Macbeth Key Quotations Flashcards
The captain praises Macbeth after the battle. This is the first time the audience are introduced to the character of Macbeth and he has not entered the stage yet. (Act 1 Scene 2)
“brave Macbeth – well he deserves that name”
Macbeth gives the first hint that his ambition to be king is making him think dark thoughts in an aside. (Act 1 Scene 4)
“stars hide your fires/ Let not light see my black and deep desires”
Lady Macbeth, after receiving the letter from her husband, discusses Macbeth’s personality in a soliloquy.
(Act 1 Scene 6)
“too full of the milk of human kindness to catch the nearest way”
Macbeth reveals he does not think his ambition is a good enough reason to kill Duncan in a soliloquy. (Act 1 Scene 7 - KEY SCENE)
“I have no spur to prick the sides of my intent/ but only vaulting ambition”
Macbeth reveals he thinks Duncan is a good man in a soliloquy and this throws him into further conflict with himself. (Act 1 Scene 7 - KEY SCENE)
“His virtues will plead like angels trumpet tongu’d against the deep damnation of his taking off”
When Macbeth shows signs of weakness, Lady Macbeth attacks Macbeth’s masculinity. (Act 1 Scene 7 - KEY SCENE)
“When you durst do it/ then you were a man”
Macbeth starts to hallucinate as he inches closer to Duncan’s bedchamber to commit the murder. (Act 2 Scene 1)
“a false creation, proceeding from the heat-oppressed brain?”
After the death of Duncan, Macbeth immediately shows signs of guilt. (Act 2 Scene 2)
“Will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood clean from my hand?”
However, Lady Macbeth is cold and practical following the murder. (Act 2 Scene 2)
“A little water clears us of this deed.”
Despite achieving his ambition to become King, Macbeth reveals he feels unsafe in his new position as king in a soliloquy. (Act 3 Scene 1)
“To be thus is nothing/ but to be safely thus”
To try and protect his position, Macbeth plots the murder of Banquo. However, he does so without the help of Lady Macbeth. (Act 3 Scene 2)
“Be innocent of the knowledge, dearest chuck.”
Macbeth decides he will act on whatever his heart desires from now on.(Act 4 Scene 1)
“From this moment, the very firstling of my heart shall be the firstlings of my hand.”
Lady Macbeth’s guilt catches up with her and she begins sleep walking and trying to wash Duncan’s blood from her hands. (Act 5 Scene 1)
“What, will these hands ne’er be clean?”
Following the death of Lady Macbeth, Macbeth realises that he has lost everything in his pursuit of his ambition. (Act 5 Scene 5)
“It is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury signifying nothing.”
Some of Macbeth’s bravery from the start of the play remains as he realises he will probably die. (Act 5 Scene 5)
“At least we’ll die with harness on our back.”
