Shakespeare
Historical Context
Play Mechanics & Style
Themes (quote-based)
Act I, Scene i
100

He was born in this town in 1564.

What is Stratford-upon-Avon?

100

Shakespeare set Macbeth in Scotland while this king ruled England.

Who is James I?

100

Most of Macbeth is written in this rhythmic pattern of 10 syllables per line, alternating unstressed and stressed syllables.

What is iambic pentameter?

100

What theme(s) can we pull out from this quotation?

“Will all great Neptune's ocean wash this blood clean from my hand?”

What is guilt/conscience?

100

Where do the witches meet at the start of the play?

What is a heath (or deserted place)?

200

Shakespeare married this women and had this many children.

Who is Anne Hathaway and 3 children.

200

Setting the play in Scotland gave Shakespeare this to explore dangerous ideas safely.

What is political distance?

200

Unrhymed iambic pentameter is called this.

What is blank verse?

200

What theme(s) can we pull out from this quotation?


“Look like th’ innocent flower, but be the serpent under ‘t.”

What is deception/manipulation?

200

What is the weather like in the opening scene?

What is stormy, foggy, and chaotic?

300

Macbeth is Shakespeare’s shortest __________. (must be specific to genre)

What is tragedy?

300

Killing a king was considered a crime against both God and the __________.

What is the natural order?

300

When the rhythm of iambic pentameter breaks, it can signal this or moral imbalance.

What is emotional disturbance/chaos?

300

What theme(s) can we pull out from this quotation?


“Present fears are less than horrible imaginings.”

What is ambition and internal conflict (fear vs. desire)?

300

What paradoxical phrase do the witches say that sums up the play’s moral ambiguity?

What is “Fair is foul, and foul is fair”?

400

Shakespeare’s plays were meant to be __________, not just read.

What is performed?

400

Superstitions say the play is cursed because witches were angered by the use of these in the text.

What is real spells/incantations?

400

The witches speak in a different rhythm than the rest of the characters; it’s called this.

What is trochaic tetrameter?

400

What theme(s) can we pull out from this quotation?

“I have given suck, and know how tender ‘tis to love the babe that milks me…[but] I would… have dashed the brains out, had I so sworn as you have done to this.”

What is ambition and power vs. morality/psychological intensity?

400

Why does Shakespeare open the play with witches instead of noblemen or soldiers?

What is to establish supernatural influence and foreshadow chaos?

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