Macbeth Challenge Quiz

Macbeth Challenge questions

The answers and an explanation for each question appear as you play, and on the answer-key page of the printout.

1. Lady Macbeth tells her husband to seem one thing and be another. Which pair of images does she use?
   A new-born babe upon the blast · A raven hoarse on the battlement · A borrowed robe that hangs loose · An innocent flower hiding a serpent
2. Macbeth sees a dagger on his way to Duncan's chamber. What explanation does he offer for it?
   It is a token left for him by his wife · It is Banquo's dagger left behind · It is a creation of his fevered brain · It is a sign sent by the witches
3. The Porter's comic scene follows straight after the murder. What effect does his joke about keeping hell-gate have?
   It proves Duncan died in his sleep · It hides Macduff's arrival from us · It makes the castle itself seem damned · It shows the servants suspect Macbeth
4. After the ghost leaves the banquet, what does Macbeth conclude about murder?
   That the witches have betrayed him · That he must confess to the thanes · That blood always calls for more blood · That his wife no longer loves him
5. Why do the apparitions' promises make Macbeth bolder rather than more careful?
   He thinks Macduff has already fled · He takes impossible conditions as safety · He believes the witches now serve him · He trusts Lennox to defend the castle
6. Told to take the news of his family like a man, how does Macduff answer Malcolm?
   He must feel it as a man first · He blames Malcolm for the delay · He asks to be left to pray alone · He will never speak of them again
7. The Doctor says Lady Macbeth's illness is beyond his help. What does he mean?
   She has gone deaf to all speech · She has been poisoned by the witches · Her sickness is of the conscience · She is dying of a fever
8. Hearing that his wife is dead, what image does Macbeth use for a human life?
   A serpent under a flower · A sword worn to the hilt · A raven on the battlement · A poor player on a stage
9. Early on, Lady Macbeth says a little water will wash the blood away. What does she say about her hands in Act V?
   They are stained with wine · They are colder than Duncan's · No perfume can sweeten them · They shame her husband's heart
10. How does Banquo's response to the witches differ from Macbeth's?
    He tells Duncan about it · He refuses to act on it · He warns Lady Macbeth of it · He asks the witches for more
11. What do the three promises of the cauldron scene have in common?
    Each is spoken by Hecate · Each repeats an earlier prophecy · Each is true in an unexpected way · Each names Macduff directly
12. Which recurring image describes Macbeth's hold on titles that are not his?
    Ill-fitting borrowed clothes · A seed sown in winter · A chained and baited bear · A ship lost in thick fog
13. The show of eight kings descended from Banquo flattered which ruler of Shakespeare's own time?
    Edward the Confessor · Queen Elizabeth I · King James I · King Duncan's heirs

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Original questions written for Pagine. Quotations are from the public-domain text.