good macbeth quotes for essay

Macbeth Quotes

Read our selection of the most memorable and significant Macbeth quotes. William Shakespeare’s Macbeth is one of his most often quoted plays, with famous quotes aplenty.

As ever, Shakespeare brings his Mabeth characters to life with memorable dialogue and a number of intense monologues and soliloquies. We’ve pulled together all of the top Macbeth quotes below from primary and secondary characters – as well as a good selection from the eponymous hero and his wife – shown in order of the quote appearing in the play, listing the character speaking along with act and scene.

“Fair is foul, and foul is fair.”

Three Witches (Act 1 Scene 1)

“What bloody man is that?”

King Duncan (Act 1 Scene 2)

“If you can look into the seeds of time, And say which grain will grow and which will not.”

Banquo (Act 1 Scene 3)

“Or have we eaten on the insane root That takes the reason prisoner?”

“What! can the devil speak true?”

“Present fears Are less than horrible imaginings.”

King Duncan (Act 1 Scene 4)

“There’s daggers in men’s smiles”

Donalbain (Act 2 Scene 3)

“ Double, double toil and trouble : Fire burn, and cauldron bubble.”

Witches (Act 4 Scene 1)

“By the pricking of my thumbs, Something wicked this way comes .”

Second Witch (Act 4 Scene 1)

“Macbeth shall never vanquished be until Great Birnam wood to high Dunsinane Hill Shall come against him.”

Third apparition (Act 4 Scene 1)

“A deed without a name.”

“When our actions do not, Our fears do make us traitors.”

Lady Macduff (Act 4 Scene 2)

“Now does he feel his title Hang loose about him, like a giant’s robe Upon a dwarfish thief.”

Angus (Act 5 Scene 2)

“Tongue nor heart Cannot conceive nor name thee!”

Macduff (Act 2 Scene 3)

“The patient Must minister to himself.”

Doctor (Act 5 Scene 3)

“Those clamorous harbingers of blood and death.”

Macduff (Act 5 Scene 6)

…and here are some Macbeth quotes from Macbeth himself:

“Nothing is But what is not.”

Macbeth (Act 1 Scene 3)

“Come what come may, Time and the hour runs through the roughest day.”

“False face must hide what the false heart doth know.”

Macbeth (Act 1 Scene 7)

“I dare do all that may become a man; Who dares do more is none.”

“ If it were done when ’tis done, then ’twere well It were done quickly.”

“To prick the sides of my intent, but only vaulting ambition, which o’erleaps itself and falls on th’other”

“ 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.”

Macbeth (Act 2 Scene 1)

“Thou sure and firm-set earth, Hear not my steps, which way they walk, for fear Thy very stones prate of my whereabout”

“Will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood Clean from my hand? No, this my hand will rather The multitudinous seas incarnadine, Making the green one red.”

Macbeth (Act 2 Scene 2)

“Methought I heard a voice cry, ‘Sleep no more! Macbeth does murder sleep:  the innocent sleep, Sleep that knits up the ravelled sleeve of care, The death of each day’s life, sore labor’s bath, Balm of hurt minds, great nature’s second course, Chief nourisher in life’s feast.”

“Things bad begun make strong themselves by ill.”

Macbeth (Act 3 Scene 2)

“Blood will have blood.”

Macbeth (Act 3 Scene 4)

“It will have blood, they say: blood will have blood.”

“How now, you secret, black, and midnight hags!”

Macbeth (Act 4 Scene 1)

“The devil damn thee black, thou cream-faced loon! Where gott’st thou that goose look?”

Macbeth (Act 5 Scene 3)

“To-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow, Creeps in this petty pace from day to day To the last syllable of recorded time, And all our yesterdays have lighted fools The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle! Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player That struts and frets his hour upon the stage And then is heard no more: it is a tale Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, Signifying nothing.”

Macbeth (Act 5 Scene 5)

“I bear a charmed life.”

Macbeth (Act 5 Scene 8)

Macbeth quotes by Lady Macbeth:

The raven himself is hoarse That croaks the fatal entrance of Duncan Under my battlements”

Lady Macbeth ( Act 1, Scene 5 )

“Yet do I fear thy nature; It is too full o’ the milk of human kindness.”

Lady Macbeth (Act 1, Scene 5)

“Come  you spirits , That tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here.”

“O, never Shall sun that morrow see! Your face, my thane, is as a book where men May read strange matters. To beguile the time, Look like the time. Bear welcome in your eye, Your hand, your tongue. Look like th’ innocent flower, But be the serpent under ‘t. He that’s coming Must be provide for: and you shall put This night’s great business into my dispatch, Which shall to all our nights and days to come Give solely sovereign sway and masterdom.”

“Come, you spirits That tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here, And fill me from the crown to the toe top-full Of direst cruelty. Make thick my blood. Stop up th’ access and passage to remorse, That no compunctious visitings of nature Shake my fell purpose, nor keep peace between Th’ effect and it. Come to my woman’s breasts, And take my milk for gall, you murd’ring ministers, Wherever in your sightless substances You wait on nature’s mischief. Come, thick night, And pall thee in the dunnest smoke of hell, That my keen knife see not the wound it makes, Nor heaven peep through the blanket of the dark, To cry “Hold, hold!””

“Would’st thou have that Which thou esteem’st the ornament of life, And live a coward in thine own esteem, Letting “I dare not” wait upon “I would,” Like the poor cat i’ th’ adage?”

Lady Macbeth (Act 1, Scene 7)

“I have given suck, and know How tender ’tis to love the babe that milks me. I would, while it was smiling in my face, Have plucked my nipple from his boneless gums And dashed the brains out, had I so sworn as you Have done to this.”

“I laid their daggers ready; He could not miss ‘em. Had he not resembled My father as he slept, I had done’t.”

Lady Macbeth (Act 2, Scene 2)

“ Out! damned spot!  One, two, — why, then ‘tis time to do’t. Hell is murky. Fie, my lord, fie, a soldier and afeard? What need we fear who knows it, when none can call our power to account? – Yet who would have thought the old man to have had so much blood in him.”

Lady Macbeth ( Act 5, Scene 1 )

“All the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand.”

Lady Macbeth (Act 5, Scene 1)

“What’s done cannot be undone.”

Are any of your favourite Macbeth quotes missing from this list? Please let us know in the comments below! We also have this list of LadyMacbeth quotes that might be of interest :)

Read Mabeth quotes in modern English :

• Is this a dagger which I see before me?
• If it were done when ’tis done
• The raven himself is hoarse
• Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow
• More about the RSC’s take on Macbeth on screen

Shakespeare Quotes by Play

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See All Macbeth Resources

Macbeth | Macbeth summary | Macbeth characters : Banquo , Lady Macbeth , Macbeth , Macduff , Three Witches | Macbeth settings | Modern Macbeth translation  | Macbeth full text | Macbeth PDF  |  Modern Macbeth ebook | Macbeth for kids ebooks | Macbeth quotes | Macbeth ambition quotes |  Macbeth quote translations | Macbeth monologues | Macbeth soliloquies | Macbeth movies | Macbeth themes

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haha we laughed about the egg quote for 20 minutes in class when we learnt macbeth

are you popping bottles, sparkles and champagne?

you forgot ‘look like the innocent flower but be the serpent under’t’.

nah its on there m8 but you jus never read the long quotes

They didn’t i saw it. Macbeth is such an amazing play with so many plot twists. Shakespeare is an amazing playwright

nah bro macbeth is mid but a fitty

I Love the egg quote it reminded me o f eggs

What about ” I am in blood stepts so far that to wade no more would be as tedious as to return over!

this book sucks so much i want to strangle shakespeare when he was a baby so i dont have to be here 700 years later reading on some pure WAFFLE!!

macbeth is a baby

Macbeth reeks of bs bruv

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80 Important Quotes You Should Pay Attention to in Macbeth

Got an essay to write on Shakespeare’s play ‘Macbeth’ but are feeling confused about which quotes you should analyse ? 

