203k views
3 votes
Read the passage.

MACDUFF. Hail, King! for so thou art: behold, where stands
Th' usurper's cursèd head. The time is free.
I see thee compasses with the kingdom's pearl,
That speak my salutation in their minds,
Whose voices I desire aloud with mine:
Hail, King of Scotland!

What is the main idea of this passage from Act V of The Tragedy of Macbeth by William Shakespeare?

A- Macduff is hailing Macbeth as the rightful king of Scotland
B- Macduff is acknowledging that Macbeth is a traitor to the throne
C- Macduff anticipates that King Duncan will be king
D- Macduff anticipates that he will be king

User LEHO
by
6.0k points

2 Answers

1 vote

The right answer is " B- Macduff is acknowledging that Macbeth is a traitor to the throne "

This is part of the scene where Macduff kills Macbeth and separates his head from his body. When Macduff speaks "where stands Thur usurper's cursèd head." He is referring to the head of Macbeth who was a traitor to the throne by assassinating the duncan king and taking the throne in his place. In addition, in this passage, Macduff is paying Malcon as the new king. And that explains which of the alternatives shown in the question is the correct one.

After Macbeth slays the young Siward, Macduff charges into the main castle and confronts Macbeth. Although Macbeth believes that he cannot be killed by any man born of a woman, he soon learns that Macduff was "from his mother's womb / Untimely ripped" — meaning that Macduff was born by cesarean section. The two fight, and Macduff slays Macbeth offstage. Macduff ultimately presents Macbeth's head to Malcolm, hailing him as king and calling on the other thanes to declare their allegiance with him .

User Cenanozen
by
5.5k points
4 votes

Answer:

The main idea of this passage from Act V of The Tragedy of Macbeth by William Shakespeare is in option B: Macduff is acknowledging that Macbeth is a traitor to the throne.

Step-by-step explanation:

In this excerpt from this play, the character of Macduff holds Macbeth's dead head and claims him as a traitor for killing the king to take his place. He also clearly wishes Duncan to be the new king, but the main idea of this part is Macduff referring to Macbeth as a traitor.

User Fabian Pedregosa
by
6.3k points