macbeth quotes Flashcards
1
Q
“Brave Macbeth - Well he deserves that name”
A
- Ross in Act 1 Scene 2
- Macbeth is seen in a high regard as he is a valiant solider
- men where judged off their bravery, often their violence, and not their values and morals
- which why the nobles were such bad judges of character
- foreshadows Macbeth’s daring nature which allows him to kill the King
2
Q
“Let not light see my dark and deep desires”
A
- Macbeth in Act 1 Scene 4
- he is already of thinking of killing the Kind before meeting Lady Macbeth
- the supernatural are so powerful that they are able to transform him morals
- supernatural act as a catalyst
3
Q
“Unsex me here, and fill me, from the crown to the toe, top-full of direst cruelty”
A
- Lady Macbeth in Act 1 Scene 5
- wants them to reduce her feminine qualities
- feminine qualities were being soft and elegant
- but Lady Macbeth wants to be evil, fully
- emerged in evil thoughts and desires
- her sacrifice
4
Q
“When thou durst do it, then you were a man”
A
- Lady Macbeth Act 1 Scene 7
- the danger of the patriarchy
- Macbeth feels the need to be seen as masculine especially by wife
5
Q
“Will all of great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood clean from my hand”
A
- Macbeth in Act 2 Scene 2
- his guilt is intensive when he first kills but by the third time he is left remorseless, it is normal to him
- blood is a motif of guilt
6
Q
“Out, out, brief candle, Life’s but a walking shadow”
A
- Macbeth in Act 5 Scene 2
- Macbeth is always chasing something in life, constant pursuit of power and wealth
- candle is a metaphor for life
- Macbeth questions whether everything was worth it
7
Q
“Look like the innocent flower but be the serpent under’t”
A
- Lady Macbeth in Act 1 Scene 5
- theme of appearance vs reality
- Macbeth cannot expose him true intentions but has to hide them
- as a woman, Lady Macbeth has mastered the act of being evil but hiding it under her false facade of innocence
8
Q
“Full of scorpions is my mind”
A
- Macbeth in Act 2 Scene 3
- scorpions are eating away at his mind
- his actions will be his eventual downfall
9
Q
“Fair is foul, and foul is fair”
A
- Three Witches in Act 1 Scene 1
- summarises the entire play
- brave Macbeth becomes a traitorous usurper
- confident and cunning Lady Macbeth becomes a mad woman defeated by her guilt
10
Q
“The instruments of darkness tell us truths, win us with honest trifles, to betray’s in deepest consequences.”
A
- Banquo in Act 1 Scene 3
- he is aware that the witches are only telling them half truths
- juxtaposition of something so evil telling the truth
- foreshadowing the witches betrayal of Macbeth
