Quizzing yourself is one of the most effective ways to revise, because you are actively recalling information. This active effort is what fixes key quotes or context into your memory. If you get one wrong, do not just read the answer. Go back to the relevant page, re-read that section, and then re-test yourself later. The questions you get wrong are the ones worth your revision time.
Plot questions
Who opens the play?
The three Witches, who go on to prophesy to Macbeth following his recent victory on the battlefield.
What prophecies do the Witches give to Macbeth and Banquo?
Macbeth is prophesied to become king. Banquo will not be king himself, but his descendants will form a line of kings.
What does Macbeth hallucinate prior to the murder of Duncan?
A bloody dagger.
Who does Macbeth plot to kill after Duncan, and why?
Banquo, because his lineage is a threat to his crown.
What three apparitions do the witches show Macbeth in Act 4?
Beware Macduff; no man 'of woman born' shall harm him; and he will not be beaten until Birnam Wood comes to Dunsinane.
How are Macbeth and Lady Macbeth finally killed?
Lady Macbeth dies by suicide, off-stage, during Act 5. Macbeth is killed by Macduff. Macduff was born by caesarean, 'from his mother's womb / Untimely ripped', so he is not 'of woman born'.
Character questions
Who persuades Macbeth to murder Duncan when he hesitates?
Lady Macbeth, by attacking his courage and manhood until he agrees.
Which character discovers Duncan's body?
Macduff, who reacts with genuine horror, unlike the Macbeths' performed shock.
Who becomes king of Scotland at the end of the play?
Malcolm, Duncan's elder son and rightful heir, restoring the natural order.
Quote questions
Which quote is Macbeth's own diagnosis of his fatal flaw?
'I have no spur / To prick the sides of my intent, but only / Vaulting ambition, which o'erleaps itself' (Act 1 Scene 7).
Which line shows Lady Macbeth's guilt in the sleepwalking scene?
'Out, damned spot! Out, I say!' and 'all the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand' (Act 5 Scene 1).
What do the witches chant that sums up the play's inverted morality?
'Fair is foul, and foul is fair' (Act 1 Scene 1).
Context questions
Which king was on the throne when Macbeth was written, and why does it matter?
King James I, who believed in the Divine Right of Kings and was fascinated by witchcraft, so the play is shaped to appeal to him.
What real event made regicide especially frightening for the first audience?
The Gunpowder Plot of 1605, a failed attempt to kill King James and blow up Parliament.
Fill any gaps this quiz found using the summary, the key quotes page, the characters and the context page.