Look no further! We’ve compiled 80 important Macbeth quotes across various themes to help inspire some ideas, such as ambition and power, and we’ve even identified the techniques in each of the quotes. 

Keep scrolling to find the best quotes from Macbeth for your essay!

Macbeth Quotes about Ambition Lady Macbeth Quotes Guilt Quotes from Macbeth Masculinity Quotes about Morality from Macbeth Power Quotes from Macbeth Nature and the Supernatural What are Macbeth’s last words?

Download our list of Macbeth quotes!

Quotes about Ambition from Macbeth

As you study Macbeth, you will come to see how different characters experience the feeling of ambition. Two key characters who are tied to ambition throughout the play are Macbeth and Lady Macbeth, which can be seen through the quotes below.

#1: Stay, you imperfect speakers, tell me more. / By Sinel’s death I know I am thane of Glamis. Character: Macbeth  Act 1, Scene 3 Techniques: Characterisation , fatal flaw

#2: This supernatural soliciting / Cannot be ill, cannot be good. If ill, / Why hath it given me earnest of success, / Commencing in a truth? I am thane of Cawdor. / If good, why do I yield to that suggestion / Whose horrid image doth unfix my hair / And make my seated heart knock at my ribs, / Against the use of nature? Present fears / Are less than horrible imaginings. Character: Macbeth  Act 1, Scene 3 Techniques: Monologue

#3: Stars, hide your fires; / Let not light see my black and deep desires. Character: Macbeth  Act 1, Scene 4 Techniques: Characterisation, rhyming couplet

#4: I have no spur / To prick the sides of my intent, but only / Vaulting ambition, which o’erleaps itself / And falls on th’ other. Character: Macbeth  Act 1, Scene 7 Meaning: Macbeth finds it difficult to justify his intent to murder Duncan — it’s only his ambition to be powerful that is pushing him to commit the act, otherwise he has not other motivation or reason for harming Duncan in such a manner. Techniques: Soliloquy, characterisation

#5: To be thus is nothing, / But to be safely thus.  Character: Macbeth Act 3, Scene 1 Techniques: Soliloquy

#6: Fleance, his son, that keeps him company, / Whose absence is no less material to me / Than is his father’s, must embrace the fate / Of that dark hour. Resolve yourselves apart. Character: Macbeth  Act 3, Scene 1 Techniques: Characterisation Analysis: The quote is part of a speech in which Macbeth is planning to murder his friend and former ally, Banquo, in order to prevent Banquo’s descendants from fulfilling a prophecy that they will one day become kings. In this particular part of the speech, Macbeth is talking about Banquo’s son, Fleance, who is with Banquo at the moment. Macbeth is saying that Fleance’s presence is just as important to him as Banquo’s, but that he must also be eliminated in order to secure Macbeth’s position as king. The phrase “Whose absence is no less material to me / Than is his father’s” means that Fleance’s absence would be just as significant to Macbeth as Banquo’s, because both of them pose a threat to his power. “Must embrace the fate / Of that dark hour” means that Fleance must also be killed, just like Banquo, as he is also a threat to Macbeth’s rule. The final sentence, “Resolve yourselves apart,” is directed to the murderers who are going to carry out the plan. Macbeth is telling them to separate and prepare themselves for the murder of both Banquo and Fleance.

#7: Come, seeling night, / Scarf up the tender eye of pitiful day / And with thy bloody and invisible hand / Cancel and tear to pieces that great bond / Which keeps me pale. Character: Macbeth Act 3, Scene 2 Techniques: imagery, characterisation, fatal flaw  

#8: I am in blood / Stepped in so far that, should I wade no more, / Returning were as tedious as go o’er. Character: Macbeth  Act 3, Scene 4 Techniques: Imagery, figurative language, characterisation Analysis: It is a reflection on the consequences of his actions and the point of no return that he has reached in his quest for power. The phrase “I am in blood” refers to the fact that Macbeth has already committed murder and has become deeply entangled in a web of violence and deceit. He is “stepped in so far” that he feels he cannot turn back without facing consequences that would be “tedious” or arduous. Macbeth realises that he has gone too far to back down and must continue his violent actions in order to maintain his hold on the throne. He is acknowledging that his actions have led him to a place where there is no turning back, and that he must continue on this path, no matter how grim the consequences. The image of wading in blood is a powerful metaphor for the guilt and moral corruption that Macbeth has experienced. The more he wades, the deeper he sinks, until it becomes impossible to return to a state of innocence. Macbeth recognises that his actions have set him on an irreversible course, and he must continue on this path to its inevitable conclusion.

#9: Though you untie the winds and let them fight / Against the churches, though the yeasty waves / Confound and swallow navigation up, / Though bladed corn be lodged and trees blown down… / Even till destruction sicken, answer me / To what I ask you. Character: Macbeth  Act 4, Scene 1 Techniques: Imagery, figurative language The phrase “Though you untie the winds and let them fight / Against the churches, though the yeasty waves / Confound and swallow navigation up, / Though bladed corn be lodged and trees blown down…” is a list of extreme, apocalyptic events that Macbeth uses to emphasize the magnitude of the situation. He is suggesting that even if the world were to descend into chaos, the prophecy he received must still come true. The phrase “Even till destruction sicken” suggests that Macbeth believes that the witches’ prophecy will continue until the point of utter destruction. He wants to know if there is any way to change his fate, even in the face of such insurmountable obstacles. The final sentence, “Answer me / To what I ask you,” is a direct plea to the witches for clarity and answers. Macbeth is seeking reassurance that their prophecy is true and wants to understand if there is anything he can do to alter the course of events.

#10: I’ll fight till from my bones my flesh be hacked. / Give me my armor. Character: Macbeth Act 5, Scene 3 Techniques: Characterisation, parallel

#11: Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow, / Creeps in this petty pace from day to day / To the last syllable of recorded time, / And all our yesterdays have lighted fools / The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle! Character: Macbeth  Act 5, Scene 5 Techniques: Soliloquy, repetition

#12: Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player / That struts and frets his hour upon the stage / And then is heard no more. It is a tale / Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, / Signifying nothing. Character: Macbeth  Act 5, Scene 5 Techniques: Soliloquy, metaphor

#13: I ‘gin to be aweary of the sun, / And wish th’ estate o’ th’ world were now undone.— Character: Macbeth  Act 5, Scene 5 Techniques: Fatal flaw

#14: Ring the alarum-bell!—Blow, wind! Come, wrack! / At least we’ll die with harness on our back. Character: Macbeth  Act 5, Scene 5 Techniques: Characterisation 

#15: But swords I smile at, weapons laugh to scorn, / Brandished by man that’s of a woman born. Character: Macbeth  Act 5, Scene 6 Techniques: Fatal flaw

