Skip to main content
O-LevelLiterature in EnglishDramaMay/June 2020Paper 2 Q725 Marks

WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE: Macbeth Remember to support your ideas with details from the text. Read this passage, and then answer the question that follows it: Inverness. MACBETH's castle. [Enter LADY MACBETH.] Lady Macbeth: That which hath made them drunk hath made me bold; What hath quench'd them hath given me fire. Hark! Peace! It was the owl that shriek'd, the fatal bell-man, Which gives the stern'st good-night. He is about it. The doors are open; and the surfeited grooms Do mock their charge with snores. I have drugg'd their possets, That death and nature do contend about them, Whether they live or die. Macbeth [within]: Who's there! What, ho! Lady Macbeth: Alack! I am afraid they have awak'd, And 'tis not done. Th' attempt, and not the deed, Confounds us. Hark! I laid their daggers ready; He could not miss 'em. Had he not resembled My father as he slept, I had done't. [Enter MACBETH.] My husband! Macbeth: I have done the deed. Didst thou not hear a noise? Lady Macbeth: I heard the owl scream and the crickets cry. Did not you speak? Macbeth: When? Lady Macbeth: Now. Macbeth: As I descended? Lady Macbeth: Ay. Macbeth: Hark! Who lies i' th' second chamber? Lady Macbeth: Donalbain. Macbeth: This is a sorry sight. [Looking on his hands.] Lady Macbeth: A foolish thought to say a sorry sight. Macbeth: There's one did laugh in's sleep, and one cried 'Murder!' That they did wake each other. I stood and heard them; But they did say their prayers, and address'd them Again to sleep. Lady Macbeth: There are two lodg'd together. Macbeth: One cried 'God bless us', and 'Amen' the other, As they had seen me with these hangman's hands. List'ning their fear, I could not say 'Amen' When they did say 'God bless us!' Lady Macbeth: Consider it not so deeply. Macbeth: But wherefore could not I pronounce 'Amen'? I had most need of blessing, and 'Amen' Stuck in my throat. Lady Macbeth: These deeds must not be thought After these ways: so, it will make us mad. [from Act 2, Scene 2] In what ways does Shakespeare make this such a terrifying moment in the play?

✓ Correct Answer

The correct answer is . This question tests the candidate's understanding of drama within the Literature in Englishsyllabus. The examiner's mark scheme requires...

📋 Examiner Report & Trap Analysis

Common mistake: 62% of candidates selected the distractor because they confused... The examiner specifically designed this question to test whether students can differentiate between... To secure full marks, candidates must demonstrate...

🔒

Unlock the Examiner's Answer

Sign up for free to reveal the correct answer, the official mark scheme breakdown, and the examiner trap analysis for this question.

Sign Up Free to Unlock →

Join thousands of Cambridge students already using Oracle Prep

About This O-Level Literature in English Question

This structured question appeared in the Cambridge O-Level Literature in English (2010) May/June 2020 examination, Paper 2 Variant 2. It tests the topic of Drama and is worth 25 marks.

Oracle Prep provides AI-powered practice for all Cambridge O-Level and A-Level subjects. Our platform includes topic predictions with 87.7% accuracy, AI essay grading, and a comprehensive question bank spanning 25 years of past papers.

© 2026 Oracle Prep — The AI-Powered Cambridge Exam Engine