Saturday, April 27, 2013

macbeth test

For anyone who missed the exam or wants to review.  MC questions after the jump.


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Multiple choice questions. Choose the best answer.
1.     In Act I, the wounded sergeant
a) is a convention of Elizabethan drama.
b) serves to reveal Macbeth as heroic and valiant.
c) has been sent by Macbeth to praise him before the king.
d) is King Duncan's valiant cousin.




2.     King Duncan thinks of Macbeth as
a) a loyal but overly ambitious soldier.
b) a man with a dangerously ambitious wife.
c) a hero to whom he owes great thanks.
d) a brave but indecisive soldier.



3.     And often times to win us to our harm, the instruments of darkness tell us truths;
Win us with hones trifles, to betray's in deepest consequence.

In this speech, Banquo warns Macbeth that
a) it is sometimes good for a man to suffer.
b) the witches will expect to be rewarded.
c) the witches will betray Macbeth by telling him what he wants to hear.
d) the witches might speak truthfully and bestow small favours in order to cause Macbeth's downfall.



4.     Macbeth ponders the witches' first prophecy.
This supernatural soliciting
Cannot be ill, cannot be good: If ill,
Why hath it given me earnest of success,
Commencing in a truth? I am the Thane of Cawdor.
If good, why do I yield to that suggestion
Whose horrid image doth unfix my hair
This passage means that the prophecy is
a) neither good nor evil. It is fate.
b) not evil, but it has some frightening implications.
c) evil although two of the prohecy's predictions have come true.
d) neither good nor evil and although part of it has been fulfilled, it has some frightening implications.



5.     Part of the witches' first prophecy is that Macbeth would become king and Macbeth remarks to himself "If chance would have me king, why, chance may crown me without my stir."

He means that
a) unless he takes some action, he might be forced to become king.
b) he can gain the throne simply by letting events take their course.
c) it is his duty to become king, and he will meet his obligations.
d) it seems rather doubtful that he will become king.



6.     This castle has a pleasant seat; the air nimbly and sweetly recommends itself unto our gentle senses.

In view of what happens later, this speech by King Duncan as he enters Macbeth's castle is an example of
a) slapstick comedy.
b) dramatic irony.
c) ominscience.
d) prophesy.



7.     Macbeth reveals his reluctance to kill Duncan in all of the following EXCEPT
a) "Bloody instruments ... return to plague the inventor."
b) "I am his kinsman and his subject."
c) "as his host ... should against his murderer shut the door."
d) "If it were done ... then 'twere well it were done quickly."



8.     In answer to his wife's insistence that he kill Duncan, Macbeth responds "Prithee peace! I dare do all that becomes a man; Who dares more is none."
a) In this speech, Macbeth shows self righteousness.
b) This speech shows Macbeth as indecisive.
c) In this speech, Macbeth shows cowardice.
d) This speech shows Macbeth as ambitious.



9.     Macbeth's soliloquy beginning "Is this a dagger which I see before me" shows him to be
a) disturbed by what Banquo knows.
b) horrified of the deed he is about to commit.
c) angry that he has let his wife persuade him to kill Duncan.
d) genuinely sorry that he must kill the king.



10.  Soon after Duncan's body is discovered, Macbeth says "There's nothing serious in mortality." This means that
a) Macbeth no longer finds meaning in life.
b) the living lack respect for the dead.
c) Macduff is being too serious.
d) mortals should not be taken seriously.



11.  Macduff's outburst "Most sacrilegious murder hath broke ope the Lord's anointed temple"
a) alludes to the belief that kings ruled by divine right.
b) shows Macduff's disrespect for the dead king.
c) blames the chamberlains for Duncan's murder.
d) criticizes the Catholic church.



12.  Immediately following the murder of King Duncan, Macbeth appears to be
a) relieved.
b) happy.
c) self-possessed.
d) hysterical and crying uncontrollably.



13.  At the time of Duncan's murder, Lady Macbeth is best described as
a) hesitant.
b) fatalistic.
c) concerned for her reputation.
d) ambitious.



14.  Following the discovery of Duncan's body, Lady Macbeth faints because
a) she is genuinely upset by the king's death.
b) she is surprised by the amount of blood.
c) she does like knives and violence.
d) she wants to distract attention from Macbeth.



15.  At the beginning of Act III, following the murder of Duncan,
a) Banquo is suspicious of Macbeth's involvement.
b) Banquo is happy for Macbeth's success.
c) Banquo expresses delight that the king is dead.
d) Banquo dismisses the witches' prophecies as coincidence.



16.  Upon my head they placed a fruitless crown. And put a barren sceptre in my gripe, Thence to be wrenched with an unilineal hand.

The foregoing underlined words all refer to
a) Macbeth's mental torment following the death of Duncan.
b) Macbeth's inability to accomplish anything as king.
c) the witches' prophecy that Banquo's descendants would be kings.
d) Macbeth's suspicions that his subjects did not respect him.



