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 generation
Table of Contents
Workbook Summary :
This scene revolves around Macbeth’s second meeting with the witches in a dark cave on a desolate heath in foul weather. The witches are seen dancing around a huge boiling cauldron into which they are hurling all kinds of loathsome ingredients which spell evil. They cool the broth with the blood of a baboon and then the charm is complete. Hecate arrives and commends their labour as these concoctions will produce apparitions which would apprise Macbeth of his future and will lull him into mans’ greatest weakness-over confidence- a false sense of security. Macbeth enters the scene and rudely addressing the witches as secret, black and midnight hags, exhorts them to answer all his questions which would reveal to him what his future holds in store for him. He is so focussed on his inordinate ambition and his gnawing insecurity as king that he does not even care if the witches have to cause destruction to the entire world- as long as he gets to know his future – his future, at any cost. Macbeth wishes to hear their predictions from the master spirits, so the necessary rite is performed and the apparitions rise in the smoke of the boiling cauldron and prophecy to Macbeth one after the other.
• The first apparition is an armed head which cries out, Macbeth, Macbeth, Macbeth! Beware Macduff. beware the thane of Fife. Macbeth is warned about Macduff.
• The second apparition is that of a bloody child. It tells him that he can be cruel, bold and resolute as no man born of woman can cause him any harm. These words give Macbeth a false sense of security as he is now filled with confidence in the fact that there is no such man on earth who is not born of a woman. Macbeth feels elated as he gets to know this but in order to be doubly sure, he decides to get Macduff out of his way so that he is at peace.
• The third apparition is of a crowned child, holding a tree in his hand. The third apparition instructs him to be proud and courageous for no harm will come to him till Birnam Wood marches to Dunsinane. All these apparitions assure Macbeth of his safety and raise his self-, confidence to a great level just as Hecate had intended to do- for it is unimaginable for a, forest to uproot itself and move from one place to another.
• Macbeth, now asks the most pertinent question which is – will Banquo’s issues ever rule over Scotland? At first, he gets no reply then to the accompaniment of music, a procession of eight kings slowly appears in the air. They are the Stuart Kings of Scotland, the last of which holds a magic mirror in his hands which reveals many more to come in a procession. The last king is followed by the ghost of Banquo who holds two-fold balls and treble sceptres. This is an unbearable sight to Macbeth who cries out: Horrible sight! Now I see tis true, For the blood-bolter’d Banquo smiles upon me And points at them for his. As Macbeth stands mesmerized by the visions the witches dance and vanish with Hecate. Lennox enters with the news that Macduff has fled to England which throws Macbeth into a fit of despair and regret that he did not act earlier. He now resolves on storming Macduff’s castle at Fife and putting Macduff’s entire family to the sword. He has adopted a destructive attitude which cannot be changed now.
Workbook MCQs :
1. First Witch- Round about the cauldron go,
In the poison’d entails throw.
What will the witches first put to boil?
a. A dog which is frothing
b. A toad discharging poison
c. A snake full of venom
d. A poisonous lizard
Answer :- b. A toad discharging poison
2. What is the chant of the witches?
1. Double, double toil and trouble
2. Fair is foul, and foul is fair
3. ‘Tis time, ’tis time
4. Fire, burn, and, cauldron, bubble
a. 1 and 2
b. 2 and 3
c. 1 and 4
d. 1 and 3
Answer :- c. 1 and 4
3. Why are the witches making a “hell broth”?
a. To charm Macbeth
b. To frighten Macbeth
c. To create a powerful charm to trouble Macbeth Answer
d. To add flavour to their food
Answer :- c. To create a powerful charm to trouble Macbeth Answer
4. With what will the witches cool the broth?
a. With baboon’s blood
b. With ice
c. With their own blood
d. With the blood of Graymalkin
Answer :- a. With baboon’s blood
5. “Double, double toil and trouble”
Which literary device has been used in the above lines?
a. Oxymoron
b. Personification
c. Alliteration
d. Repetition
Answer :- c. Alliteration
6. What words of praise does Hecate utter for the witches?
a. O, well done!
b. Great job.
c. Commendable.
d. Bravo!
