ISC Class 12 English Drama Macbeth Act 4 Scene 2 Important Question Answers
Macbeth Act 4 Scene 2 Question Answers: Looking for ISC Class 12 English Drama Macbeth Act 4 Scene 2 question answers? Look no further! Our comprehensive compilation of important questions will help you brush up on your subject knowledge. Practising ISC Class 12 English question answers can significantly improve your performance in the exam. Our solutions provide a clear idea of how to write the answers effectively. Improve your chances of scoring high marks by exploring Macbeth Act 4 Scene 2 now. The questions listed below are based on the latest ISC exam pattern.
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ISC Class 12 English Drama Macbeth Act 4 Scene 2 Textbook Questions
Assignment
Question 1
Choose the correct options for the following questions:
1. What does Lady Macduff think about Macduff’s act of running away to England?
(a) Worrisome
(b) Fearsome
(c) Madness
(d) Foolishness
Ans. (c) Madness
2. Lady Macduff compares Macduff’s act of fleeing to England with which of the following?
(a) An owl
(b) A wren
(c) A soldier
(d) A raven
Ans. (b) A wren
3. What reply does Macduff’s son give when asked how he would live without his father?
(a) Like birds
(b) Like lion cubs
(c) Like worms
(d) Like bees
Ans. (a) Like birds
4. According to Lady Macduff, who is a traitor?
(a) One who hurts others
(b) One who cheats others
(c) One who swears and tells lies
(d) One who treats others with disdain
Ans. (c) One who swears and tells lies
5. Who, according to Macduff’s son, are fools?
(a) Honest men
(b) Liars
(c) Murderers
(d) None of the above
Ans. (a) Honest men
6. Which argument does Macduff’s son give to contradict his mother who tells him his father is dead?
(a) She is not crying
(b) She is laughing
(c) She is enjoying
(d) She is telling lies
Ans. (a) She is not crying
7. What did the messenger tell Lady Macduff to do?
(a) To wait patiently for Macduff to comeback
(b) To trust her husband
(c) To run away from Scotland with her children
(d) To send away her child to another place.
Ans. (c) To run away from Scotland with her children
8. Which trait of Macbeth is revealed from the scene?
(a) A tyrant
(b) A hardened criminal
(c) Both (a) and (b)
(d) A depressed man.
Ans. (c) Both (a) and (b)
9. Which theme of the play is reflected in this scene?
(a) Appearance and Reality
(b) Conflict of conscience and Ambition
(c) Treachery
(d) Arrogance and Pride
Ans. (a) Appearance and Reality
10. What does the mother call her son that foreshadows the tragedy at the end of the scene?
(a) poor wren
(b) owl
(c) poor bird
(d) poor monkey
Ans. (c) poor bird
Question 2
Complete the following sentences by providing a reason for each:
1. Lady Macduff says that Macduff lacked patience because __________________
Ans. Lady Macduff says that Macduff lacked patience because his sudden flight to England appeared to be a panicked reaction to fear rather than a carefully considered or calm decision.
2. Lady Macduff feels that Macduff lacks the gentle touch of nature because ________________
Ans. Lady Macduff feels that Macduff lacks the gentle touch of nature because he has abandoned his wife and children in a dangerous place, showing a lack of the natural instinct to stay and protect one’s family nest.
3. Lady Macduff says that her son has a father, yet he is fatherless because ________________
Ans. Lady Macduff says that her son has a father, yet he is fatherless because though Macduff is physically alive, his choice to leave them behind means he is no longer there to act as a protector or provider.
4. The brutal murder of Lady Macduff and her son is regarded as the turning point he play because ________________
Ans. The brutal murder of Lady Macduff and her son is regarded as the turning point of the play because it marks the moment Macbeth moves from killing political rivals to slaughtering innocent women and children, making his downfall morally inevitable and fueling Macduff’s personal quest for revenge.
5. According to Lady Macduff even the wren, the most diminutive bird will fight inst the owl because _____________
Ans. According to Lady Macduff even the wren, the most diminutive bird will fight against the owl because natural instinct dictates that a parent must stay and defend its young against a predator, regardless of how small or weak they are.
6. Lady Macduff does not flee because ________________
Ans. Lady Macduff does not flee because she realizes she has done no wrong and, in her frustration, she notes that in this earthly world, doing evil is often praised while doing good is considered a dangerous mistake.
ISC Class 11 English Drama Macbeth Act 4 Scene 2 Extra Question and Answers
Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs)
Q1. Why is Lady Macduff angry with her husband at the beginning of the scene?
A. Because he has committed treason against Duncan.
B. Because he left for England without telling her or protecting his family.
C. Because he has joined Macbeth’s inner circle.
D. Because he spent the family’s inheritance on the war.
Ans. B. Because he left for England without telling her or protecting his family.
