Monday, April 16, 2012

Today's Macbeth Test

The answers are in bold and underline





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.





First, give evidence to prove that Macbeth is a good man at the beginning of the play. The strongest evidence is to be found in the way other people think of him. In Act I, Scene ii his courage is highly praised. The bloody soldier obviously admires his captain, and Duncan is moved when he is told of Macbeth's exploits. Quote the references to "brave Macbeth" and "noble Macbeth."





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





Macbeth is motivated by his ambition to be king. Show how that motivation is first revealed and how it operates throughout the play. Examine how Macbeth responds to the witches' prophecy that he will be king. Quote Banquo's references to Macbeth's being "rapt." Contrast Macbeth's reaction with Banquo's, demonstrating that Macbeth has a powerful desire to possess the crown.


13. What influence do the witches have on Macbeth?





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


First, establish that they have the supernatural ability to foretell the future. Quote their prophesies, and show how no mortal could have known those things. You can do this for the predictions both in Act I and Act IV. It is not hard to demonstrate that they have not made him do anything. He has just taken a suggestion that he finds appealing.





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


At the beginning, they treat each other as equals. They have great concern for each other. He races to tell her the news about the witches; she immediately begins plotting how to gain her husband his heart's desire. Show how the murder of Duncan is a product of teamwork.


They have a very close relationship. Macbeth addresses his wife affectionately as "my dearest partner in greatness" and "dearest love." She demonstrates how well she knows her husband-his desires and his nature. Show how her speech in Act I, Scene vii, is an accurate evaluation of Macbeth's ambition and of the way his nature will hold him back.


Lady Macbeth seems the more resolute of the two. What is interesting is that her taunting enables her husband to get something he really wants very badly.


Once Duncan is dead and Macbeth is irrevocably committed to a course of evil, Lady Macbeth fades into the background. Give several instances in which he goes off on his own course without consulting her. Show how, cut off from him, she descends into madness.








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)?





This line in the first scene tips us off that things will not be what they appear to be. Often, they will be just the opposite. This is a major motif in the play, and examples are numerous. Macbeth's sense of good and evil is so corrupted that by the end "foul" and "fair" are indistinguishable to him





12. How does Macbeth function as a morality play?


The story of Macbeth is a warning to anybody who considers trying to get what he wants by doing something he knows is wrong. It cautions us that the most appealing temptations are often the most horrible traps. To show how the play gets that message across, chart how Macbeth is destroyed by giving in to temptation.


Macbeth is hoodwinked by the witches, As you did in Question 3 of Test 1, list the things they tell him. Describe, how each prediction is like a delicious-looking apple which is actually poisoned.








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


Dramatic irony enriches the last act of the play. Macbeth has become a monster, but he's also become a pathetic figure. His desperation is obvious. Ten thousand troops are on their way to overthrow him; his own troops are deserting. And he places his confidence in the weird sisters-the hags whose suggestion that he would be king got him into this mess! We can see that he is doomed, but he cannot. He fights on, talking about his "charmed life." His failure (or refusal) to see what is obvious to us makes the end of the play much more powerful than it would be otherwise





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


Lady Macbeth's resolution stands out in sharp contrast to Macbeth's wavering. One way she overcomes him is through sheer determination. Find several quotes from Act I, Scene vii, in which she makes him feel the strength of her determination. (Look at lines 54-59, for example.)


She is not above insulting her husband to rouse him to action. Since she is his wife, her comments which question his manhood have an added kick.


Finally, she neutralizes his fears with her practicality. After the murder she says, "'Tis the eye of childhood / That fears a painted devil" (Act II, Scene ii, lines 54-55). Find other ways in which she attempts to quiet his over-active imagination, or his visions.








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


The essential contrast is between a good, righteous man and a morally bankrupt one. Each man's response can be divided into three parts: 1. hearing the news; 2. accepting the news, and 3. what he does after.


Examine the three stages for both men. Contrast how Macduff, who is virtuous, cannot believe the news at first. Once he accepts it, he feels the pain sharply. Macbeth, on the other hand, seems unsurprised and it is hard to tell if he feels any pain; life is meaningless, he says quickly, and everybody dies. Show the direction Macduff takes (a quest for righteous revenge). Compare it with the final, desperate, suicidal stand taken by Macbeth.


Disclaimer: none of these answers belong to me. I got them off of pinkmonkey. I also found the questions there.



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