Macbeth Unit Test 3

Short answers+quotes

“Fair is foul, and foul is fair.”

Speaker: The Witches
Significance:
Introduces the theme of appearance vs. reality and moral confusion. It sets a mood of chaos and warns that everything in the play will be deceptive.

“If chance will have me king, why, chance may crown me.”

Speaker: Macbeth
Significance:
Shows Macbeth’s early hesitation and belief in fate. Foreshadows his shift from waiting for destiny to forcing it through murder.

“Look like the innocent flower, but be the serpent under’t.”

Speaker: Lady Macbeth
Significance:
Symbolizes deception. She urges Macbeth to hide his evil intentions behind a harmless appearance. Links to ambition and moral corruption.

“I am in blood stepped in so far that… returning were as tedious as go o’er.”

Speaker: Macbeth
Significance:
He realizes he’s committed so much evil that he cannot go back. Shows his psychological collapse and foreshadows more violence.

“Out, damned spot! Out, I say!”

Speaker: Lady Macbeth
Significance:
Reveals her overwhelming guilt. The imaginary blood symbolizes the murder she cannot mentally escape. Contrasts her earlier strength.

“Is this a dagger which I see before me, the handle toward my hand?”

Speaker: Macbeth
Significance:
A hallucination showing his inner conflict and guilt. The dagger symbolizes the murder he’s about to commit and foreshadows Duncan’s death.

“Macbeth shall never vanquished be until Great Birnam Wood… comes to Dunsinane.”

Speaker: Third Apparition (witches’ vision)
Significance:
Creates dramatic irony. Macbeth interprets it literally and becomes overconfident, but the prophecy is fulfilled symbolically through Malcolm’s army.

“None of woman born shall harm Macbeth.”

Speaker: Second Apparition
Significance:
Gives Macbeth a false sense of invincibility. Shows the witches’ use of equivocation, which misleads him into reckless behavior.

“Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow…”

Speaker: Macbeth
Significance:
Shows Macbeth’s despair and nihilism after Lady Macbeth’s death. He believes life is meaningless. Reflects how ambition has destroyed him emotionally.

“All hail, Macbeth, that shalt be king hereafter!”

Speaker: First Witch
Significance:
The prophecy that sparks Macbeth’s ambition. It sets the entire tragedy in motion by planting the idea of becoming king in Macbeth’s mind.

Theme

Question: What is one major theme in Macbeth, and how is it shown in the play?

• Ambition

  • Macbeth’s desire for power drives him from loyal soldier to murderer.

  • Leads him to kill Duncan, Banquo, and Macduff’s family, causing his downfall.

• Appearance vs. Reality

  • Characters hide true intentions behind polite or innocent appearances.

  • Lady Macbeth: “look like the innocent flower.”

  • Witches use riddles to mislead.

• Guilt

  • Guilt shows through hallucinations and blood imagery.

  • Macbeth hears voices; Lady Macbeth imagines blood on her hands.

• Fate vs. Free Will

  • Witches give prophecies, but Macbeth chooses to act on them.

  • His downfall results from his own decisions, not just fate.

• The Corrupting Power of Power

  • Once king, Macbeth becomes paranoid and cruel.

  • Orders murders to secure power, destroying himself and Scotland.

• The Supernatural

  • Witches’ prophecies, visions, and equivocation influence Macbeth.

  • Macbeth’s hallucinations blur reality (dagger, Banquo’s ghost).

• Masculinity and Cruelty

  • Lady Macbeth challenges Macbeth’s manhood to push him into murder.

  • Macbeth equates violence with masculinity, escalating brutality.

• Disorder and the Natural World

  • Murder disrupts the natural order: storms, darkness, horses eating each other.

  • Shows the world reacts to Macbeth’s crimes.

Imagery / Symbolism

Question: What is one symbol or type of imagery Shakespeare uses in Macbeth, and what does it represent?

Blood imagery is repeatedly used to symbolize guilt. After killing Duncan, Macbeth says he cannot wash the blood from his hands, and Lady Macbeth later imagines blood on hers, showing how guilt destroys them.

Irony

Question: Give one example of irony in Macbeth.

It is ironic that Macbeth believes he is invincible because the witches say “none of woman born shall harm Macbeth,” yet Macduff kills him by revealing he was “born” by C-section. The prophecy misleads Macbeth, which is dramatic irony for the audience.

7 Elements of a Tragedy

Question: Which element of tragedy does Macbeth fit the most, and why?

Macbeth fits the element of a tragic hero the most. He begins as a brave, respected warrior with admirable qualities, but his fatal flaw—ambition—leads him to make destructive choices that end in his own ruin.

Character Development

Question: How does Macbeth change from the beginning of the play to the end?

Macbeth changes from a loyal, honorable soldier into a paranoid and ruthless tyrant. At first he struggles with guilt and hesitation, but by the end he kills without remorse and has lost all morality and emotional stability.