This GCSE English Literature quiz is about the themes of William Shakespeare’s Macbeth. Like other works of literature, the play contains multiple themes, ranging from the subtle to the very obvious. It can be misleading to discuss a single theme in isolation, since individual themes interact with one another. Themes are developed through those various elements of literature with which you are already familiar, including setting, character, plot and dialogue. Pay close attention to any concepts and ideas which you notice recurring throughout the text; these are its dominant themes.
One way to analyse a text is to pay attention to the development of ideas from its beginning to its end. It is also helpful to consider whether (or how) your own views change over the course of the text. Do your views after reading correspond to the views you held at the beginning of the text? If your views have changed, can you identify the point at which this change began to occur?
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Authors convey meaning to the audience through the themes of a text. Whenever a text challenges you, the author has successfully encouraged you to engage with one or more of its themes. It is important to remember that you do not have to share the same view as other readers, even your teacher. Your response to a text will be deeply personal, which is inevitable when you consider that you bring your own thoughts, beliefs and experiences into contact with the text as you read.
Macbeth deals with themes of ambition, deceit, appearance versus reality, fate and fortune, treason and guilt. As with any text, these themes are interrelated. Do any themes seem to be associated with a single character? Why or why not?
Read the questions below and test your knowledge of the themes of Macbeth.
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1.
|
Of what is Macbeth as guilty as the previous Thane of Cawdor? |
|
[ ] |
Treason |
[ ] |
Regicide (murder of a king) |
[ ] |
Cowardice |
[ ] |
The practice of magic |
|
|
2.
|
Macbeth is introduced to the audience as a valiant warrior, for which Duncan rewards him with the title, Thane of Cawdor. Which of the following responses to this honour does Macbeth share with his Lady? |
|
[ ] |
They both receive the news with indifference |
[ ] |
They both respond to the news with disappointment |
[ ] |
They both respond to the news with ambition and a hunger for more power |
[ ] |
All of the above |
|
|
3.
|
Which of the following quotations does NOT imply that women are less violent, or valiant, than men? |
|
[ ] |
"Unsex me here, / And fill me from the crown to the toe, top-full / Of direst cruelty" |
[ ] |
"Bring forth men-children only; / For thy undaunted mettle should compose / Nothing but males" |
[ ] |
"Had he not resembled / My father as he slept, I had done't" |
[ ] |
"I have given suck, and know / How tender 'tis to love the babe that milks me" |
|
|
4.
|
How do the witches' prophecies affect the outcome of events in the play? |
|
[ ] |
The witches' prophecies cause all of the events in the play without any help from human action |
[ ] |
The witches' prophecies do not change any of the events of the play, all of which would certainly have come about through Macbeth's own action |
[ ] |
The witches' prophecies both recognise and feed Macbeth's existing characteristics, including superstition, violence and ambition |
[ ] |
The witches' prophecies are irrelevant to the outcome of events in the play |
|
|
5.
|
Besides Duncan, who is presented as a model of good kingship in the play? |
|
[ ] |
Sweno |
[ ] |
Macbeth |
[ ] |
James I |
[ ] |
Edward the Confessor |
|
|
6.
|
The witches take credit for.... |
|
[ ] |
Killing sheep |
[ ] |
Causing storms |
[ ] |
Causing a shipwreck |
[ ] |
All of the above |
|
|
7.
|
Macduff's wife compares herself to which of the following? |
|
[ ] |
A wren |
[ ] |
An owl |
[ ] |
A monkey |
[ ] |
A ghost |
|
|
8.
|
Macbeth begins and ends in war. In Act One, Scene One, the witches discuss the events of the battlefield and in Act Five, Scene Nine, Malcolm is presented with Macbeth's head. Which of the following lines from his final monologue does NOT refer to the violent events of the play? |
|
[ ] |
"Calling home our exiled friends abroad / That fled the snares of watchful tyranny" |
[ ] |
"This dead butcher and his fiend-like queen" |
[ ] |
"By self and violent hands / Took off her life" |
[ ] |
"This, and what needful else, / That calls upon us, by the grace of grace, / We will perform in measure, time and place" |
|
|
9.
