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
How is Revenge presented?
- Revenge is contrasted with the idea of justice being done. Duncan asks whether the Thane of Cawdor has been executed, then, he is asking for justice to be done on a traitor. However, the execution of Duncan’s guards by Macbeth is not justice -claims Macbeth deceptively- revenge for Duncan’s murder.
- “Blood will have blood” says Macbeth explicitly, aware Banquo is seeking revenge even as a ghost for his murder. Later, as a ghost, Banquo ‘smiles’ at Macbeth, showing that his revenge is complete in the knowledge that his descendants will be kings.
- By murdering Macduff’s family, Macbeth sets against himself the one man who can defeat him. Macduff’s mission for revenge is entirely personal- he promises that Macbeth escaping him is as likely as heaven forgiving him.
- Another way of considering the pattern of revenge in the play is by asking who in the family has been affected by Macbeth’s actions. Consider that Malcolm and Donalbain have lost their father, as has Fleance, so the sons want revenge. Also Macduff and Old Siward have lost their sons; they too seek retribution. Macbeth hopes that murdering Duncan can be the “be-all” and “end-all” of the matter- revenge is not so easily set aside.
How is Ambition presented in Macbeth?
- Ambition is a vital motivating force in the actions of Macbeth, spurring on the Thane and his wife to murder the sleeping king. Macbeth attempts to come over his criminal thoughts, but his inability to question the prophecy of the witches, along with the pressure from his wife, combine with his own sense of ambition to create a tyrannical leader, who is willing to murder friends and innocent children.
- Lady Macbeth is also influenced as the play develops, her ambitious drive is overcome by a crushing sense of guilt and we see her spiral into madness at the end of the play.
- Macbeth acknowledges this [ambition] specifically when he is attempting to resist the murder of Duncan. This acknowledgment comes after he has considered all the good reasons for not murdering Duncan- only ambition is left to overrule his troubled conscience. Furthermore, while the influence of both Lady Macbeth and the witches is strong, their power over Macbeth is only possible because ambition is already there.
- On first meeting Macbeth we find him being startled and seeming to fear something which sounds “so fair” and this can be because his ambition has already caused him to entertain treasonous thoughts. Macbeth, then, is a hero but one who is fatally undermined by his ambition, and the consequences of such ambitions are the fabric of the play.
- Macbeth’s ‘tragedy’ is caused by his ambition. But also ambition is explored through his wife, who is similarly inclined. We can contrast their approaches to ambition; she is strong initially while Macbeth wavers, and finally he is strong while she breaks down.
How is Witchcraft represented?
The Weird sisters operate outside of conventional social boundaries and are depicted as a powerful force which can Operate outside conventional social boundaries and are depicted as a powerful force: Through controlling of the weather, manipulation and prediction of the future.
- Shakespeare shows the power and influence of witchcraft by using language to show connections. On first meeting the witches we learn that “fair is foul”, and on the meeting
- *Macbeth says**, “So foul and fair a day I have not seen”: the echo of ‘fair’ and ‘foul’ shows that he is already on their wavelength.
- Witchcraft has four functions in the play:
- it exposes the evil hiding in Macbeth,
- it directs his evil to particular deeds,
- it highlights the forces of evil at work in the world
- it creates a powerful atmosphere in the play.
They are the opposite of the Holy trinity
What are the many parallels between Lady Macbeth and the Witches?
- both represent powerful femininity which threatens social order. Like the spells cast by the witches, Lady Macbeth also uses invocations to make herself more powerful, calling on spirits to make her successful: “Come, you spirits/ That tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here/ And fill me from crown to toe top-full of direst cruelty”
- The witches and Lady Macbeth exist outside the patriarchy and they have power to blur the boundaries of King Duncan’s and King Macbeth’s patriarchal worlds, “distort its rule, and attack its center”. Much feminist criticism has been written on Lady Macbeth and her ‘adopted’ position as another witch, joining in to direct Macbeth’s fate. The theme of powerful and evil and feminine supernatural figure makes Macbeth a rich text for feminist analysis.
- She Greets Macbeth in the same way the Witches greet Macbeth.
“Greater than both by all hereafter”
“Thou shall be king hereafter”
How is the supernatural presented?
James I believed in Witchcraft
Witches are presented as enemies to society who can prophesies, Manipulate and control.
Lady Macbeth calls on Dark forces for demonic spirits to possess her.
How is Evil presented?
Explore how Shakespeare presents evil in such a way that it affects human beings but is not itself responsible for their actions. This is clearly shown by the parallel careers of Banquo and Macbeth- both are tempted, but Banquo resists the temptation to ‘make’ the prophecy come true.
What does the second apparation tell Macbeth?
“Be bloody, bold and resolute. Laugh to scorn the power of man, for none of woman born shall harm Macbeth”- second apparition
The ‘bloody child’ is the second of three apparitions that the witches conjure for Macbeth and it is perhaps the most famous. It tells Macbeth to be confident and without fear, for no person who is born of woman can harm him. This convinces Macbeth that he is invincible as he would never be killed by another man. He chooses to neglect the first apparition which warned him of Macduff and doesn’t realise that ‘bloody child’ is Macduff who was covered with the blood of the untimely ripped womb of his mother.
“Macbeth shall never vanquished be until/Great Birnam wood to high Dunsinane hill/ shall come against him” -Witches
“That will never be./Who can impress the forest, bid the tree.unfix the earthbound root?” - Macbeth
- The word ‘impress’ carries several meaning. Macbeth can’t imagine a whole forest moving up a hill so he believes the prophecy means his rule is safe. It also means ‘conscript’ as in to ‘impress also he military service’.
- The irony of this prophecy is that it refers to the visual impression of a moving forest, but Macbeth- who is impressed by the visions and hallucinations- literalizes its intent. He is the victim of his own impressions- the forest shadows as it were, which is peopled by the ghosts of the ‘rebellious dead’
- The apparitions are designed so Macbeth interprets them to mean that he’s safe, which obviously affect his decision-making. Is his death fate or manipulation?
How are the witches presented as ambiguous?
They give ambiguous Apparition. The second apparition states that no man of woman born will harm Macbeth.
The third apparition states that he is not to be harmed unless Birnam wood makes it’s way to dunsinane castle
“Fair is foul and Foul is Fair”
Oxymoronic language - It acts as a summary of what is to come in the tale. Shakespeare uses the phrase to show that what is considered good is in fact bad and what is considered bad is actually good. Regicide becomes accepted and Macbeth goes from fair to foul. appearances can be deceiving.
Simply, for witches it means whatever is fair to a common man is foul to them, and what is foul to a common man is fair to them.
