ACT V - Scene III Practice Quiz — Macbeth
by William Shakespeare — tap or click to flip
Practice Quiz: ACT V - Scene III
Where does Act 5, Scene 3 take place?
A room in Dunsinane Castle, where Macbeth awaits the approaching enemy forces.
What two prophecies does Macbeth cite for reassurance at the start of the scene?
That no man born of woman can harm him, and that he is safe until Birnam Wood moves to Dunsinane.
What does Macbeth call the deserting Scottish lords?
"False Thanes" who may go mingle with the "English epicures."
What news does the servant bring to Macbeth?
That ten thousand English soldiers are approaching Dunsinane.
What insults does Macbeth hurl at the frightened servant?
He calls him a "cream-faced loon," "lily-liver'd boy," and "whey-face," mocking his pale, fearful appearance.
What does the command "Take thy face hence" reveal about Macbeth?
It shows that the servant's fearful expression is unbearable to Macbeth because it mirrors his own suppressed dread.
Who is Seyton?
Macbeth's armor-bearer and personal attendant, one of the few who remain loyal to him.
What does Macbeth mean by "My way of life / Is fall'n into the sear, the yellow leaf"?
He compares his life to an autumn leaf that has dried out and withered, acknowledging that everything he valued has decayed.
What blessings does Macbeth say should accompany old age?
Honor, love, obedience, and troops of friends.
What does Macbeth receive instead of those blessings?
Curses ("not loud but deep") and "mouth-honor" — hollow flattery from people too afraid to speak honestly.
What does Seyton confirm when he enters?
That all reports about the approaching enemy forces are true.
What is Lady Macbeth's condition as reported by the Doctor?
She is "troubled with thick-coming fancies" that keep her from sleeping — a reference to her guilt-driven sleepwalking and hallucinations.
What does Macbeth ask the Doctor to do for Lady Macbeth?
To "minister to a mind diseased," pluck a rooted sorrow from memory, and cleanse her tormented conscience.
How does the Doctor respond to Macbeth's demand?
"Therein the patient must minister to himself" — meaning the cure for a guilty conscience must come from within.
What does "Throw physic to the dogs" mean?
Macbeth angrily dismisses all medicine as useless, since it cannot cure a tormented mind.
How does Macbeth extend the medical metaphor to Scotland itself?
He asks the Doctor to diagnose Scotland's disease and "purge it to a sound and pristine health," equating the English invasion with a national sickness.
What is the Doctor's aside at the end of the scene?
"Were I from Dunsinane away and clear, / Profit again should hardly draw me here" — he wishes to escape and never return.
Why is Macbeth's question about curing a "mind diseased" dramatically ironic?
Because the question applies equally to his own guilt-racked conscience — he is asking for a cure he also desperately needs.