Macbeth Test (questions and answers)

. Macbeth won the respect of King Duncan by

A. slaying the traitor Macdonwald. (Act I scene II)

B. serving as a gracious host for his king.

C. not pleading for advancement.

2. King Duncan rewarded Macbeth by dubbing him

A. the Earl of Sinel.

B. the Thane of Cawdor him. . (act I scene II)

C. Bellona's bridegroom

3. In addressing Banquo, the witches called him which of these?

"Lesser than Macbeth, and greater." (I)

"Not so happy as Macbeth, yet much happier." (II)

"A future father of kings." (III)

A. I and II

B. I and III (act I scene III)

C. I, II, and III

4. When Macbeth said, "Two truths are told / As happy prologues" he was referring to

A. his titles of Glamis and Cawdor.

B. the victories against the kerns and gallowglasses.

C. the predictions made to Banquo and to himself. (act I scene III)

5. "Nothing in his life / Became him like the leaving it" is a reference to

A. the traitorous Thane of Cawdor.  (act I scene IV)

B. Banquo's son, Fleance.

C. Duncan's son, Donalbain.

6. Duncan's statement, "I have begun to plant thee and will labour / To make thee full of growing" is an example of

A. a simile.

B. a metaphor.  (Act I scene IV)

C. personification.

7. Lady Macbeth characterizes her husband as being

A. "the glass of fashion and the mould of form."

B. "too full of the milk of human kindness." (act I scene V)

C. "a cannon overcharg'd with a double crack."

8. When Macbeth agonizes over the possible killing of the king, which of these does he say?

"He is my house guest; I should protect him." (I)

"Duncan's virtues will "plead like angels" " (II)

"I am his kinsman and his subject" (III)

A. I and III

B. II and III

C. I, II, and III (Act I Scene VII)

9. Macbeth's statement to his wife, "Bring forth men-children only" signifies that he

A. is proud of his wife's transformation. ( act I scene VII)

B. is concerned over the succession to the throne.

C. has accepted the challenge to slay the king.

10. As part of the plan to kill the king, Lady Macbeth would

A. get the chamberlains drunk. (act II scene II)

B. smear Duncan's face with blood.

C. arrange an alibi for Macbeth.

11. Trace Macbeth's transformation from a good man to an evil man.

·         Macbeth begins as a hero. He is given a title, and the glory of heroism. He meets witches that foretell of his assent to the throne, and begins to have thoughts. He is pushed even further down the path of destruction by his wife who hears of the potential crown. As the thoughts continue to circle in Macbeth’s head, he further develops the idea of betrayal  of those to whom he was once loyal. When the opportunity presents itself, he cannot help but take it.

12. What motivates Macbeth to take the evil path he chooses?

·         Macbeth is motivated by the idea of glory. He is also motivated by his dominate wife, who pushes him to pursue a higher title than the one that he possesses. Because of his love for her, and his desire to please her as well as fulfill his deeper, darker desire, he takes steps that lead him down a darker path.   

13. What influence do the witches have on Macbeth?

·         The witches tell Macbeth that he can obtain what he desires. They tell him of a reality that his darkest self wishes to possess. They appeal, and fuel the repressed desires of a loyal, faithful man, and introduce him to another life.

14. Contrast Macbeth's response to the witches' predictions with Banquo's.

·         Macbeth inquires how to obtain the predictions. He questions the validity, and wishes to explore his options in relation to the procurement of the prophesies. Banquo listens to the ideas presented to him, and questions no further. He is honored by the thought of his descendants obtaining the throne, but does not question how or when it will come to pass.

15. Describe the relationship between Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. Trace how it changes over the course of the play.

·         At the outset of the play, Macbeth is ruled by the desires of Lady Macbeth. What she wants, she obtains through the manipulation of her husband. (while he is an honorable man) After she has convinced her husband to commit treason, he becomes more distant, and consumed by guilt, and must face the horror of what he has done. She has an equal part in guilt, but is not plagued by the feelings of remorse, or by the visions that her husband is, until it consumes her. Because Macbeth has become more distant, he becomes a more independent thinker, acting for himself, instead of falling prey to his wife’s desires and manipulations.  

