Macbeth Quotes Flashcards
Who is Macbeth?
- MACBETH - the Thane of Glamis. He is made the Thane of Cawdor for his
* *bravery in battle, and becomes king of Scotland by murdering previous King, Duncan.** - As Macbeth opens, Macbeth is one of the greatest noblemen in Scotland: valiant, loyal and honourable.
- He’s also ambitious, and while this ambition helps to make him the great lord he is, once he hears the weird sisters’ prophecy, Macbeth becomes so consumed by his desire for power that he becomes a tyrannical and violent monster who ultimately destroys himself.
- What is perhaps most interesting about him is that he senses the murders will lead to his own destruction even before he murders Duncan, yet his ambition is so great that he still goes through with it.
• “Brave” to “Tyrant”
Who is Lady MAcbeth?
- Macbeth’s wife. Unlike her husband, she has no reservations about murdering Duncan in order for Macbeth to become King of Scotland.
- She believes that a true man takes what he wants, and whenever Macbeth objects to murdering Duncan on moral grounds, she questions his courage.
- Lady Macbeth assumes that she’ll be able to murder Duncan and then quickly forgets it once she becomes Queen of Scotland. But she discovers that guilt is not easily forgotten/avoided.
-
“A little water clears us of this deed”
to
“out damned spot”
What quotes show Banquo as noble and worthy
“Noble Banquo” & “Worthy Banquo”
“Wisdom guides his valour”
“Royalty of Nature”
show how men can react when shown temptation. Banquo is portrayed as Macbeth’s foil and is therefore symbolic of man’s ability to resist temptation.
Who is Banquo?
- friend of Macbeth. He is also the father of Fleance.
- The weird sisters’ prophesise his descendants will one day sit on the throne.
- Banquo is ambitious but unlike Macbeth, he resists putting his selfish ambition above his honour or the good of Scotland. Because he knows the prophecy and is honourable, Banquo is both a threat to Macbeth and a living example of the noble path that Macbeth chose not to take.
- After Macbeth has murdered Banquo, he is haunted by Banquo’s ghost, which symbolises Macbeth’s terrible guilt at what he has become.
“O treachery! Fly, good Fleance, fly, fly, fly! - Shows Protectiveness”
“As the weird sisters promised and, I fear thou plays’t foully for’t.” alliteration of W and F show collaboration between witches and Macbeth.
“Banquo will be lesser but greater than Macbeth” - Shows moral superiority
“But ‘tis strange: the instruments of darkness tell us truths, win us with honest trifles, to betray in deepest consequence “- Shows supernatural and ambition resistance resistance
Who is King Duncan?
The King of Scotland, and father of Malcolm and Donalbain. Macbeth murders him to get the crown (regicide). Duncan is the model of a good, virtuous King who puts the welfare of his country above his own and seeks, like a gardener, to nurture and grow the kingdom that is his responsibility. Duncan is the living embodiment of the political and social order that Macbeth destroys.
- “O valiant Cousin! Worthy Gentlemen!”
- “What he hath lost Noble Macbeth has won”
- “He is a gentlemen whom i built an absolute trust”
- “Signs on nobleness, like stars, shall sign on all deservers”
- '’This castle hath a pleasant seat; the air Nimbly and sweetly recommends itself Unto our gentle senses.
Who is Macduff Quotes?
Thane of Fife - puts the welfare of Scotland even ahead of the welfare of his own family. Macduff suspects Macbeth from the beginning, and becomes one of the leaders of the rebellion. After Macbeth has Macduff’s family murdered, Macduff’s desire for vengeance becomes more personal and powerful.
WHen he defeats Macbeth it is symbolism of sin being destroyed and order being restored.
- “If thou beest is slain with no sword of mine. The ghosts of my wife and children will still haunt me?”
- “Tyrant! Show thy face!”
- He asks the “gentle heavens” to bring forth Macbeth. Whereas MCB and LMCB ask that their actions be covered from the heveans. THis shows how MCD has a righteous cause for his revenge
- “Oh Horror, Horror, Horror”
- “Bleed,Bleed Poor country!”
- *“O Scotland, Scotland!” - Repition shows emotion**
How is Macduff Presented as patriotic
Shakespeare uses the motif of personifying Scotland causing Scotland to “Bleed, Bleed Poor country!” - This symbolising show Scotland is Being destroyed through the disruption of the great chain of being”
Then he talks about, “New widows howl, new orphans cry” - He has considered the effects on people in Scotland.
“Fit to govern? No not fit to live!” - Malcolm was lying to Macduff to see if he was really trying to help Scotland or not. Malcolm really was fit to govern, but he said the he wasn’t to see if Macduff was really interested in the well-being or Scotland or not.
“most sacrilegious murder hath broke open The Lord’s anointed temple”
“Turn Hell hound turn” a three-headed dog called Cerberus guards the entrance to Hades; Macduff calls Macbeth a monster.
“The royal father was the most sainted king”
How is Banquo Response to Evil and Temptation?
“Merciful Powers, restrain in me the cursed thoughts that nature gives response to” He calls upon God to help him.
“What can the devil speak is true?” The devil was known to tempt people in to sin and Banquo questions this which shows he is morally superior? This implies how witches are agents of the devil as said in the Book of demonology written by King James?
