Macbeth: Act 5 – MCQs (25 Questions)
Choose the correct option for each question.
-
What is Lady Macbeth doing when she appears in Act 5, Scene 1?
a) Attending a feast
b) Plotting with the witches
c) Sleepwalking and confessing her guilt
d) Practicing sword fighting -
What does Lady Macbeth repeatedly try to do while sleepwalking?
a) Kill Macbeth
b) Wash her hands, trying to remove imagined bloodstains
c) Write a confession
d) Escape from the castle -
What is the meaning of Lady Macbeth's "Out, damned spot" soliloquy?
a) She is annoyed by a stain on her dress
b) She is trying to remove literal blood from her hands
c) She is trying to cleanse herself of guilt and sees imagined bloodstains
d) She is calling for a servant -
What is Lady Macbeth's ultimate fate in Act 5?
a) She kills Macbeth
b) She is captured by Malcolm's forces
c) She commits suicide (dies off stage)
d) She escapes to England -
How does Macbeth react to learning of Lady Macbeth's death?
a) He grieves deeply and abandons the fight
b) He is emotionally numb and weary, saying she "should have died hereafter"
c) He becomes angry and vengeful
d) He laughs in relief -
What famous speech does Macbeth give after hearing of Lady Macbeth's death?
a) A speech about love and hope
b) A speech declaring his invincibility
c) "Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow" — reflecting on life's meaninglessness
d) A speech vowing revenge -
What does Macbeth call life in his soliloquy "Out, out, brief candle"?
a) A gift from God
b) A brief light that will eventually be extinguished; a "tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing"
c) A battle to be won
d) An opportunity for greatness -
What news does the messenger bring to Macbeth in Act 5, Scene 5?
a) That all his enemies are dead
b) That reinforcements are arriving
c) That Birnam Wood appears to be moving toward Dunsinane
d) That Macduff has surrendered -
How do Malcolm's soldiers fulfill the prophecy about Birnam Wood moving to Dunsinane?
a) They burn the forest
b) They carry branches from Birnam Wood as camouflage while approaching the castle
c) They push a giant wooden tree toward the castle
d) They create a bridge from tree branches -
What is Macbeth's response to the news that Birnam Wood appears to be moving?
a) He surrenders immediately
b) He laughs, thinking the prophecy is being fulfilled impossibly
c) He becomes enraged and terrified, realizing the prophecy is coming true
d) He flees the castle -
How does Macbeth die in Act 5, Scene 8?
a) He commits suicide
b) He is killed by Malcolm in single combat
c) He is killed by Macduff, who reveals he was born by caesarean section
d) He is killed by Siward -
What is significant about Macduff's birth?
a) He was born in England
b) He was born during a battle
c) He was not "born of a woman" in the natural way but was "from his mother's womb untimely ripped" (born by caesarean section)
d) He was born during a storm -
What does Macbeth say in response to being confronted by Macduff?
a) He surrenders and asks for mercy
b) He declares he cannot be harmed by someone "born of a woman"
c) He recognizes Macduff and flees
d) He laughs at Macduff's challenge -
When Macduff reveals his manner of birth, how does Macbeth react?
a) He remains confident
b) He becomes fearful but still refuses to surrender, choosing to fight to the death
c) He immediately surrenders
d) He tries to escape -
What does Macbeth say he refuses to do before surrendering to Malcolm?
a) To surrender his sword
b) To kiss the ground before young Malcolm's feet and be mocked by the rabble
c) To acknowledge Malcolm as king
d) To leave the castle -
Who kills Young Siward in Act 5, Scene 7?
a) Macduff
b) Malcolm
c) Macbeth
d) An unnamed soldier -
How does the old Siward react to learning that his son is dead?
a) He grieves deeply
b) He seeks revenge
c) He is satisfied, saying his son died honorably in battle like a true soldier
d) He demands the fight stop -
What does Macduff do with Macbeth's body after killing him?
a) He buries it respectfully
b) He leaves it on the battlefield
c) He carries Macbeth's severed head as evidence of his death
d) He burns it -
What does Macduff proclaim when he presents Macbeth's head to Malcolm?
a) That Macduff should be king
b) That Malcolm is the new King of Scotland
c) That the war is over
d) That revenge is complete -
What changes does Malcolm promise to make as the new king?
a) To continue Macbeth's tyranny
b) To restore order and justice; to make the Scottish nobles earls according to the English system
c) To surrender to England
d) To punish all those who served Macbeth -
Where will Malcolm be crowned as King of Scotland?
a) In Dunsinane Castle
b) In England
c) At Scone
d) In Inverness -
How does Malcolm describe Macbeth and Lady Macbeth at the end of the play?
a) As tragic heroes
b) As victims of the witches
c) As "fiend-like" with Lady Macbeth called the "fiend-like queen"
d) As victims of ambition -
What is the overall result of the witches' prophecies by the end of Act 5?
a) They fail to come true
b) They come true, but through events that Macbeth did not anticipate; all three prophecies are fulfilled
c) They partially come true
d) They are fulfilled differently than anyone expected -
What is the final message of the play demonstrated in Act 5?
a) Ambition always brings success
b) Prophecies are always false
c) Evil deeds have consequences; legitimate order and justice triumph over tyranny and murder
d) Violence solves all problems -
How quickly does the action move in Act 5 compared to previous acts?
a) It moves more slowly
b) It moves at the same pace
c) It moves rapidly with short, quick scenes that accelerate toward the climax
d) It does not move at all
Answer Key
i) c – Sleepwalking and confessing her guilt
ii) b – Wash her hands, trying to remove imagined bloodstains
iii) c – She is trying to cleanse herself of guilt and sees imagined bloodstains
iv) c – She commits suicide (dies off stage)
v) b – He is emotionally numb and weary, saying she "should have died hereafter"
vi) c – "Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow" — reflecting on life's meaninglessness
vii) b – A brief light that will eventually be extinguished; a "tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing"
viii) c – That Birnam Wood appears to be moving toward Dunsinane
ix) b – They carry branches from Birnam Wood as camouflage while approaching the castle
x) c – He becomes enraged and terrified, realizing the prophecy is coming true
xi) c – He is killed by Macduff, who reveals he was born by caesarean section
xii) c – He was not "born of a woman" in the natural way but was "from his mother's womb untimely ripped" (born by caesarean section)
xiii) b – He declares he cannot be harmed by someone "born of a woman"
xiv) b – He becomes fearful but still refuses to surrender, choosing to fight to the death
xv) b – To kiss the ground before young Malcolm's feet and be mocked by the rabble
xvi) c – Macbeth
xvii) c – He is satisfied, saying his son died honorably in battle like a true soldier
xviii) c – He carries Macbeth's severed head as evidence of his death
xix) b – That Malcolm is the new King of Scotland
xx) b – To restore order and justice; to make the Scottish nobles earls according to the English system
xxi) c – At Scone
xxii) c – As "fiend-like" with Lady Macbeth called the "fiend-like queen"
xxiii) b – They come true, but through events that Macbeth did not anticipate; all three prophecies are fulfilled
xxiv) c – Evil deeds have consequences; legitimate order and justice triumph over tyranny and murder
xxv) c – It moves rapidly with short, quick scenes that accelerate toward the climax