MACBETH Test

Test # _____

DO NOT WRITE IN THIS TEST

 MACBETH Test
The following test assesses your knowledge and understanding of
Macbeth. Read all the questions carefully and select the letter that best
answers the question.
Part 1: Multiple Choice – Select the best answer for each question.

1. The setting of the play is primarily in

a. England
b. Ireland
c. Scotland
d. Norway
2. It is believed that Shakespeare wrote this play largely to please
a. King Henry VIII
b. Queen Elizabeth
c. King James I
d. King Arthur
3. At the beginning of the play, Scotland is at war with which country?
a. England
b. Ireland
c. Denmark
d. Norway
4. An extended speech in which a character speaks to himself or herself on stage to reveal
private thoughts is called a
a. Metaphor
b. Soliloquy
c. Eulogy
d. Epilogue
5. The original Thane of Cawdor was
a. Macbeth’s father
b. A traitor to Scotland
c. Macbeth’s fellow soldier
d. Duncan’s son
6. In the beginning of the play, Macbeth successfully fights against
a. Cawdor
b. Banquo
c. Macdonwald
d. Macduff
7. Macbeth first meets the Witches when he is returning home from
a. A meeting with King Duncan.
b. A coronation ceremony.
c. Banquo’s residence.
d. A battle he has just won.
8. In the first Act, the Witches predict
 a. That Macbeth will be King but Banquo will not.
b. That civil war will end and they will meet Macbeth.
c. That Duncan will be killed and Lady Macbeth will kill herself.
d. That Birnam Wood will come to Dunsinane.
9. Macbeth believes it is equally unlikely that he will be named either Thane or Cawdor or
King of Scotland. However, the audience already knows that Duncan has ordered the
Thane of Cawdor’s execution and he plans to give Macbeth the title; therefore, this is an
example of
a. Situational irony
b. Verbal irony
c. Dramatic irony
d. Foreshadowing
10. Who does Duncan name the Prince of Cumberland?
a. Malcolm
b. Donalbain
c. Macduff
d. Lennox
11. Before Macbeth murders Duncan, he sees
a. The ghost of Banquo.
b. An apparition of Duncan’s bloody head.
c. Bloody spots on his hands.
d. An apparition of a bloody dagger.
12. Which prophesy does not come true during the course of the play?
a. Banquo’s sons will be kings.
b. Macbeth will become the Thane of Cawdor.
c. Macbeth will only be hurt when Birnam Wood moves.
d. Only a man not born of a woman will kill Macbeth.
13. When Lady Macbeth hears King Duncan is coming to see them, she
a. Is frightened that he may know the truth.
b. Is pleased with the opportunity it gives Macbeth.
c. Is happy because she expects him to name Macbeth his successor.
d. Is worried that Macbeth may commit a terrible deed.
14. The scene of Duncan’s murder is described as
a. A new Hecate (the goddess of Witchcraft).
b. A new Gorgon (a reference to Medusa).
c. A new doomsday.
d. A new Revelation.
15. What error did Macbeth commit in regard to the murder?
 a. He awakened the King before he killed him.
b. He used the wrong daggers.
c. He brought the daggers out of the room with him.
d. He screamed.
16. Who murdered the chamberlains?
a. Macbeth
b. Lady Macbeth
c. Malcolm
d. Donalbain
17. The porter at Macbeth’s castle is depicted as
a. An upright gentleman.
b. A scheming murderer.
c. A drunken joker.
d. A cowardly traitor.
18. During his second visit with the Witches, what is the last piece of information Macbeth
demands to know?
a. If he will rule England as well as Scotland.
b. If Macduff will kill him.
c. If Banquo’s sons will be kings.
d. If Lady Macbeth will recover.
19. Where is the site of Macbeth’s castle?
a. Scone
b. Inverness
c. Edinburgh
d. Fife
20. Malcolm speaks negatively about himself and lies to Macduff in order to
a. Test Macduff’s loyalty.
b. Trick Macduff into joining him.
c. Find out Macbeth’s secrets.
d. Prevent Macduff from killing him.
21. What symptom does Lady Macbeth exhibit to the Doctor?
a. She refuses to rise from bed at all.
b. She lacks the ability to laugh.
c. She will not eat anything.
d. She rubs her hands together as if washing them.
22. Macbeth convinces the two murderers to kill Banquo by telling them that
a. He will kill them if they don’t do it.
b. Banquo is trying to kill them.
 c. Banquo had previously harmed them.
d. They will be named princes if they do it.
23. What is Lady Macbeth’s role in Macbeth’s plan to kill Banquo and Fleance?
a. It is her idea from the beginning.
b. She doesn’t know about it.
c. She tries to talk him out of it.
d. She introduces Macbeth to the murderers.
24. How do the murderers sent to kill Banquo leave the job incomplete?
a. They leave Banquo in a ditch.
b. Banquo’s son, Fleance, escapes.
c. They forget to rob Banquo of his purse.
d. Banquo’s valuable horses are not captured.
25. Why is Lady Macbeth unable to kill Duncan when she has the chance?
a. She fears damning her soul.
b. He reminds her of her father.
c. She hears the guards stirring.
d. Duncan has been too kind to her.
26. What are Macbeth’s arguments to himself against killing Duncan?
a. Macbeth is Duncan’s kinsman and host. Duncan is a good and popular king; his
death would bring sorrow to Scotland.
b. Macbeth doesn’t really have the ambition to be king. He is doing this to please
his wife. He may be able to change his mind.
