Macbeth Quotes Quiz
Questions: 16 · 10 minutes
1. Donalbain warns Malcolm, “There’s daggers in men’s smiles.” What decision does this warning help explain?
Their decision to challenge Macbeth immediately
Their decision to conceal Duncan’s body
Their decision to accuse the guards in public
Their decision to flee because the murderer may target them next
2. Macbeth trusts the prophecy that none “of woman born” will harm him. Why does Macduff’s statement that he was “from his mother’s womb / Untimely ripped” destroy that confidence?
It reveals that Macduff is protected by the witches
It shows that Macduff was delivered surgically rather than born in the ordinary manner Macbeth assumed
It means Macduff has already returned from death
It proves Macduff is descended from Banquo
3. Who asks, “Is this a dagger which I see before me, / The handle toward my hand?”
Macbeth
Banquo
Macduff
Malcolm
4. What has Macduff just learned when he cries, “What, all my pretty chickens and their dam / At one fell swoop?”
Malcolm has been captured along with his army
Banquo and Fleance have disappeared
Duncan’s sons have fled Scotland
His wife and children have been murdered
5. Banquo reflects, “Thou hast it now: king, Cawdor, Glamis, all, / As the weird women promised.” What does he suspect in the next part of the thought?
Macbeth may have acted foully to make the prophecy come true
Duncan secretly intended Macbeth to inherit the throne
Macbeth will surrender the crown to Fleance
The witches have mistaken Macbeth for someone else
6. Which words correctly complete the witches’ chant: “Double, double toil and trouble; / Fire burn and _____”?
spirits tremble
shadows double
cauldron bubble
kingdom crumble
7. After Duncan’s murder, Macbeth asks whether “all great Neptune’s ocean” can wash the blood from his hand. What does the image chiefly suggest?
He plans to escape Scotland by sea
He feels his guilt is too immense to be washed away
He believes water can conceal the evidence
He wants to blame the murder on foreign forces
8. Who cautions that “the instruments of darkness tell us truths” in order to betray people later?
Duncan
Macduff
Banquo
Ross
9. In what situation does Macbeth begin the speech “Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow”?
Immediately after first meeting the witches
After he is told that Lady Macbeth has died
While preparing to murder Duncan
After Banquo’s ghost appears at the banquet
10. Who calls on spirits to “unsex me here” after learning about the prophecy?
Lady Macduff
Hecate
Lady Macbeth
The Gentlewoman
11. Who advises, “Look like the innocent flower, / But be the serpent under’t”?
Banquo
Hecate
Macbeth
Lady Macbeth
12. Malcolm pretends that he would be a deeply corrupt king. What prompts Macduff to answer, “Fit to govern? / No, not to live”?
Malcolm claims to possess uncontrollable lust, greed, and other destructive vices
Malcolm admits that he secretly serves Macbeth
Malcolm refuses to return to Scotland under any circumstances
Malcolm says that Duncan deserved to die
13. At the end of the play, Macduff presents Macbeth’s head and greets Malcolm with “Hail, king! for so thou art.” What transition does the line mark?
The witches taking direct control of Scotland
Banquo’s descendants immediately claiming the crown
Macbeth’s defeat and Malcolm’s recognition as Scotland’s king
Macduff rejecting hereditary monarchy
14. When Macbeth tells Lady Macbeth, “O, full of scorpions is my mind, dear wife,” what is he expressing?
His mind is tormented by fear, suspicion, and violent thoughts
He believes someone has poisoned him
He regrets trusting Lady Macbeth with the prophecy
He is describing a plague spreading through Scotland
15. Who cries, “Out, damned spot! out, I say!” during the sleepwalking scene?
A witch
Lady Macbeth
The Gentlewoman
Lady Macduff
16. Which group opens the play with the line “Fair is foul, and foul is fair”?
The murderers hired by Macbeth
Duncan’s attendants
Macbeth’s soldiers
The three witches