#16: I will not yield, / To kiss the ground before young Malcolm’s feet, / And to be baited with the rabble’s curse. / Though Birnam Wood be come to Dunsinane, / And thou opposed, being of no woman born, / Yet I will try the last. Before my body / I throw my warlike shield. Lay on, Macduff, / And damned be him that first cries, “Hold, enough!” Character: Macbeth  Act 5, Scene 7 Techniques: Characterisation

Lady Macbeth Quotes about Ambition from Macbeth

#17: Yet do I fear thy nature; / It is too full o’ th’ milk of human kindness Character: Lady Macbeth Act 1, Scene 5 Techniques: Characterisation Analysis: Lady Macbeth is contemplating the idea of her husband becoming king and realises that he may be too gentle and compassionate to seize power by violent means. The phrase “Yet do I fear thy nature” suggests that Lady Macbeth is aware of her husband’s gentle and kind nature, and she worries that it may hinder his ambition to become king. She is concerned that he lacks the ruthlessness and brutality necessary to seize power and maintain it. The phrase “It is too full o’ th’ milk of human kindness” is a metaphor that suggests Macbeth is too soft-hearted and compassionate. He is filled with the “milk of human kindness,” which implies that he is too nurturing and caring to commit the kind of ruthless actions that Lady Macbeth thinks are necessary to become king. This quote highlights the contrast between Macbeth’s kind nature and Lady Macbeth’s ambition for power. Lady Macbeth recognises that her husband’s innate goodness may be an obstacle to their plans, and she later convinces him to commit the murder of King Duncan in order to fulfil the prophecy. This quote is a pivotal moment in the play, as it sets the stage for Lady Macbeth’s manipulation of her husband and their descent into darkness.

#18: Art not without ambition, but without / The illness should attend it.  Character: Lady Macbeth Act 1, Scene 5 Techniques: Characterisation

#19: The raven himself is hoarse / That croaks the fatal entrance of Duncan Character: Lady Macbeth Act 1, Scene 5 Techniques: Foreshadowing, characterisation, symbolism

#20: Naught’s had, all’s spent, / Where our desire is got without content. / ‘Tis safer to be that which we destroy / Than by destruction dwell in doubtful joy. Character: Lady Macbeth Act 3, Scene 2 Techniques: Rhyming couplet

Guilt Quotes from Macbeth

While initially, Lady Macbeth was someone who seemed heartless and didn’t feel bad for the murder of Duncan, we see her character experience guilt which leads to her insanity. For Macbeth, he has hallucinations as a result of the consequences of murdering Duncan and his friend, Banquo.

#21: 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. / Art thou not, fatal vision, sensible / To feeling as to sight? Or art thou but / A dagger of the mind, a false creation, / Proceeding from the heat-oppressèd brain? Character: Macbeth  Act 2, Scene 1 Techniques: Monologue, metaphor

#22: “Sleep no more! / Macbeth does murder sleep”—the innocent sleep, / Sleep that knits up the raveled sleave of care, / The death of each day’s life, sore labor’s bath, / Balm of hurt minds, great nature’s second course, / Chief nourisher in life’s feast. Character: Macbeth Act 2, Scene 2 Techniques: Repetition, symbolism

#23: Will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood / Clean from my hand? No, this my hand will rather / The multitudinous seas incarnadine, / Making the green one red. Character: Macbeth  Act 2, Scene 2 Techniques: Figurative language, symbolism Analysis: He is contemplating the enormity of his crime and the guilt and shame he feels. He is asking a rhetorical question about whether he can ever wash away the blood on his hands, which is a symbol of his guilt and his moral corruption. The phrase “Will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood / Clean from my hand?” refers to the ancient Roman god of the sea, Neptune. Macbeth is asking whether even the vastness of the ocean can wash away the stain of his crime, and he concludes that it cannot. The phrase “No, this my hand will rather / The multitudinous seas incarnadine, / Making the green one red” is a metaphor for the idea that the blood on his hands is so pervasive that it will contaminate everything it touches, even the vast seas of the world. The use of the word “incarnadine” means to turn something red, which suggests that the blood on his hands will spread and taint everything around him. Overall, this quote highlights the magnitude of Macbeth’s guilt and the fact that his crime has irreversibly changed him. He realises that he cannot escape the consequences of his actions and that the blood on his hands will always be a reminder of his moral corruption.

#24: A little water clears us of this deed. / How easy is it, then! Your constancy / Hath left you unattended. Character: Lady Macbeth Act 2, Scene 2 Techniques: Irony, contrast

#25: We have scorched the snake, not killed it. / She’ll close and be herself whilst our poor malice / Remains in danger of her former tooth. Character: Macbeth Act 3, Scene 2 Techniques: Metaphor

#26: Oh, full of scorpions is my mind, dear wife! Thou know’st that Banquo, and his Fleance, lives. Character: Macbeth Act 3, Scene 2 Techniques: Metaphor, figurative language 

#27: But now I am cabined, cribbed, confined, bound in / To saucy doubts and fears. Character: Macbeth  Act 3, Scene 4 Techniques: Alliteration Analysis: The phrase “cabined, cribbed, confined, bound in” suggests a sense of imprisonment and restriction. Macbeth feels trapped and constrained by his doubts and fears. The word “cabined” means to be confined to a small space, while “cribbed” means to be enclosed or confined in a narrow space. The repetition of “confined” and “bound in” further emphasizes the sense of being trapped and restricted. Macbeth feels like he cannot escape his doubts and fears, and they are suffocating him. The phrase “To saucy doubts and fears” suggests that Macbeth’s doubts and fears are insolent and disrespectful. They are “saucy” in the sense that they are insolent and impudent, as if they are taunting him. Macbeth feels like he is being tormented by his own thoughts, which are mocking him and his actions. Overall, this quote highlights the psychological toll that Macbeth’s actions have taken on him. He is consumed by guilt and fear, and he feels trapped by his own doubts and anxieties. This sense of confinement and restriction will ultimately lead to his downfall, as he becomes increasingly paranoid and isolated.

#28: Thanks for that. / There the grown serpent lies. The worm that’s fled / Hath nature that in time will venom breed; / No teeth for th’ present. Character: Macbeth  Act 3, Scene 4 Techniques: Metaphor

#29: Blood will have blood. / Stones have been known to move, and trees to speak. / Augurs and understood relations have / By magot pies and choughs and rooks brought forth / The secret’st man of blood Character: Macbeth Act 3, Scene 4 Techniques: Foreshadowing

#30: Out, damned spot! Out, I say!—One, two. / Why, then, ’tis time to do ’t. Hell is murky!— / Fie, my lord, fie! A soldier, and afeard? / What need we fear who knows it, when / none can call our power to account?—Yet / who would have thought the old man to have had so much blood in him. Character: Lady Macbeth Act 5, Scene 1 Techniques: Disjointed speech, symbolism, parallel

#31: Here’s the smell of the blood still. All the / perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten / this little hand. Oh, Oh, Oh! Character: Lady Macbeth Act 5, Scene 1 Techniques: Imagery, hyperbole, symbolism

#32: I have lived long enough. My way of life / Is fall’n into the sere, the yellow leaf, / And that which should accompany old age, / As honor, love, obedience, troops of friends, / I must not look to have, but, in their stead, / Curses, not loud but deep, mouth-honor, breath / Which the poor heart would fain deny and dare not. Character: Macbeth  Act 5, Scene 3 Techniques: Figurative language

#33: But get thee back. My soul is too much charged / With blood of thine already. Character: Macbeth  Act 5, Scene 7 Techniques: Figurative language

Masculinity

The way masculinity is represented in this play is heavily linked to being ambitious. Lady Macbeth’s quotes tend to talk about how Macbeth is cowardly and not “man” enough to go after the power they “deserve”.

