Are we to regard Banquo as strong and noble, or blamelessly weak, or criminally negligent? Why? Compare Banquo and Macduff in order to bring out the chief characteristics of each.
What striking contrast is drawn between Macbeth and Edward the Confessor?
Form.—Illustrate the normal line and the chief variations from it in Macbeth.
How does the number of incomplete lines compare with the number in the other plays that you have studied?
Find several highly imaginative passages (like II, 1, 49-60); several that express pathos (like V, 1, 22-86); several that are very condensed (like III, 2, 13-22). Which of these passages are most characteristic of this play?
Outline for the Study of Comus
I. Preparation
A good way to arouse interest in this poem is to give an account of the popularity of the mask in the days of Elizabeth and James I; the occasions for which masks were written; the people who wrote them; and the preparations that were made for presenting them. Some pupil who has read Kenilworth will be interested to tell of the entertainment of Queen Elizabeth by the Earl of Leicester. Other matters of interest are the character of Henry Lawes, his part in Comus, and the occasion for which this mask was prepared.