quotes! Flashcards
by the pricking of my thumbs something this way comes-Witches
say aloud and see if you’re right
“by the pricking of my thumbs,” she means that she has a tingling sensation in her thumbs. What’s more, this sensation indicates the imminent arrival of “something wicked.
-links to themes of the supernatural(aka how they can sense wickedness)
Look like the innocent flower but the serpent under it-Lady Macbeth
- say aloud and see if you’re right*
- Symbolism
- In order to deceive them, you must appear the way they expect you to look. Thus, essentially what she means by “look like the innocent flower, but be the serpent under it” is that Macbeth must deceive people
Will all great Neptune’s ocean wash the blood clean from my hand-Macbeth
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- The use of a hyperbole emphasises the extent of blood on his hands, suggesting his guilt for murderering Duncan.
- Themes of guilt
Unsex me here and fill me from the crown to the top full of direst cruelty- Lady Macbeth
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The famous line, “unsex me here” is Lady Macbeth asking to be rid of any female qualities, such as gentleness and pity.
She visualises herself being filled with cruelty thoughout her whole body (imagery). To be unsexed is symbolsim for becoming evil, since women were expected to be gentle and kind.
Out, damned spot, out I say-Lady Macbeth
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‘Out, damned spot’ is a line from Lady Macbeth that she says while ‘washing’ invisible blood from her hands. This speech illustrates the psychological nature of the play’s themes, motifs, and symbols. It shows us how Lady Macbeth really feels about all the horrible things her ambition caused her to do.
fair is foul and foul is fair- the witches
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- Foreshadows future events in the play
- Whats good can be bad and whats bad can be good
- Alliteration (because of fair and foul being repeated)
double, double toil and trouble, fire burn and cauldron bubble- the witches
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Consonance: Consonance is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line such as the sounds in “Double, double toil and trouble”.
-Captures the attention of the audience to the scene
-Trochaic Tetrimeter
Whats done cannot be undone-Lady Macbeth
say aloud and see if your right
The words “done” and “undone” are opposites and represent the permanence of her actions and her true regret.
-This is whem she’s sleepwalking
-The motif of sleep in this passage represents peace and tranquility, which Lady Macbeth becomes deprived of (when she kills Duncan).
upon my head they placed a fruitless crown and put a barren sceptr in my grip- Macbeth
- say aloud and see if your right*
- A metaphor
- Macbeth notes that the witches handed him a scepter, so to speak, by prophesying that he would become king. But the scepter is barren, or infertile, because they also predicted that he will not have male heirs
‘O, full of scorpions is my mind, dear wife!’- Macbeth
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Macbeth uses a metaphor to explain that his guilty conscience is attacking and stinging him.
The instruments of darkness tell us truths,
Win us with honest trifles, to betray’s
In deepest consequence- Banquo
Banquo understands far earlier than Macbeth that the Witches don’t necessarily have Macbeth’s best interests in mind
-Foreshadows how Macbeth is betrayed by the witches and contrasts Banquo and Macbeth together as characters
O treachery! Fly, good Fleance, fly, fly, fly!- Banquo
This sets the stage how the play will end, when Macbeth realizes that the Witches’ prophecy will come true, and Banquo’s children will rule Scotland.
-symbolism
‘All my pretty ones? Did you say all? What, all my pretty chickens and their dam at one fell swoop? ‘‘-Macduff
A “swoop” is the attacking dive of a bird of prey, this a metaphor for his innocent ‘chickens’ being murdered as a larger bird of prey would kill a defenceless bird.
This shows his great grief, and emphasises how tragic it was that his family passed away.
themes of vengeance and guilt.
“But I must also feel it as a man” -Macduff
Macduff shows that manhood comprises more than aggression and murder; allowing oneself to be sensitive and to feel grief is also necessary.
- Macduff juxtaposes Macbeths fragile sense of masculinity, by embracing sensitivity and grief.
- Responds to Ross, who urges him to use his anger to take revenge on Macbeth.
“I have no words; my voice is in my sword.”-Macduff
It is his very wordlessness that contrasts with Macbeth’s empty rhetoric
Words are meaningless, its his very wordlessness that contrasts with Macbeths empty rhetoric.
Art not without ambition, but without
The illness should attend it- Lady Macbeth
She knows that Macbeth is capable of ambitious dreams, but she thinks that he is unwilling to display the ruthless behavior necessary to achieve those dreams. These lines reflect Lady Macbeth’s own philosophy of power, in which only individuals who are willing to set their morality aside will rise to greatness.
To be thus is nothing, but to be safely thus- Macbeth
“to be thus is nothing,” he uses anaphora and repetition. Anaphora is the process of referring back to something, and using a word to refer to another. In this case, the word “thus” refers to Macbeth’s kingship. He is basically saying that to be king is nothing, unless he is safely king.
lifes but a moving shadow- macbeth
Candles cast shadows, which gives rise to the next image, life as a walking shadow.
metaphor
tomorrow, tomorrow, tomorrow creeps in this petty pace from day to day- macbeth
How the days stretched out – each one the same as the one before, and they would continue to do so, tediously, until the end of history.
-talk abut macbeths silioquy
