Macbeth Act I

King Duncan decides to make Macbeth Thane of Cawdor because...

• a. the last Thane of Cawdor went mad
• b. Macbeth fought heroically for him
• c. the witches told him to
• d. the last Thane of Cawdor died

When Macbeth receives his new title, Banquo reacts with...

• a. joy
• b. indifference
• c. concern
• d. jealousy

After reading the letter from her husband, Lady Macbeth calls upon the spirits to “Make thick my blood, /
Stop up th’ access and passage to remorse.” She is asking...

• a. for guidance so that she can maintain her sense of justice and goodness
• b. to be made insensitive to the cruelty she is planning
• c. for assurance that she and her husband might agree on a plan
• d. for access to her husband’s unspoken thoughts

Which of the following quotations from Act I is the best example of paradox?

• a. “I’ll drain him dry as hay . . .”
• b. “Lesser than Macbeth, and greater.”
• c. “O, never / Shall sun that morrow see!”
• d. “Was the hope drunk / Wherein you dressed yourself?”

Near the end of Act I, Macbeth expresses doubt about murdering the king because

• a. Macbeth is the king’s subject and host
• b. it could weaken all of Scotland
• c. the king’s sons would kill him
• d. Lady Macbeth has misgivings

The play’s first act includes all of the following events except

• a. an invasion
• b. an order of execution
• c. a coldblooded murder
• d. some treacherous plotting

In the play’s first act, Duncan’s attitude toward Macbeth is best described as...

• a. respectful and kind
• b. suspicious and aloof
• c. ungrateful and rude
• d. gracious and forgiving

Which of the following is not true?

• a. Scotland is at war with an invader.
• b. The thane of Cawdor is a traitor.
• c. Duncan has a male heir named Malcolm.
• d. Duncan and Macbeth are brothers.

Before Macbeth makes his first appearance, we learn about his...

• a. ambition
• b. great power
• c. superstitions
• d. bravery

Lady Macbeth’s remark that her husband is “too full o’ th’ milk of human kindness” indicates that she is...

• a. ruthless
• b. unambitious
• c. considerate
• d. very much like her husband