Test out your knowledge of the events and characters in Macbeth by answering these exam style questions broken down into each Act:
Act 1
- Why does Shakespeare open the play by showing the witches? Why is it good for Macbeth not to appear first?
- How does Duncan reward Macbeth for his bravery in defeating the rebels? Comment on the order in which Duncan announces it and Macbeth finds it out.
- Macbeth calls the day of the battle “foul and fair”. Comment on what you think he means.
- When Macbeth is told of his new title, how do he and Banquo react? Can you think of reasons for the difference in reactions?
- Why does Macbeth call Malcolm “a step on which” he “must fall down or else o'er leap”? Which of these alternatives do you expect Macbeth to choose and how might he do it?
- What does Lady Macbeth fear about her husband, after she has read his letter?
- Lady Macbeth tells her husband to “look like the innocent flower/But be the serpent under it”. Explain what she means (either generally or specifically or both, as you think appropriate).
- What is the purpose and effect of Duncan's and Banquo's comments when they approach Macbeth's castle?
- Why, in Macbeth's opinion, is the murder of Duncan so wrong?
- How does Lady Macbeth make sure that her husband murders Duncan?
Act 2
- Comment on Banquo's speech beginning “There's husbandry in heaven...” and ending “...in repose”. Remember that this play would originally have been performed in the daytime, using natural light.
- After his servant leaves him (Act 2, scene 1, line 33 and following) Macbeth imagines he can see something (in some film versions the audience may be shown this, too). What is it? Explain why, you think, Macbeth sees this, especially at this time and in this place.
- When Lady Macbeth says, “That which hath made them drunk hath made me bold”, what does she mean? Who are “them” and why should she want them to be drunk?
- Sometimes Shakespeare shows killing onstage (mostly at the end of a play). Why, in your view, is the killing of Duncan not shown, but understood to happen offstage?
- How is Macbeth's mind affected by the murder of Duncan?
- Who is more practical after the killing, Macbeth or his wife? Can you think of reasons for this?
- The scene featuring the porter makes a great contrast with what goes before and after it. Can you explain why Shakespeare should use comedy at this point in an otherwise not very comical play? (This is sometimes explained by the phrase “Comic Relief”, which has recently been taken over by a well-known charity.)
- After Duncan's death, Macbeth says, “All is but toys”. Explain what you think he means by saying this. He is, of course, concealing his part in the murder, but do you think he is sincere when he makes this statement? Why?
- How do Malcolm and Donalbain react to the murder of their father? Is this a wise course of action? Give reasons in favour of this and against it. Can you think of any other things they might do in this situation?
- An old man tells Ross about a “mousing owl” that killed a falcon and about Duncan's horses turning wild and eating each other. What might be the point of this speech? Comment on the idea of things being “unnatural” at this point in the play.
Act 3
- Why does Macbeth ask Banquo so many apparently casual questions about where he is riding? Why should Macbeth be worried about Banquo (think about what he knows and about his character)?
- How does Macbeth persuade the murderers to help him? He tells the murderers that it was really Banquo who did some things they thought Macbeth had done to harm them. Is this convincing?
- What does Macbeth say that he envies about Duncan (in scene 2)?
- How successful are the murderers in following Macbeth's instructions? Comment on what happens to Fleance, and why this matters to Macbeth.
- How does Lady Macbeth react when her husband sees (or believes he sees) Banquo's ghost? What similar thing does she recall? (Macbeth has not told her of this in the dialogue of the play, so we must suppose he has told her between scenes.)
- What does Macbeth mean when he says, “We are yet but young in deed”? (Act 3, scene 4) What does this suggest about his future conduct?
- Who or what is Hecate and what does she think of the witches' involvement with Macbeth?
- What is Hecate's strategy for Macbeth? Comment on the way the audience learns of this before he does.
- In Act 3, scene 6, Lennox comments on Macbeth's actions. In your own words, try to explain what he says directly and what he really thinks or hints at. Why might he not want to say directly what is really in his mind?
- The lord's reply to Lennox contains some interesting information about Macduff. What is this, and how might it affect things in Scotland?
Act 4
- How do the witches lull Macbeth into a false sense of security?
- How does Macbeth feel after his second meeting with the witches? What things might reassure him, and what things might trouble him?
- When Macbeth says (Act 4, scene 1) that “the flighty purpose never is o'ertook/Unless the deed go with it”, what does he mean in general, and in the particular situation in which he says it?
- How does Lady Macduff feel about her husband's leaving her alone? Why has he done this?
- When Ross comes to see Lady Macduff, how does he behave and why?
- Briefly explain Macduff's description to Malcolm of the state of affairs in Scotland (Act 4, scene 3). What does the audience know which makes Macduff's account even more painful?
- Why might Malcolm be suspicious of Macduff? Does he know as much as the audience does about why Macbeth and Macduff are enemies?
- Malcolm pretends to be even more evil than Macbeth. Why does he do this? What does he discover by doing so?
- In Act 4, scene 3, there is an account of the miraculous healing powers of the English king - what is the purpose of this? What effect does it have on the audience?
- When Macduff asks Ross about his family, Ross replies, “...they were well at peace when I did leave 'em”. Explain why he gives this answer and what it might mean.
Act 5
- How does Lady Macbeth's behaviour in Act 5, scene 1 affect the way the audience sees her?
- Angus says that Macbeth's royal title is “...like a giant's robe/Upon a dwarfish thief” (Act 5, scene 2, lines 21-22). Explain, in your own words, what this means, and whether it is a fair description of Macbeth. Can you find other references in the play to the wearing of clothes, as a metaphor or simile (as here) for something else?
- Why does Macbeth say (Act 5, scene 3) “that he must not look to have...that which should accompany old age”? What are these things and what does he expect to have “in their stead”?
- Why does Malcolm order his soldiers to cut boughs from the trees of Birnam Wood? Explain the ways in which the audience and (later) Macbeth see more in this action than Malcolm has intended in giving the order.
- Macbeth claims that he has “almost forgot the taste of fears”. Is this a convincing claim? Give reasons for your answer.
- Perhaps the most famous speech in the play is the one that begins “Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow”. In your own words, summarise the main points that Macbeth makes in this speech.
- When Macbeth fights Young Siward he is very confident of the outcome? Why is this? Is he right to be so confident?
- Macduff believes that he alone should kill Macbeth. Why does he think this? What other reason emerges, when he speaks with Macbeth, for his being the only person who should do this?
- How does Macbeth feel about fighting Macduff? What makes up his mind to do so?
- How does Old Siward feel about the death of his son? He makes a joke at this point - does this suggest that he doesn't care, or that he is controlling his feelings?
