ACT II - Scene II Practice Quiz — Macbeth
by William Shakespeare — tap or click to flip
Practice Quiz: ACT II - Scene II
What has Lady Macbeth done to Duncan’s grooms before the scene begins?
She has drugged their possets (bedtime drinks) so they are in a deep sleep and cannot guard the king.
Why didn’t Lady Macbeth kill Duncan herself?
She says Duncan resembled her father as he slept, which prevented her from doing the deed.
What mistake does Macbeth make after killing Duncan?
He brings the bloodied daggers back with him instead of leaving them beside the drugged grooms to frame them.
What does Macbeth hear two sleepers say in the adjoining chamber?
One cries "God bless us!" and the other answers "Amen."
Why is Macbeth disturbed by his inability to say "Amen"?
He feels he had the greatest need of blessing but the word stuck in his throat, signaling his spiritual damnation after the murder.
What voice does Macbeth claim to hear after killing Duncan?
A voice crying "Sleep no more! Macbeth does murder sleep," declaring that Glamis, Cawdor, and Macbeth shall sleep no more.
What metaphors does Macbeth use to describe sleep?
He calls sleep "the innocent sleep," "the death of each day’s life," "sore labor’s bath," "balm of hurt minds," "great nature’s second course," and "chief nourisher in life’s feast."
What does "Sleep that knits up the ravel’d sleave of care" mean?
Sleep repairs and restores the frayed, tangled threads of daily worry—like re-knitting unraveled silk (sleave).
What does Lady Macbeth call Macbeth when he refuses to return the daggers?
"Infirm of purpose!"—meaning he is weak-willed and lacking resolve.
What does Lady Macbeth do with the daggers?
She takes them back to Duncan’s chamber and smears the sleeping grooms’ faces with blood to frame them for the murder.
What does Lady Macbeth mean by "the sleeping and the dead are but as pictures"?
She is saying that neither sleeping people nor corpses can harm anyone—only a child would be afraid of them, like fearing a painted devil.
What does "Will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood clean from my hand?" express?
Macbeth’s belief that his guilt is so enormous that not even the entire ocean could wash it away—his hands would instead turn the seas red.
What does "incarnadine" mean?
To turn red or flesh-colored. From the Latin incarnare (to make flesh). Macbeth says his hands will turn the "multitudinous seas incarnadine."
How does Lady Macbeth respond to Macbeth’s guilt about the blood on his hands?
"A little water clears us of this deed. How easy is it then!" She dismisses the blood as easily washed away.
Why is Lady Macbeth’s line "A little water clears us of this deed" ironic?
In Act 5, she sleepwalks and obsessively tries to wash imaginary bloodstains from her hands, showing that guilt cannot be washed away as she claimed.
What is the dramatic significance of the knocking at the gate?
It represents the outside world intruding on the Macbeths’ private horror, forcing them to begin concealing their crime and return to normal appearances.
Who is sleeping in the "second chamber" that Macbeth asks about?
Donalbain, King Duncan’s younger son.
What does "I’ll gild the faces of the grooms withal" mean?
Lady Macbeth will paint (gild) the grooms’ faces with Duncan’s blood. "Gild" puns on "guilt"—she is literally applying guilt to them.
What practical steps does Lady Macbeth urge at the end of the scene?
She tells Macbeth to wash his hands, put on his nightgown, and retire to their chamber so they appear to have been sleeping if anyone comes.
What is Macbeth’s final line in the scene, and what does it reveal?
"Wake Duncan with thy knocking! I would thou couldst!" It reveals his immediate, devastating regret—he wishes the knocking could undo the murder.
How does the scene contrast Macbeth’s and Lady Macbeth’s psychological states?
Macbeth is paralyzed by guilt, horror, and spiritual dread, while Lady Macbeth remains coldly pragmatic and action-oriented—though her later breakdown shows this composure was fragile.
What does "surfeited grooms" mean?
The grooms (servants guarding Duncan) have overindulged in drink—they are so full and drunk that they sleep through the murder.
What animal sound does Lady Macbeth hear that she interprets as an omen?
The shriek of an owl, which she calls "the fatal bellman"—a reference to the bell ringer who visited condemned prisoners the night before execution.
What motif is established in this scene that recurs throughout the play?
The sleep/insomnia motif. Macbeth’s murder of the sleeping Duncan curses him to sleeplessness, and Lady Macbeth’s suppressed guilt surfaces through sleepwalking.
What does Macbeth mean by "these hangman’s hands"?
He compares his blood-covered hands to those of a hangman (executioner), who would be stained with the blood of his victims.