Macbeth Key Quotes Flashcards
fair is foul…
and foul is fair (Witches A1 S1)
so foul and fair…
a day I have not seen (Macbeth 1.3)
Noble…
Banquo/That hast no less deserved (King Duncan)
Come, you spirits…
unsex me here (Lady Macbeth 1.5)
Vaulting ambition…
which o’erleaps itself (Macbeth 1.7)
Vaulting = excessive. ore’leaps = might cause his downfall.
Sleep no more…
Macbeth does murder sleep (Macbeth heard a voice say it 2.2)
I’ll devil…
porter it no further
suggest the evil in Macbeth’s castle - it is like hell.
There’s daggers…
in men’s smiles (Donalbain to Malcom 2.3)
And yet dark night…
strangles the travelling lamp. (Rosse to the Old Man 2.4)
Are you…
a man? (Lady Macbeth after seeing ghost 3.4)
It will have blood…
they say - blood will have blood (Macbeth 3.4)
security/…
Is mortals chiefest enemy (Hecate 3.5)
Bleed, Bleed…
poor country! (Macduff to Malcolm 4.3)
All my pretty ones?…
Did you say all? (Macduff 4.3)
Out, damned…
spot! Out I say! (Lady Macbeth 5.1)
Out, out brief candle!…
Life’s but a walking shadow (Macbeth after hearing LM is dead 5.5)
I will not yield..
before young Malcom’s feet (Macbeth before the final fight 5.8)
Whence…
is that knocking? (Macbeth 2.2)
my dearest…
partner of greatness (Macbeth about LM 1.5)
how is the rightful king on the throne chosen?
it is guided by the “grace of god”
How can you contrast L.Macbeth with L.Macduff?
L.Macduff shows her motherliness towards her son by callig him “poor bird” but this contrasts with L.macbeth who says she would have “dashed the brains out” of her own child
What does Lennox say about Macbeth in Act 5?
that Macbeth is a “weed” and need to be drowned by the “sovereign flower”
Noble
Mabeth (Ducan)
Art not without ambition…
but without The illness should attend it
Ilness = wickedness. So evil must accompany ambition
To be thus is nothing…
but to be safely thus…
Macbeth reveals he does not feel safe after giving in to his ambition after killing the king.
Will all great Neptune’s ocean…
wash this blood Clean from my hand? No
Thy blood is cold…
Thou hast no speculation in those eyes
Macbeth starts to lose grip of his sanity as he doesn’t know if Banquo’s is a ghost or real. this showcases how powerful his guilt is.
What, all my pretty…
chickens and their dam
links to the theme of children as the affectionate imagery he uses to describe them shows how even though he is a strong and powerful warrior, he is also a** loving husband and father**.
Had I as many sons…
I would not wish them a fairer death (children/patriotism)
Young Siward shows that although he lost his children in battle, he is very proud that he dies for his country.
Be innocent
of the knowledge dearest chuck
Macbeth to Lady Macbeth
What happens to Lady Macbeth and Macbeth after Banquo’s Ghost?
Mabeth and Lady Macbeth do not appear on stage together again after the scene with Banquo’s ghost, leaving the audience to speculate that the conflict in their marriage has caused then to become estranged and divided, which arguably contributes to their madness.