Answer :- a. O, well done!
7. How should the witches dance around the cauldron?
a. Like elves and fairies in a ring
b. Like Turks and Tarters in a ring
C Like blaspheming Jews in a ring
d. Like mummies in a ring
Answer :- a. Like elves and fairies in a ring
8. How does the second Witch apprehend that something wicked is coming on its way?
a. By the twitching of her eyes
b. By the pricking of her thumbs
c. By the tingling sensation in her feet
d. By the shiver that runs down her spine
Answer :- b. By the pricking of her thumbs
9. What is Macbeth’s attitude towards the witches?
a. Submissive
b. Authoritative
c. Sarcastic
d. Caustic
Answer :- b. Authoritative
10. How does Macbeth address the witches?
a. How, now, you secret, black, and midnight hags!
b. How, now, you dirty ugly, midnight hags!
c. How, now, you beautiful creatures of darkness!
d. How, now, you wicked
Answer :- a. How, now, you secret, black, and midnight hags!/
11. What do the witches tell Macbeth they are doing?
a. A deed that is good for mankind.
b. A deed without a name.
c. A deed with a terrible name
d. A deed with a name that will stun the world.
Answer :- b. A deed without a name.
12. Macbeth- ” I conjure you, by that which you profess,
Howe’er you come to know it, answer me
What does Macbeth tell the witches about the destruction they can cause?
1. Untie the winds and let them fight against the churches
2. Cause the frothy waves to destroy the ships
3. Cause the unripe corn to be destroyed by animals
4. Cause castles to be burnt down
a. 1 and 3
b. 2 and 4
с. 1 and 2
d. 3 and 4
Answer :- с. 1 and 2
13. What does he first apparition tell Macbeth?
a. “Macbeth! Macbeth! Macbeth! beware Malcolm”
b. “Macbeth! Macbeth! Macbeth! beware Macduff”
c. “Macbeth! Macbeth! Macbeth! beware yourself”
d. “Macbeth! Macbeth! Macbeth! beware ghost of Banquo”
Answer :- b. “Macbeth! Macbeth! Macbeth! beware Macduff”
14. First Witch- “He will not be commanded”
What had Macbeth commanded the first apparition?
a. “But one word more”
b. “But two words more”
c. “But tell me good words”
d. “But tell me my future “
Answer :- a. “But one word more”
15. What does the second apparition tell Macbeth?
a. “Be bloody, bold, and resolute but do not laugh to scorn the power of man”
b. “Be bloody, bold, and resolute, laugh to scorn the power of man”
c. “Be bloody, bold and resolute, laugh to scorn the power of we witches”
d. “Be bloody, bold and resolute and learn to to scorn the power of man’
Answer :- b. “Be bloody, bold, and resolute, laugh to scorn the power of man”
16. What false sense of security does the second apparition give Macbeth?
a. “For none of woman born shall harm Macbeth”
b. “For none not born of woman shall harm Macbeth”
c. “For a man who is given birth by a evil woman shall harm Macbeth”
d. “For a man who was born of a witch shall harm Macbeth”
Answer :- a. “For none of woman born shall harm Macbeth”
17. Whom does Macbeth want to enter into an agreement with?
a. Fate
b. Witches
c. Macduff
d. Malcolm
Answer :- For Full Answers Get The Workbook Answers PDF – View
18. In what form does the third apparition appear?
a. A child crowned with a glass ball in his hand
b. A child crowned with a staff in his hand
c. A child crowned with a sceptre in his hand
d. A child crowned with a tree in his hand
Answer :- For Full Answers Get The Workbook Answers PDF – View
19. What does the crown on the child’s head symbolise?
a. Sovereignty
b. Dignity
с. Dictatorship
d. Purity
Answer :- For Full Answers Get The Workbook Answers PDF – View
20. What does the third apparition tell Macbeth?
1. “Be lion-mettled
2. “Proud”
3. “Resolute”
4. Fretful
a. 1 and 2
b. 2 and 3
C. 1 and 4
d. 3 and 4
Answer :- For Full Answers Get The Workbook Answers PDF – View
21. When would Macbeth be vanquished?
a. Great Birnam wood to high Dunsinane hill shall come against him.
