SHAKESPEARE’S MACBETH:
What to Study for the Test
BACKGROUND TO SHAKESPEARE, GUNPOWDER PLOT & THE
RENAISSANCE (10-20 QUESTIONS)Q: What was the Gunpowder Plot?
A: A conspiracy by the catholic church to blow up Parliament(NOTE: This served as partial inspiration to the play. Some of Shakespeare’s relatives may have been involved in the plot, prompting Shakespeare to write a play that would please the king)
STUDY: Background class notes, textbook reading
PLOT TO MACBETH (35-45 QUESTIONS – MULTIPLE CHOICE & 10-20 QUESTIONS – ORDER OF
EVENTS)
STUDY: ALL DISCUSSION QUESTIONS, summaries of scenes in textbook, cast of characters, helps on website
Q: Why is Macbeth surprised when Ross addresses him as Thane of Cawdor?
A: Because it appears one of the witches’ prophecies has immediately come true.
STUDY: Review Literary Terms (A-C), examples in Macbeth, examples particular to Shakespeare, drama, and tragedy (definitions in notes: aside, soliloquy, tragedy, etc.)
LITERARY DEVICES (10-20 QUESTIONS – EXAMPLES FROM
MACBETH)
“fair is foul, and foul is fair” is an example of a
PARADOX
MATCHING CHARACTERS & QUOTES (20-30 Questions)
Q: Who said, “See, see, our
honored hostess! The love that
follows us sometime is our
trouble…”
A: King DuncanSTUDY: Quotes related to themes, specific speeches
and passages mentioned in class
MATCHING THEMES & QUOTES (20-30 Questions)
THEMES FOUND IN MACBETH:• Ambition is a human quality that can be used for good or for evil• Appearances can be misleading and deceptive; therefore, don’t judge
others by appearances• A guilty conscience cannot be avoided and can effect the body
physically, emotionally, and psychologically• Bloodshed is an evil that always leads to more darkness and
bloodshed• When God’s natural order of the universe is disturbed, the result is
madness, chaos, and destruction until proper order is restored by justice or mercy
• Fear that is unchecked drives the hopeless to commit acts of desperation
FIND THE AMBITION TO STUDY FOR THIS TEST!!
CALL ON THE POWERS OF THE SUPERNATURAL!
IT’S NOT SOMETHING TO CAUSE BLOODSHED OVER, BUT GUILT
MAY FOLLOW YOUR GRADE!
