Welcome to our blog post ISC Macbeth Workbook Answers : Act 2, Scene 4 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 2, Scene 4, 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 2, Scene 4. Let’s embark on an adventure where Shakespeare’s words transcend time, captivating minds across generations.
Table of Contents
Workbook Summary :
This is the last scene of Act II and follows the tragic assassination of the King of Scotland the night before. It takes place just outside Macbeth’s castle. Ross meets an Old Man and both start discussing the dreadful events of the previous night.
The Old Man says that he has never witnessed such dreadful and strange things as last night. Ross, from his perspective, confirms the same and further suggests that the gloomy aspect of nature is indicative of the terrible retribution that is to follow the sins committed by man, meaning particularly the sin of Macbeth. He feels Nature is angry with mankind. Though it is morning it resembles night due to the skies laden with dark clouds strangling the sun- a most unnatural phenomena. The Old Man speaks of the falcon being killed by a mousing owl and Ross of the late king’s horses turning wild and eating up each other. These are indeed amazing sights full of ominous consequences for the future
Macduff enters with the information that Duncan’s sons have secretly fled the country. These fugitive princes are suspected of complicity in their father’s murder and it is they who had suborned the chamberlains to murder their father. Ross is a reluctant to believe this. He further informs that Macbeth has left for Scone to be invested as King and that the dead body of the King is to be entombed in the family burial place at Colmekill. Ross proposes to attend the coronation ceremony of the new king but Macduff refuses to do so as he already suspects Macbeth.
Workbook MCQs :
1. This scene takes place:
a. inside Macbeth’s castle
b. outside Macbeth’s castle
c. in a village close by
d. in the courtyard of the castle
Answer :- b. outside Macbeth’s castle
2. What does three score and ten mean?
a. Seventy
b. Eighty
c. Thirty
d. Thirty plus ten
Answer :- a. Seventy
3. What do the Old Man and Ross discuss with each other?
a. The terrible storm
b. The dark night
c. The horrors that they witnessed last night.
d. Macbeth murdering Duncan
Answer :- c. The horrors that they witnessed last night.
4. What has heaven been provoked by?
a. By the strange behaviour of the falcon
b. By the horses going wild
c. By the cruel and wicked deeds of mankind
d. By an earthquake
Answer :- c. By the cruel and wicked deeds of mankind
5. How has heaven been provoked?
a. Even thought it is day by the clock, darkness still covers the earth.
b. Even though it is day, the moon is still shining in the sky.
c. The falcon is flying by night
d. The sun is shining at night.
Answer :- a. Even thought it is day by the clock, darkness still covers the earth.
6. What covers the sky?
a. White clouds
b. Dark clouds that hide the sun
c. A few dark clouds
d. Bright light
Answer :- b. Dark clouds that hide the sun
7. Two signs of unnatural behaviour are:
1. The falcon being killed by a mousing owl.
2. Duncan’s high-bred horses becoming wild and uncontrollable and eating up each other.
3. Duncan being murdered.
4. Duncan killing his horses.
a. 1 and 2
b. 2 and 3
C. 3 and 4
d. 1 and 4
Answer :- a. 1 and 2
8. The popular belief during those times was that:
a. a ruler would look after the common people.
b. the lives and fortunes of common people were determined by their kings.
c. only a male child could become king
d. king was God’s messenger on earth.
Answer :- d. king was God’s messenger on earth.
9. What made Ross astonished?
a. The wild and uncontrollable horses of Duncan ate each other up.
b. Duncan’s horses dropped to the floor and died.
C. Duncan’s horses started neighing when Duncan died.
d. The horses turning wild and breaking out of their stables.
Answer :- d. The horses turning wild and breaking out of their stables.
10. Who does the Old Man represent in this scene?
a. The royalty
b. The aristocracy
C. The common citizens of Scotland
d. The business community
Answer :- C. The common citizens of Scotland
11.Why does Ross refer to Duncan’s murder as more than bloody deed?
a. It was an unnatural death.
b. It was not an ordinary deed but an act of betrayal and sheer cruelty.
c. It broke his heart because he loved him very much
d. It upset everyone at the castle and no one could rest that day.
Answer :- For Full Answers Get The Workbook Answers PDF – View
12. What information does Macduff bring?
a. That Malcolm and Donalbain have fled the country.
b. That Duncan’s sons have gone mad with grief.
c. That Malcolm and Donalbain have sworn revenge.
d. That Macbeth has arrested the two sons of Duncan.
Answer :- For Full Answers Get The Workbook Answers PDF – View
13. What are Duncan’s sons suspected of doing?
a. Of being instrumental in the killing of their father.
b. Of instigating Macbeth to kill their father.
c. Of being traitors.
d. Of killing their father as they were in the same chamber as him.
Answer :- For Full Answers Get The Workbook Answers PDF – View
14. Who has been referred to as Thine own life’s means?
a. Malcolm and Donalbain
b. Macbeth
c. Malcolm and Donalbain’s father, King Duncan
d. Lady Macbeth
Answer :- For Full Answers Get The Workbook Answers PDF – View
15. Why has Macbeth gone to Scone?
a. For some personal work
b. To be crowned as the new king of Scotland
c. To attend Malcolm’s coronation
d. To arrange for Duncan’s funeral
Answer :- For Full Answers Get The Workbook Answers PDF – View
16. Where is Duncan’s body?
a. It has been taken to Colmekill for burial.
b. It is still lying at Macbeth’s castle.
c. It is still in Duncan’s bedchamber where he was murdered.
d. It has been taken back to Forres.
