Shakespeare's Macbeth Test and Answer Key for High School
Eliminate assessment planning responsibilities and evaluate high school students' knowledge of plot and literary craft with this summative test covering William Shakespeare's Macbeth. An answer key is included, as well as a standards-based rubric for scoring essays in response to a prompt about Macbeth's moral deterioration and the variables contributing to it. Materials are delivered in editable Word Document and printable PDF formats. (Alternatively, a self-grading Google Drive version is available.) A breakdown of content follows.
Part 1. Knowledge of Plot. Students will demonstrate comprehension of the following:
The opening scene
Macbeth's new title
Macbeth's companion when first encountering the witches
Lady Macbeth's concerns about her husband
A murderous plot
Macbeth's hallucinations
Why Duncan's sons are suspected of murdering their father
Macbeth's plan to betray a friend
Lady Macbeth's ironic reaction to having power
Macbeth's declining psychological state
The reason for Hecate's agitation
Malcolm's plan to test Macduff's loyalty
The death of Macduff's family
The effect of Macbeth's absence on his wife
Lady Macbeth's sleepwalking
How Macbeth perceives his generals
The death of Lady Macbeth
Macduff's victory of Macbeth
The promise of a brighter future
Part 2. Quotations in Context. Students will match an excerpt with its appropriate context.
Act 1, scene 2: For brave Macbeth—well he deserves that name— / Disdaining fortune, with his brandish'd steel, / Which smoked with bloody execution, / Like valour's minion carved out his passage / Till he faced the slave…
Act 1, scene 4: ...nothing in his life / Became him like the leaving it…
Act 1, scene 4: I have begun to plant thee, and will labour / To make thee full of growing.
Act 2, scene 2: My hands are of your color, but I shame / To wear a heart so white.
Act 3, scene 2: What’s done is done.
Act 3, scene 3: Thou mayst revenge!
Act 3, scene 5: And, which is worse, all you have done / Hath been but for a wayward son, / Spiteful and wrathful, who, as others do, / Loves for his own ends, not for you.
Act 4, scene 1: Though you untie the winds and let them fight / Against the churches, though the yeasty waves / Confound and swallow navigation up, / Though bladed corn be lodged and trees blown down, / Though castles topple on their warders’ heads, / Though palaces and pyramids do slope / Their heads to their foundations, though the treasure / Of nature’s germens tumble all together, / Even till destruction sicken, answer me / To what I ask you.
Act 5, scene 5: ...Our castle’s strength / Will laugh a siege to scorn.
Part 3. True/False and Either Or. Students will identify whether a statement is true or false, or they will identify the correct option between two choices. Questions focus on:
Macbeth's early internal conflict
The names of Duncan's sons
The nature of Duncan's praise of Macbeth
Macbeth's "dearest partner in greatness"
Lady Macbeth's manipulation of her husband
The bloodied murder weapons
Macduff's prediction for Macbeth's kingdom
Banquo's dynamic character
How Macbeth is affected by the murders over time
The reason for Macduff's desire for revenge
Part 4. Application of Literary Devices. Students will be given a detail or excerpt from the drama and must determine which literary device is best reflected. Literary devices addressed include:
Allusion
Metaphor
Simile
Personification
Oxymoron
Hyperbole
Sibilance
Part 5. Five-Paragraph Essay. Students will write in response to a prompt about the variables contributing to Macbeth's ethical decline throughout the play.
Materials are available for teaching a variety of Shakespeare's plays:
Eliminate assessment planning responsibilities and evaluate high school students' knowledge of plot and literary craft with this summative test covering William Shakespeare's Macbeth. An answer key is included, as well as a standards-based rubric for scoring essays in response to a prompt about Macbeth's moral deterioration and the variables contributing to it. Materials are delivered in editable Word Document and printable PDF formats. (Alternatively, a self-grading Google Drive version is available.) A breakdown of content follows.
Part 1. Knowledge of Plot. Students will demonstrate comprehension of the following:
The opening scene
Macbeth's new title
Macbeth's companion when first encountering the witches
Lady Macbeth's concerns about her husband
A murderous plot
Macbeth's hallucinations
Why Duncan's sons are suspected of murdering their father
Macbeth's plan to betray a friend
Lady Macbeth's ironic reaction to having power
Macbeth's declining psychological state
The reason for Hecate's agitation
Malcolm's plan to test Macduff's loyalty
The death of Macduff's family
The effect of Macbeth's absence on his wife
Lady Macbeth's sleepwalking
How Macbeth perceives his generals
The death of Lady Macbeth
Macduff's victory of Macbeth
The promise of a brighter future
Part 2. Quotations in Context. Students will match an excerpt with its appropriate context.
Act 1, scene 2: For brave Macbeth—well he deserves that name— / Disdaining fortune, with his brandish'd steel, / Which smoked with bloody execution, / Like valour's minion carved out his passage / Till he faced the slave…
Act 1, scene 4: ...nothing in his life / Became him like the leaving it…
Act 1, scene 4: I have begun to plant thee, and will labour / To make thee full of growing.
Act 2, scene 2: My hands are of your color, but I shame / To wear a heart so white.