#34: This have I thought good to deliver thee, my dearest partner of /  greatness, that thou might’st not lose the / dues of rejoicing, by being ignorant of what / greatness is promised thee. Lay it to thy / heart, and farewell. Character: Lady Macbeth (reading Macbeth’s letter)  Act 1, Scene 5 Techniques: Characterisation 

#35: I may pour my spirits in thine ear / And chastise with the valor of my tongue/ All that impedes thee from the golden round,” Character: Lady Macbeth Act 1, Scene 5 Techniques: Characterisation, metaphor

#36: Come, you spirits / That tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here, / And fill me from the crown to the toe top-full / Of direst cruelty. Make thick my blood. / Stop up the access and passage to remorse  Character: Lady Macbeth Act 1, Scene 5 Techniques: Imagery

#37: Come to my woman’s breasts, / And take my milk for gall, you murd’ring ministers Character: Lady Macbeth Act 1, Scene 5 Techniques: Figurative language

#38: I have given suck, and know / How tender ’tis to love the babe that milks me. / I would, while it was smiling in my face, / Have plucked my nipple from his boneless gums / And dashed the brains out, had I so sworn as you / Have done to this. Character: Lady Macbeth  Act 1, Scene 7 Techniques: Metaphor

#39: That which hath made them drunk hath made me bold. / What hath quenched them hath given me fire. Character: Lady Macbeth Act 2, Scene 2 Techniques: Juxtaposition, characterisation

#40: My hands are of your colour, but I shame / To wear a heart so white. Character: Lady Macbeth  Act 2, Scene 2 Techniques: Figurative language Analysis: She is comparing their hands, which are stained with blood, and noting that they are the same color. However, she is also saying that she is ashamed to wear a heart as white as Macbeth’s. The phrase “My hands are of your colour” suggests that Lady Macbeth is equally responsible for the murder of King Duncan as Macbeth. She has encouraged him to commit the crime and has even helped him to carry it out. Her hands are also stained with blood, and she shares in the guilt and shame of the murder. The phrase “but I shame / To wear a heart so white” is a metaphor for the idea that Lady Macbeth is ashamed of Macbeth’s lack of ruthlessness and ambition. The color white is often associated with purity and innocence, which Lady Macbeth sees as a weakness in her husband. She is disappointed that he is not more ruthless and ambitious, and she believes that his “white” heart is holding them back from achieving their goals. Overall, this quote highlights the contrast between Lady Macbeth’s ambition and Macbeth’s conscience. Lady Macbeth is willing to do whatever it takes to achieve their goals, while Macbeth is struggling with his guilt and his sense of morality. This tension between ambition and conscience is a key theme in the play and ultimately leads to Macbeth’s downfall.

#41: This is the very painting of your fear. / This is the air-drawn dagger which you said / Led you to Duncan. Oh, these flaws and starts, / Impostors to true fear, would well become /A woman’s story at a winter’s fire, / Authorized by her grandam. Shame itself! Character: Lady Macbeth Act 3, Scene 4 Techniques: Juxtaposition, characterisation

Quotes about Morality from Macbeth

This play questions a lot of characters’ morality in terms of what they are willing to do in order to get what they want.

#42: There’s no art / To find the mind’s construction in the face. / He was a gentleman on whom I built / An absolute trust. Character: Duncan Act 1, Scene 4 Techniques: Foreshadowing

#43: The prince of Cumberland! That is a step / On which I must fall down, or else o’erleap, / For in my way it lies  Characters: Macbeth Act 1, Scene 4 Techniques: Aside, metaphor

#44: Look like th’ innocent flower, / But be the serpent under ’t.  Character: Lady Macbeth  Act 1, Scene 5 Techniques: Simile, metaphor

#45: This castle hath a pleasant seat. The air  / Nimbly and sweetly recommends itself / Unto our gentle senses. Character: Duncan Act 1, Scene 6 Techniques: Irony

#46: Where we are, / There’s daggers in men’s smiles. The near in blood, / The nearer bloody. Character: Donalblain Act 2, Scene 3 Meaning: Donalbain says that him and his brother Malcolm shouldn’t stay where they are, as it isn’t safe. There are people who want them dead and he can tell just from the way others are looking at them — there’s a motivation that he doesn’t want to see come to fruition. Techniques: Metaphor

#47: With hidden help and vantage, or that with both / He labored in his country’s wrack, I know not; / But treasons capital, confessed and proved, / Have overthrown him. Character: Angus Act 1, Scene 3 Techniques: Figurative language, irony 

#48: This tyrant, whose sole name blisters our tongues, / Was once thought honest Character: Malcolm Act 4, Scene 3 Techniques: Connotation, parallel

#49: Macduff: I am not treacherous. / Malcolm: But Macbeth is. / A good and virtuous nature may recoil / In an imperial charge. Characters: Macduff and Malcolm Act 4, Scene 3 Techniques: Parallel, characterisation

Power Quotes from Macbeth

Power is also a theme within the play that is strongly linked to ambition and desire. It is something Macbeth aspires to have when he is told by the witches that he is meant to be king — but the way he goes about attaining it and keeping it is morally questionable.

#50: For brave Macbeth—well he deserves that name— / Disdaining fortune, with his brandished steel, / Like valor’s minion carved out his passage / Till he faced the slave Character: Captain Act 1, Scene 2 Techniques: Direct characterisation, simile

#51: All hail, Macbeth, that shalt be king hereafter! Character: Third Witch  Act 1, Scene 3 Techniques: Foreshadowing

#52: The son of Duncan— / From whom this tyrant holds the due of birth— Character: Lord Act 3, Scene 6 Techniques: Connotation, fatal flaw 

#53: Be bloody, bold, and resolute. Laugh to scorn / The power of man, for none of woman born / Shall harm Macbeth. Character: Second Apparition  Act 3, Scene 1 Techniques: Foreshadowing

#54: The castle of Macduff I will surprise, / Seize upon Fife, give to th’ edge o’ th’ sword / His wife, his babes, and all unfortunate souls / That trace him in his line. No boasting like a fool. / This deed I’ll do before this purpose cool.  Character: Macbeth Act 4, Scene 1 Techniques: Characterisation, fatal flaw  

#55: New widows howl, new orphans cry, new sorrows / Strike heaven on the face, that it resounds / As if it felt with Scotland and yelled out / Like syllable of dolor. Character: Macduff Act 4, Scene 3 Techniques: Imagery, repetition, setting 

#56: Angels are bright still, though the brightest fell. Character: Malcolm Act 4, Scene 3 Techniques: Biblical allusion

#57: I think our country sinks beneath the yoke. / It weeps, it bleeds, and each new day a gash / Is added to her wounds. Character: Malcolm Act 4, Scene 3 Techniques: Personification , metaphor, setting

#58: Not in the legions / Of horrid hell can come a devil more damned / In evils to top Macbeth. Character: Macduff Act 4, Scene 3 Techniques: Connotation, hyperbole