Q2. Who attempts to comfort Lady Macduff by telling her that her husband is ‘noble, wise, judicious’?
A. Ross
B. Lennox
C. Angus
D. The Messenger
Ans. A. Ross
Q3. How does Lady Macduff describe Macduff to her son?
A. As a brave hero
B. As a wise leader
C. As a dead man and a traitor
D. As a king in exile
Ans. C. As a dead man and a traitor
Q4. When Lady Macduff tells her son his father is dead, how does the boy respond?
A. He weeps uncontrollably.
B. He argues that if he were dead, his mother would be weeping.
C. He asks if he can go to England to find him.
D. He expresses joy that he is now the master of the house.
Ans. B. He argues that if he were dead, his mother would be weeping
Q5. According to Lady Macduff’s definition in this scene, what is a traitor?
A. Someone who kills the King.
B. Someone who flees to a foreign land.
C. Someone who swears and lies.
D. Someone who fails to pay their taxes.
Ans. C. Someone who swears and lies.
Q6. What philosophical point does Macduff’s son make about traitors and honest men?
A. Traitors are always caught eventually.
B. There are enough traitors in the world to beat and hang the honest men.
C. Honest men are protected by God, while traitors are not.
D. Only the King has the right to decide who is a traitor.
Ans. B. There are enough traitors in the world to beat and hang the honest men.
Q7. A messenger arrives shortly before the murderers. What is his purpose?
A. To arrest Lady Macduff.
B. To tell her that Macduff has been killed in England.
C. To warn her that danger is approaching and she should flee.
D. To bring news that Macbeth has stepped down.
Ans. C. To warn her that danger is approaching and she should flee.
Q8. When the murderers enter, what does the son do when they call Macduff a traitor?
A. He hides under the table.
B. He begs for his life.
C. He bravely defends his father’s honor and calls the murderer a liar.
D. He tells them where his father is hiding.
Ans. C. He bravely defends his father’s honor and calls the murderer a liar.
Q9. This scene is often noted for its pathos. What does this mean in the context of Act 4, Scene 2?
A. It provides much-needed comic relief.
B. It evokes a feeling of pity and sadness through the slaughter of innocents.
C. It focuses on the supernatural elements of the witches.
D. It shows the military strategy of the English army.
Ans. B. It evokes a feeling of pity and sadness through the slaughter of innocents.
Q10. What happens to Lady Macduff at the end of the scene?
A. She is taken prisoner and brought to Macbeth.
B. She manages to escape to England.
C. She kills the murderers and flees.
D. She runs away crying ‘Murder!’, pursued by the killers.
Ans. D. She runs away crying ‘Murder!’, pursued by the killers.
Fill Up Sentences
Complete the following sentences by providing a reason for each:
1. Lady Macduff is furious with her husband because_________________.
Ans. Lady Macduff is furious with her husband because she believes his flight to England makes him look like a traitor even if he is innocent.
2. Ross defends Macduff’s departure to his wife because_________________.
Ans. Ross defends Macduff’s departure to his wife because he knows Macduff is acting out of patriotism for the fate of Scotland.
3. Lady Macduff tells her son that his father is dead because_________________
Ans. Lady Macduff tells her son that his father is dead because she feels that by abandoning his family, Macduff has effectively lost his duties as a husband and father.
4. The son does not believe his father is actually dead because_________________
Ans. The son does not believe his father is actually dead because he notices that his mother is not crying, which she would be if she were truly a widow.
5. Shakespeare includes a humorous conversation between the mother and son because_________________.
Ans. Shakespeare includes a humorous conversation between the mother and son because he wants to create a sense of pathos before the sudden, violent arrival of the murderers.
6. A Messenger arrives in great haste because_________________
Ans. A Messenger arrives in great haste because he has discovered Macbeth’s plan and wants to give Lady Macduff a chance to escape.
7. Lady Macduff hesitates to leave her home even after being warned because_________________
Ans. Lady Macduff hesitates to leave her home even after being warned because she realizes that in a world ruled by a tyrant, being innocent is no longer a guaranteed protection.
8. Macbeth orders the execution of Macduff’s entire family because_________________
Ans. Macbeth orders the execution of Macduff’s entire family because he wants to punish Macduff for his defiance and send a terrifying message to any other rebels.
9. The son calls the murderer a liar because_________________
Ans. The son calls the murderer a liar because the murderer insulted his father by calling him a traitor.
10. This scene is considered the emotional turning point of the play because _________________
Ans. This scene is considered the emotional turning point of the play because Macbeth’s decision to kill innocent children proves that he has lost all humanity and must be stopped at any cost.
Extra Questions
SHORT QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
Q1. Why is Lady Macduff upset with her husband at the start of the scene?
