STRUCTURE ANALYZE CRAFT AND STRUCTURE

The Tragedy of Macbeth, Act I
William Shakespeare

In a tragedy, a character meets a tragic end due to a fatal personality flaw. The central character in a tragedy faces internal conflict, feelings that war
with each other in the character's mind. Since Elizabethan dramas were performed without sets, the words characters speak became the dramatists' One technique for revealing internal conflicts is the soliloquy, a long speech made by a character who is alone on stage. In a soliloquy, a character reveals thoughts and feelings directly to the audience.

DIRECTIONS: Review Lady Macbeth's soliloquy in Act I, Scene v, lines 1–30. Use textual evidence from the story to support your responses.

1. What action begins Lady Macbeth's soliloquy?

2. What information does Lady Macbeth learn in this soliloquy?

3. What hopes does Lady Macbeth reveal in this soliloquy?

4. What fears does she express?

5. What plans does she reveal at the end of the soliloquy?

6. Why might Shakespeare have decided to introduce Lady Macbeth with a soliloquy
rather than a scene with another character?