“Are You aught that man may question?” He says this at the start from the beginning he is questioning.
Who is Malcom?
MALCOLM- The older son of King Duncan’s two sons, and Duncan’s designated heir to the throne of Scotland. Early in the play, Malcolm is a weak and inexperienced leader, and he eventually flees Scotland. But Malcolm matures, and with the help of Macduff and an English army, Malcolm eventually overthrows Macbeth and retakes the throne, restoring the order that was destroyed when Duncan was murdered.
This tyrant… was once thought honest (4:3)
Dead Butcher and his Fiend like queen & describe Macbeth as “[d]evilish” (line 136).
Angels are bright still, though the brightest fell (4:3)
Lucifer, the ‘brightest’ angel, rebelled against God; Macbeth was a brave and noble (‘bright’) warrior, but rebelled against Duncan
Macduff, this noble passion hath reconciled my thoughts to thy good and honour (4:3)
How is Lady Macduff presented as Ambitious
Yet do I fear thy nature;it is too full o’th milk of human kindness to catch the nearest way. Thou wouldst be great art not without ambition, but without the illness should attend it” - Lady Macbeth - She portrays Macbeth’s kindness in a negative manner and believes it will damage her ambition.
“That I may pour my spirits in thine ears” - Lady Macbeth- Lady Macbeth acts likes the witches. The quote tells us she’s ready to influence Macbeth to kill the king. ‘Pour’- her words are poison but is ready to use them against him. ‘My spirits’- she thinks she’s greater than evil because she can persuade Macbeth. Audience will think she’s nefarious because of her plan.
“Come, you spirits That tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here And fill me from the crown to the toe top-full Of direst cruelty!
“Make thick my blood, Stop up the access and passage to remorse” -She is willing to go to spirits in order to gain what she wants
How is Lady Macbeth presented as cunning and Manipulative?
“Look like th’innocent flower but be the serpent under’t” - Lady Macbeth - She says this during her speech in which she is convincing her husband to pretend like a perfect host when King Duncan visits them to hide their true purpose. Reference to ADAM and EVE.
“When you durst it you were a man” - Belittles Macbeth, Makes him feel wean and less manly. In order to get him to commit to his ambition
“Dashed the brains out” - Persuasivesness - USES EMOTIVE LANGUAGE TO GET HER WAY Lady Macbeth demonstrates the difference between herself and her husband by stating that she would be prepared to kill her own child – a truly shocking idea for any mother.
“Had he not resembled / My father as he slept, I had done’t” (2.2. 16-17). Thus, she didn’t want to kill Duncan because killing him would seem as if she killed her own father and that decision would give her nightmares.
How is Lady Macbeth presented as GUilty
“Out, damned spot! Out, I say…what, will these hands ne’er be clean?” -Lady Macbeth
“Nought’s had, all’s spent, where our desire is got without content: ‘Tis safer to be that which we destroy than by destruction dwell in doubtful joy” - Lady Macbeth - They got what they wanted (Duncan dead) but they are not content.
“Thane of Fife had a Wife, Where is she now?” Rhyme reprsents how she is troubled
“All the perfumes of arabia will not sweeten this little had?”
“Whats Done cannot be undone?” - Fate. realises consequences
How is Lady Macbeth presented in the beginning?
In the beginning she is confident and ambitious but towards the end she is Guilty stricken.
What did King James Do?
- Macbeth was written during the acession of James
- The play appeals to many of the king’s interests: it echoes his fascination with the supernatural (witches and prophecies);
- His books talk about how he believed Witches are agents of the devil.
- it compliments him by making his ancestor, Banquo, a hero in the play (IV.1).
- King James had survived an assassination attempt, so the questions about the role of the monarchy and the duties of their subjects that this play explored would have been pertinent (relevant or applicable to a particular matter) to Shakespeare’s original audience.
- He wanted to make the play intresting to King James to make sure that he ensured his patronage.
How is Kings and Tyranny presented in Macbeth?
Macbeth explores what it means to be a good leader.
Macbeth is rewarded and praised for killing traitorous folks but is then referred to as a tyrant and butcher when he takes power over Duncan.
Lennox says that the wind blew so hard that several chimneys were blown down, and it even seemed like there might have been an earthquake. These storms and natural catastrophes symbolize the disruption Duncan’s murder will cause to the natural order of human affairs. An uprising against the king was -described as ‘monstrous and unnatural’ by James I
How do Macbeth’s relate to Bravery and Masculinity?
- The Macbeth’s associate bravery with masculinity. When Lady Macbeth challenges her husband to prove himself by killing Duncan, she dares him to “be so much more the man”.
- She also claims that she would do the deed if she were not a woman- asking the spirits to “unsex me here”, suggesting that bravery is a masculine quality, lacking in women. This notion of bravery is not necessarily endorsed in the play, as we see that it results in aggression and violence. The Macbeths ideas of masculinity is warped and results in disorder and brutality.
- Macduff offers an alternative to this violent masculinity, when he hears his family have been murdered by Macbeth. At Malcolm’s suggestion, he resolves to “dispute it like a man” and avenge it, but he also chooses to “feel it as a man”. It suggests that manhood extends beyond stereotypical physical aggression, and can also include the emotional
