800-PLAYTIX (752-9849) Login

Elementary Discussion Questions: Macbeth

Compare and Contrast

  1. Who is your favorite character and why? Who do you dislike, why?

  2. If you were acting in a production of the play, which character would you want to be?
    Why? Who would you not want to play? Why?

  3. Who do you think the hero was? Who was the villain? Why?

Relational

  1. Who made Macbeth do the things he did?

  2. Was Lady Macbeth more powerful than Macbeth at the beginning of the play? At the end?

  3. Was Macbeth really bad from the beginning, or was he a good man who did bad things? What good qualities can you find in him?

Textual

  1. One of the themes in the play is that if you do bad things, bad things will happen to you. What happens in the play that makes this evident?

  2. Read the scene where Macbeth first meets the witches. How would things have been different if they had never revealed the future to him?

3.Read the banquet scene. Do you think the ghost of Banquo is really there? Or is Macbeth just imagining him because he feels guilty?

Shakespeare’s World

  1. Is there anything that happens in this play that you wouldn’t see in the world today?
    Were these events common in Shakespeare’s time? Why?

  2. How do you think Shakespeare would react if he knew that you were learning about his play more than 450 years after he wrote it?

  3. What would it be like to see this play at Shakespeare’s theatre, The Globe, in the hot afternoon, standing up, with men playing all the roles? (even Ophelia)

Utah Shakespeare Festival
Welcome to the Utah Shakespeare Festival. We hope this Study Guide is helpful. As a note, it is for general knowledge and may not be specifically in reference to our production(s). While you’re here you may want to explore the Festival a bit further. You can learn about this Tony Award-winning theatre company, our plays, and so much more by visiting our home page.

What's On

images/2024_web_500x350_thumbnail_main-03.jpg
The Taming of the Shrew

June 19 - September 7, 2024

Engelstad Shakespeare Theatre

images/2024_web_500x350_thumbnail_main-06.jpg
Silent Sky

July 12 - October 5, 2024

Eileen and Allen Anes Studio Theatre

images/2024_web_500x350_thumbnail_main-04.jpg
Much Ado About Nothing

June 21 - October 5, 2024

Randall L. Jones Theatre

images/2024_web_500x350_thumbnail_main-02.jpg
The Winter's Tale

June 18 - September 6, 2024

Engelstad Shakespeare Theatre

images/2024_web_500x350_thumbnail_main.jpg
Henry VIII

June 17 - September 5, 2024

Engelstad Shakespeare Theatre

images/rada-1-.png
RADA 2024 Production

July 30-August 3, 2024

Eileen and Allen Anes Studio Theatre

images/2024_web_500x350_thumbnail_main-07.jpg
The Mountaintop

July 13 - October 5, 2024

Eileen and Allen Anes Studio Theatre

images/2024_web_500x350_thumbnail_main-05.jpg
The 39 Steps

June 22 - October 5, 2024

Randall L. Jones Theatre

© Utah Shakespeare Festival 2024 www.bard.org Cedar City, Utah