Literary Analysis: Conflict in Macbeth

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Literary Analysis: Conflict in Macbeth

In literature, as in life, conflict is a struggle between two opposing forces. It is an essential dramatic element; it builds tension and holds the reader's interest. Without conflict in a story, an audience might lose interest. Without conflict there can be no drama. The use of dramatic irony intensifies the tension, letting readers know things that characters do not. There are many conflicts within Shakespeare's The Tragedy of Macbeth. Some of them are external conflicts that take place between two or more characters with opposing goals. Others are internal conflicts that take place within the consciousness of certain characters. Often conflict begins in one scene and escalates throughout a number of scenes that follow.

Directions: Answer the following questions, AND then find a quotation from Act III of The Tragedy of Macbeth that supports your answer.

1. In Scene 1, what is the conflict between the murderers and Banquo?

Quotation that supports your answer: 

2. Why is Banquo in conflict with Macbeth?

Quotation that supports your answer:

3. Why does Macbeth experience an internal conflict at the state dinner?

Quotation that supports your answer:

4. Why is Lady Macbeth in conflict with Macbeth during the state dinner?

Quotation that supports your answer:

5. How does Macbeth use dramatic irony to comment on Banquo's fate?

Quotation that supports your answer: