Character- Macbeth Flashcards
Quotations + Grade 9 analysis
“Vaulting ambition, which o’erleaps itself.”
Act 1, Scene 7
-Metaphor: Compares ambition to a rider who jumps too far and falls—Macbeth’s ambition makes him overreach.
-Tragic irony: He knows his ambition is dangerous, but he follows it anyway.
-Insight: Shakespeare critiques how unchecked ambition leads to self-destruction and moral collapse.
Theme: Ambition & Power
“All hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee, Thane of Glamis…Thane of Cawdor…King hereafter!”
Act 1, Scene 3
-Triplet structure builds dramatic momentum.
-Ambiguity: The witches predict greatness but don’t say how it will happen.
-Insight: Sparks Macbeth’s ambition, but Shakespeare shows he chooses to act—fate gives him the idea, but free will causes the tragedy.
Theme: Ambition & Power
“Will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood / Clean from my hand?”
Act 2, Scene 2
-Hyperbole: Guilt is so deep it can’t be washed away.
-Symbolism: Blood = guilt.
-Insight: Macbeth’s guilt is immediate and overwhelming—he understands the moral weight of his actions.
“Out, damned spot! Out, I say!”
Act 5, Scene 1
-Repetition and exclamation: Lady Macbeth’s mental collapse.
-Imagery: Blood she once dismissed now haunts her.
-Insight: Her descent into madness contrasts with her earlier strength, showing that repressed guilt always resurfaces.
Theme: Guilt & Conscience
“Look like the innocent flower, but be the serpent under’t.”
Act 1, Scene 5
-Juxtaposition: Appearance vs true intention.
-Biblical allusion: Links Lady Macbeth to the serpent in Eden—manipulative and morally corrupt.
-Insight: She consciously uses deception as a weapon—challenging gender roles and natural order.
Theme: Appearance vs Reality
“Thou canst not say I did it. Never shake / Thy gory locks at me!”
Act 3, Scene 4
-Ghost = Guilt: Banquo’s ghost reflects Macbeth’s unravelling mind.
-Denial and paranoia: Macbeth refuses to face responsibility.
-Insight: What is real and what is imagined becomes blurred—guilt destroys his grasp on reality.
Theme: Appearance vs Reality
“If chance will have me king, why, chance may crown me / Without my stir.”
Act 1, Scene 3
-Internal conflict: Macbeth contemplates letting fate run its course.
-Contrast: He later rejects this and chooses to kill Duncan.
-Insight: Shakespeare presents fate as tempting, but Macbeth’s downfall is the result of personal choice, not prophecy alone.
Theme: Fate vs Free Will
