of the three witches says this line?
a. The first witch
b. The second witch
c. The third witch
d. All three
Answer :- (b) The second witch
10. What is the time for the battle to end?
a. Early morning
b. After the sun has set
c. Before the sun has set
d. At night
Answer :- (c) Before the sun has set
11. Who is the only human character mentioned in this scene?
a. Paddock
b. Shakespeare
c. Macbeth
d. Graymalkin
Answer :- (c) Macbeth
12. Where do the witches plan to meet again?
a. Here on the heath
b. At Macbeth’s castle
c. On the battlefield
d. In a crowded place
Answer :- (a) Here on the heath
13. What is the purpose of this meeting?
a. To meet Duncan
b. To discuss some plans
c. To plan some mischief
d. To meet Macbeth
Answer :- (d) To meet Macbeth
14. Why do the witches want to meet Macbeth?
a. To congratulate him on his recent victory
b. To warn him about a few things
c. To predict his future for him
d. To tell him about his past
Answer :- (c) To predict his future for him
15. What is their real intention of meeting Macbeth?
a. To tempt Macbeth since they are aware of his ambition
b. To guide him step by step regarding his future
C. To warn him about the king he serves
d. To make his future secure with their guidance
Answer :- (a) To tempt Macbeth since they are aware of his ambition
16. Which witch does Graymalkin belong to?
a. the first witch
b. The second witch
c. The third witch
d. All three of them
Answer :- For Full Answers Get The Workbook Answers PDF – View
17. Who are Graymalkin and Paddock in reality?
a. They are animals
b. They are a dog and a worm
c. They are evil spirits in the form of animals
d. They are fairies
Answer :- For Full Answers Get The Workbook Answers PDF – View
18. What is peculiar about Graymalkin and Paddock?
a. They are the special pets of the three witches
b. They are peculiar in appearance and look evil
c. Pets are normally called by their mistresses but here the evil pets are summoning the witches. (inversion of values)
d. Both are grey in colour and have three eyes each.
Answer :- For Full Answers Get The Workbook Answers PDF – View
19. What do the witches and their familiars (pets) reflect?
a. They reflect the theme of unnatural inversion.
c. The bad nature of the familiars
b. the good nature of the familiars.
d. That witches also keep pets.
Answer :- For Full Answers Get The Workbook Answers PDF – View
20. The toad belongs to the
a. Third witch
b. Second witch
C. Fourth1 witch
d. First witch
e. To the Goddess of the witches
Answer :- For Full Answers Get The Workbook Answers PDF – View
21. How do we know that the witches have knowledge of the future?
1. They know the outcome of the battle even before it is over.
2. They already know that the cat will call out to them
3. They know before hand that there will be thunder and lightning
4. They know that the battle will be over before sunset
a. 2 and 3
b. 3 and 2
C. 1 and 2
d. 1 and 4
Answer :- For Full Answers Get The Workbook Answers PDF – View
22. What atmosphere is established in this scene?
a. A light atmosphere
b. A calm atmosphere
c. A brooding sense of doom
d. A sad feeling
Answer :- (c) A brooding sense of doom
23. One of the themes of the play is the question of time. In the opening scene, the witches’ conversation refers to time management. Choose two correct options to prove the statement.
1. When shall we meet again/…..
2. When the battle’s lost, and won.’
3. Where the place?”
4. Upon the heath’
a. 3 and 4
b. 1 and 3
c. 1 and 4
d. 1 and 2
Answer :- (d) 1 and 2
24. ALL-‘Fair is foul and foul is fair.’
The line given above it means that:
a. All is fair in love and war.
b. Always go by appearances and trust the choice you have made
c. Whatever is good is bad and whatever appears to be bad is good.
d. Never to trust witches since they are representatives of all that is evil.
Answer :- For Full Answers Get The Workbook Answers PDF – View
25. The second line the witches chant is
‘Hover through the fog and filthy air.’
The above line suggests the witches’ association with
a. the cat and the toad who symbolize evil
b. Macbeth and his future
c. the night that is not clear
d. dark, unclean atmosphere symbolizing their evil nature
Answer :- (d) dark, unclean atmosphere symbolizing their evil nature
26. The first Scene serves as an introduction to the play’s themes of
a. deception, chaos and the reversal of natural order
b. joy and peace with a happy future
c. action and reaction
d. fair play and justice
Answer :- For Full Answers Get The Workbook Answers PDF – View
27. The witches meeting sets the tone for the rest of the play suggesting that
a. the events that follow will end on an exciting note for everyone
b. the play will end on a happy ending for everyone
c. the events that follow will not adhere to the natural order of things
d. the events. that follow will adhere to the natural order of things
Answer :- For Full Answers Get The Workbook Answers PDF – View
28. Which two facts signify ‘confusion’ in this opening scene?
a. The storm in heaven with thunder and lightning and the ‘hurly-burly or noise and confusion of the battlefield
b. The mewing of the cat and the croaking of the toad
c. The loud cackling of the witches who speak in verse
d. The hovering of the witches as they fly away
Answer :- For Full Answers Get The Workbook Answers PDF – View
29. Pick the quote that best describes the main intention of the witches meeting on the heath:
a. When shall we three meet again/ In thunder, lightning or in rain?’
b. When the hurlyburly’s done…’
c. That will be ere the set of sun.’
d. There to meet with Macbeth.’
