Character Motivation in Macbeth:

Why The **** Did They Do That?

Instructions: For each character identify at least two big decisions that he or she has made so far in the play, and then determine whether their decision making
was based on rational or irrational thought. Last, explain what these decisions reveal about the character.

MACBETH
Decision 1 (page #)

Rational or Irrational?
Explain

Macbeth decides to kill

Duncan.
Act 2, Scene 1, Pg.2

Irrational, because after

he killed King Duncan,
he felt so guilty and just
wanted him to wake
back up from the dead
like nothing ever
happened. With the
story continuing, he
kept making horrible
mistakes.

LADY MACBETH
Lady Macbeth goes
through great troubles
to convince Macbeth to
murder King Duncan.
Act 1,Scene 7,Pg.2

Decision 2 (page #)

Rational or Irrational?
Explain

What does this reveal

about character?

Macbeth gets the

murderers to kill his
best friend Banquo.
Act 3, scene 3, Pg.2

Irrational, because if he
has killed Banquo, it is
clear that he has to kill
his son, Fleance, which
just make things more
complicated. And
involve more killing
and suspicion of people
he may have to kill or
order to be killed in the
future.

He is a good person but

he continues to make
bad decisions. And he
may not be aware of
this, but it is clear that
he may need help in
making his future
decisions.

Irrational, because even

though she does mostly
everything she can to
convince Macbeth to
kill King Duncan, she
ends up losing control
of his actions after he
actually kills him. At
this point, she has no
power whatsoever.

Lady Macbeth places

the daggers close to the
guards.
Act ,Scene ,Pg.

Rational, because she

used her knowledge to
think for her and
Macbeths sake.

She is first portrayed as

a tyrant but is later seen
as someone that cant
get control of Macbeth
because of what she has
started.

Rational or Irrational?

Decision 2 (page #)

BANQUO
Decision 1 (page #)

Rational or Irrational?

What does this reveal

Explain

Banquo figures out that

Macbeth could be the
one who killed King
Duncan.
Act 3, Scene 1, Pg.1

MACDUFF
Macduff asks why
Macbeth has killed the
guards senselessly.
Act 2,Scene 3,Pg.6-7

Your choice: MALCOLM

Malcolm flees to
England after his father,
King Duncan, is
murdered to avoid being
murdered himself.
Act 2,Scene 3,Pg.8

Explain

about character?

Rational, even though

things didnt turn out
gracious for him. He
analyzed everything
that the witches had
said and saw that
Macbeth was making
the Prophecy come true.
But after he found out,
Macbeth wanted
nothing bad to happen.

Banquo asks the weird

sisters/witches of his
prophecy after seeing
that Macbeth had
nothing to say about his.
Act 1, Scene 3, Pg.3

Rational, because he
asks the witches about
his own prophecy to
take the pressure off of
speechless Macbeth.
Banquo is willing to
humiliate himself to
release stress from
Macbeth.

Banquo is a very polite

and loyal friend or
companion. He stays
true and try to keep
things fair, even though
he may be a bit clueless
at times. But he will
soon figure it out. In a
way, he is very clever
and trustworthy.

Rational, because he
questions why Macbeth
has slayed the guards.
This demonstrates true
intelligence and shows
that he pays attention to
his surroundings, being
to only one that noticed.

Macduff shows how

much he loves his
country.
Act 4,Scene 3,Pg.2-4

Rational, because even

though he was trying to
get Malcolm back, he
told him he would be
horrible and basically
told him that he loved it
too much to let in fall to
pieces.

Macduff is a good
person that really just
wants the best for his
country and people. He
wouldnt want anything
drastic to happen
without putting up a
fight to fix and finish it.

Rational, because he
used his intelligence to
just give up his king
opportunities to not
have the same fate as
his father.

Malcolm calls Macbeth

out as a bloody,
luxurious, avaricious,
false, deceitful, sudden,
malicious man.
Act 4,Scene 3,Pg.3

Rational, because when

Macduff arrives in
England, Malcolm says
Macbeth is a bloody,
luxurious...man. This
strongly shows that he
looks beyond what
everyone else sees
Macbeth as.

Macduff would be a
great ruler. He has high
leadership skills that
could make Cawdor
excel. And as he has
explained, very greedy
and unhappy in his
place.