Quotes Flashcards
Fair is Foul and Foul is Fair
A1 S1, 11-12, Three Witches
Simply, it means that appearances are often deceptive, and that things are different from what they appear to be. This line also points towards the play’s concern with the inconsistency between appearance and reality. It suggests that in this world, you can never be sure whether it is a mirage, an apparition, or a dagger.
Look like th’ innocent flower, But be the serpent under’t
A1 S5, 56-58, Lady Macbeth
Macbeth and Lady Macbeth’s relationship to supernatural as they plan to kill Duncan. Lady Macbeth’s manipulation of Macbeth. Biblical allusion to the Garden of Eden to show their evils in nature
Biblical allusion to the Garden of Eden, binary opposition, motif, imagery
Will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood
Clean from my hand?
A2 S2, 58-59 Macbeth
Macbeth’s guilt after killing Duncan
Imagery, motif, binary opposition
Unsex me here…Come to my woman’s breasts,
And take my milk for gall
A1 S5, 39 + 45-46, Lady Macbeth
Lady Macbeth’s womanhood impedes her from killing Duncan, which she associates with masculinity
Bloody instructions which, being taught, return
To plague th’inventor
A1 S7, 9-10, Macbeth
His sililoquy suggests that Macbeth is aware of how the murder of Duncan would open the door to a dark and sinful world, rupturing the chain of being
Motif,
A little water clears us of this deed
A2 S2, 65, Lady Macbeth
Lady Macbeth manipulates Macbeth into thinking that there will be no implications of regicide
Out, damned spot; out, I say. One, two,—why, then ’tis time to do’t… Yet who would have thought the old man to have had so much blood in him?
A5 S1, 30 + 33-34, Lady Macbeth
Whilst sleepwalking, she halluciantes that Duncan’s blood is stained on her hand which contrasts her earlier statement that “A little water clears us of this deed”. Blood as a symbol of guilt + insanity and chaos caused by rupture in chain of being
Is this a dagger which I see before me, The handle toward my hand? Come, let me clutch thee: I have thee not, and yet I see thee still.
A2 S1, 41-42, Macbeth
His hallucinations display the supernatural impacts of disrupting the chain of being - chaos and insanity
Look, how our partner’s rapt
A1 S3, 156, Banquo
Banquo states how Macbeth has been rapt or seized by the prophecy told to him that he will be king. This can be either supernatural or fate cultivated by the witches
The Prince of Cumberland! That is a step
On which I must fall down, or else o’erleap,
For in my way it lies.
A1 S4, 55-60, Macbeth
Macbeth states how he must kill Malcom to be King as Malcom has been named heir to the throne. This indicates lack of fate and confirms the free will of Macbeth
I dare do all that may become a man;
Who dares do more is none.
A1 S7, 50-52, Macbeth
Macbeth tries to insist that the murder plot is off, Lady Macbeth manipulates him into pursuing it. Macbeth has the choice to cancel the plan, but doesn’t. This is free will, not fate, as he has a choice.
Stars, hide your fires! Let not light see my black and dark desires
A1 S4, 57-58, Macbeth
Supernatural by hiding nature and describing Macbeth’s desires as black and dark, contrasting the light of the stars. Immediately after his meeting with the witches, he asserts himself as supernatural, and gains the confidence to call the universe and bend it to his will.
Personification, modality
Will all the perfumes of Arabia not sweeten this little hand
A5, S1, 50-51, Lady Macbeth
Her hand is saturated in blood of the innocent and she is forever guilty. Her actions can never be redeemed.
Motif,
I have no spurs to prick the side of my intent, but only vaulting ambition
A1, S7, 25-28, Macbeth
Macbeth is describing his lack of motivation, and the fact that the only thing driving him at present is ambition.
Tell thee, Macduff was from his mother’s womb untimely ripped.
A5, S8, 16, Macduff
Macduff’s significance in the play as he kills Macbeth, following the prophecy.
By the pricking of my thumbs, Something wicked this way comes
A4, S1,44-45, Second Witch
Macbeth’s presence indicates supernatural
When you durst to do it, then you were a man
A1, S7, 49-51, Lady Macbeth
Lady Macbeth undermines Macbeth’s masculinity as he is afraid to kill the king
