1. which sentence best expresses one of the themes of macbeth?
a. exacting vengeance upon an enemy is vastly different from receiving justice when one has been wronged.
b. loyalty is a stronger force than ambition or the thirst for power.
c. true leaders rule for the benefit of their people; tyrants rule for the benefit of themselves.
d. women feel guilt over cruelty and evil more acutely than men.

2. in shakespeare’s time, there were very definite ideas about how men and women differed. in macbeth, shakespeare suggests that violence is a more inherently male behavior.

which incidents in the play convey that idea? select each correct answer.
a. macbeth tells lady macbeth she should have only male children because of her unusual strength and ambition.
b. lady macduff suggests that her husband leave the country and find safety in england rather than fight macbeth.
c. lady macbeth asks the spirits to “unsex her” to make her more masculine so that she can go through with the plan to murder duncan.
d. lady macbeth refuses to fight in the final battle to protect her husband, instead locking herself in her room at dunsinane.

The correct answers are the following:

1. (C) True leaders rule for the benefit of their people; tyrants rule for the benefit of themselves. This theme is widely explored during the play. During the play, the difference between kingship and tyranny is explained. Macbeth is referred to as the "tyrant" because he is only worried about himself while Duncan is referred to as a "king" because he rules for the benefit of his people.

2. The incidents in the play that help convey the idea that violence is a more inherently male behavior are (A) Macbeth tells Lady Macbeth she should have only male children because of her unusual strength and ambition; and (C) Lady Macbeth asks the spirits to "unsex her" to make her more masculine so that she can go through with the plan to murder Duncan. Such incidents show that masculinity is equated with cruelty and aggression.  

imparadis't in one anothers arms  

the happier eden, shall enjoy their fill  

of bliss on bliss, while i to hell am thrust,  

where neither joy nor love, but fierce desire,  

among our other torments not the least,  

still unfulfill'd with pain of longing pines;  

yet let me not forget what i have gain'd  

from their own mouths; all is not theirs it seems:  

one fatal tree there stands of knowledge call'd,  

forbidden them to taste: knowledge forbidd'n?  

suspicious, reasonless. why should their lord  

envie them that? can it be sin to know,

the novel is told in flashback