c. There are too many witnesses in the castle. He could never get away with it.
d. If anyone found out that he did it, they would just kill him. He is better off being
a Thane and being alive.
27. Why does Lady Macbeth faint immediately after Duncan’s murder?
a. The guilt of her involvement is too much to bear.
b. It is an act to turn attention away from her husband.
c. She is genuinely worried about the fate of Scotland.
d. The sight of blood makes her woozy.
28. Macbeth suggests the Doctor cure Lady Macbeth by
a. Sending her away to somewhere peaceful.
b. Talking with her about her concerns.
c. Providing her with activities to occupy her mind.
d. Erasing terrible memories from her mind with medicine.
29. Why do Malcolm and Donalbain leave the country after Duncan’s murder?
a. They don’t want to be accused of the crime.
b. They are going to take the sad news to their mother.
 c. They are afraid the murderer will be after them, too.
d. They want to start making the funeral arrangements.
30. The unnatural disturbances that continue all night, including the screaming, daytime
darkness, murderous owl, and Duncan’s horses turning wild, symbolize
a. The inevitable chaos of a terrible storm.
b. The coming war with a neighboring country.
c. The evil of Macbeth’s deeds.
d. The imminent flight of the king’s sons.
31. The “barren scepter” Macbeth refers to is a symbol implying that he
a. Will never wield power.
b. Will have no heirs to the throne.
c. Will soon be overthrown and slain.
d. Prefers a smooth scepter barren of decoration.
32. Why does Macbeth want Banquo and Fleance dead?
a. He knows they suspect him. He is furious that he has done the work to become
king, and Banquo’s descendants will benefit.
b. He thinks they suspect him, and that they may try to kill Lady Macbeth in
retaliation.
c. He is afraid they will try to bring Malcolm and Donalbain back and make one of
them king instead.
d. He has gone crazy and wants to kill anyone associated with Duncan.
33. Macbeth says he is disappointed that Banquo is going riding before the feast because
a. He wants to kill him.
b. He wants Banquo’s advice.
c. He needs help with his military strategy.
d. He needs the horses.
34. During the feast, Macbeth’s chair is occupied by
a. Macbeth
b. Duncan’s ghost
c. Banquo’s ghost
d. Mcdonwald
35. Lady Macbeth covers for her husband’s irrational comments by saying
a. He is suffering from a childhood illness and it will pass.
b. He is just tired and stressed from being the King.
c. He has had too much to drink.
d. He has high anxiety and needs to see a doctor immediately.
36. In Act V, the Gentlewoman refuses to repeat Lady Macbeth’s sleep-talk to the Doctor
because
 a. The words are mumbled and she can’t understand them.
b. Lady Macbeth made her promise not to repeat the words to anyone.
c. There is no witness to confirm the truth of her words.
d. She thinks that the Doctor will not believe her.
37. Malcolm instructs the soldiers to cut down tree limbs to
a. Hide their faces
b. Protect them
c. Disguise the army’s true size
d. Build a bonfire
38. Which of the following is the one thing the witches did NOT show Macbeth?
a. A bloody child.
b. A crowned child.
c. A crying child.
d. Eight kings followed by Banquo’s ghost.
39. What nation’s army does Malcolm bring with him to Scotland to overthrow Macbeth?
a. Ireland
b. England
c. Denmark
d. Norway
40. When Macduff receives the news of his family, Malcolm urges him to
a. Rouse his anger.
b. Grieve peacefully.
c. Stay away from Scotland.
d. Try not to think about it.
41. Macbeth tries to reassure himself that Malcolm and Macduff are not a threat to him
because they
a. Are far away in England.
b. Do not have the military power that he has.
c. Have fled out of fear.
d. Are both “of woman born.”
42. What is the probable cause of Lady Macbeth’s suicide?
a. She feels guilty for her role in Duncan’s murder.
b. She cannot stand to be with Macbeth anymore.
c. She feels profound despair for the state of Scotland.
d. She does not want to be taken alive by those who oppose Macbeth.
43. What is Macbeth’s reaction to Lady Macbeth’s death?
a. He is glad, because now his secret has died with her.
b. He is calm, saying she would have died sooner or later, anyway.
 c. He flies into a rage and kills the Doctor.
d. He calls the Witches to bring her back to life.
44. Why is Macbeth fearless in the final battle?
a. He no longer cares whether he remains king.
b. The Witches assured him of victory.
c. The Witches told him no man born of a woman could harm him.
d. He wishes to avenge Lady Macbeth’s death.
45. Who kills Macbeth, finally ending his tyrannical reign?
a. Malcolm
b. Donalbain
c. Siward
d. Macduff
46. When Macbeth is finally killed, the prophesy of “none of woman born shall harm
Macbeth” is fulfilled because Macbeth’s killer
a. Is the strongest
b. Is the smartest
c. Was born by cesarean section
d. Was adopted
47. What “prize” does Macbeth’s killer bring back to the castle?
a. The King’s sword
b. The King’s head
c. The King’s crown
d. The King’s horses
48. After Macbeth dies, the new king will be
a. Siward
b. Malcolm
c. Ross
d. Macduff
49. Who speaks the last lines of the play?
a. Siward
b. Malcolm
c. Ross
d. Macduff

