Study Guide: The Tragedy of Macbeth
Act I
1. The witches in Scene 1 inform the audience that....
2. In Scene 2, Duncan orders Ross to...
3. In Scene 3, Shakespeare most likely has the witches speak in rhyme instead of blank verse to make their
comments sound...
4. What is the witches' prophecy for Macbeth?
5. What is their prophecy for Banquo?
6. Macbeth shows his ambition and curiosity about becoming king in Scene 3 when he...
7. In Scene 4, Macbeth says of the Malcolm, "The Prince of Cumberland! That is a step / On which I must fall down
or else o'erleap, / For in my way it lies" meaning he sees Malcolm...
8. In Scene 5, lines 13-14, Lady Macbeth says Macbeth's nature is "too full o' th' milk of human kindness." She
means that he lacks...
9. What does Lady Macbeth ask the spirits to do?
10. In Scene 5, what does Lady Macbeth say she'd be willing to do to achieve her goal?
11. How does Lady Macbeth know that Duncan is coming to her castle?
12. In Scene 6, line 24, Duncan's reference to Lady Macbeth as a "noble hostess" is an example of dramatic irony
because the audience knows that...
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13. In Scene 7, lines 10-12, Macbeth says "To plague th' inventor. This even-handed justice /
Commends th' ingredience of our poisoned chalice / To our own lips." These lines reveal Macbeth's...
14. In Scene 7, lines 53-55, Lady Macbeth says "Thy letters have transported me beyond / This ignorant present,
and I feel now/The future in the instant." What can the reader tell about her character?
15. What is Lady Macbeth's plan for making sure that Duncan's guards are blamed for his death?
Define the following:
A. Hyperbole
B. Metaphor
C. Alliteration
D. Personification