Quizzing yourself is proven to beat rereading, because the effort of recalling an answer is what fixes it in memory. Work through these Macbeth questions and try to answer each one out loud or on paper before you reveal the answer. They cover plot, characters, quotes and context, so they double as a quick check of where your revision still has gaps.
Plot questions
What title is Macbeth given at the start, before he becomes king?
Thane of Cawdor, after the previous thane is executed for treason. He is already Thane of Glamis.
Whose sons are prophesied to become kings?
Banquo's. The witches tell him he will 'get kings' though he will never be king himself, which is why Macbeth later fears him.
How does Banquo's son Fleance survive?
He escapes when the murderers attack, so Macbeth fails to end Banquo's line and the prophecy stays alive.
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 is Macbeth finally killed, despite the prophecy?
Macduff kills him. 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.