Macbeth Test Answers

 *Adopted with gratitude from http://www.apclarke.freeserve.co.uk/mbtest.htm 
**Please include Act/Scene so we can refer easily tomorrow.

1. Macbeth won the respect of King Duncan by

A. slaying the traitor Macdonwald.

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.

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

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.

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

A. the traitorous Thane of Cawdor.

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.

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."

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

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

A. is proud of his wife's transformation.

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.

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 transforms between his first thought of killing Duncan and his assassination of Banquo.

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

-Lady Macbeth wants and pushes Macbeth to be the king. Also, the witches motivate Macbeth through their predictions.

13. What influence do the witches have on Macbeth?

-The witches give tell their predictions to Macbeth about his fate, which causes Macbeth to hurry the predictions up as well as his own fate.

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

-Macbeth is indifferent at first, he does not see them as good. However, he starts to believe in what they say when he becomes Thane of Cawdor. Banquo doesn't believe them to be real, but an hallucination. He finally decides them to be unimportant, even after seeing that they were real. 

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

-Lady Macbeth and Macbeth treat each other fairly in the beginning. They are very close to each other, and Lady Macbeth jumps at helping Macbeth become king, she pushes him to do so. However, once Macbeth assumes the throne, Lady Macbeth is pushed backstage and as a result begins to become mad.

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.

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.

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.

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

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 bat 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

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

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.

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.

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

-The line adds to the moral confusion theme of the play, that nothing is quite what it seems.

12. How does Macbeth function as a morality play?

-The play is a warning to anyone who is going to do bad to get what they want.

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

-Duncan and his party are lighthearted and jokingly when they arrive at Macbeth's castle. They are unaware of what is about to happen but we, as the reader, see the irony in this because Duncan is about to die and he is making jokes.

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

-Lady Macbeth is determined to overcome Macbeth's resistance. She questions his manhood and calls him a coward, which finally overcomes his resistance to killing the king.

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 doesn't believe what he hears but then accepts their loss and feels pain. He then sets out to get revenge for what has happened. Macbeth on the other hand is accepting right away and doesn't seem to be surprised by the fact. Macbeth then goes to take his own life