Part 2: Quote Identification – Identify the speaker of each quote. Some may be used more than
once or not at all.

a. Duncan b. Macbeth c. Lady Macbeth d. The Witches

ab. Banquo ac. Macduff ad. Malcolm abc. Lennox

 50. “Thou hast is now: king, Cawdor, Glamis, all, / As the weird women promised, and I
fear / Thou play’dst most foully for’t.” Banquo
51. “To be thus is nothing, / But to be safely thus.” Macbeth
52. “Come, you spirits / That tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here, / And fill me from
the crown to the toe top-full / Of direst cruelty.” Lady Macbeth
53. “Out, damned spot, out, I say!” Lady Macbeth
54. “They were suborned. / Malcolm and Donalbain, the King’s two sons, / Are stol’n away
and fled, which puts upon them / Suspicion of the deed.” Macduff
55. “So foul and fair a day I have not seen.” Macbeth
56. “My thanes and kinsmen, / Henceforth be earls, the first that ever Scotland / In such an
honor named.” Malcolm
57. “Conduct me to mine host. We love him highly / And shall continue our graces towards
him.” Duncan
58. “Lesser than Macbeth and greater.” The Witches
59. “ Hark! – I laid their daggers ready; / He could not miss ‘em. Had he not resembled / My
father as he slept, I had done’t.” Lady Macbeth
60. “Dispute it like a man.” Malcolm
61. “I shall do so, but I must also feel it as a man.” Macduff
62. “When you durst do it, then you were a man; / And to be more than what you were, you
would / be so much more the man.” Lady Macbeth

Part 3: Quotation Analysis – Select the best answer for each question.