Ans. At the beginning of the scene, Lady Macduff is incredibly angry and frightened because her husband, Macduff, has fled to England. She feels that his sudden departure makes him look like a traitor, even if he hasn’t actually committed a crime. In her eyes, leaving his wife, children, and home unprotected in a dangerous kingdom shows a lack of love and wisdom. She tells Ross that even a tiny bird like the wren will stay and fight a dynamic owl to protect its young in the nest, implying that Macduff is less brave than a small bird. She believes that his flight was caused by fear rather than reason. To her, he has abandoned his family responsibilities, leaving them vulnerable to Macbeth’s growing cruelty and madness while he seeks safety or political change elsewhere.
Q2. How does the son of Macduff show his bravery and intelligence during his conversation with his mother?
Ans. Macduff’s son shows he is very smart and brave through his witty banter with his mother. When Lady Macduff tells him his father is a traitor who should be hanged, the boy asks who will hang the traitors. When she says the honest men must do it, the boy points out that there are enough liars and swearers in the world to beat up the honest men and hang them instead. This shows he understands the dark reality of a world where evil often outweighs good. Later, when the actual murderers arrive and call his father a traitor, the boy does not run away or cry. Instead, he stands up to the grown men and calls them ‘shag-eared villains’. Even after he is stabbed, his final thoughts are for his mother’s safety, as he urges her to run away while he dies.
Q3. What is the significance of the Messenger’s arrival in this scene?
Ans. The Messenger’s arrival adds a sudden sense of urgency and terror to the scene. Up until this point, the scene has been filled with dialogue between Lady Macduff, Ross, and the young boy. The Messenger is a common person who risks his own life to warn Lady Macduff that some danger does approach her. He expresses deep regret that he is frightening her, but he feels it is his moral duty to tell her to flee immediately with her children. This moment highlights that Macbeth’s tyranny has become so extreme that even the lower-ranking people in society are aware of his murderous plans. Unfortunately, the warning comes too late. The Messenger’s presence emphasizes the themes of chaos and the breakdown of safety in Scotland, showing that no one, not even women or innocent children, is safe from the King’s paranoid violence.
Q4. How does this scene illustrate the theme of innocence vs. evil?
Ans. This scene is one of the most tragic in the play because it focuses on the brutal slaughter of completely innocent characters who have no part in the political war. The interaction between Lady Macduff and her son is domestic and full of humor, which makes the audience like them and feel for them. This warmth is sharply contrasted with the cold, heartless arrival of Macbeth’s hired assassins. By showing the death of a young child on stage, Shakespeare emphasizes that Macbeth has lost all his humanity. Earlier in the play, Macbeth killed for power i.e. Duncan or to protect his crown i.e. Banquo, but this murder is purely out of spite and serves no strategic purpose. The evil represented by Macbeth’s killers destroys the innocence of the domestic home, proving that under a tyrant, the private lives of citizens are no longer sacred or safe.
Q5. What is the purpose of Ross’s character in this scene?
Ans. Ross serves as a bridge between the political world of the nobles and the personal tragedy of the Macduff family. In this scene, he acts as a comforter, trying to defend Macduff’s reputation to his grieving wife. He describes Macduff as ‘noble, wise, judicious’, and asks Lady Macduff to have patience with the cruel times they are living in. Ross explains the atmosphere of Scotland under Macbeth, where people are called traitors without knowing why and live in a state of constant fear and uncertainty. However, Ross also feels a sense of helplessness; he leaves the house just before the murderers arrive, which creates a feeling of dread. His character allows the audience to see how even the good nobles are struggling to navigate the danger and how their inability to act quickly often results in the suffering of the innocent.
LONG QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
Q1. Why does Shakespeare include the dialogue between Lady Macduff and her son before the murderers arrive?
Ans. Shakespeare includes this intimate dialogue primarily to build pathos, which is a quality that evokes pity or sadness in the audience. By showing the playful, witty, and loving relationship between the mother and her child, the playwright makes them feel like real people rather than just background characters. The son’s cleverness and his mother’s sharp tongue create a moment of ‘domestic normalcy’ that stands in stark contrast to the dark, supernatural, and violent scenes that dominate the rest of the play. This conversation makes the family highly relatable; the audience sees a mother trying to process her grief through sarcasm and a son who is wise beyond his years. This emotional connection ensures that when the murderers finally enter and commit their horrific acts, the impact on the audience is much more profound. It transforms the event from a distant political assassination into a heartbreaking personal tragedy. Furthermore, this scene serves to highlight the loss of innocence theme. The boy’s ability to debate the nature of traitors and honest men shows that in Macbeth’s Scotland, even children are forced to think about mature, dangerous topics. By the time the killers strike, the audience is fully invested in these characters, making Macbeth’s descent into pure evil feel even more unforgivable and absolute.
