Macbeth Quotes

Question 1

fair is _ and, foul is _

Answer 1

Fair is _foul__

• Act/Scene: Act 1, Scene 1
• Speaker: The Witches
• Full quote: “Fair is foul, and foul is fair: / Hover through the fog and filthy air”
• Meaning: Introduces moral ambiguity and the supernatural theme.
• Plot Leadup: The witches gather in a storm, foreshadowing moral chaos.
• Relevance: Central to the play’s theme of moral inversion.
• Literary Devices:
  Paradox: Challenges the audience to question the nature of good and evil.
  Alliteration: Creates a mysterious and rhythmic tone, emphasizing the witches’ enigmatic nature.
• Context: Reflects Jacobean fears of witchcraft and disorder.
• Themes: Supernatural, Kingship, Paranoia.

Question 2

is this a _ i see before me?

Answer 2

dagger

• Act/Scene: Act 2, Scene 1
• Speaker: Macbeth
• Full quote: “Is this a dagger which I see before me, / The handle toward my hand?”
• Meaning: Macbeth questions the reality of the dagger, reflecting psychological turmoil.
• Plot Leadup: Macbeth contemplates murdering Duncan.
• Relevance: Highlights paranoia and supernatural influence.
• Literary Devices:
  o Imagery: Vividly visualizes the dagger, allowing the audience to experience Macbeth’s psychological state.
  o Soliloquy: Provides insight into Macbeth’s internal conflict, creating empathy and tension.
• Context: Explores guilt and supernatural elements.
• Themes: Guilt, Supernatural, Paranoia.

Question 3

do not shake thy _ at me

Answer 3

gory locks

Question 4

_ me here

Answer 4

unsex

• Act/Scene: Act 1, Scene 5
• Speaker: Lady Macbeth
• Full quote: “Come, you spirits / That tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here”
• Meaning: Lady Macbeth seeks to abandon femininity and conscience for power.
• Plot Leadup: Lady Macbeth pushes Macbeth to commit murder.
• Relevance: Illustrates transformation and manipulation.
• Literary Devices:
  o Imperative Verbs: Create urgency and command, showing Lady Macbeth’s determination.
  o Metaphor: “Unsex me” symbolizes her desire to shed her natural qualities for power.
• Context: Challenges Jacobean gender roles.
• Themes: Guilt, Kingship, Supernatural.

Question 5

vaulting _

Answer 5

ambition

• Act/Scene: Act 1, Scene 7
• Speaker: Macbeth
• Full quote: “I have no spur / To prick the sides of my intent, but only / Vaulting ambition”
• Meaning: Macbeth admits ambition as his sole motivator for regicide.
• Plot Leadup: Macbeth debates murdering Duncan.
• Relevance: Foreshadows moral decay and paranoia.
• Literary Devices:
  o Metaphor: Conveys the overwhelming nature of Macbeth’s ambition.
  o Soliloquy: Reveals internal conflict, creating empathy and tension.
• Context: Warns against ambition as a tragic flaw.
• Themes: Kingship, Paranoia, Guilt.

Question 6

stars hide your_,
let not light see my _ desires

Answer 6

fires, black and deep

• Act/Scene: Act 1, Scene 4
• Speaker: Macbeth
• Full quote: “Stars, hide your fires; / Let not light see my black and deep desires”
• Meaning: Macbeth seeks to hide his ambitious desires.
• Plot Leadup: Macbeth contemplates Duncan’s murder.
• Relevance: Highlights ambition and appearance vs. reality.
• Literary Devices:
  o Metaphor: Compares stars to truth and light, which Macbeth wishes to obscure.
  o Personification: Attributes human qualities to celestial elements, enhancing emotional impact.
• Context: Reflects moral darkness from ambition.
• Themes: Ambition, Reality and Appearance, Guilt.

Question 7

look like the

Answer 7

innocent flower

• Act/Scene: Act 1, Scene 5
• Speaker: Lady Macbeth
• Full quote: “Look like the innocent flower, / But be the serpent under it”
• Meaning: Lady Macbeth advises Macbeth to appear innocent but be deceitful.
• Plot Leadup: Lady Macbeth pushes Macbeth to commit murder.
• Relevance: Illustrates manipulation and deception.
• Literary Devices:
  o Metaphor: Compares innocence to a flower and deceit to a serpent, vividly illustrating the theme of appearances.
  o Advice: Reveals Lady Macbeth’s manipulative nature and strategic thinking.
• Context: Challenges gender roles, showing manipulation.
• Themes: Reality and Appearance, Guilt, Ambition.