“How is’t with me, when every noise appalls me? / What hands are here! Ha, they pluck out
mine eyes. / Will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood / Clean from my hand? No, this my
hand will rather / The multitudinous seas incarnadine, / Making the green one red.”

63. Which of the following best explains the “Neptune’s ocean” and bloody hands
reference?
a. It symbolizes Macbeth’s guilt for murdering Duncan.
b. It symbolizes Lady Macbeth’s downward spiral into madness.
c. It symbolizes Macbeth’s desire to murder to attain power.
d. It symbolizes the end of Macbeth’s tyrannical reign.

“Nothing in his life / Became him like the leaving it; he died / As one that had been studied in
his death, / To throw away the dearest thing he ow'd, / As 'twere a careless triflee.”
 64. Whose death is Malcolm referring to when he speaks these lines?
a. Macbeth’s
b. Duncan’s
c. Banquo’s
d. The original Thane of Cawdor’s

“Fair is foul and foul is fair.”

65. This famous line best represents which of the following themes of the play?
a. Things are not as they seem.
b. Absolute power leads to corruption.
c. Prophesies are not fated, but fatal.
d. There is danger in overzealous ambition.

“By the pricking of my thumbs / Something wicked this way comes.”

66. To whom are the witches referring in this line?

a. Banquo
b. Macbeth
c. Malcolm
d. Macduff

“Yet do I fear thy nature; / It is too full o’ th’ milk of human kindness / To catch the nearest
way.”

67. Which of the following best explains what Lady Macbeth fears when she speaks these
lines?
a. She fears she is too much of a coward to commit a murder herself.
b. She fears that Macduff joining with Malcolm’s army will end her husband’s reign
as king.
c. She fears her husband is too good to seize the throne by murder.
d. She fears she will not be able to persuade Macbeth to do what needs to be done
to become king.

“Let not light see my black and deep desires. / The eye wink at the hand, yet let that be / Which
the eye fears, when it is done, to see.”

68. In this aside, Macbeth admits that he hopes the king will be murdered. These lines best
describe what tragic flaw of Macbeth’s?
a. His ability to be easily influenced by others.
b. His ruthless ambition.
c. His emotional instability.
 d. His tendency to be too trusting of others.

“If th’ assassination / Could trammel up the consequence and catch / With his surcease success,
that but this blow / Might be the be-all and the end-all here, / But here, upon this bank and
shoal of time, / We’d jump the life to come. But in these cases / We still have judgment here,
that we but teach / Bloody instructions, which, being taught, return / to plague th’ inventor.”

69. At this point, Macbeth argues with himself about murdering the king. Which of the
following is the best meaning of “bloody instructions” from his internal conversation?
a. He was told by Lady Macbeth to follow her lead and kill Duncan.
b. The Witches’ prophesy encouraged him to commit this murder.
c. He assumes that murdering the king will not cause any problems later.
d. He knows that terrible deeds often backfire.

“Time, thou anticipat’st my dread exploits. The flighty purpose never is o’ertook / Unless the
deed go with it. From this moment / The very firstlings of my heart shall be / The firstlings of
my hand. And even now, / To crown my thoughts with acts, be it thought and done.”

70. Frustrated in his desire to kill Macduff, on what does Macbeth blame for his anger, and
what does he promise to himself from now on?
a. Macbeth blames his own impulsivity and he promises himself to think his actions
through more thoroughly from now on.
b. Macbeth blames his tendency to be easily influenced by others and he promises
to think for himself from now on.
c. Macbeth blames his own hesitation and he promises himself that he will act
more immediately on his impulses from now on.
d. Macbeth blames his own selfishness for political power and he promises himself
to be more aware of others from now on.