ACT III - Scene II Practice Quiz — Macbeth
by William Shakespeare — tap or click to flip
Practice Quiz: ACT III - Scene II
What is Lady Macbeth doing at the start of Act 3, Scene 2?
She sends a servant to request a private audience with Macbeth, then delivers a brief soliloquy about the emptiness of their achievement.
What does Lady Macbeth mean by "Nought's had, all's spent, / Where our desire is got without content"?
She means that having gained everything they wanted (the throne) is worthless because it has brought them no happiness or peace of mind.
What metaphor does Macbeth use to describe the threat that remains after Duncan's murder?
He says "We have scotch'd the snake, not kill'd it," meaning they have wounded but not destroyed the danger to their power.
Why does Macbeth envy Duncan in this scene?
Because Duncan is dead and therefore at peace—"After life's fitful fever he sleeps well"—beyond the reach of treason, poison, or malice.
What advice does Lady Macbeth give Macbeth about his behavior at the feast?
She tells him to "sleek o'er your rugged looks" and be "bright and jovial" among the guests, essentially urging him to hide his guilt behind a pleasant mask.
What does Macbeth instruct Lady Macbeth to do regarding Banquo at the feast?
To pay special attention and honor to Banquo—"Present him eminence, both with eye and tongue"—masking their true intentions with flattery.
What does "O, full of scorpions is my mind, dear wife" reveal about Macbeth's mental state?
It reveals that Macbeth is consumed by guilt, paranoia, and tormenting thoughts, comparing his anxieties to venomous scorpions stinging inside his mind.
What specific threat torments Macbeth in this scene?
The fact that Banquo and his son Fleance are still alive, meaning the witches' prophecy that Banquo's descendants will be kings could still come true.
What does Lady Macbeth mean by "But in them nature's copy's not eterne"?
She means that Banquo and Fleance are mortal and will not live forever—suggesting that nature will eventually take its course without the need for action.
Why does Macbeth tell Lady Macbeth to "Be innocent of the knowledge, dearest chuck"?
He is deliberately keeping her uninformed about his plan to have Banquo and Fleance murdered, taking sole responsibility for the crime.
How has the power dynamic between Macbeth and Lady Macbeth shifted by Act 3, Scene 2?
It has reversed: Lady Macbeth, who dominated in Act 1, now seeks reassurance, while Macbeth takes sole command and plans murder without consulting her.
What is "seeling" in the context of Macbeth's speech about night?
A falconry term meaning to sew shut a hawk's eyelids during training. Macbeth asks "seeling night" to blind the day so his crimes go unseen.
How does Macbeth's invocation of darkness echo an earlier scene?
It mirrors Lady Macbeth's "Come, thick night" speech in Act 1, Scene 5, but now Macbeth himself calls on darkness, showing he has fully embraced evil.
What animals does Macbeth reference in his closing speech, and what do they symbolize?
He mentions a bat, a beetle, and a crow—all creatures of twilight and darkness—symbolizing the evil and corruption that emerge as moral light fades.
What does Macbeth's closing couplet "Things bad begun make strong themselves by ill" mean?
Once a cycle of evil has started, it can only be sustained through further evil. This captures the play's central insight about the self-perpetuating nature of violence.
What is the dramatic irony in this scene regarding Lady Macbeth?
Lady Macbeth tells Macbeth "What's done is done," not knowing he has already arranged Banquo's murder—the audience knows what she does not.
What does the phrase "make our faces vizards to our hearts" mean?
Vizards are masks. Macbeth is saying they must make their faces into masks that disguise their true feelings and murderous intentions.
What does Macbeth mean by "that great bond / Which keeps me pale"?
The "great bond" likely refers to Banquo's lease on life (or the moral law) that stands between Macbeth and total security. He wants night to tear it apart.