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Have you seen a play by Shakespeare?

Macbeth - Character

Test your knowledge of Macbeth’s characters in this GCSE English Literature quiz, from the brave warrior we meet first to the ruthless ruler he later becomes.

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Fascinating Fact:

King Duncan is presented as a generous and trusting ruler, and his murder is shown as a shocking betrayal of loyalty and hospitality.

In GCSE English Literature, character questions on Macbeth expect you to track how people change, what motivates them and how Shakespeare uses their behaviour to explore power, ambition, loyalty and guilt.

Key Terms

Protagonist: The main character in a text, whose choices and journey drive much of the plot and the audience’s response.
Characterisation: The methods a writer uses to create a character, including dialogue, actions, stage directions and what others say about them.
Tragic flaw: A strong weakness or quality, such as ambition, that leads a tragic hero towards poor decisions and eventual downfall.

Frequently Asked Questions (Click to see answers)

How is Macbeth’s character presented at the start of the play?

At the start, Macbeth is presented as a brave and loyal soldier, praised by Duncan and others for courage in battle and for defending Scotland against its enemies.

How can I revise the characters in Macbeth for my GCSE exam?

Create a revision card for each key character with a short summary, three key quotations and two or three bullet points on how they change and what they reveal about themes.

Which Macbeth characters are most important to focus on for GCSE?

Most exam questions focus on Macbeth and Lady Macbeth, but it also helps to understand Duncan, Banquo and the witches so you can compare values, power and moral choices.

Try These Related Quizzes

1 .

Which of the following does NOT describe the King?

Vindictive

Just

Firm

Trusting

The King is presented as a wise leader concerned to reward those who are of service to him and to bind together his noblemen with ties of obligation. He does not hesitate to condemn traitors to death, but nevertheless serves as an ideal monarch to whom we may compare Macbeth

2 .

How does Macbeth respond when the King formally names him Thane of Cawdor?

He is grateful and content to have achieved his goals

He is grateful but later begins to long for greater glory

He begins thinking of overcoming obstacles to the throne

He refuses the honour

Macbeth's immediate response is given in an aside to the audience: "The Prince of Cumberland: that is a step / On which I must fall down, or else o'er-leap." The King names his son the Prince of Cumberland and thus heir to his throne. Macbeth must skip this step in order to become King

3 .

As Lady Macbeth prepares to help her husband in his treachery against the King, she says: "Make thick my blood, / Stop up th'access and passage to remorse, / That no compunctious visitings of nature / Shake my fell purpose." What is she requesting?

She has a medical complaint from which she wishes to be healed

She wishes to become unaffected by "soft" emotions

She wishes to be protected from violent behaviour

She wishes to become more natural in her behaviour

These lines are from Lady Macbeth's monologue in Act One, Scene Five, when she asks to be "unsexed". She associates violence and resolve with masculine qualities, and pity and remorse with feminine qualities

4 .

Which of the following is correct?

Macbeth shows a greater willingness to believe and trust in the witches and their prophecies than Banquo, who questions their reality

Banquo shows a greater willingness to believe and trust in the witches and their prophecies than Macbeth, who questions their reality

Macbeth and Banquo demonstrate an equal willingness to believe and trust in the witches

Neither Macbeth nor Banquo trust in the reality of the witches or believe their prophecies

Banquo compares them to the "bubbles" of the earth, wonders whether he and Macbeth have eaten an "insane root" and later describes the witches as having appeared in a dream

5 .

Macbeth justifies killing the suspected murderers of the King, saying: "Who can be wise, amazed, temperate and furious, / Loyal and neutral, in a moment? No man. / The expedition of my violent love / Outran the pauser, reason." What does he mean?

He is not wise, temperate, loyal or loving

He is not like other men

He is always wise, temperate, loyal and loving

It is not possible for any man to be wise, amazed, temperate, furious, loyal and neutral at the same time

Some emotions will overpower other emotions or virtues. Macbeth claims that his murder of the suspects arose from his great love for the King

6 .

Who is portrayed as fatally abandoning his responsibilities in order to preserve his own life?

Ross

Lennox

Macduff

Fleance

Macduff's wife is shocked by his decision to flee, leaving her and her children to die. Macduff is horrified to hear of their deaths (which he does not seem to have foreseen) and later avenges them by killing Macbeth

7 .

"Thou hast it now, King, Cawdor, Glamis, all, / As the weïrd women promised, and I fear / Thou played'st most foully for't. Yet it was said / It should not stand in thy prosperity." What do Banquo's words tell us of his character?

He mistrusts Macbeth and harbours his own ambitions

He mistrusts Macbeth but intends to see that Macbeth's heirs inherit the throne

He trusts Macbeth and hopes to achieve his own ambitions with Macbeth's help

He trusts Macbeth and holds no ambitions of his own

Banquo believes that if the witches' prophecy for Macbeth has come true, then their prophecy concerning his own descendants will also come true

8 .

What does Lady Macbeth's handwashing tell us about how she is affected by the murder of the King?

She feels guilty and is convinced that the people will punish her

She feels guilty while at the same time believing herself to be above blame

She does not feel guilty, but is afraid of vengeance from beyond the grave

She does not feel guilty and is afraid of nothing

Lady Macbeth cannot metaphorically wash herself clean of the King's blood (and also of Lady Macduff's); she is stained with guilt. At the same time she questions the ability of anyone else to bring herself and her husband to account for their crimes

9 .

Malcolm urges Macduff to avenge the deaths of his wife and children, turning his grief into anger. How does Macduff respond?

He is silent

He insists that it is unmanly to seek revenge

He insists that it is unmanly to express grief

He insists that he must first fully feel and express his grief

Macduff says: "I shall do so, / But I must also feel it as a man: / I cannot but remember such things were / That were most precious to me. Did heaven look on, / And would not take their part?"

10 .

Who does Macbeth claim he has avoided meeting in battle?

Siward

Macduff

Malcolm

Menteith

Macbeth tells Macduff that he is already guilty of spilling too much of his blood (meaning that of Macduff's children)

You can find more about this topic by visiting BBC Bitesize - Characters

Author: Sheri Smith (PhD English Literature, English Teacher & Quiz Writer)