Welcome to our blog post ISC Macbeth Workbook Answers : Act 5, 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 5, 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 5, Scene 4. Let’s embark on an adventure where Shakespeare’s words transcend time, captivating minds across generation
Table of Contents
Workbook Summary :
Malcolm decides to follow the guerrilla tactics of warfare and orders each soldier to hew a bough from the Birnamwood forest and walk with it in order to camouflage their numbers. Siward has come to know that the tyrant’s great hope lies in the security of his fortified castle which will defy a seige. Malcolm has high hopes as gradually the Thanes are deserting Macbeth and he is also getting half hearted support from his army which spells his ruin. Macduff on the other hand, is more cautious and advises industrious soldiering to secure a victory.
Workbook MCQs :
1. Where does the scene open with a troop of soldiers entering with drums and colours?
a. Fife
b. Dunsinane
c. Ireland
d. Northumberland
Answer :- b. Dunsinane
2. What does Malcolm hope for when he says “I hope the days are near at hand”?
a. He will be crowned King
b. Their homes will be safe from the tyranny of Macbeth
c. He will return back to his country
d. He will meet his brother Donalbain
Answer :- b. Their homes will be safe from the tyranny of Macbeth
3. What are the woods before them?
a. The Black Forest
b. Sherwood
c. Birnamwood
d. Bialowieza Forest
Answer :- c. Birnamwood
4. Why does Malcolm instruct every soldier to hew down a bough?
a. To conceal themselves behind the boughs
b. To clear the thick vegetation in the forest
c. To cut wood to make a fire
d. To make a living for themselves by selling the wood
Answer :- a. To conceal themselves behind the boughs
5. Malcolm: Let every soldier hew before him down a bough And bear’t before him
What is the literary device used in the above lines?
a. Oxymoron
b. Personification
c. Dramatic irony
d. Simile
Answer :- b. Personification
6. Why is Macbeth not ready to take the field?
1. Everyone has deserted him
2. He is too old and tired
3. The men who serve him do so under compulsion and are not sincere to him
4. He fears that he will meet Banquo’s ghost in the battlefield
a. 1 and 3
b. 2 and 4
с. 2 and 3
d. 1 and 2
Answer :- For Full Answers Get The Workbook Answers PDF – View
7. What true opinion can they not form about Macbeth’s present situation?
a. The desertion and loyalty of Macbeth’s army
b. The strength of Macbeth’s army
c. Macbeth’s state of mind
d. The attitude of the army of Macbeth towards the tyrant
Answer :- For Full Answers Get The Workbook Answers PDF – View
8. What is Macbeth’s only hope?
a. That the army of Malcolm will go back
b. That his palace at Dunsinane remains secure
c. That no one can harm him
d. That his army remains loyal to him
Answer :- For Full Answers Get The Workbook Answers PDF – View
9. What does Macduff want to wait for?
a. To know the actual results and then take the decision
b. Macbeth to attack before they can
c. Macbeth to come out of his palace
d. His brother Donalbain to join them
Answer :- For Full Answers Get The Workbook Answers PDF – View
10. What does Siward decide to do at the end of the scene?
a. To recede back
b. To advance the war
c. To not listen to Malcolm’s advice
d. To severe the head of Macbeth
Answer :- For Full Answers Get The Workbook Answers PDF – View
Contextual Questions :
(I) Malcolm hopes that Scotland will see better days henceforth because their homes will be safe from the tyranny of Macbeth.
(II) Menteith does not doubt Malcolm’s word because he too is convinced that they will end the tyranny of Macbeth.
(III) Malcolm asks each soldier to hew down a branch in Birnamwood because it will help them camouflage their number.
(IV) Malcolm wants each soldier to carry the cut branch before him because it will conceal their number and help in deceiving the enemy spies.
(V) Macbeth wants to keep Dunsinane safe and secure because his great hope lies in the security of his fortified castle.
(VI) Macbeth does not dare to take the field against the English army because Answer :- For Full Answers Get The Workbook Answers PDF – View
(VII) Macduff does not want to act before getting the actual results because Answer :- For Full Answers Get The Workbook Answers PDF – View
(VIII) Siward wants to make the best use of time because Answer :- For Full Answers Get The Workbook Answers PDF – View
(IX) The prophecy of the witches is fulfilled in this scene because Answer :- For Full Answers Get The Workbook Answers PDF – View
Question Answers :
(I) What is the significance of Birnamwood in this scene’? Write your answer in a short paragraph of about 100-150 words.
Answer :- The Birnam wood plays a very significant role in this scene. Birnam wood is the place where army of Malcolm has assembled and is ready to launch an attack. Malcolm, leading the army orders each soldier to hew a bough from the Birnam wood forest and walk with it to camouflage their numbers. Earlier also the witches had predicted that Macbeth will be safe unless the Birnam wood marches towards Dunsinane. Macbeth who had fallen a prey to the witches was sure that Birnam wood cannot walk towards Dunsinane. But when it was reported to Macbeth that Birnam wood was marching towards Dunsinane, he could not fathom it. He had never expected that it would take place in this way.
(II) What light does the dialogue between Malcolm and Old Siward throw in the scene? Write your answer in a short paragraph of about 100-150 words.
Answer :- For Full Answers Get The Workbook Answers PDF – View
(III) a. Give a vivid account of the scene. Write your answer in about 200-250 words.
Answer :- The scene opens with Malcolm’s strategic brilliance shining through as he orders his soldiers to cut boughs from Birnam Wood to camouflage their numbers—a clever tactic to trick Macbeth’s scouts and fulfill the witches’ prophecy. His guerrilla warfare approach contrasts with Macbeth’s desperate reliance on the castle’s physical security, highlighting the tyrant’s growing isolation.
Around him, the loyalist forces rally with purpose: Macduff, burning with vengeance for his murdered family, urges “industrious soldiering”—no grand speeches, just swift, decisive action. Siward, the seasoned general, cuts through hesitation with a no-nonsense command: “Advance! No more guesses”, embodying military discipline.
Meanwhile, Macbeth’s ranks crumble: His officers—both high and low—desert him, sensing his inevitable downfall. The castle, once a symbol of his power, becomes his final trap as the forest “moves” toward him, stripping away his last illusion of safety.
The scene crackles with dramatic irony: the rebels’ unity and ingenuity under Malcolm’s leadership starkly oppose Macbeth’s paranoid solitude. Every snapped branch of Birnam Wood echoes the unraveling of his fate.
b. With close reference to the scene describe the manner in which Macduff exercises great caution which depicts him as an experienced soldier. Write your answer in about 200-250 words.
Answer :- For Full Answers Get The Workbook Answers PDF – View
Essay Question :
Q. How are the toils of retribution gradually closing around Macbeth?
Answer :- Macbeth is a shattered man. He is gradually getting isolated as there is no one who wants to serve him, The soldiers are serving him are doing so out of sheer compulsion. Macbeth is living in a false sense of security that he can never be defeated until Birnam Wood moves to Dunsinane. For Full Answers Get The Workbook Answers PDF – View
