Study Guide for Macbeth Final Test

Name:______

Please answer the following questions in complete sentences.

Act 1, Scene 1

  1. When are the 3 witches to meet again, and for what purpose?
  2. Who does Macbeth defeat in the battle? What title did this person have before he is killed? Is he liked?

Act 1, Scene 2

  1. What do we learn of Macbeth’s courage and skill?
  2. What is Macbeth’s relationship to Duncan?
  3. What does King Duncan tell Ross to do once he hears of the battle’s outcome?

Act 1, Scene 3

  1. When Macbeth says “I have not seen, so foul and fair a day” to what is he referring? What could be the dramatic irony in this line?
  2. Describe the physical appearance of the witches.
  3. What prophecies do the witches make regarding Macbeth? How does he react?
  4. What do the Witches predict for Banquo?
  5. As Banquo and Macbeth are discussing the prophecies, what news does Ross bring?
  6. What is Macbeth’s emotional state when he hears the news?

Act 1, Scene 4

  1. Why was the old Thane of Cawdor executed?
  2. What news does the King impart to Macbeth, and why are Macbeth’s hopes dashed by the news?
  3. In his last speech in this scene what does Macbeth reveal?

Act 1, Scene 5

  1. After Lady Macbeth finishes reading the letter, what fear about her husband does she express?
  2. How does the news about King Duncan’s expected arrival affect her? What is she planning?
  3. What does Lady Macbeth wish to lose?

Act 1, Scene 6

  1. What kind of impression does Lady Macbeth make in this scene?

Act 1, Scene 7

  1. After saying that if the deed is to be done, it must be done quickly, what arguments does Macbeth raise for not doing it?
  2. What does Macbeth decide before he speaks to Lady Macbeth?
  3. What does Lady Macbeth say in an attempt to goad her husband into the murder?

Act 2, Scene 1

  1. What do you suppose it is that is keeping Banquo from sleeping?
  2. In his last speech, what does Macbeth tell us he sees?
  3. How would you describe his mental/emotional state at this point?

Act 2, Scene 2

  1. What had Lady Macbeth done to the guards?
  2. Why did Lady Macbeth not commit the murder when she was in the room?
  3. Macbeth, apparently troubled by the murder he just committed, tells Lady Macbeth what he saw and heard. She tells him not to dwell on it. Why?
  4. In this scene, how does Lady Macbeth show herself to be stronger than her husband?

Act 2, Scene 3

  1. Who was suspected of the murder, and what happened to them?
  2. Who are Malcolm and Donalbain, what do they suspect, and what decision do they make?

Act 2, Scene 4

  1. Who is suspected of having hired the guards to kill Duncan? Why?
  2. Where has Macbeth gone and why?
  3. How did this happen to fall to Macbeth?

Act 3, Scene 1

  1. In his soliloquy, what suspicion and hope does Banquo reveal?
  2. Why is Macbeth so interested in Banquo’s travel plans?
  3. What is there in this situation with Banquo that particularly upsets Macbeth?
  4. Although he probably paid the murderers, how does Macbeth further motivate them?

Act 3, Scene 2

  1. In this scene, what is Macbeth’s state of mind?
  2. On the other hand, how does Macbeth show his resolve has become stronger?

Act 3, Scene 3

  1. What goes wrong in the ambush?

Act 3, Scene 4

  1. Upon returning to the banquet table, what does Macbeth see and how does he respond?
  2. What does Lady Macbeth say to Macbeth?
  3. What is the final result of Macbeth’s behavior at the banquet?
  4. For what reason does Macduff’s name come up at the banquet?
  5. What does Macbeth tell us is his next step?

Act 3, Scene 5

  1. Who is Hecate, and why is she angry?

Act 3, Scene 6

  1. Where has Macduff gone? Why?
  2. What was Macbeth’s response to these developments?

Act 4, Scene 1

  1. What is the 1st apparition, and of what does it warn Macbeth?
  2. What is the 2nd apparition, and what is its comment?
  3. What, after this, does Macbeth figure?
  4. What is the 3rd apparition, and what is its message?
  5. Pleased with the information, what one further thing does Macbeth desire to know and what is the answer he gets?
  6. What news does Lennox give to Macbeth?
  7. What is Macbeth’s response?

Act 4, Scene 2

  1. Why does Lady Macduff think Macduff’s flight was unnatural?
  2. What is Ross’s response?
  3. Since he has fled and is not dead, why does Lady Macduff tell their son he is dead?
  4. How does the child know that his father isn’t dead?

Act 4, Scene 3

  1. What suspicion of Macduff does Malcolm voice?
  2. What does Malcolm say to “test” Macduff?
  3. Does Macduff “pass”?
  4. What information does Ross give Macduff?
  5. What does Macduff decide after he hears the news?

Act 5, Scene 1

  1. Describe what the doctor observes.
  2. Why does the doctor conclude that she needs more help than a physician can give her?

Act 5, Scene 2

  1. Whose side are Lennox, Angus, Menteith, and Caithness on?
  2. What do they say of the men that Macbeth commands?

Act 5, Scene 3

  1. As an old tyrant might, what is Macbeth’s complaint about his life?
  2. What is Lady Macbeth’s condition, and how does Macbeth believe it could be cured??

Act 5, Scene 4

  1. What tactical strategy does Malcolm take?

Act 5, Scene 5

  1. In reaction to the news that Lady Macbeth is dead, Macbeth delivers his most famous soliloquy. What does it mean?
  2. What alarming news does the messenger bring?

Act 5, Scene 6 & 7

  1. As bad as things look for Macbeth, why does he have scorn for his opponents?
  2. What information does Macduff tell Macbeth?
  3. What is Macbeth’s response?
  4. Why does he quickly change his mind about fighting?
  5. On what note does the play end?

Quotes --- Fill in the blanks.

  1. “Fair is foul, and foul is fair. Hover through the fog and filthy air.”

Who:

What it means:

  1. “Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow / Creeps in this petty pace from day to day”

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What it means:

  1. “I go and it is done: the bell invites me. Hear it not Duncan for it is the knell that summons thee to heaven, or to hell”

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What it means:

  1. “The flighty purpose never is o’ertook / Unless the deed go with it”

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What it means:

  1. “Out, damned spot! Out, I say”

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What it means:

  1. “Come, we’ll to sleep. My strange and self-abuse / Is the initiate fear that wants hard use / We are yet but young in deed”

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What it means:

  1. “That which hath made them drunk hath made me / bold / What hath quenched them hath given me fire”

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What it means:

  1. “Look like the innocent flower, / But be the serpent under’t”

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What it means:

  1. “The Prince of Cumberland! That is a step / On which I must fall down, or else o’erleap”

Who:

What it means:

Macbeth vocabulary will also be on this test.