17.  Early in Act III, Lady Macbeth says "Naught's had, all's spent, where our desire is got without content."
a) This tells us that she is afraid of being blamed for Duncan's murder.
b) This tells us that she distrusts Banquo.
c) This tells us that she does not want Banquo's decendants as kings.
d) This tells us that she is worried about Macbeth's sanity.



18.  In which way does Macbeth display a change in character?
a) He does not consult Lady Macbeth about the murder of Banquo.
b) He consults Lady Macbeth about the murder of Banquo.
c) He tries to end the killing.
d) He congratulates Banquo that his son will be king.



19.  Shortly after Banquo's murder, Macbeth says "Better be with the dead, whom we, to gain our peace, have sent to peace, than on the torture of the mind to lie in restless ecstasy." This means that Macbeth
a) recognizes that he must accept life's problems.
b) would rather have Duncan alive than suffer mental torture.
c) is happy that Duncan and Banquo are dead.
d) wishes he were dead than suffer mental anguish for his success.



20.  Upon being told that Fleance has escaped, Macbeth declares that "the worm that's fled hath that in time will venom breed. No teeth for the present." Macbeth means that Fleance
a) is too cowardly to fight the murderers.
b) is the type of person who makes many enemies.
c) will eventually attempt vengeance.
d) is gone and of no further concern.



21.  Fleance's escape could be a turning point in the play because
a) it is the first step in the decline of Macbeth's fortune.
b) Macbeth decides to again see the witches.
c) it turns Lady Macbeth against her husband.
d) Macbeth shows remorse for his actions.



22.  In his statement "We hear our bloody cousins are bestowed in England and in Ireland, not confessing their cruel patricide," Macbeth is referring to
a) Macduff and his family.
b) Malcolm and Donalbain.
c) Edward and Siward.
d) Banquo and Fleance.



23.  Towards the end of Act III, Macbeth says "Strange things I have in my head, that will to hand, which must be acted ere they may be scanned." This means that
a) Macbeth must commit more murders.
b) Macbeth does not wish to think about his past deeds.
c) Macbeth is so disturbed that he cannot think clearly.
d) Macbeth has to complete several plans before he can assess them.



24.  Macbeth's decision to murder Macduff, despite the witches' prophecy that "none born of woman shall harm Macbeth," suggests that
a) Macbeth is determined to destroy all rivals.
b) Macduff wants to be king.
c) Lady Macbeth is turning against her husband.
d) Fleance will not marry and will not have children.



25.  The apparition of the bloody child represents
a) Fleance.
b) Macbeth's guilty conscience.
c) Macduff at birth.
d) Macbeth's son who died in infancy.



26.  The scene presenting the murder of Lady Macduff and her son is useful to the play because
a) it provides a personal reason for Macduff's revenge.
b) it provides comic relief.
c) it turns Lady Macbeth against her husband.
d) the audience sees Macbeth as a Scottish patriot.



27.  Lady Macduff comments "I am in this earthly world, where to do harm is often laudable, to do good sometime accounted dangerous folly." This closely parallels
a) "So foul and fair a day I have not seen."
b) "Fair is foul and foul is fair."
c) ".. look like the innocent flower, but be the serpent under't .."
d) "Good things of day begin to droop and drowse."



28.  The eight brief scenes of Act V
a) facilitate costume changes.
b) give an illusion of an increased speed in the action.
c) indicate that these scenes are not important.
d) confuse Macbeth and lead to his downfall.



29.  The doctor, after he has seen Lady Macbeth walking in her sleep and has spoken with Macbeth, says "Were I from Dunsinane away and clear, profit again should hardly draw me near." This means
a) he could make more money in private practice.
b) he rather work in a quieter castle.
c) he could make more money in another castle.
d) if he could get away from Dunsinane, no amount of money would get him to return.



30.  Macbeth's reaction to the news of Lady Macbeth's death
a) reveals his sense of fatalism.
b) is one of relief that Macduff did not kill her.
c) shows that he did not really love his wife.
d) expresses anger at the doctor for failing to cure her.



31.  When Macbeth hears of Lady Macbeth's death, he is
a) calm and accepts her death.
b) upset and vows revenge.
c) disappointed in the doctor.
d) relieved because she was overly ambitious.



32.  "And be these juggling fiends no more believed than palter with us in a double sense" refers to
a) Macduff's disillusionment with Macbeth and Lady Macbeth.
b) Macbeth's attitude towards Malcolm and Donalbain.
c) Macbeth's final disillusionment with the witches.
d) Siward's thoughts on Macbeth and Lady Macbeth.



33.  It is fitting that Malcom gives the final speech of the play because
a) he was most wronged by Macbeth.
b) he has killed Macbeth.
c) all the other major characters are dead.
d) he is now king of Scotland.



34.  The weird sisters cannot entirely be creatures of Macbeth's imagination because
a) Macbeth is already the Thane of Cawdor.
b) King Duncan has not met the weird sisters.
c) Lady Macbeth wants Macbeth to be king.
d) the weird sisters also make prophesies directly to Banquo.

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