|
Which of the following is correct? |
|
[ ] |
Lady Macbeth feels guilt about the murders from which she benefits although she does not believe anyone can stand in judgement over her |
[ ] |
Macbeth fears being judged for his treasonous actions by his peers |
[ ] |
By fleeing, Malcolm and Donalbain show that they feel guilty for their father's murder |
[ ] |
Banquo's death is a judgement for his part in not exposing Macbeth's treason |
|
|
10.
|
"Away and mock the time with fairest show: / False face must hide what false heart doth know." What is meant by "false" in these lines? |
|
[ ] |
Untrustworthy |
[ ] |
Different in reality from what ought to be true |
[ ] |
Different in appearance from reality |
[ ] |
All of the above |
|
|
1.
|
Of what is Macbeth as guilty as the previous Thane of Cawdor? |
|
[x] |
Treason |
[ ] |
Regicide (murder of a king) |
[ ] |
Cowardice |
[ ] |
The practice of magic |
|
|
2.
|
Macbeth is introduced to the audience as a valiant warrior, for which Duncan rewards him with the title, Thane of Cawdor. Which of the following responses to this honour does Macbeth share with his Lady? |
|
[ ] |
They both receive the news with indifference |
[ ] |
They both respond to the news with disappointment |
[x] |
They both respond to the news with ambition and a hunger for more power |
[ ] |
All of the above |
|
|
3.
|
Which of the following quotations does NOT imply that women are less violent, or valiant, than men? |
|
[ ] |
"Unsex me here, / And fill me from the crown to the toe, top-full / Of direst cruelty" |
[ ] |
"Bring forth men-children only; / For thy undaunted mettle should compose / Nothing but males" |
[x] |
"Had he not resembled / My father as he slept, I had done't" |
[ ] |
"I have given suck, and know / How tender 'tis to love the babe that milks me" |
|
|
4.
|
How do the witches' prophecies affect the outcome of events in the play? |
|
[ ] |
The witches' prophecies cause all of the events in the play without any help from human action |
[ ] |
The witches' prophecies do not change any of the events of the play, all of which would certainly have come about through Macbeth's own action |
[x] |
The witches' prophecies both recognise and feed Macbeth's existing characteristics, including superstition, violence and ambition |
[ ] |
The witches' prophecies are irrelevant to the outcome of events in the play |
|
|
5.
|
Besides Duncan, who is presented as a model of good kingship in the play? |
|
[ ] |
Sweno |
[ ] |
Macbeth |
[ ] |
James I |
[x] |
Edward the Confessor |
|
|
6.
|
The witches take credit for.... |
|
[ ] |
Killing sheep |
[x] |
Causing storms |
[ ] |
Causing a shipwreck |
[ ] |
All of the above |
|
|
7.
|
Macduff's wife compares herself to which of the following? |
|
[x] |
A wren |
[ ] |
An owl |
[ ] |
A monkey |
[ ] |
A ghost |
|
|
8.
|
Macbeth begins and ends in war. In Act One, Scene One, the witches discuss the events of the battlefield and in Act Five, Scene Nine, Malcolm is presented with Macbeth's head. Which of the following lines from his final monologue does NOT refer to the violent events of the play? |
|
[ ] |
"Calling home our exiled friends abroad / That fled the snares of watchful tyranny" |
[ ] |
"This dead butcher and his fiend-like queen" |
[ ] |
"By self and violent hands / Took off her life" |
[x] |
"This, and what needful else, / That calls upon us, by the grace of grace, / We will perform in measure, time and place" |
|
|
9.
|
Which of the following is correct? |
|
[x] |
Lady Macbeth feels guilt about the murders from which she benefits although she does not believe anyone can stand in judgement over her |
[ ] |
Macbeth fears being judged for his treasonous actions by his peers |
[ ] |
By fleeing, Malcolm and Donalbain show that they feel guilty for their father's murder |
[ ] |
Banquo's death is a judgement for his part in not exposing Macbeth's treason |
|
|
10.
|
"Away and mock the time with fairest show: / False face must hide what false heart doth know." What is meant by "false" in these lines? |
|
[ ] |
Untrustworthy |
[ ] |
Different in reality from what ought to be true |
[ ] |
Different in appearance from reality |
[x] |
All of the above |
|
|