PART 2

1. "Art thou not, fatal vision, sensible / To feeling as to sight?" is a reference to the

A. ghost of Banquo.

B. dagger.

C. bubbling cauldron.

2. Lady Macbeth confessed that she would have killed King Duncan herself except for the fact that

A. she couldn't gain easy access to his bedchamber

B. he looked like her father

C. one of Duncan's guards spied her on the to stairway

3. Shakespeare introduced the Porter in order to

A. allow Macduff to gain admission to the castle.  (Act II scene III)

B. remind the audience of the Witches' prophecies.

C. provide comic relief.

4. Malcolm and Donalbain flee after the murder

A. because they fear the daggers in men's smiles. (act II scene III)

B. in order to join Macduff in England.

C. lest they be blamed for it.

5. Macbeth arranges for Banquo's death by telling the hired killers that

A. Banquo had thwarted their careers. (act III scene I)

B. if they fail, they will pay with their own lives.

C. he will eradicate all records of their previous crimes.

6. Macbeth startles his dinner guests by

A. conversing with the Ghost of Banquo (act III scene III)

B. attempting to wash the blood from his hands

C. saying to Lady Macbeth that, "Murder will out."

7. The Witches threw into the cauldron

"Eye of newt and tongue of frog"(I)

"Wool of bat and tongue of dog" (II)

"Fang of snake and eagle's glare" (III)

A. I and II (act IV scene I)

B. I and III

C. II and III

8. The three apparitions which appeared to Macbeth were

An armed head. (I)

A child with a crown. (II)

A bloody child (III)

A. I and II

B. II and III

C. I, II, and III (act IV scene I)

9. In Act IV, Malcolm is at first lukewarm toward Macduff because he

A. wasn't prepared to overthrow Macbeth.

B. suspects a trick.

C. wasn't worthy of becoming king, in his opinion. (act IV scene III)

10. Birnam Wood comes to Dunsinane when

A. the witches rendezvous with Macbeth.

B. the camouflaged soldiers make their advance.

C. Lady Macbeth convinces her husband to stand and fight.  (act V scene III)

11. What is the significance of the line "Fair is foul, and foul is fair" (I, i, 10)?

·         In omniscient point of view that is possessed by the audience, the topsy-turvy morality of the actions performed by the characters is visible. “Fair is foul, and foul is fair,”  makes reference to all of the otherwise treacherous and backwards actions that are being taken in the betrayal of the king, and the plotting that is done by the parties whom Macbeth has wronged.

12. How does Macbeth function as a morality play?

·         Macbeth serves to illustrate the morality that had existed in the past in Scotland and to serve the superstitious beliefs of the day. Macbeth showed the faulty processes of the former monarchs in Scotland, while entertaining with witches that were dark, powerful entertaining Shakespeare’s audience. He made the characters examples of the most extreme changes in character, and the most horrific acts that could be committed for the possession of power, relief of paranoia, and to ease the conscience. Shakespeare also showed the dangers of rationalization of our actions through his main character. Macbeth rationalized away the murders of those that trusted him, while becoming calloused to the other events taking place around him and stepping further and further down a dark and dangerous path (from which there was no return).

13. How does Shakespeare use the technique of dramatic irony in Macbeth?

·         Shakespeare uses dramatic irony to show the darkness of the characters, and to show the stages of guilt, and the changing of Macbeth from honorable man to traitor. In the end, everything that Macbeth had fought for had turned on him. He was haunted by his actions. Finally, the punishments that he had ordered for others were doled out to him in return for his horrific deeds because of his shift to a more evil version of what he had been.

14. How does Lady Macbeth overcome her husband's resistance to the idea of killing King Duncan?

·         Lady Macbeth uses manipulation and guilt trips to persuade her husband that he should fulfill a promise that he made to her. She tells him of the perfect opportunity that has presented itself, and then proceeds to tell her husband the upside, rather than focusing on the dark, treacherous side.

15. Contrast Macduff's response to the news of his wife's and children's deaths with Macbeth's response to being told Lady Macbeth is dead.

·         Macduff was heart-broken by the news of his wife and children. He was hurt by the pain he had caused them, and took the blame for their deaths upon himself because of his abandonment. Macbeth simply recognized the fragility of life, and failed to come to terms with the ideas that Macduff grasped. Macbeth did not take responsibility, or even recognize the gravity of the situation. He was distracted by the threat on his own life.