#59: Now does he feel his title / Hang loose about him, like a giant’s robe / Upon a dwarfish thief. Character: Angus Act 5, Scene 2 Meaning: This line explains what Angus believes Macbeth feels at this point in the play. The title doesn’t suit him and Macbeth is compared to a dwarf wearing the stolen clothes of a giant. The way Angus describes him is spot on, because he did steal the crown, rather than letting the prophecy of the witches happen organically. Techniques: Simile, characterisation

#60: Meet we the medicine of the sickly weal, / And with him pour we in our country’s purge / Each drop of us. Character: Caithness Act 5, Scene 2 Techniques: Metaphor

#61: Bring me no more reports. Let them fly all. /Till Birnam Wood remove to Dunsinane / I cannot taint with fear. Character: Macbeth Act 5, Scene 3 Techniques: Characterisation, fatal flaw 

#62: Bring it after me. / I will not be afraid of death and bane / Till Birnam Forest come to Dunsinane. Character: Macbeth  Act 5, Scene 3 Techniques: Rhyming couplet, fatal flaw 

#63: I have almost forgot the taste of fears. Character: Macbeth  Act 5, Scene 4 Techniques: Figurative language, characterisation

#64: I pull in resolution and begin / To doubt th’ equivocation of the fiend / That lies like truth.  Character: Macbeth  Act 5, Scene 5 Techniques: Fatal flaw 

Nature and the Supernatural

#65: Fair is foul, and foul is fair / Hover through the fog and filthy air Character: 3 Witches Act 1, Scene 1  Techniques: Rhyming couplet, imagery

#66: When the hurly-burly’s done, / When the battle’s lost and won. Character: 3 Witches Act 1, Scene 1  Techniques: Rhyming couplet, characterisation

#67: So foul and fair a day I have not seen. Character: Macbeth Act 1, Scene 3 Techniques: Paradox, pathetic fallacy

#68: The weird sisters, hand in hand, / Posters of the sea and land, / Thus do go about, about, / Thrice to thine and thrice to mine / And thrice again, to make up nine. / Peace! The charm’s wound up. Character: Witches Act 1, Scene 3 Techniques: Imagery

#69: So withered and so wild in their attire, / That look not like th’ inhabitants o’ th’ Earth, / And yet are on ’t? Character: Banquo Act 1, Scene 3 Techniques: Characterisation

#70: Witchcraft celebrates / Pale Hecate’s offerings, and withered murder, / Alarumed by his sentinel, the wolf, / Whose howl’s his watch, thus with his stealthy pace, / With Tarquin’s ravishing strides, towards his design / Moves like a ghost. Character: Macbeth Act 2, Scene 1 Techniques: Symbolism, connotation, imagery

#71: Here’s a knocking indeed! If a man were porter of hell-gate, he should have old turning the key. Character: Porter Act 2, Scene 3 Techniques: Metaphor

#72: Lamentings heard i’ th’ air, strange screams of death, / And prophesying with accents terrible / Of dire combustion and confused events / New hatched to the woeful time.  Character: Lennox Act 2, Scene 3 Techniques: Imagery, foreshadowing

#73: By th’ clock ’tis day, / And yet dark night strangles the travelling lamp. / Is ’t night’s predominance or the day’s shame / That darkness does the face of Earth entomb / When living light should kiss it?  Character: Ross Act 2, Scene 4 Techniques: Imagery

#74: Even like the deed that’s done. On Tuesday last, / A falcon, tow’ring in her pride of place, / Was by a mousing owl hawked at and killed. Character: Ross Act 2, Scene 4 Techniques: Imagery, symbolism

#75: Enter the GHOST OF BANQUO, and sits in MACBETH’s place Stage direction Act 3, Scene 4 Meaning: In the banquet at Macbeth’s castle, Banquo is absent because Macbeth had him killed. Macbeth’s guilt manifests in the form of him seeing the ghost of Banquo at the banquet and no one else there can see him, only Macbeth. Techniques: Imagery

#76: Shall raise such artificial sprites / As by the strength of their illusion / Shall draw him on to his confusion. Character: Hecate Act 3, Scene 5 Techniques: Rhyming couplet

#77: He shall spurn fate, scorn death, and bear / His hopes ‘bove wisdom, grace, and fear. / And you all know, security / Is mortals’ chiefest enemy. Character: Hecate Act 3, Scene 5 Techniques: Foreshadowing

#78: Double, double toil and trouble, /Fire burn, and cauldron bubble. Character: Witches Act 4, Scene 1 Meaning: This is a chant said by the witches, which are very vague in meaning. However, they are essentially saying that Macbeth has brought on double the trouble upon himself for murdering people in order to get the crown. Techniques: Imagery, rhyming

#79: Foul whisp’rings are abroad. Unnatural deeds / Do breed unnatural troubles. Character: Doctor Act 5, Scene 1 Techniques: Imagery, motif, parallel 

#80: As I did stand my watch upon the hill, / I looked toward Birnam, and anon methought / The wood began to move. Character: Messenger Act 5, Scene 5 Techniques: Foreshadowing

What are Macbeth’s last words?

Yet I will try the last. Before my body I throw my warlike shield. Lay on, Macduff, And damned be him that first cries, “Hold, enough!” Character: Macbeth Act 5, Scene 8

On the hunt for quotes from other texts?

Check out our list of quotes for the following texts:

• The Book Thief
• The Truman Show
• Ariel by Sylvia Plath
• One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
• To Kill a Mockingbird
• Never Let Me Go
• Things Fall Apart

We’ve also got articles specifically on plays by  Shakespeare  which you can check out below:

• The Merchant of Venice
• Much Ado About Nothing
• Romeo and Juliet
• The Tempest
• The Memory Police

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Macbeth Essay Quotes

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Yet do I fear thy nature; It is too full o' the milk of human kindness.

If chance will have me king, why, chance may crown me.

False face must hide what the false heart doth know.

I am in blood Stepp'd in so far, that, should I wade no more, Returning were as tedious as go o'er.

A little water clears us of this deed.

Fair is foul, and foul is fair, hover through fog and filthy air.

Vaulting ambition, which o'erleaps itself And falls on the other side

Will all great Neptune's ocean wash this blood clean from my hand? No, this my hand will rather the multitudinous seas incarnadine, making the green one red.

Look like the innocent flower, But be the serpent under it.

My hands are of your color, but I shame to wear a heart so white.

All the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand! Oh, oh, oh!

Bloody instructions, which, being taught, return to plague the inventor.

I dare do all that may become a man; Who dares do more, is none

Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player, that struts and frets his hour upon the stage, and then is heard no more; it is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.

So foul and fair a day I have not seen.

The instruments of darkness tell us truths.

Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow,Creeps in this petty pace from day to day

Out, damned spot! Out, I say!

Yet who would have thought the old man to have had so much blood in him? - Lady Macbeth

We fail! But screw your courage to the sticking-place, And we'll not fail.

It is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury; signifying nothing.

By the pricking of my thumbs, Something wicked this way comes.

Nothing in his life became him like leaving it.

To-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow, Creeps in this petty pace from day to day, To the last syllable of recorded time; And all our yesterdays have lighted fools The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle! Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player, That struts and frets his hour upon the stage, And then is heard no more. It is a tale Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, Signifying nothing.

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by William Shakespeare

Macbeth quotes and analysis.

"Double, double toil and trouble / Fire burn, and cauldron bubble" Witches, 1.1

In this famous quotation from the play, the three witches are gathered around their cauldron as they predict Macbeth's future. This scene immediately imbues the play with a dark and sinister mood, while also showcasing how the supernatural will figure into the rest of the plot. The witches' incantation is frequently quoted due to its rhymed couplets and sing-song rhythm.

