Page 68 - DENG403_BRITISH_DRAMA

British Drama

Notes So read Macbeth. Once you crack the tough language, you'll get a glimpse into the raunchy, grotesque,
beautiful human emotions that are timeless and universal.

Self Assessment

Multiple Choice Questions:

11. Macbeth was written in 1605 or 1606 and performed at
(a) Hampton Court
(b) Globe Theatre
(c) Lord Chamberlain’s Men Theatre
(d) Earl of Southampton.
12. The material for Macbeth was drawn from
(a) Raphael Holinshed’s Chronicles of England
(b) Raphael Holinshed’s Chronicles of England, Scotland, and Ireland
(c) Raphael Holinshed’s Chronicles of Scotland
(d) Raphael Holinshed’s Chronicles of Ireland.
13. What proves that Macbeth is one of the shortest plays?
(a) characters are poor
(b) scenes were excised form the folio version
(c) scenes were lost
(d) action flows from scene to scene.
Fill in the blanks:

14. Despite the Macbeth’s historical source, the play is generally classified as .........
rather than a history.
15. Macbeth was written performed at Hampton Court in 1606 for King James I and his
brother-in-law,...........
16. Macbeth is certainly not the only play with ..........that is full of fabrications.
17. Macbeth follows the story of a Scottish nobleman (Macbeth) who hears a ...........

State whether the following statements are true or false:
18. Macbeth is also unique among Shakespeare's plays for dealing so explicitly with
material that was relevant to England's contemporary political situation.
19. Shakespeare's portrayal of Banquo as one of the play's few unsoiled characters is a
nod to the Stuart political myth.
20. Macbeth is a story about power struggles among the middle class.

4.3 Summary

• William Shakespeare born in 1564, was an English playwright, poet, actor, favorite dramatist
of queens and kings, inventor of words, master of drama, and arguably the most famous
writer of all time.
• In his 36 plays and 154 sonnets, he left behind the evidence of a brilliant mind, a wicked sense
of humor, a deep sensitivity to human emotions, and a rich classical education.

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