Question 8

will all _ clean this blood from my hand

Answer 8

great neptunes oceans

• Act/Scene: Act 2, Scene 2
• Speaker: Macbeth
• Full quote: “No, this my hand will rather / The multitudinous seas incarnadine”
• Meaning: Macbeth questions if guilt can be cleansed after Duncan’s murder.
• Plot Leadup: Macbeth hallucinates blood after the murder.
• Relevance: Symbolizes irreversible guilt.
• Literary Devices:
  o Hyperbole: Exaggerates the idea that no amount of water can wash away guilt.
  o Symbolism: Blood represents the indelible mark of sin and guilt.
• Context: Reflects divine punishment for regicide.
• Themes: Guilt, Kingship, Supernatural.

Question 9

by the _ of my thumbs.
something _ this way comes

Answer 9

pricking
wicked

• Act/Scene: Act 4, Scene 1
• Speaker: The Witches
• Full quote: “By the pricking of my thumbs, / Something wicked this way comes”
• Meaning: The witches sense Macbeth’s approach, signaling moral decay.
• Plot Leadup: Witches prepare to meet Macbeth.
• Relevance: Marks his moral decline.
• Literary Devices:
  o Rhyming Couplet: Creates a prophetic and ominous tone.
  o Irony: Witches, agents of darkness, comment on something wicked, heightening dramatic tension.
• Context: Ties to James I’s obsession with witchcraft.
• Themes: Supernatural, Kingship, Paranoia.

Question 10

_ in my mind

Answer 10

scorpions

• Act/Scene: Act 3, Scene 2
• Speaker: Macbeth
• Full quote: “O, full of scorpions is my mind, dear wife!”
• Meaning: Macbeth describes his mind as tormented by guilt.
• Plot Leadup: Macbeth orders Banquo’s murder, sees his ghost.
• Relevance: Illustrates psychological unraveling.
• Literary Devices:
  o Metaphor: Compares guilt to scorpions, conveying relentless pain.
  o Personification: Gives thoughts a life-like quality, emphasizing psychological torment.
• Context: Reflects Jacobean beliefs about guilt.
• Themes: Guilt, Paranoia, Kingship.

Question 11

it will have _ they say, _ will have _

Answer 11

blood

• Act/Scene: Act 3, Scene 4
• Speaker: Macbeth
• Full quote: “It will have blood, they say: blood will have blood. / Stones have been known to move, and trees to speak”
• Meaning: Violence leads to more violence.
• Plot Leadup: Guilt after seeing Banquo’s ghost.
• Relevance: Reflects moral logic of guilt demanding punishment.
• Literary Devices:
  o Chiasmus: Mirrors cause-and-effect of violence, reinforcing the theme of retribution.
  o Pathetic Fallacy: Attributes human qualities to nature, highlighting supernatural chaos.
• Context: Reflects divine retribution.
• Themes: Guilt, Kingship, Supernatural.

Question 12

double _ toil and _

Answer 12

double trouble

• Act/Scene: Act 4, Scene 1
• Speaker: The Witches
• Full quote: “Double, double toil and trouble; / Fire burn and cauldron bubble”
• Meaning: Witches intensify chaos and destruction.
• Plot Leadup: Witches conjure apparitions to deceive Macbeth.
• Relevance: Highlights role in conflict amplification.
• Literary Devices:
  o Repetition: Creates a rhythmic and intensifying effect.
  o Imagery: Vividly depicts the witches’ activities, reinforcing the ominous tone.
• Context: Reflects fears of witchcraft.
• Themes: Supernatural, Kingship, Paranoia.

Question 13

life’s but a _

Answer 13

walking shadow

• Act/Scene: Act 5, Scene 5
• Speaker: Macbeth
• Full quote: “Life’s but a walking shadow: a poor player / That struts and frets his hour upon the stage”
• Meaning: Macbeth reflects on life’s emptiness after losing everything meaningful.
• Plot Leadup: Macbeth learns of Lady Macbeth’s death.
• Relevance: Captures existential despair.
• Literary Devices:
  o Metaphor: Compares life to a shadow, emphasizing its fleeting nature.
  o Simile: Compares life to a poor player, highlighting its temporary and insignificant role.
• Context: Reflects existentialism, power’s hollowness.
• Themes: Guilt, Kingship, Supernatural.
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