Prepare with purpose
Original practice questions, concise model answers and essay outlines for the three Semester I Drama guides.
All currently available questions are created for this site. They are labelled practice questions, never previous-year questions. “Key question” means an editorial revision priority, not a prediction about the next university examination.
Macbeth is a tragedy. Although Scottish history supplies material, the drama centres on destructive choices, suffering, and the protagonist's defeat rather than providing a reliable historical record.
Raphael Holinshed's Chronicles supplied substantial material. Shakespeare altered and combined that material to construct dramatic conflicts, so the play should not be treated as a faithful chronicle.
Macbeth first appeared in the 1623 First Folio. This publication followed Shakespeare's death in 1616; composition and publication dates must therefore be distinguished.
They predict that Banquo will father kings without becoming king himself. Macbeth later sees this future as a threat to his own dynasty and arranges Banquo's murder.
Messengers announce Duncan's award of the title Thane of Cawdor. The witches have just greeted Macbeth with that title, so its confirmation makes their prediction of kingship appear more credible.
Malcolm flees to England and Donalbain to Ireland. Their decision aims to preserve their lives, but it also allows others to suspect them of involvement in Duncan's death.
He employs murderers to attack Banquo and Fleance. Delegating the violence does not remove Macbeth's responsibility; his fear about Banquo's descendants motivates the plan.
Fleance escapes. Macbeth's attempt to erase the predicted future is therefore incomplete. The play does not subsequently show Fleance being crowned.
Only Macbeth sees the ghost. The guests respond to Macbeth's disturbing behaviour without sharing his perception, which brings his private terror into a public ceremony.
Malcolm's soldiers carry cut branches to conceal their numbers. Macbeth takes the prediction to mean something impossible, but human military action supplies its unexpected fulfilment.
Macduff reveals that he was taken prematurely from his mother's womb. The prediction exploits an unusual distinction concerning birth; it does not literally mean that Macduff had no mother.
This is dramatic irony: the audience possesses knowledge that Duncan lacks. His trust makes the apparently pleasant hospitality more disturbing.
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