"Come, you spirits / That tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here, / And fill me from the crown to the toe top-full / Of direst cruelty!" Lady Macbeth, 1.5

In this famous quotation, Lady Macbeth expresses her desire to become more cruel so as to complete the murder of King Duncan alongside Macbeth. She asks for the spirits to "unsex" her, suggesting that in order to take part in Duncan's murder, she must dispel with femininity altogether. This quotation remains famous because it highlights the play's exploration of gender and power.

"I have given suck, and know / How tender ‘tis to love the babe that milks me / I would, while it was smiling in my face / Have plucked my nipple from his boneless gums / And dashed the brains out." Lady Macbeth, 1.7

After asking to be stripped of her femininity, Lady Macbeth appears to have gotten her wish as she delivers this disturbing but telling speech. Here, she attempts to prove how cold-hearted she can truly be by admitting that she would have murdered her own child. This quotation also reveals that Lady Macbeth had had a child at some point, despite not having any children in the present. This speech adds depth to Lady Macbeth's character while foreshadowing her formidable behavior for the rest of the play.

"If it were done when ‘tis done, then ‘twere well / It were done quickly." Macbeth, 1.7

This quotation introduces an extended soliloquy by Macbeth in which he puzzles over whether he should murder Duncan. He speaks here in the conditional tense, which underscores his uncertainty and doubts over the task that lies before him. By the end of the speech, he has all but decided not to go through with the murder, but Lady Macbeth will convince him otherwise.

"Is this a dagger which I see before me, / This handle toward my hand? Come, let me clutch thee. / I have thee not, and yet I see thee still." Macbeth, 2.1

In this quotation, Macbeth imagines a dagger in front of him that is not really there. This instance marks the first time that Macbeth has a hallucination, suggesting his descent into stress-induced madness. It also reflects the play's overall interest in portraying the supernatural as a formidable force.

"Will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood / Clean from my hand? No, this my hand will rather / The multitudinous seas incarnadine." Macbeth, 2.2

After Macbeth murders Duncan, he runs into Lady Macbeth and attempts to clean his hands of Duncan's blood. Here, he expresses his anxiety that the blood will not come off, using a metaphor for the guilt he feels over what he has done. Macbeth is crippled by shame and does not foresee any relief.

"To be thus is nothing, but to be safely thus." Macbeth, 3.1

These are the words that Macbeth speaks after he has become king. Here, he devalues the simple act of becoming king (especially given the action he had to take to get there), and emphasizes that it is only a meaningful title if he can maintain it. Macbeth thus expresses anxiety and paranoia that he is unsafe in the position, which ultimately leads to his decisions to have more potential inheritors murdered.

"For Banquo’s issue have I filed my mind / For them the gracious Duncan have I murdered." Macbeth, 3.1

Here, Macbeth expresses his worry that the murder of Duncan was not worth the guilt he feels, as the witches have prophesied that it is Banquo's sons who will eventually take over the throne. This quotation emphasizes Macbeth's desperate state that eventually predicts his downfall. It also highlights the play's interest in patrilineal succession, as Macbeth has no heirs, like Banquo, to continue his line after his death.

"Thy bones are marrowless, thy blood is cold / Thou hast no speculation in those eyes." Macbeth, 3.4

When Macbeth sees Banquo's ghost, he attempts to convince himself that Banquo is not really there. In doing so, he admits that he is descending into madness with yet another hallucinatory experience. This quotation also underscores the guilt Macbeth feels over having called for the murder of Banquo and his sons.

"To bed, to bed. There’s knocking at the gate. Come, / come, come, come, give me your hand. What’s done / cannot be undone. To bed, to bed, to bed." Lady Macbeth, 5.1

These are the final lines that Lady Macbeth speaks in the play. Her nervous cadence and erratic repetition suggest her own descent into a mad state, as she can no longer think clearly or logically. Instead, she retreats "to bed," suggesting that she has lost the strength and fervor she carried in earlier acts of the play.

Macbeth Questions and Answers

The Question and Answer section for Macbeth is a great resource to ask questions, find answers, and discuss the novel.

Of what importance are the bleeding Sergeant and Ross? Why does Shakespeare introduce two messengers?

There are two pieces of information here, hence the two messengers. The bleeding sergeant is meant to inform Duncan, and the audience, of Macbeth's valor in battle. Ross is meant to inform about the Thane of Cawdor being a traitor. Both pieces of...

The third which says that Banquo's sons shall be kings, Thou shalt get kings, though thou be none. So all hail, Macbeth and Banquo!

Macbeth Act 1 Scene 3 questions

What is significant about the first words that Macbeth speaks in the play?

A motif or recurring idea in the play is equivocation. There is the balance of the dark and the light, the good and the bad. Macbeth's first line reflects this. It...

Study Guide for Macbeth

Macbeth study guide contains a biography of William Shakespeare, literature essays, a complete e-text, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.

• About Macbeth
• Macbeth Summary
• Macbeth Video
• Character List

Essays for Macbeth

Macbeth essays are academic essays for citation. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of Macbeth by William Shakespeare.

• Serpentine Imagery in Shakespeare's Macbeth
• Macbeth's Evolution
• Jumping the Life to Come
• Deceptive Appearances in Macbeth
• Unity in Shakespeare's Tragedies

Lesson Plan for Macbeth

• About the Author
• Study Objectives
• Common Core Standards
• Introduction to Macbeth
• Relationship to Other Books
• Bringing in Technology
• Notes to the Teacher
• Related Links
• Macbeth Bibliography

E-Text of Macbeth

Macbeth e-text contains the full text of Macbeth by William Shakespeare.

• Persons Represented
• Act I, Scene I
• Act I, Scene II
• Act I, Scene III
• Act I, Scene IV

Wikipedia Entries for Macbeth

• Introduction

Macbeth: Key Quotes Explained

By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University)

If, as the old quip has it, Hamlet is a great play but it has too many quotations in it, a similar charge might be laid against Macbeth , one of Shakespeare’s most popular plays. So many lines in the play have become proverbial and are often quoted outside of the context of the play itself.

But what are the most famous quotations from Macbeth , and what do they mean? Let’s look at some of the most important quotations found in this short tragedy.

‘When shall we three meet again?’

This opening scene of the play , according to the stage directions, takes place in ‘an open place’. Immediately, Shakespeare establishes an atmosphere of foreboding: the storm which begins Macbeth heralds the turbulent events which are going to follow, all of which the Witches have prophesied. The opening lines of the play run:

FIRST WITCH When shall we three meet again? In thunder, lightning, or in rain?

SECOND WITCH When the hurly-burly’s done, When the battle’s lost and won.

‘ Fair is foul, and foul is fair ’.

This line is spoken by the three Witches or Weird Sisters towards the end of the play’s opening scene:

‘Fair is foul, and foul is fair Hover through the fog and filthy air.’

The line ‘Fair is foul, and foul is fair’ is almost proverbial, and was already so when Shakespeare wrote this line. In Edmund Spenser’s The Faerie Queene from the 1590s, for instance, we find the line, ‘Then faire grew foule, and foule grew faire in sight’.

Once again, here, we have the natural order being overturned and inverted, with the pair of opposites dissolving into one: fair has been rendered foul, and foul has become fair. Good and evil appear to have swapped places.

‘By the pricking of my thumbs, Something wicked this way comes.’

