It has been commonly accepted for some time now that certain scenes in Shakespeare’s Macbeth are interpolations from the writing of another author; act III, scene 5, and parts of act IV, scene 1, have been determined to be the writing of one of his contemporaries, Thomas Middleton. This can be regarded as both illuminating and problematic, depending upon how the play is being studied. It allows us to infer a great deal about the conventions and practices of writing for the stage at the time. For example, playwriting may have been more collaborative than previously thought, or perhaps Elizabethan notions of plagiarism were different from ours. While historically significant, this does complicate our interpretation of the characters in the play. It is more difficult to assess authorial intention with regard to a character’s motives if the text has been redacted by multiple authors.

1. Select the statement or statements that are correct according to the passage.

a. The author feels that Shakespeare is guilty of plagiarism.
b. The interpolations found in plays such as Macbeth make the assessment of authorial intention more straightforward.
c. Our current understanding of plagiarism may have arisen after Shakespeare’s time.


2. Which of the following could aid in the further study of the interpolations discussed in the above passage?

Consider each of the choices separately and select all that apply.

a. an investigation into the existence and prevalence of collaborative writing partnerships during Shakespeare’s time
b. an examination of the themes and techniques of other writers contemporary with Shakespeare
c. a search through legal documents of Shakespeare’s time for references to plagiarism or intellectual property rights


3. Which CANNOT be inferred from the passage?

a. The example of interpolation discussed in the passage would be illegal today.
b. Authors and playwrights in Shakespeare’s time might have recruited assistance when composing their works.
c. Shakespeare used Middleton’s writing without his consent.


4. In the passage, the two highlighted statements play which of the following roles?

A. The first explains a concept, and the second presents an example of that concept.
B. The first presents an example of the main subject of the passage, and the second is a conclusion based on that example.
C. The first states the conclusion of the argument as a whole, and the second provides support for that conclusion.
D. The first provides evidence for a conclusion that the passage as a whole opposes, and the second presents the objection to that conclusion.
E. The first states the primary conclusion of the passage, and the second states the secondary conclusion.