Page 65 - DENG403_BRITISH_DRAMA

Unit 4: Shakespeare: Macbeth—Introduction to the Author and the Text

Self Assessment Notes

Multiple Choice Questions:
1. William Shakespeare was born in
(a) Stratford-upon-Avon
(b) Hempshire
(c) Ireland
(d) New South Wales.
2. Which of the folowing was not a creation of Shakespeare?
(a) Love’s Labour’s Lost
(b) The Roots
(c) Hamlet
(d) King Henry VIII.

3. Which of the following play of Shakespeare was not performed at Globe Theatre?
(a) King Lear
(b) Twelfth Night
(c) Romeo and Juliet
(d) Othello.

Fill in the blanks:
4. The same year that he joined the Lord Chamberlain’s Men, Shakespeare wrote
..........
5. Venus and Adonis was one of the first of Shakespeare known works to be .........and
was a huge success.
6. In 1569, Shakespeare enters King’s New School, an excellent ......... in Stratford.
7. Shakespeare did not attend university because university education was reserved
for ......... of the elite.

State whether the following statements are true or false:
8. Town records indicate that William Shakespeare was John and Mary’s third child.
9. Shakespeare’s first daughter, Susanna, was baptized only six months his marriage.
10. Shakespeare’s life as a citizen of Stratford.

4.2 Macbeth: Introduction to the Text

4.2.1 Introduction

Legend says that Macbeth was written in 1605 or 1606 and performed at Hampton Court in 1606 for
King James I and his brother-in-law, King Christian of Denmark. Whether it was first performed at
the royal court or was premiered at the Globe theatre, there can be little doubt that the plays were
intended to please the King, who had recently become the patron of Shakespeare’s theatrical
company. We note, for example, that the character of Banquo—the legendary root of the Stuart
family tree—is depicted very favorably. Like Banquo, King James was a Stuart. The play is also

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