This line is spoken by one of the Weird Sisters as Macbeth approaches them with Banquo, and suggests that the Witches have a kind of ‘sixth sense’ (the strange tingling they experience in their thumbs) about Macbeth being a bad egg.

‘I have no spur To prick the sides of my intent, but only Vaulting ambition …’

Macbeth’s own description of his ‘vaulting ambition’ has become familiar to many a student of Shakespeare’s play: it neatly encapsulates the strong sense of ambition he feels, an ambition over which he does not have full control.

He is like a rider on a horse that got out of control, and whether or not the horse runs is not within his power (hence the reference to the ‘spur’, used by a rider to kick the horse into a run).

‘Is this a dagger which I see before me, The handle toward my hand?’

So begins one of the most famous soliloquies in Shakespeare’s Macbeth – indeed, perhaps in all of Shakespeare. We have analysed it in detail here . It begins:

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.

‘Is this a dagger which I see before me’ is often staged, and filmed, with the dagger suspended in mid-air.

‘Yet do I fear thy nature; It is too full o’ the milk of human kindness’.

Spoken by Lady Macbeth to her husband, these lines reveal Lady Macbeth to be the more brutal and unfeeling of the pair, with no misgivings about murdering the king in order to achieve their aims.

In speaking these words, Lady Macbeth gave us a now ubiquitous phrase (‘milk of human kindness’, although Shakespeare may also have intended ‘milk of humankindness’, i.e. those qualities which make us part of humankind), drawing on early modern notions of milk-drinking as leading to softness and soppiness of temperament.

‘If it were done when ’tis done, then ’twere well It were done quickly’.

So begins one of the most famous and revealing soliloquies spoken by Macbeth. The words appear in act I scene VII of the play and see Macbeth, in a room in his castle, meditating on whether to go through with his (and his wife’s) plan to murder Duncan, the king, and seize the throne of Scotland for himself.

This speech also features the earliest known use of the word ‘assassination’.

‘Will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood Clean from my hand?’

Spoken by Macbeth shortly after he has murdered Duncan in his bed, and his hands are still covered in the late king’s blood, this question is followed by an admission that nothing can wash the stain of this crime from his hand:

No, this my hand will rather The multitudinous seas incarnadine, Making the green one red.

‘I am in blood Stepp’d in so far that, should I wade no more, Returning were as tedious as go o’er.’

As you may have gathered by now, many of the most memorable quotations from Macbeth involve blood. In this quotation from Act 3, Macbeth acknowledges that he has already committed so many vile deeds that he may as well continue: he is beyond redemption, and there’s no way back now.

‘Double, double toil and trouble: Fire burn, and cauldron bubble.’

Spoken by the Witches in Act 4, these incantations are among the most memorable lines in the whole play, with the air of magic and witchcraft contained within them (they are spoken by the Weird Sisters as they put various disgusting ingredients into their bubbling cauldron) embodying the general mood of the play.

‘Out, damned spot! out, I say!’

Like Macbeth’s earlier complaint that all of Neptune’s oceans could not wash his bloody hand clean, Lady Macbeth’s sleepwalking mutterings betray her guilt: the blood on her hands may be metaphorical (or hallucinatory), but the guilt she feels is the same. Her conscience has been well and truly pricked, and she will die (offstage) shortly after this. We have analysed this scene here .

‘What’s done cannot be undone.’

Also spoken by Lady Macbeth as she sleepwalks around the castle grounds, this line points up another aspect of the play’s linguistic fingerprint: the word ‘done’ and its homophones, present in Duncan, Dunsinane, and all the various uses of the word ‘done’ in the play (‘If it were done’, etc.).

‘Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow’.

Spoken upon hearing of the death of his wife, Macbeth’s speech from towards the end of this play has become famous for this line as well as the phrases ‘full of sound and fury / Signifying nothing’ and ‘Out, out, brief candle!’ The speech begins:

Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow, Creeps in this petty pace from day to day, To the last syllable of recorded time; And all our yesterdays have lighted fools The way to dusty death.

Macbeth’s speech is about the futility and illusoriness of all life and everything we do: we are all bound for the grave, and life doesn’t seem to mean anything, ultimately. He is responding to the news that Lady Macbeth is dead here; it’s the beginning of the end for him.

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43 of the best key quotes in Macbeth and their meanings

Laycie Beck

Studying Shakespeare is something everybody will do, whether it’s at school, college or university. There is no denying that Macbeth is a staple of English classes in general. But knowing the key quotes in Macbeth for your GCSEs, A-levels or degree is crucial, especially if you’re on a deadline or revising for an exam. We’ve provided a useful summary of all the Macbeth key quotes and a brief analysis to help you out.

What is Macbeth about?

Macbeth” is a renowned tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in the early 17th century. This dark and powerful play delves into the destructive effects of ambition, guilt, and moral corruption.

The story unfolds in medieval Scotland and follows the rise and fall of the titular character, Macbeth, a valiant warrior and a thane (a Scottish noble). The play begins with Macbeth earning high praise for his bravery and skill in battle, defending King Duncan’s realm. However, his encounter with three witches, or Weird Sisters, sets the stage for his tragic downfall. The witches prophesy that Macbeth will become the Thane of Cawdor and eventually the King of Scotland.

Intrigued and ambitious, Macbeth shares this prophecy with his wife, Lady Macbeth, a character as ambitious and ruthless as Macbeth himself. Together, they hatch a plan to hasten the prophecy’s fulfilment. This leads to Macbeth’s murder of King Duncan and his subsequent ascension to the throne. However, this act of regicide plunges both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth into a world of guilt, paranoia, and madness.

As the play progresses, Macbeth becomes increasingly tyrannical and bloodthirsty, ordering the murder of those he perceives as threats, including his friend Banquo and the family of his rival, Macduff. These acts of violence and betrayal create a climate of fear and unrest in Scotland.

Meanwhile, Lady Macbeth, tormented by guilt, descends into madness, leading to one of the play’s most famous scenes where she attempts to wash the imagined bloodstains from her hands. Macbeth, too, is haunted by his deeds, experiencing hallucinations and deepening paranoia.

The play reaches its climax as Macduff, seeking revenge for the slaughter of his family, leads an army against Macbeth. Despite a second set of prophecies from the witches that seem to suggest Macbeth is invincible, he is ultimately defeated and killed in battle, and Malcolm, Duncan’s son, is restored to the throne.

“Macbeth” explores themes such as the corrupting power of unchecked ambition, the moral and psychological effects of guilt and sin, and the relationship between violence and tyranny. It also delves into the supernatural and the ambiguous nature of prophecy. The play remains a timeless classic, resonating with modern audiences for its exploration of the dark aspects of human nature and the consequences of moral decay.

Most important Macbeth key quotes and analysis

1. “Fair is foul and foul is fair”

Who: The Witches

Where: Scene 1, Act 1

Meaning: This quote reflects the play’s theme of ambiguity and moral confusion. What is perceived as good (fair) is actually bad (foul) and vice versa, indicating a world turned upside down by deceit and evil.

2. “What bloody man is that?”

Who: King Duncan

Where: Scene 2, Act 1

Meaning : King Duncan is inquiring about a sergeant who is covered in blood. This sets the tone for the play’s violent and bloody nature.

3. “If you can look into the seeds of time, and say which grain will grow and which will not.”

Who: Banquo

Where: Scene 3, Act 1

Meaning : Banquo is asking the witches to predict his future, as they did for Macbeth, showing his curiosity about his own fate.

