ACT II - Scene II Quiz — Macbeth

by William Shakespeare

Comprehension Quiz: ACT II - Scene II

What has Lady Macbeth done to Duncan’s guards before the scene begins?

  • Sent them away on a false errand
  • Drugged their bedtime drinks (possets)
  • Locked them in a separate room
  • Convinced them to leave the castle

Why does Lady Macbeth say she could not kill Duncan herself?

  • She was afraid of being caught
  • She believed it was a man’s duty
  • Duncan resembled her father as he slept
  • The guards were still awake when she entered

What critical mistake does Macbeth make after murdering Duncan?

  • He cries out loudly, waking the household
  • He forgets to close the chamber door
  • He brings the bloodied daggers back with him
  • He leaves his own dagger at the scene

What word does Macbeth find himself unable to say after the murder?

  • Mercy
  • Amen
  • Forgive
  • Sleep

What does the voice Macbeth hears cry out?

  • "Murder most foul!"
  • "Blood will have blood!"
  • "Sleep no more! Macbeth does murder sleep"
  • "Out, damned spot!"

Which of these is NOT one of Macbeth’s metaphors for sleep in this scene?

  • "Sore labor’s bath"
  • "Balm of hurt minds"
  • "The death of each day’s life"
  • "The milk of human kindness"

What does Lady Macbeth call Macbeth when he refuses to return the daggers?

  • "Coward"
  • "Infirm of purpose"
  • "Weak of heart"
  • "Brainsickly fool"

What does Lady Macbeth plan to do with the daggers?

  • Hide them in the garden
  • Throw them into the moat
  • Smear blood on the sleeping grooms’ faces to frame them
  • Clean them and return them to the armory

What does "the multitudinous seas incarnadine" mean?

  • The seas will calm his troubled mind
  • His hands would turn all the oceans red with blood
  • The ocean will wash away his sins
  • The seas will swallow his guilt forever

How does Lady Macbeth respond to Macbeth’s guilt about the blood on his hands?

  • "What’s done cannot be undone"
  • "A little water clears us of this deed"
  • "Look like the innocent flower"
  • "Leave all the rest to me"

What natural sound does Lady Macbeth hear at the scene’s opening that she calls "the fatal bellman"?

  • A raven croaking
  • Thunder rumbling
  • An owl shrieking
  • A wolf howling

Who does Macbeth say is sleeping in the second chamber?

  • Malcolm
  • Banquo
  • Donalbain
  • Macduff

What is Macbeth’s final line in the scene?

  • "I am afraid to think what I have done"
  • "To know my deed, ’twere best not know myself"
  • "Wake Duncan with thy knocking! I would thou couldst!"
  • "Will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood clean from my hand?"

What does the wordplay in "gild" / "guilt" reveal about Lady Macbeth’s plan?

  • She plans to bribe the grooms with gold
  • She will cover the grooms’ faces with blood, literally painting guilt onto them
  • She intends to convince the grooms they are guilty through persuasion
  • She will gild a crown for Macbeth from Duncan’s gold

Why is the knocking at the gate dramatically significant?

  • It signals that Macduff has discovered the murder
  • It represents the outside world intruding, forcing the Macbeths to begin concealing their crime
  • It is Duncan’s spirit trying to re-enter the castle
  • It announces the arrival of the English army

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