Macbeth quotes Flashcards
fair is
foul and foul is fair
(the fairness of Scotland goes bad with Macbeth & evil becomes accepted as normal. Their will be a conspiracy against Macbeth)
Brave
Noble and greet Macbeth
(he could have been good or bad- had the potential to be both)
so foul and fair
a day I have not seen
(talking about weather and that they won)
choppy fingers,
skinny lips, beards
(the witches description, saying they look almost dead, are unearthly)
Witches greet him with his 3 titles
that he seems
rapt withal
(he is obsessed with the prediction)
Not so happy
yet much happier, lower than Macbeth and greater
(lower ranking but a better person)
(this is because he dies but his descendants will be king)
Thou shalt get kings,
though thou be none. So all hail Macbeth and Banquo
Stay you
imperfect speakers
(wants to command the witches, uses bossy verbs when addressing the witches)
can the devils
speak true
(Banquo is still sceptic about them)
why do you dress
me in borrow’d robes
(feels the title doesn’t belong to him)
to win to our harm the
instruments of darkness tell us truths, win us with honest trifles to betrays in deepest consequence.
(The witches aren’t lying but they shouldn’t trust them what they said might be true but they might have said it to hurt him.)
Against the
use of nature. Horrible imaginings. ‘Murder’ and ‘is smother’d in surmise’ (speech is murdered) (this is the beginning of Macbeths corruption) (saying his thoughts should be murdered and that they are against the rule of G-d because he is thinking about murdering the king)
state of
man
(refences the difference of being a man from being a woman, upholding male values- references humanity)
the service
and the loyalty
(the values that bind all men to the king - divine right of kings)
stars hide your
fires let not light see my black and deep desires
(contarts between light and dark vs heaven and hell, the other thames or G-d, divine right of kings, shouldn’t see his desires to kill the king )
The eye wink at the
hand
( he has to go against what he knows is wrong because he has to ignore the eye and let the hand be in control and do what he wants - kill the king)
My dearest
partner of greatness
(he sees her as his equal - they are a strong couple and he values her opinion - this is A typical for the time period)
Yet I do fear thy
nature It is too full of the milk of human kindness
(saying he does not have the cruelty within him to kill the king - and she is saying this as if it is a bad thing - shows her evil tendency’s - saying he is to innocent like a baby - reversal of gender roles because she is the woman)
That I may pour
my spirits into thine ear
(metaphor - she wants to give him her wickedness - reversal of gender roles)
unsex me
here
(calling evil spirits to turn her into a man to remove her womanly emotions and weaknesses)
of dirtiest
cruelty; make thick my blood
(She wants to be cruel and lack remorse )
Come to my
woman’s breasts and take my milk for gall
(inviting evil - represents innocence and purity through children being taken from her)
come thick night
smoke of hell, blanket of darkness (she is inviting hell to shroud her actions from the pure and from G-d because she is encouraging treason)(this shows that lady Macbeth does not realize what she is doing is wrong - she has no depth of character, no awareness of inner conflict)
Never shall sun see
that morrow, your face my thane is as a book where men may read strange matters
(He looks shaken, still has inner conflict against killing the king - by killing the king it is as if the sun will never rise again as they would be letting evil loose and evil = darkness)
Look like th’innocent flower
but be the serpent in under’t (represents hidden evil - also reference to Adam and eve and the bible and the devil - saying he should welcome being a servant of the devil)
He’s here
in double trust
Vaulting
ambition
(metaphor and foreshading of Macbeth)
I dare all that may become
a man; who dares do more is none
(theme = gender roles)
How tender tis to love the babe that
milks me, I would while it was smiling in my face have plucked my nipple from his boneless gums and dash’d the brains out had I so sworn as you have to do this
Bring forth men
children only, for thy undaunted mettle should compose nothing but males
(gender roles theme - talks about courage being linked to masculinity, Macbeth is manly, says Lady Macbeth will only produce male children because of how brave she is)