Full analysis

Cards (142)

  • Who wrote the tragedy of Macbeth?
    William Shakespeare
  • When was Macbeth first performed?
    1606
  • What does Macbeth dramatize the consequences of?
    Ambition, especially in politics
  • Who was the king during the time Macbeth was written?
    King James I
  • How does Shakespeare relate Macbeth to King James I?
    By warning against ambition and tyranny
  • What was the general feeling in England about having a Scottish king?
    Uncertainty
  • How does Shakespeare portray Scotland and England in Macbeth?
    Scotland is plagued, England is benign
  • What did King James assert about kings and loyalty?
    Kings are always right; loyalty is absolute
  • What does Shakespeare's Macbeth suggest about tyranny?
    Tyranny can lead to a nation's downfall
  • What source inspired the story of Macbeth?
    The Hollywood Shed Chronicles
  • What is Macbeth often referred to in the theater?
    The cursed play or the Scottish play
  • Why is mentioning Macbeth in a theater considered an omen?
    It is believed to doom the production
  • What do some believe about Shakespeare's portrayal of witches?
    It angered them and cursed the play
  • What happens to Macbeth's production if it is mentioned in a theater?
    It is thought to fail or cause accidents
  • Who are the first characters introduced in Macbeth?
    Three witches
  • What is happening at the beginning of Macbeth?
    A storm and a bloody war
  • Who is the king of Scotland in Macbeth?
    Duncan
  • What title is Macbeth given after the battle?
    Thane of Cawdor
  • How does Macbeth react to the witches' prophecy?
    He is stunned and begins to ponder
  • What does Banquo ask the witches?
    If there is a prophecy for him
  • What does Macbeth write to Lady Macbeth?
    About the witches' prophecy
  • What does Lady Macbeth believe is necessary for Macbeth to become king?
    King Duncan must be murdered
  • How does Lady Macbeth persuade Macbeth to commit murder?
    By questioning his manhood
  • What plan do Macbeth and Lady Macbeth devise?
    To frame the chamberlains for Duncan's murder
  • What hallucination does Macbeth experience before killing Duncan?
    A floating dagger
  • What does Lady Macbeth do with the murder weapons?
    She leaves them with the sleeping servants
  • Who discovers King Duncan's body?
    Macduff and Lennox
  • How does Macbeth explain Duncan's murder?
    He claims he killed the servants in rage
  • What do Duncan's sons do after their father's murder?
    They flee to England and Ireland
  • What title does Macbeth assume after Duncan's death?
    King of Scotland
  • Why is Banquo suspicious of Macbeth?
    He knows the witches' prophecy
  • What does Macbeth plan to do about Banquo?
    He plans to kill Banquo and Fleance
  • What happens to Fleance during the assassination attempt?
    He escapes
  • What does Macbeth see at the royal banquet?
    Banquo's ghost
  • Why does Lady Macbeth ask everyone to leave the banquet?
    To hide Macbeth's madness
  • What do the witches show Macbeth during his second visit?
    A series of spirits with prophecies
  • What does the armored head warn Macbeth about?
    To beware of Macduff
  • What does the bloody child tell Macbeth?
    No one born of a woman can harm him
  • What does the crowned child holding a tree tell Macbeth?
    He will be safe until Burnham Wood moves
  • What do the eight crowned kings represent?
    Banquo's descendants who will be kings