Macbeth, ACT IV - Scene I quiz

Questions and answers

1. 1

   Question 1. What is the setting of Act 4, Scene 1?

   • A great hall in Macbeth's castle at Dunsinane
   • Correct answer: A dark cavern with a boiling cauldron in the middle
   • A battlefield near Birnam Wood
   • A moonlit heath where the Witches first appeared

   The scene opens in a cavern with the stage direction "In the middle, a boiling cauldron. Thunder."

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2. 2

   Question 2. How many times do the Witches chant "Double, double, toil and trouble" during the scene?

   • Twice, at the beginning and end of the ritual
   • Correct answer: Three times, once after each Witch adds her ingredients
   • Four times, once for each apparition and once at the start
   • Once, as a single extended chant before Macbeth arrives

   The refrain is chanted three times, serving as a structural marker between each round of ingredients added by the First, Second, and Third Witches.

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3. 3

   Question 3. What does "fenny" mean in the line "Fillet of a fenny snake"?

   • Venomous or poisonous (capable of causing death)
   • Correct answer: Swamp-dwelling or marshy (found in a fen)
   • Female or egg-bearing (referring to the snake's sex)
   • Ancient or fossilized (preserved in peat or bog)

   "Fenny" means inhabiting a fen, which is a marshy, swampy area. The word describes a snake from a bog or wetland.

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4. 4

   Question 4. Who says "By the pricking of my thumbs, / Something wicked this way comes"?

   • The First Witch, as she stirs the cauldron
   • Correct answer: The Second Witch, sensing Macbeth's approach
   • Hecate, warning the Witches to prepare themselves
   • The Third Witch, after adding her final ingredients

   The Second Witch speaks this famous line just before Macbeth enters. The fact that the Witches call Macbeth "wicked" shows how far he has fallen.

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5. 5

   Question 5. What form does the First Apparition take?

   • A bloody child holding a dagger
   • A crowned child with a tree in his hand
   • Correct answer: An armed (helmeted) head
   • A ghostly figure resembling Banquo

   The First Apparition is "an armed Head" that warns Macbeth to beware Macduff. It symbolically foreshadows Macbeth's own beheading.

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6. 6

   Question 6. What does the Second Apparition (a bloody child) tell Macbeth?

   • That Banquo's descendants will rule Scotland for generations
   • That Birnam Wood will march against Dunsinane Hill
   • Correct answer: That none of woman born shall harm Macbeth
   • That he must beware the Thane of Fife (Macduff)

   The bloody child declares: "Be bloody, bold, and resolute... none of woman born / Shall harm Macbeth." The bloody child symbolizes Macduff's cesarean birth.

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7. 7

   Question 7. According to the Third Apparition, when will Macbeth be defeated?

   • When Macduff returns from England with an army
   • When the blood of kings flows through Dunsinane's halls
   • Correct answer: When Great Birnam Wood comes to high Dunsinane Hill
   • When the crowned child claims the throne of Scotland

   The crowned child with a tree says Macbeth "shall never vanquish'd be until / Great Birnam Wood to high Dunsinane Hill / Shall come against him."

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8. 8

   Question 8. Which of these events actually happened in this chapter?

   • Macbeth asks the Witches whether Banquo's descendants will ever reign in Scotland.

     Happened

     After hearing the three prophecies, Macbeth demands: "tell me, if your art / Can tell so much, shall Banquo's issue ever / Reign in this kingdom?" The Witches warn him to "seek to know no more" but he insists.

   • The Witches refuse to show Macbeth any vision of Banquo's future line.

     Didn't happen

     Although the Witches initially tell Macbeth to "seek to know no more," when he insists and threatens them with "an eternal curse," they conjure a show of eight kings followed by Banquo's ghost.

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9. 9

   Question 9. How many kings appear in the procession that shows Banquo's line?

   • Four kings, each wearing a golden crown
   • Six kings, with the last holding a sword
   • Correct answer: Eight kings, the last bearing a mirror (glass)
   • Twelve kings, representing the future Stuart dynasty

   Eight kings appear, with the eighth holding "a glass / Which shows me many more," reflecting an infinite line of future monarchs—a compliment to King James I.

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10. 10

    Question 10. What is a "chaudron" as used in the Third Witch's ingredients?

    • A large cooking vessel or pot (similar to a cauldron)
    • Correct answer: The entrails or guts of an animal
    • A magical incantation or spoken charm
    • The skin or hide of a wild beast

    "Chaudron" means entrails or internal organs. The Third Witch adds "a tiger's chaudron" to the cauldron as one of her final ingredients.

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11. 11

    Question 11. Which of these events actually happened in this chapter?

    • Lennox tells Macbeth that Macduff has fled to England.

      Happened

      After the Witches vanish, Lennox enters and reports that Macduff "is fled to England." This news triggers Macbeth's decision to attack Macduff's family.

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12. 12

    Question 12. What does Macbeth decide to do after learning that Macduff has fled?

    • Send assassins to England to pursue and kill Macduff
    • Correct answer: Attack Macduff's castle and murder his wife, children, and household
    • Fortify Dunsinane and prepare for a siege from English forces
    • Consult the Witches a second time to learn how to defeat Macduff

    Macbeth orders: "The castle of Macduff I will surprise, / Seize upon Fife, give to the edge o' the sword / His wife, his babes, and all unfortunate souls."

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13. 13

    Question 13. What does Macbeth mean by "The very firstlings of my heart shall be / The firstlings of my hand"?

    • He will consult his heart before making any decisions about his kingdom
    • Correct answer: He will act instantly on his first violent impulses without deliberation
    • He will prioritize his family's safety above all political concerns
    • He will write down his plans carefully before carrying them out

    Macbeth declares he will act on his first murderous impulse without reflection or conscience. This marks his complete moral collapse.

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14. 14

    Question 14. Which of these events actually happened in this chapter?

    • Macbeth agonizes and debates with himself before ordering the attack on Macduff's family.

      Didn't happen

      Unlike his earlier crimes (the murder of Duncan, the assassination of Banquo), Macbeth orders the slaughter of Macduff's family impulsively and without any moral deliberation, showing his complete descent into tyranny.

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