MACBETH QUOTES Flashcards
Act 1 ```
“When shall we three meet, in thunder lightening or rain” - Witches
The use of pathetic fallacey shows the metaphysical ability of the witches to control the weather creating a powerful tone.
This creates an ominous and chaotic setting suggesting the witches bring disorder and darkness.
The use of rhetorical question suggests witches are planning something secretive and sinister which build suspense and mystery for the audience, who sense that evil is about to unfold.
In Jacobean times, unnatural weather was often linked to the presence of witches or the devil. This line would signal supernatural disturbance to the audience.
“The instruments of darkness tell us truths” – Banquo (Act 1, Scene 3)
The use of metaphor suggests that they are creatures of the devil that spread deception which are similar to instruments that make abhorrent sounds..
The use of juxtapostion highlights the danger in believing things that seem honest but comes from evil sources which adds to the theme of deception and corrupted ambition.
The Jacobean audience would feel petrified that Banquoe and Macbeth are talking to transcendant creatures since they belived that witches could use the truth to lure victims into sin and spread doom in the land.
“All hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee, Thane of Glamis! / Hail to thee, Thane of Cawdor! / Hail to thee, that shalt be king hereafter!” – Witches (Act 1, Scene 3)
Technique: Anaphora / Repetition (“Hail to thee”)
Repeating “hail” three times mimics a ritualistic chant, making the prophecy feel powerful and fated cauisng Macbeth to hea more from the witches.
Effect: Gives the witches an authoritative, hypnotic presence—almost like casting a spell on Macbeth.
The Jacobean audience would feel shocked as this prophecy challenges the divine right of king which displays the disobedience of God and causes corrupt in the land
“unseamed him from the nave to the chaps. - Act 1 Scene 2 The Captain
The violent imagery shows how ruthless and uncanny Macbeth fights in a battlefield like a warrior who enjoys the sports of killing. In addition this displays his loyalty to King Duncan as he killed the rebels without fear.
The sewing metaphor suggests Macbeth is ripping a garment apart.This suggests a sense of control and precision in Macbeth’s violence, making him seem both skilled and deadly. This also suggets that he will later unseam the natural order by murdering King Duncan.
Jacobean audience would admire his bravery and loyalty to the king which is one of the act of following to the chivalary codes and he would be seen as a national hero.
“with his brandished steel, Which smoked with bloody execution”- Act 1 Scene 2- The Captain
The use of personification portrays that he moved his sword with so much speed and skill that heat came from it. Personification
“Smoked” gives a human-like quality to the scene, suggesting that the very environment is tainted by the violence.
Effect: It intensifies the sense of chaos, where violence is so pervasive it affects the atmosphere itself, not just the bodies involved in the conflict.
Also the metaphor displays the bloodbath involved in that battle and implies the horror and savagery of the battle, showing his involvement in the act.
“Stas, hide you fires; Let not light see my black and deep desires” - Macbeth. Act 1, Scene 4
Personification: The stars are given the human ability to “hide”.Macbeth appeals to the stars as though they can actively conceal his desires from the world and his own conciousness.
Symbolism: The stars symbolise the divine order and morality by asking them to hide, suggets that Macbeth is rejecting divine influence and the natural order.
The noun “black” portrys Macbeth is filled with evil and sinful thoughts. It also signfies the death and the murderous intent to kill Duncan.
Theme: Appearance vs Reality
: Macbeth is struggling with his outward appearance of loyalty to King Duncan while secretly harboring treacherous desires. The light symbolizes the truth of his intentions, while the darkness represents his hidden, evil ambitions.
Theme: Ambition and Corrpution
This emphazizes how unchecked ambitioun corrupts Macbeth. He wishes for the light of God to hide, because he knows that this would lead him to moral drestruction.
“Come you spirits that tend on mortal thoughts unsex me here” - Act 1 Scene 5 Lady Macbeth
“I dreamed last night of the three weird sisters; To you they have showed some truth”. - Act 2 Scene 1 Banquo. Analyse this quote.
The use of declartive descriptive phrase show that Babquoe publicly acknowledges which shows that dismisses their power over him which contrasts with Macbeth as he does not choose obsess over it privately or allows it to dictate his actions.
As a result, the witches have spoken some truth but does not let his influence him in the same way.
In contrast, Macbeth is already trying to control his situation, when he states “stars, hide your fires let not light see my dark and deep desires” which shows that he is already thinking of sinster actions like murdering King Duncan to fulfill the prophecy.
Themes: Fate vs. Free will
Will: Banquo wonders whether the witches are telling the future (fate) or if people, like Macbeth, are making their futures come true by acting on those prophecies .
“Thou hast it now, King, Cawdor, Glamis, all”-
Act 3 Scene 5 Banquo
Banquo is pious and morally grounded. Even though he has also been given prophecies by the witches — that his descendants will be kings — he refuses to act on them.
This shows a clear contrast between Banquo and Macbeth. While Macbeth allows ambition and supernatural temptation to drive him to murder, Banquo remains loyal to God’s natural order
His belief in the Great Chain of Being (the idea that God has placed everyone in a specific position in society) means he won’t interfere with fate or attempt to change his status through unnatural means like Macbeth does.
Theme:
Banquo also pities Macbeth suggesting he may suspect has done something wrong (“I fear thou played’st most foully for’t”) but doesn’t confront him. His pity could come from a place of emphathy - or even regret that Macbeth has been conusmed by ambition.
Theme: Apperance vs Reality
On the surface, Macbeth seems to have achieved greatness, but Banquo suspects something darker beneath the appearance of success. It hints that not everything is as it seems
“Of full of scorpions in my mind, dear wife”-
“We have scorched the snake, not killed it”.
Macbeth Act 3 Scene 2
Macbeth uses violent imagery (“scorpions”) to describe his thoughts — they’re painful, poisonous, and uncontrollable.
This shows his mental instability and growing paranoia after killing Duncan. He is not at peace.
His mind is infested with fear, showing how guilt is taking over his thoughts.
Macbeth’s ambition disrupts the Great Chain of Being when he murders King Duncan - the rightful, God-appointed king. His ambtion drives him to challenge divine order, believing he can choose hhis own fate and climb the chain unnaturallly.
Theme: Ambition/The Great Chain of Being
The Jacobean audeince will feel shocked and disrubted as this may be warning the audience of the dangers of overreaching ambition.
It reinforces the belief that those who defy God’s plan will suffer personal destruction and bring chaos to the world around them.
“On my head they placed a fruitless crown” Act 3 Scene 2 Macbeth
