Macbeth Acts 1, 2 Test Study Guide

Question 1

What year was Macbeth Written?

Answer 1

1606

Question 2

Why is Macbeth set in Scotland during a civil war and foreign invasion?

Answer 2

King James I and Christian IV are in the audience for the play, and the invasion and civil war will relate closely to them, and appear to be more eerie, realistic, and scary.

Question 3

Why do witches appear in Macbeth (historical)?

Answer 3

King James I and Christian IV believe in witches, and that they are out to get the government, It makes the play more relatable and scary given the context of the time period.

Question 4

What is Dramatic Irony (definition)?

Answer 4

When the audience understands more or other than what the speaker says.

Question 5

What is a motif (definition)?

Answer 5

Any recurring pattern in a work of art (or literature).

Question 6

What is a symbol (defnition)?

Answer 6

A concrete object, action, or process that has at least one ulterior meaning to it.

Question 7

What does the bleeding of the sergeant in Act 1 symbolize?

Answer 7

It symbolizes the carelessness and disconcern for the sergeant’s life and wellbeing by Duncan, and also te devotion to the king’s servitude by the sergeant.

Question 8

What is a soliloquy (definition)?

Answer 8

A long speech spoken by a single character that is not intended to be heard by any other character in the play. (essentially a long aside)

Question 9

What is Banquo’s prophecy from the weird sisters?

Answer 9

He will be a father to kings, but not a king himself.

Question 10

What instrument signals to the weird sisters that Macbeth is coming?

Answer 10

A drum

Question 11

When Macbeth debated whether to kill Duncan after he is in the castle, he says that he is here in double trust, first as a kinsman, and nest as his subject, then as his host. What does this mean?

Answer 11

Kinsman= first reason he shouldn’t kill Duncan is because he is family (although distant), and it is a high sin to murder a family member. It is also a high sin to have harm come to guests, and this is why he doesn’t want to kill Duncan as a second reason.

Question 12

Who are Duncan’s Sons, who is named his successor after the tradition of primogeniture, and what is the position called?

Answer 12

Malcolm and Donalbain are his sons, and Malcolm is named the Prince of Cumberland as successor following primogeniture.

Question 13

What is tanistry?

Answer 13

The thanes of Scotland elect a “Thane of Cawdor” who is to be successor of the king should the king die.

Question 14

What is the problem with the tanist system?

Answer 14

It motivates the chosen tanisy to murder the king from lack of patience to becoming king themselves.

Question 15

What does lady Macbeth pray for to the devil?

Answer 15

She prays to turn her “woman’s milk” sour and make her strong like a man, so she can kill Duncan.

Question 16

What does Lady Macbeth think of Macbeth when Macbeth is uneasy about his decision to go through with the killing?

Answer 16

She thinks he is unmanly and a coward for not wanting to go through with killing Duncan. This is where we see her prayer come true in a sense, as she has become more manly in this sense, and almost witchy.

Question 17

What is one analysis behind why Duncan names Malcolm his successor soon after naming Macbeth thane of Cawdor?

Answer 17

He is afraid of Macbeth, and doesn’t want to promote disloyalty in Macbeth because he knows Macbeth is capable of a lot when it comes to battle.

Question 18

Why does Macbeth tell Lady Macbeth to keep his meeting with the witches secret in his letter to her?

Answer 18

He doesn’t want to draw suspicion to when they will try to kill the king.

Question 19

Focus on the Weird Sisters and their symbolism: Greek Myth

Answer 19

Their names were Clotho (spinner), Lachesis (Allotter), and Atropos (Inflexible). They together spun the thread of human fate, dispensed it to a set length, and cut the thread. The moment the thread was cut, the person’s life would end.

Question 20

Focus on the Weird Sisters and their symbolism: Druidism

Answer 20

Druids as a religion sense nature as divine or sacred; they dominated pre-christian Scotland. One lens on the weird sisters is that they never converted to christianity with everyone else, and are practitioners of the old Druid religion.

Question 21

Focus on the Weird Sisters and their symbolism: Social Outcasts

Answer 21

Demented, homeless, old women that represented widows and bereaved mothers whose husbands and sons have died in the many wars Macbeth presents. They may suffer from dementia or mental illness, thinking they have supernatural powers.

Question 22

Focus on the Weird Sisters and their symbolism: Actual Witches in League with the Devil (King James I’s view)

Answer 22

Real witches that are in league with the devil who concoct spells, see the future, can instantly disappear, and later in the play call forth a demon that predicts Macbeth’s future.

Question 23

What happened when king James I sailed back to Scotland after picking up his wife Anne? What did he do once he was back?

Answer 23

A storm sank a ship in his fleet and he almost died. He blamed it on witches and once he got back, he setup a witch hunt that forced over 70 people (mostly women) to confess under torture, and they were sentenced to death.

Question 24

Why did King James write a book titles “Daemonologie”?

Answer 24

To influence public opinion and cause people to be more concerned about witches and witchcraft.