| What is the central theme of Act I? | betrayal |
| The Tragedy of Macbeth and other Elizabethan plays represented a radical shift in English drama because they were | not about religious themes |
| What appears to be Macbeth’s character flaw? | a desire for power |
| During the Elizabethan period, theater companies began to | use permanent performance spaces |
| What important role do the witches play? | they foreshadow events |
| What can you infer about King Duncan? | He places a high value on bravery and loyalty |
| Which of the following best describes Macbeth’s feelings about the possible assassination of King Duncan? | tortured ambivalence |
| Why does Lady Macbeth think Macbeth has a poor chance of achieving power? | He is not ruthless enough |
| What do stage directions give the reader? | information about what is taking place on the stage |
| Macbeth’s plans and actions seem to be motivated most of all by | his wife’s encouragement |
| Which of the following is an example of stage direction? | [Thunder and lightning. Enter THREE WITCHES.] |
| Elizabethan tragedies were modeled on plays from | ancient Greece and Rome |
| The annotations in The Tragedy of Macbeth are a helpful aid for | clarifying unfamiliar language |
| In what way is Lady Macbeth stronger than her husband? | She stands firm when Macbeth begins to waver in his deadly purpose |
| Which would be true if you were watching a play at the Globe Theater back in Shakespeare’s day? | The illusions of time and space would come from the words of the play |
| What is the central idea of Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Macbeth, Act II? | A murderer must live with his conscience |
| For which of the following reasons did Shakespeare probably choose to write The Tragedy of Macbeth in blank verse? | to create an effect of natural speech |
| Lady Macbeth’s purpose in drugging the servants is | so they will sleep though King Duncan’s murder |
| Which of the following characterizes the line “This night’s great business into my dispatch” as blank verse? | It has ten syllables with the stress falling on every second syllable |
| Which of the following symbols signals that the murder has been accomplished? | the owl’s scream and the crickets’ cries |
| Macbeth declares he will “sleep no more” because he believes | his conscience will never let him rest |
| What does Macbeth really mean when he indicates that the blood on his hands will redden all the seas? | It is a comment on his profound guilt |
| In the Old Man’s dialogue, which of the following symbolizes King Duncan? | a horse |
| What does Banquo say the purpose of meeting should be? | To know the bloody piece of work |
| When Lady Macbeth says “My hands are of your color, but I shame / To wear a heart so white” she means that | her hands are red with King Duncan’s blood, but, unlike her husband, she is not afraid |
| Why do you suppose Shakespeare made Banquo the last person Macbeth sees before he murders King Duncan? | Banquo, who is loyal to the king, represents Macbeth’s last chance to do what is right and call off his murderous plan |
| What reason does Lady Macbeth give for not killing King Duncan herself? | She says the king looked like her father as he slept |
| Unrhymed iambic pentameter is also called | blank verse |
| To make sense of blank verse, you must | read and analyze each full sentence, no matter where the line breaks |
Macbeth Act I & II
July 28, 2019