b. Great Birnam wood would get totally burnt
c. Great Birnam wood would refuse to march to high Dunsinane
d. High Dunsinane would march towards Birnam wood
Answer :- For Full Answers Get The Workbook Answers PDF – View
22. Why does Macbeth refer himself to “our high-plac’d Macbeth”?
a. To show his authority
b. To satisfy his ego
c. To show that he is superior to the witches
d. To show that he is invincible
Answer :- For Full Answers Get The Workbook Answers PDF – View
23. What does Macbeth’s heart throb to know?
a. Whether he will reign forever in Scotland?
b. Whether Banquo’s issue will ever reign in Scotland?
c. Whether Malcolm will return back to claim the throne?
d. Whether he will be killed by Malcolm?
Answer :- For Full Answers Get The Workbook Answers PDF – View
24. Why does Macbeth curse the witches?
a. They refuse to answer his question regarding Banquo’s issue reigning over Scotland
b. They support Banquo’s issue to become King
c. They do not support Macbeth in any respect
d. They insult Macbeth to the greatest extent
Answer :- For Full Answers Get The Workbook Answers PDF – View
25. What spectacular sight do the witches show Macbeth?
a. A show of nine kings, the last with a glass in his hand
b. A show of eight Kings, the last with a glass in his hand
c. A show of eight Kings in shiny robes wearing a crown
d. A show of eight Kings with Macbeth leading them
Answer :- For Full Answers Get The Workbook Answers PDF – View
26. Why does Macbeth call the witches “filthy hags”?
a. The witches have shown him the procession of the eight kings who resemble Banquo’s sons
b. The witches have shown Macbeth his future
c. The witches have shown him the eight kings who seem to challenge his authority
d. Their eight Kings mock Macbeth which is an ill omen
Answer :- For Full Answers Get The Workbook Answers PDF – View
27. What is the terrible sight that Macbeth sees?
a. The blood bolter’d Banquo smiling at him
b. The blood bolter’d Banquo mocking him
c. The blood bolter’d Banquo beckoning him to hell
d. The blood bolter’d Banquo shaking hands with him
Answer :- For Full Answers Get The Workbook Answers PDF – View
28. Why does Macbeth curse that hour he spent with the witches?
a. The witches have mentally tortured Macbeth
b. The witches did not offer them the broth in the cauldron
c. The witches may cause whirlwinds to raise against churches
d. The witches may raise hurricanes and cause the foaming waves to drown the tall trees
Answer :- For Full Answers Get The Workbook Answers PDF – View
29. Who enters all of a sudden after the witches vanish?
a. Lennox
с. All the spirits
b. Lady Macbeth
d. Macduff
Answer :- For Full Answers Get The Workbook Answers PDF – View
30. What prevents Macbeth to perform his dreadful actions?
a. His guilty conscience
b. Time
с. Circumstances
d. Macduff
Answer :- For Full Answers Get The Workbook Answers PDF – View
31. Who does Macbeth decide to attack at the end of the scene?
a. Macduff’s wife and babies
b. Malcolm
c. His own castle Answer
d. The King of England
Answer :- For Full Answers Get The Workbook Answers PDF – View
32. What is your assessment of Macbeth’s character in this scene?
a. A blood thisty tyrant
c. A boasting fool Answer
b. A coward
d. an egoist
Answer :- For Full Answers Get The Workbook Answers PDF – View
Contextual Questions :
(I) The witches want to go round the cauldron to make a magical charm because they want to please the devil.
