macbeth quotes Flashcards
‘starts hide your fires let not light see my black and deep desires’
Macbeth, after hearing that Malcolm will become Prince of Cumberland, wants the heavens to conceal his dark desires, specifically his ambition to become king, so that no one, including himself, can see the evil thoughts he harbors.
‘too full of the milk of human kindness’
She is speaking to herself and worrying that Macbeth’s gentle and compassionate nature will prevent him from taking the necessary steps to become king, including potentially killing King Duncan.
‘fair is foul and foul is fair’
It introduces the theme of false appearances and the blurring of good and evil, foreshadowing the play’s exploration of moral ambiguity and the corrupting influence of ambition.
‘unsex me here’
It’s her desperate plea to spirits to remove her feminine qualities, specifically her natural empathy and tenderness, so she can become ruthlessly cruel and commit the murder of King Duncan without feeling remorse. She believes being a woman makes her weak and prone to guilt, which she must overcome to achieve her ambition.
‘look like the innocent flower, but be the serpent under’t’
It is spoken by Lady Macbeth to her husband, Macbeth, and it is a crucial line that reveals the theme of deception and the contrast between appearance and reality. Lady Macbeth is instructing Macbeth to appear harmless and gentle, like a beautiful, innocent flower.This refers to the biblical serpent from the Garden of Eden, the symbol of temptation and evil. She is telling him that, despite his outward appearance, he must be a cunning and treacherous serpent, ready to deceive and betray others.
’ we will proceed no further in this business’
a planned action or endeavor will be abandoned. In the context of Macbeth, it signifies that Macbeth is initially hesitant and unwilling to proceed with the murder of King Duncan.
‘a little water clears us of this deed’
suggesting that the crime could simply be washed away and their consciences cleansed. At this point she makes no allowance for the guilt Macbeth feels and has not considered how their relationship may suffer.
‘i am in blood stepped so far…returning were as tedious as go over’
Macbeth reveals to his wife that he has already killed so many people that it will be too difficult to go back to being good. Here, blood symbolizes both Macbeth’s guilt and his newfound resolve to preserve his own life.
‘upon my head they placed a fruitless crown…a barren sceptre’
express Macbeth’s frustration and despair. He feels his kingship is meaningless because the witches’ prophecy predicts his heirs will be from a line other than his own, making his reign ultimately barren. The “fruitless crown” and “barren sceptre” are metaphors for this feeling of emptiness and futility
‘oh full of scorpions is my mind, dear wife!’
Macbeth uses the metaphor of “scorpions” to express his inner torment and guilt, feeling as if his mind is filled with painful, venomous thoughts due to his actions. He is expressing his troubled state of mind to his wife, Lady Macbeth.
‘out damned spot out i say!’
It’s a desperate, almost hysterical cry as she attempts to wash away a phantom stain of blood from her hands, a symbol of her guilt over the murder of King Duncan.
‘out, out brief candle’
It’s a powerful expression of his despair and sense of the fleeting, meaningless nature of life. The line uses the imagery of a candle to represent human life, which is seen as short and easily extinguished.
‘Macduff was from his mothers womb untimely ripped’
He was not born naturally through the birth canal, but was instead surgically removed from his mother’s womb. This is significant because Macbeth believed he was invincible because he would not be killed by “any man born of woman”. Macduff’s unusual birth reveals that he was technically not “born of woman” according to the prophecy, fulfilling the prophecy and allowing him to kill Macbeth.
‘our fears in Banquo stick deep’
Macbeth shows his strong fear of the prophecy for Banquo. He is also afraid that Banquo might plot against him to seize the throne for his own children.
‘will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood clean from my hands?’
He believes that even the vast oceans, controlled by the sea god Neptune, will not be enough to cleanse the stain of blood and the metaphorical guilt on his hands.
‘never shake thy gory locks at me!’
The gory locks: Banquo’s hair is bloody too, or at least described as being so, another indication of the violence of his death. the adjective ‘gory’ implies that macbeth is haunted by the brutality of banquo’s murder. if we take in consideration that banquo’s ghost is a manifestation of macbeth’s own guilt, then banquo shaking his head could suggest that he is being judged by other-wordly forces.
‘this is a sorry sight’
After Macbeth commits the murder of King Duncan, he looks at his hands, covered in blood, and utters this line, indicating that the sight of his bloody hands fills him with sorrow and regret.
‘art thou but a dagger of the mind’
Macbeth is questioning the reality of a vision he is having before murdering King Duncan. He is unsure if the dagger he sees is a physical object or a hallucination caused by his troubled mind.
‘be these juggling fiends no more believed’
the Witches are meddling evil creatures.
‘we have scorched the snake, not killed it’
Macbeth indicates that the ‘snake’ is wounded but is still dangerous and despite their weak attempt to kill it off, it will threaten them in the future. refuring to killing Duncan.