Answer :- For Full Answers Get The Workbook Answers PDF – View
30. Which poetic device has been used in the following line:
Fair is foul and foul is fair
a. Alliteration
c. Oxymoron
b. Simile
d. Personification
Answer :- For Full Answers Get The Workbook Answers PDF – View
Contextual Questions :
(i) The opening scene of the play suggests commotion in nature because the playwright wants to create a world of darkness and faulness in keeping with the theme of the play.
(iI) The three witches decide to meet again because they want to exploit Macbeth’s weakness of excessive ambition to lead him astray.
(iII) The witches choose the time of sunset after Macbeth has been victorious in battle because the time after sunset is suitable for witchcraft.
(iV) The appearance of the three witches in the opening scene leaves a tremendous impact of evil the audience and readers because they begin to expect something unnatural, mystical and highly exciting.
(v) We realize that the witches can indeed predict the future because they are supernatural beings and they know to some extent what is going to happen.
(vI) The conversation of the three witches is rather unusual because For Full Answers Get The Workbook Answers PDF – View
(vII) Both Graymalkin and Paddock are actually frightening to us human beings because For Full Answers Get The Workbook Answers PDF – View
(vIII) The witches have to leave abruptly because For Full Answers Get The Workbook Answers PDF – View
(iX) The witches chant ‘Fair is foul and foul is fair because For Full Answers Get The Workbook Answers PDF – View
(x) The atmosphere in the opening scene feels sinister because For Full Answers Get The Workbook Answers PDF – View
Question Answers :
(i) Though the three witches only appear in four scenes of the play they create an eerie and evil atmosphere or mood right through the play. Referring closely to Scene I express your thoughts regarding the atmosphere of the play. Write your answer in a short paragraph of about 100-150 words.
Answers: The play opens with thunder and rain and three strange witches on a desolate heath. They speak a few words in enigmatic language and then disappear through the fog and filthy air. Their concluding words are “Fair is foul and foul is fair.” These witches are personified forces of disorder and conflict. They declare their intention of meeting Macbeth at the heath, when the battle is over. The thunder and lightning introduce the atmosphere of turmoil. Threatening skies and darkness of the night give the indication that some evil and violent action is going to take place.
(iI) How does the opening scene of the play reflect on the supernatural with the appearance of the three witches? Write your answer in a short paragraph of about 100-150 words.
Answers: Answer :- For Full Answers Get The Workbook Answers PDF – View
(iII) a. What do the three witches in the opening scene of the play want to convey with their declaration, Fair is foul and foul is fair? How do these words reflect on the inversion of moral values? Write your answer in about 200-250 words.
Answers: In the opening scene of Macbeth, the three witches meet in a deserted place amidst flashes of thunder and lightning, creating an eerie and supernatural atmosphere. The air is filled with fog and filthy air, suggesting darkness and evil. Before they disappear, they chant the mysterious line: “Fair is foul, and foul is fair.” This phrase is crucial because it inverts moral values, meaning that what appears good may actually be evil, and what seems evil may hide goodness.
The witches’ words suggest a world where right and wrong are topsy-turvy. This theme of moral reversal runs throughout the play. For example, Macbeth, a brave and loyal general, later becomes a treacherous murderer, while King Duncan, who seems fair and just, is betrayed. The witches intend to meet Macbeth after the battle, hinting that they will manipulate his fate by twisting his sense of morality.
By saying “Fair is foul, and foul is fair,” the witches foreshadow the deception and chaos that will follow. Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are later tricked by their own ambitions, believing that murder will bring them power (“fair”), when in reality, it leads to their downfall (“foul”). Thus, the witches’ chant sets the tone for a play where appearances are deceptive, and evil often disguises itself as good.
b. Comment on the significance of the opening scene of the play. Write your answer in a paragraph of about 200-250 words.
Answer :- For Full Answers Get The Workbook Answers PDF – View
Essay Question :
Q. “The first appearance of the witches strikes the keynote of the character of the drama”
Answer :- These lines occur in the first scene of the first act and strike the keynote of the drama, “Macbeth”. The opening scene is highly impressive as it begins on a note of confusion in nature amidst thunder and lightning. The witches are personified forces of disorder and conflict. They meet in thunder and lightning in a desolate heath and hover through the fog and filthy air. For Full Answers Get The Workbook Answers PDF – View
