Macbeth Act 1 Quiz
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Last updated 10 months ago
20 Nsɛmmisa
5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 | LADY MACBETH, reading the letter They met me in the day of success, and I have learned by the perfect’st report they have more in them than mortal knowledge. When I burned in desire to question them further, they made themselves air, into which they vanished. Whiles I stood rapt in the wonder of it came missives from the King, who all-hailed me “Thane of Cawdor,” by which title, before, these Weïrd Sisters saluted me and referred me to the coming on of time with “Hail, king that shalt be.” This have I thought good to deliver thee, my dearest partner of greatness, that thou might’st not lose the dues of rejoicing by being ignorant of what greatness is promised thee. Lay it to thy heart, and farewell. Glamis thou art, and Cawdor, and shalt be What thou art promised. Yet do I fear thy nature; It is too full o’ th’ milk of human kindness To catch the nearest way. Thou wouldst be great, Art not without ambition, but without The illness should attend it. What thou wouldst highly, That wouldst thou holily; wouldst not play false And yet wouldst wrongly win. Thou ’dst have, great Glamis, That which cries “Thus thou must do,” if thou have it, And that which rather thou dost fear to do, Than wishest should be undone. Hie thee hither, That I may pour my spirits in thine ear And chastise with the valor of my tongue All that impedes thee from the golden round, Which fate and metaphysical aid doth seem To have thee crowned withal. Enter Messenger. What is your tidings? MESSENGER The King comes here tonight. LADY MACBETH Thou ’rt mad to say it. Is not thy master with him, who, were ’t so, Would have informed for preparation? MESSENGER So please you, it is true. Our thane is coming. One of my fellows had the speed of him, 40 Who, almost dead for breath, had scarcely more Than would make up his message. |
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5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 70 75 80 85 90 | FIRST WITCH Where hast thou been, sister?
SECOND WITCH Killing swine.
THIRD WITCH Sister, where thou?
FIRST WITCH A sailor’s wife had chestnuts in her lap And munched and munched and munched. “Give me,” quoth I. “Aroint thee, witch,” the rump-fed runnion cries. Her husband’s to Aleppo gone, master o’ th’ Tiger; But in a sieve I’ll thither sail, And, like a rat without a tail, I’ll do, I’ll do, and I’ll do.
SECOND WITCH I’ll give thee a wind.
FIRST WITCH Th’ art kind.
THIRD WITCH And I another.
FIRST WITCH I myself have all the other, And the very ports they blow; All the quarters that they know I’ th’ shipman’s card. I’ll drain him dry as hay. Sleep shall neither night nor day Hang upon his penthouse lid. He shall live a man forbid. Weary sev’nnights, nine times nine, Shall he dwindle, peak, and pine. Though his bark cannot be lost, Yet it shall be tempest-tossed. Look what I have.
SECOND WITCH Show me, show me. FIRST WITCH Here I have a pilot’s thumb, Wracked as homeward he did come. Drum within. THIRD WITCH A drum, a drum! Macbeth doth come. ALL, dancing in a circle The Weïrd Sisters, hand in hand, Posters of the sea and land, Thus do go about, about, Thrice to thine and thrice to mine And thrice again, to make up nine. Peace, the charm’s wound up.
Enter Macbeth and Banquo.
MACBETH So foul and fair a day I have not seen. BANQUO How far is ’t called to Forres?—What are these, So withered, and so wild in their attire, That look not like th’ inhabitants o’ th’ Earth And yet are on ’t?—Live you? Or are you aught That man may question? You seem to understand me By each at once her choppy finger laying Upon her skinny lips. You should be women, And yet your beards forbid me to interpret That you are so. MACBETH Speak if you can. What are you? FIRST WITCH All hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee, Thane of Glamis! SECOND WITCH All hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee, Thane of Cawdor! THIRD WITCH All hail, Macbeth, that shalt be king hereafter! BANQUO Good sir, why do you start and seem to fear Things that do sound so fair?—I’ th’ name of truth, Are you fantastical, or that indeed Which outwardly you show? My noble partner You greet with present grace and great prediction Of noble having and of royal hope, That he seems rapt withal. To me you speak not. If you can look into the seeds of time And say which grain will grow and which will not, Speak, then, to me, who neither beg nor fear Your favors nor your hate. FIRST WITCH Hail!
SECOND WITCH Hail! THIRD WITCH Hail! FIRST WITCH Lesser than Macbeth and greater. SECOND WITCH Not so happy, yet much happier. THIRD WITCH Thou shalt get kings, though thou be none. So all hail, Macbeth and Banquo! FIRST WITCH Banquo and Macbeth, all hail! MACBETH Stay, you imperfect speakers. Tell me more. By Sinel’s death I know I am Thane of Glamis. But how of Cawdor? The Thane of Cawdor lives A prosperous gentleman, and to be king Stands not within the prospect of belief, No more than to be Cawdor. Say from whence You owe this strange intelligence or why Upon this blasted heath you stop our way With such prophetic greeting. Speak, I charge you. Witches vanish. BANQUO The earth hath bubbles, as the water has, And these are of them. Whither are they vanished? MACBETH Into the air, and what seemed corporal melted, As breath into the wind. Would they had stayed! BANQUO Were such things here as we do speak about? Or have we eaten on the insane root That takes the reason prisoner? MACBETH Your children shall be kings. BANQUO You shall be king. MACBETH And Thane of Cawdor too. Went it not so? BANQUO To th’ selfsame tune and words.—Who’s here? |
Refer to lines 4-11. What is the First Witch’s motivation to cause trouble?
Refer to the phrase “I will drain him dry as hay” (line 19). What is the intended meaning of this phrase?
The line, “Sleep shall neither night nor day hang upon his penthouse lid” (line 20) is an example of:
As it is used in line 25, bark is best defined as:
What literary device is most evident in line 28?
Refer to the first 30 lines of the Act. What is the primary function of this portion of the play?
What literary device is most evident in line 39?
Banquo calls attention to Macbeth’s startled characterization in lines 54-55. Given the context, why is Macbeth startled?
The phrase, “If you can look into the seeds of time, and say which grain will grow and which will not” (lines 61-62) is an example of:
How does Banquo’s reaction to the witches' prophecies contrast with Macbeth’s, and what might this suggest about their characters?
The witches tell Banquo that he will be “lesser than Macbeth and greater” and “not so happy, yet much happier.” What might this paradoxical language suggest about Banquo’s future in comparison to Macbeth’s? Reference lines 68-71.
Refer to lines 68-71. What theme topic is developed here?
When Macbeth says, “Stay, you imperfect speakers. Tell me more,” (line 73) what does this reveal about his state of mind?
How does Macbeth’s statement, “Into the air, and what seemed corporal melted, as breath into the wind,” (lines 84-85) relate to the theme of appearance vs. reality in the play?
What is the primary purpose of Lady Macbeth’s speech? (lines 15-33)
The phrase “milk of human kindness” suggests what about Macbeth’s character, according to Lady Macbeth? (lines 16-17)
What does the phrase “pour my spirits in thine ear” imply about Lady Macbeth’s intentions? (line 29)
18. The term “metaphysical aid” refers to what in the context of the passage? (line 32)
What can we infer about Lady Macbeth’s expectations regarding the King's arrival from her reaction, "Thou ’rt mad to say it"? (line 36)
What might Lady Macbeth’s disbelief at the King's arrival suggest about her state of mind at this moment in the play?