Act 3, scene 2: What’s done is done.
Act 3, scene 3: Thou mayst revenge!
Act 3, scene 5: And, which is worse, all you have done / Hath been but for a wayward son, / Spiteful and wrathful, who, as others do, / Loves for his own ends, not for you.
Act 4, scene 1: Though you untie the winds and let them fight / Against the churches, though the yeasty waves / Confound and swallow navigation up, / Though bladed corn be lodged and trees blown down, / Though castles topple on their warders’ heads, / Though palaces and pyramids do slope / Their heads to their foundations, though the treasure / Of nature’s germens tumble all together, / Even till destruction sicken, answer me / To what I ask you.
Act 5, scene 5: ...Our castle’s strength / Will laugh a siege to scorn.
Part 3. True/False and Either Or. Students will identify whether a statement is true or false, or they will identify the correct option between two choices. Questions focus on:
Macbeth's early internal conflict
The names of Duncan's sons
The nature of Duncan's praise of Macbeth
Macbeth's "dearest partner in greatness"
Lady Macbeth's manipulation of her husband
The bloodied murder weapons
Macduff's prediction for Macbeth's kingdom
Banquo's dynamic character
How Macbeth is affected by the murders over time
The reason for Macduff's desire for revenge
Part 4. Application of Literary Devices. Students will be given a detail or excerpt from the drama and must determine which literary device is best reflected. Literary devices addressed include:
Allusion
Metaphor
Simile
Personification
Oxymoron
Hyperbole
Sibilance
Part 5. Five-Paragraph Essay. Students will write in response to a prompt about the variables contributing to Macbeth's ethical decline throughout the play.
Materials are available for teaching a variety of Shakespeare's plays:
Eliminate assessment planning responsibilities and evaluate high school students' knowledge of plot and literary craft with this summative test covering William Shakespeare's Macbeth. An answer key is included, as well as a standards-based rubric for scoring essays in response to a prompt about Macbeth's moral deterioration and the variables contributing to it. Materials are delivered in editable Word Document and printable PDF formats. (Alternatively, a self-grading Google Drive version is available.) A breakdown of content follows.
Part 1. Knowledge of Plot. Students will demonstrate comprehension of the following:
The opening scene
Macbeth's new title
Macbeth's companion when first encountering the witches
Lady Macbeth's concerns about her husband
A murderous plot
Macbeth's hallucinations
Why Duncan's sons are suspected of murdering their father
Macbeth's plan to betray a friend
Lady Macbeth's ironic reaction to having power
Macbeth's declining psychological state
The reason for Hecate's agitation
Malcolm's plan to test Macduff's loyalty
The death of Macduff's family
The effect of Macbeth's absence on his wife
Lady Macbeth's sleepwalking
How Macbeth perceives his generals
The death of Lady Macbeth
Macduff's victory of Macbeth
The promise of a brighter future
Part 2. Quotations in Context. Students will match an excerpt with its appropriate context.
Act 1, scene 2: For brave Macbeth—well he deserves that name— / Disdaining fortune, with his brandish'd steel, / Which smoked with bloody execution, / Like valour's minion carved out his passage / Till he faced the slave…
Act 1, scene 4: ...nothing in his life / Became him like the leaving it…
Act 1, scene 4: I have begun to plant thee, and will labour / To make thee full of growing.
Act 2, scene 2: My hands are of your color, but I shame / To wear a heart so white.
Act 3, scene 2: What’s done is done.
Act 3, scene 3: Thou mayst revenge!
Act 3, scene 5: And, which is worse, all you have done / Hath been but for a wayward son, / Spiteful and wrathful, who, as others do, / Loves for his own ends, not for you.
Act 4, scene 1: Though you untie the winds and let them fight / Against the churches, though the yeasty waves / Confound and swallow navigation up, / Though bladed corn be lodged and trees blown down, / Though castles topple on their warders’ heads, / Though palaces and pyramids do slope / Their heads to their foundations, though the treasure / Of nature’s germens tumble all together, / Even till destruction sicken, answer me / To what I ask you.
Act 5, scene 5: ...Our castle’s strength / Will laugh a siege to scorn.
Part 3. True/False and Either Or. Students will identify whether a statement is true or false, or they will identify the correct option between two choices. Questions focus on:
Macbeth's early internal conflict
The names of Duncan's sons
The nature of Duncan's praise of Macbeth
Macbeth's "dearest partner in greatness"
Lady Macbeth's manipulation of her husband
The bloodied murder weapons
Macduff's prediction for Macbeth's kingdom
Banquo's dynamic character
How Macbeth is affected by the murders over time
The reason for Macduff's desire for revenge
Part 4. Application of Literary Devices. Students will be given a detail or excerpt from the drama and must determine which literary device is best reflected. Literary devices addressed include:
Allusion
Metaphor
Simile
Personification
Oxymoron
Hyperbole
Sibilance
Part 5. Five-Paragraph Essay. Students will write in response to a prompt about the variables contributing to Macbeth's ethical decline throughout the play.
Materials are available for teaching a variety of Shakespeare's plays:
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