Q2. How does this scene show the difference between Macbeth’s first murder i.e. Duncan and his current actions?
Ans. This scene is a crucial turning point in characterizing Macbeth’s moral decay. When Macbeth murdered King Duncan in Act 2, he was plagued by guilt, hallucinations, and a clear understanding of the sin he was committing. That murder had a clear political goal: to take the throne. Even the murder of Banquo had a logical, albeit evil, motivation to secure his bloodline against the witches’ prophecy. However, the attack on Macduff’s family in Act 4, Scene 2, is fundamentally different because it is a senseless act of slaughter. Lady Macduff and her children pose no immediate military threat to Macbeth’s crown. By ordering the death of innocents who have no power to fight back, Macbeth proves that he has moved past being an ambitious soldier to becoming a pure tyrant. He is no longer killing for a specific reason; he is killing out of pure spite and a desire to cause pain to his enemies. This scene shows that Macbeth has completely abandoned his conscience. The organized, quiet murder of Duncan has been replaced by a loud, public, and messy massacre of a family in their own home. It signals to the audience that there is no longer any hope for Macbeth’s redemption. He has become a butcher, and his reign has devolved into a period of chaotic violence that ignores all rules of war or chivalry.
Q3. What does Lady Macduff mean when she says, ‘to do harm / Is often laudable, to do good sometime / Accounted dangerous folly’?
Ans. This quote is a powerful reflection on the topsy-turvy or inverted world of Macbeth’s Scotland, echoing the witches’ famous line, ‘Fair is foul, and foul is fair’. Lady Macduff says this after the Messenger warns her to flee. She realizes that in a land ruled by a tyrant like Macbeth, the traditional rules of morality no longer apply. In a healthy society, doing good is rewarded and doing harm is punished. However, she observes that in her current world, being violent or ruthless is often praised or considered praiseworthy because it helps people gain power or stay alive. On the other hand, being honest or staying loyal is seen as a dangerous foolish act because it makes a person a target for the King. This realization highlights her feeling of helplessness. She is an innocent woman who has done nothing wrong, yet she knows that her innocence will not protect her. This statement also serves as a social commentary on how a dictatorship ruins the moral fabric of a country. When the evil Macbeth sits on the throne, the entire value system of the nation flips. It creates a nightmare reality where the virtuous are hunted and the wicked are rewarded. Her words prepare the audience for the immediate arrival of the murderers, proving her dark theory to be tragically correct.
Q4. What role does fear play in the motivations of the characters in this scene?
Ans. Fear is the driving force for almost every character in Act 4, Scene 2, though it manifests in different ways. For Macduff who is discussed but not present, fear for his country’s future has driven him to flee to England, though his wife interprets this as a personal fear that makes him a coward. For Lady Macduff, fear is masked by anger and bitterness. She feels the terrifying vulnerability of being a woman left alone in a violent landscape without a protector. She expresses this through her metaphor of the bird defending its nest, showing that fear should lead to protective action, not flight. Ross also exhibits fear; his speech is hurried, and he leaves quickly because he is afraid that staying longer will make him weep or put him in danger. He even mentions that the times are cruel when we ‘hold rumor / From what we fear, yet know not what we fear’. This describes a state of constant anxiety where people know something bad is coming but cannot pinpoint the source. Finally, the Messenger is motivated by a moral fear to do the right thing and save a family, even if it risks his own safety. All these different layers of fear create a tense, fearful atmosphere that shows how Macbeth’s paranoia has spread like a disease through every level of Scottish society.
Q5. How does the son’s death on stage impact the audience’s perception of the play’s conflict?
Ans. The murder of Macduff’s son is one of the few instances in the play where a child is killed directly on stage in front of the audience. This is a deliberate choice by Shakespeare to shift the conflict from a political struggle to a moral struggle. Up until this point, the audience might have viewed the war between Macbeth and the rebels as a standard fight for the throne. However, witnessing the brutal stabbing of a brave, innocent child changes the stakes completely. It makes the audience crave justice and revenge rather than just a change in leadership. The son’s death serves as a catalyst for the audience’s absolute hatred of Macbeth. It also prepares the audience for the final act, where Macduff’s grief turns into a deadly determination to kill Macbeth. When Macduff eventually learns of this event in the following scene, his personal loss becomes the emotional heart of the rebellion. The child’s death also reinforces the idea that Macbeth has murdered the future. Since Macbeth has no children of his own, his destruction of other people’s children shows his jealousy and his desire to leave the world in ruins. It proves that the conflict is no longer about who wears the crown, but about goodness fighting to survive against a total darkness that threatens to consume the next generation.