Answer :- For Full Answers Get The Workbook Answers PDF – View
17. What is the storehouse Macduff refers to?
a. A place where grain is stored.
b. The burial vault of kings.
c. The house of Duncan’s ancestors.
d. A sacred and holy place of worship.
Answer :- For Full Answers Get The Workbook Answers PDF – View
18. Why do you think Macduff’s refusal to attend Macbeth’s coronation is the right decision?
a. Because Macduff is quite sure that Macbeth has murdered his (Macduff’s) beloved king Duncan
b. He does not like coronation ceremonies.
c. He prefers to go back home.
d. He would rather be with his family
Answer :- For Full Answers Get The Workbook Answers PDF – View
19. What do you think of Ross deciding to attend Macbeth’s coronation ceremony?
a. That he is a hypocrite unlike Macduff
b. That he hated King Duncan
c. That he admires Macbeth
d. That he is being forced to do so.
Answer :- For Full Answers Get The Workbook Answers PDF – View
20. The Old Man rightly judges Ross for being:
a. a good man
b. a timeserver and opportunist
c. a man who is firm of purpose
d. dear friend of Macbeth
Answer :- c. a man who is firm of purpose
Answer :- For Full Answers Get The Workbook Answers PDF – View
Workbook Questions :
(I) Heavens threaten to destroy the earth itself because terrible retribution is to follow the sins committed by man.
(II) The day has turned into night because dark clouds have covered the sun completely.
(III) A falcon is preyed upon and killed by a mere mouse because nature is angry with mankind and is promoting such unnatural things.
(IV) It seemed as if Duncan’s high-bred beautiful horses had declared war on mankind because they were terribly angry and in their anger and bitterness broke away their stables and could not be controlled.
(V) Duncan’s sons have fled the country because they felt terribly unsafe at Macbeth’s castle.
(VI) Macbeth has gone to Scone because Answer :- For Full Answers Get The Workbook Answers PDF – View
(VII) Duncan’s body was being taken to Colmekill because Answer :- For Full Answers Get The Workbook Answers PDF – View
(VIII) It would be hypocritical for Macduff to attend Macbeth’s coronation because Answer :- For Full Answers Get The Workbook Answers PDF – View
(IX) Ross decides to attend Macbeth’s coronation ceremony because Answer :- For Full Answers Get The Workbook Answers PDF – View
(X) Instigating to murder their own father is considered an impudent ambition of Malcolm and Donalbain because Answer :- For Full Answers Get The Workbook Answers PDF – View
Question Answers :
(I) How does the Old Man describe the night? Write your answer in a short paragraph of about 100- 150 words.
Answer :- The old man whom Ross meets is seventy years old. He says that in all his life he has not seen such strange events and happenings. He feels that this dreadful night has made pale all his previous nights. He tells that on Tuesday last a falcon sitting in a high position was prayed upon and killed by an owl who hunts and eats only mice. He also reports that King Duncan’s horses that went wild killed each other and ate each other’s flesh. In conclusion he wishes that God might bless Ross and shower blessings on those who bring good out of evil.
(II) What unnatural phenomena does the Old Man go on to describe that occurred? Write your answer in a short paragraph of about 100-150 words.
Answer :- For Full Answers Get The Workbook Answers PDF – View
(III) a. What is so unnatural about the sky this morning? How does heaven or nature react to the murder of a king? Write your answer in a paragraph of about 200-250 words.
Answer :- The morning after Duncan’s murder, the sky itself rebels against the unnatural crime, reflecting the disorder in the moral universe. Though it is daytime, dark clouds blot out the sun, turning the world as black as night—a terrifying omen. Lennox reports how “the night has been unruly,” with violent winds, screaming owls, and earthquakes, as if nature itself is protesting the king’s murder. This darkness mirrors the “dark hour” of Duncan’s killing, showing how heaven is provoked by such wickedness.
Shakespeare uses pathetic fallacy to show nature’s fury: The day refuses to dawn, symbolizing that light (truth/justice) cannot exist in a world where “fair is foul.” The earth trembles, suggesting even the ground rejects Macbeth’s treason. Animals go wild, like the horses that eat each other, showing chaos replacing natural order. These unnatural events prove that killing a divinely appointed king is a sin against heaven itself. The darkness is not just weather—it’s a moral judgment, foreshadowing how Macbeth’s crime will “destroy the earth” (Scotland) with further bloodshed.
b. Comment on the unnatural happenings as discussed by Ross and the Old Man. Write your answer in a paragraph of about 200-250 words.
Answer :- For Full Answers Get The Workbook Answers PDF – View
Essay Question :
Q. How does Nature play a significant role in showing its disapproval towards the unnatural deed committed?
Answer :- Nature’s condemnation of the unnatural deed of killing the ‘meek and kind King’ is very evident. It seems that God, himself, is troubled with the heinous deed of murder committed and threatens the world stained with human blood. By the clock it should be day, yet the sun, the great lamp that daily travels across the sky, is choked and stifled with dense darkness as if the time were night. For Full Answers Get The Workbook Answers PDF – View