(II) The second witch wants to cool the broth with the baboon’s blood because then the charm will be firm and good.
(III) Macbeth thanks the First Apparition for it’s warning against Macduff because it had rightly guessed his fears and warned him.
(IV) Macbeth no longer fears Macduff after what the Second Apparition tells him because none born of a woman can injure him.
(V) Macbeth wonders at the sight of the Third Apparition because it shows a child wearing upon its head the crown.
(VI) Macbeth considers the prophecy of the Third Apparition to be “sweet bodements” because Answer :- For Full Answers Get The Workbook Answers PDF – View
(VII) Macbeth is confident that Birnam wood would never march to Dunsinane because Answer :- For Full Answers Get The Workbook Answers PDF – View
(VIII) According to the Third Apparition Macbeth will never be vanquished because Answer :- For Full Answers Get The Workbook Answers PDF – View
(IX) Macbeth is very disturbed to see the show of eight Kings because Answer :- For Full Answers Get The Workbook Answers PDF – View
(X) Macbeth wants his hand to at once execute what his heart conceives because Answer :- For Full Answers Get The Workbook Answers PDF – View
Question Answers :
(I) Mention any three ingredients that the witches put in the cauldron to prepare the broth? What is the reason for them to do so? Write your answer in a short paragraph of 100-150 words.
Answer :- In the large cauldron placed over the fire the witches put into it the tooth of a wolf, a mummy of the witches, the liver of a jew and nose of a turk. Thus, they prepare the broth. They prepare it as they have been ordered to do it by Hecate. The purpose of these concoctions is to produce apparitions which would apprise Macbeth of his future. They will also lull him into man’s greatest weakness i.e., over confidence. Macbeth then will have a false sense of security and thus he will be driven to his doom.
(II) Account for the change in the attitude of Macbeth towards the witches as compared to how he had regarded them when he first met them. How are the words of the witches very potent for Macbeth? Write your answer in a short paragraph of 100-150 words.
Answer :- For Full Answers Get The Workbook Answers PDF – View
(III) (a) Write an account of the three apparitions and how they instil a false sense of security in Macbeth? Write your answer in about 200-250 words.
Answer :- The three apparitions conjured by the witches mislead Macbeth into a false sense of invincibility, hastening his downfall:
First Apparition (Armed Head): Warns “Beware Macduff!”—a genuine threat, but Macbeth misinterprets it as a call to kill Macduff, not flee from him.
Second Apparition (Bloody Child): Declares “none of woman born shall harm Macbeth.” This flatters his pride, making him believe he is untouchable (unknowingly ignoring Macduff’s cesarean birth).
Third Apparition (Crowned Child with a Tree): Claims “Macbeth shall never vanquished be until Great Birnam Wood to high Dunsinane Hill shall come.” This seems impossible, convincing Macbeth he is invincible.
False Security & Tragic Irony: The witches exploit Macbeth’s arrogance—he takes the prophecies literally, ignoring their twisted meanings.
He dismisses Macduff (“Then live, Macduff: what need I fear of thee?”) and mocks Birnam Wood’s movement, blind to the coming doom. The apparitions lure him into complacency, ensuring his overconfidence becomes his fatal flaw.
Ultimately, these visions propel Macbeth toward destruction, proving the witches’ prophecies are traps, not truths.
(b) Describe the show of eight Kings and what effect does it have on Macbeth? Write your answer in about 200-250 words.
Answer :- For Full Answers Get The Workbook Answers PDF – View
Essay Question :
Q. Comment on Macbeth’s second meeting with the witches.
Answer :- The witches have brought Macbeth so far on the path of crime, and now inspire him with a false sense of confidence luring him to his ruin. It is from them he learns that he has no other alternative but to be bloody and resolute. The witches are also prophetic of his punishment, but this is veiled in such ambiguousness that he begins to live in a fool’s paradise. For Full Answers Get The Workbook Answers PDF – View
