Macbeth Notes Check #1

The three witches are also referred to as the “__________.”

• weird sisters

• wyrd swustors

• wretched swine

• wicked sisters

The stage directions at the beginning of the play call for __________.

• thunder and lightning

• fog and mist

• wind and rain

• snow and hail

The modern adjective “weird” comes from the Old English noun “__________.”

• Wyrgan

• Wrenc

• Woruldbearn

• Wyrd

What do the stage directions at the beginning of the play likely foreshadow?

• chaos and conflict

• peace and prosperity

• kingship

• hope and joy

The witches are referred to as “weird” because they __________.

• are strange and eccentric

• look like men

• have the power to know and control Fate

• often say words and tell stories that make no sense

The setting of Macbeth is __________.

• 10th century England

• 11th century Scotland

• 11th century Sweden

• 12th century Ireland

• 12th century Switzerland

How does Macdonwald die?

• He is executed for treason.

• He is strangled.

• He is split open from the navel to the jaw with a sword.

• He is buried alive.

The manner of Macdonwald’s murder establishes Macbeth as someone __________.

• capable of cruel violence

• fiercely protective and devoted to his king

• who is afraid to fight

• compassionate even in a time of war

Which of the following details does Shakespeare include to characterize the witches as creepy and scary? (Check all that apply.)

• They say rhyming sentences.

• They tell strange stories that seem to have no meaning.

• They kill domestic animals and remove their tails.

• They are androgynous.

• They are followed by spirit animals Graymalkin and Paddock.

The fact that Scene 2 is positioned between two scenes involving the witches is symbolic of __________.

• the necessity for simple scene changes because of the lack of staging accoutrements in Elizabethan times

• the controlling influence of the supernatural on the events and people in the play

• the fact that everyone in Scene 2 is going to die

• the fact that an anti-feminist tone continually underlies the action of the play