4. Or have we eaten on the insane root that takes the reason prisoner?”

Meaning : Here, Banquo is questioning the reality of his encounter with the witches, wondering if they have eaten a hallucinogenic plant that has led them to hallucinate the witches.

5. “What! Can the devil speak true?”

Meaning: Banquo is shocked that the witches’ prophecy about Macbeth has come true, suggesting that sometimes evil tells the truth to serve its purposes.

6. “Present fears are less than horrible imaginings.”

Where: Scene 4, Act 1

Meaning : This is King Duncan expressing that sometimes our fears are not as bad as the horrors we imagine, reflecting the theme of fear and foresight.

7. “There’s daggers in men’s smiles.”

Who: Donalbain

Where: Scene 3, Act 2

Meaning : Highlighting a theme of deception, Donalbain implies that there are hidden dangers and betrayals even in friendly appearances.

8. “Double, double toil and trouble: Fire burn, and cauldron bubble.”

Where: Scene 1, Act 4

Meaning : The witches chant this as they concoct a spell, symbolising the dark and mysterious forces at work in the play

9. “By the pricking of my thumbs, something wicked this way comes.”

Who: Second Witch

Meaning: The Second Witch senses Macbeth’s approach, indicating that evil is drawn to evil.

10. “Macbeth shall never vanquished be until Great Birnam wood to high Dusinane Hill shall come against him.”

Who: Third Apparition

Meaning: The Third Apparition’s prophecy suggests that Macbeth will not be defeated until an impossible event (a forest moving) occurs, giving Macbeth a false sense of security.

11. “A deed without a name.”

Meaning: Here the Witches are refering to their own actions, which are so unnatural and horrific that they cannot be named.

12. “When our actions do not, our fears do make us traitors.”

Who: Lady Macduff

Where: Scene 2, Act 4

Meaning: Lady Macduff suggests that fear can lead us to betray ourselves or others, reflecting on the consequences of fear and paranoia.

13. “Tongue nor heart cannot conceive nor name thee!”

Meaning: This is a reaction from Lady Macduff, where she is expressing her inability to fully comprehend or articulate the horror and evil she is facing.

14. “The patient must minister to himself.”

Who: Doctor

Where: Scene 3, Act 5

Meaning:  The Doctor implies that some ailments, particularly those of the mind or soul, must be healed by the individual, not by a physician.

15. “Those clamorous harbingers of blood and death.”

Where: Scene 6, Act 5

Meaning:  Lady Macduff refers to the signs that foretell violence and death, possibly alluding to the omens and prophecies in the play that predict tragedy.

Macbeth quotes from Macbeth himself

Of course, many of the key quotes in Macbeth come from Macbeth himself. As the central character in William Shakespeare’s tragedy of the same name, he undergoes a profound and tragic transformation throughout the play. Initially presented as a valiant and respected hero, Macbeth’s character evolves dramatically following his encounter with the supernatural (the Weird Sisters) and under the influence of his ambitious wife, Lady Macbeth.

His bravery, ambition, and self-doubt are key attributes that struggle for dominance within him, according to Sparknotes.   As the play progresses, these traits, particularly his ambition and susceptibility to doubt and guilt, lead him down a dark path. Macbeth becomes a figure of tyranny and moral decay, illustrating the catastrophic effects of unchecked ambition and a weak character. His journey from hero to villain is marked by his increasingly ruthless actions, including regicide and other murders, and is driven by both human flaws and supernatural elements. Ultimately, Macbeth’s tragic downfall is a result of his internal conflicts and the consequences of his actions, making him a complex and deeply flawed character in Shakespearean literature If you’re in need of Macbeth quotes from the man himself, look no further…

16. “I have no spur, to prick the sides of my intent, but only vaulting ambition which o’erleaps itself and falls on the other”

Who: Macbeth

Where: Scene 7, Act 1

Meaning: Macbeth acknowledges that he has no real reason to kill Duncan, only his excessive ambition, which might lead to his downfall.

17. “Will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood clean from my hand? No, this my hand will rather the multitudinous seas incarnadine, making the green one red.”

Where: Scene 2, Act 2

Meaning:  Macbeth realises that his guilt (symbolised by the blood on his hands) is so great that it would turn the oceans red, rather than being washed away.

18. “Nothing is but what is not.”

Meaning:  Macbeth is contemplating the paradoxical nature of reality, suggesting that what exists is defined by what does not.

19. “Come what come may, time and the hour runs through the roughest day.”

Meaning:  Here, Macbeth is expressing a sense of fatalism, accepting whatever may happen in the future.

20. “False face must hide what the false heart doth know.”

Meaning:  The advice given here by Macbeth is that one must hide their true, evil intentions behind a false appearance.

21. “Stars hide your fires; let not light see my dark and deep desires”

Meaning: Talking to the stars, Macbeth is asking them not to shine on his evil plans, so that his intentions remain hidden.

22. “I dare do all that may become a man; who dares do more is none.”

Meaning: Macbeth asserts that he is willing to do anything that is appropriate for a man to do; anyone who does more is not a true man.

23. “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.”

Where: Scene 1, Act 2

Meaning: While hallucinating a dagger, Macbeth is manifesting his guilt and intent to murder Duncan

24. “I am in blood, steeped in so far, that, should I wade no more, returning were as tedious as go o’er”

Where: Scene 4, Act 3

Meaning:  Macbeth acknowledges that he is so deep into his murderous actions that it’s as hard to stop as it is to continue.

25. “If it were done when ’tis done, then ’twere well it were done quickly.”

Meaning: This is the moment that Macbeth is musing that if the murder could be completed quickly and have no consequences, it would be best to get it over with quickly.

26. “Methought I heard a voice cry, ‘Sleep no more! Macbeth does murder sleep: the innocent sleep, sleep that knits up the ravelled sleeve of care, the death of each day’s life, sore labor’s bath, balm of hurt minds, great nature’s second course, chief nourished in life’s feast.”

Meaning: Tormented by guilt after the murder of Duncan, Macbeth is feeling that he has murdered the peaceful innocence of sleep.

27. “Things bad begun make strong themselves by ill.”

Where: Scene 2, Act 3

Meaning:  This quote suggests that once you start doing evil things, they strengthen and perpetuate themselves through further evil actions.

28. “Blood will have blood.”

Where: Scene

Meaning: Macbeth means that one violent act will inevitably lead to another, as each act of violence necessitates further violence to cover it up.

29. “Thou sure and firm-set earth, hear not my steps, which way they walk, for fear thy very stones prate of my whereabouts.”

Meaning:  So consumed by guilt and fear, Macbeth is imagining the ground itself might betray his murderous actions.

30. “How now, you secret, black, and midnight hags!”

Meaning:  Macbeth addresses the witches, acknowledging their dark and mysterious nature.

31. “To-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow, creeps in this petty pace from day to day to the last syllable of recorded time, and all our yesterdays have lighted fools the way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle! Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player that struts and frets his hour upon the stage and then is heard no more: it is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.”

Where: Scene 5, Act 5

Meaning: After hearing of his wife’s death, Macbeth reflects on the futility and meaninglessness of life.

32. “I bear a charmed life.”

Where: Scene 8, Act 5

Meaning:  Macbeth believes he is invincible because of the witches’ prophecy that no man born of a woman can harm him.

33. “The devil damn thee black, thou cream-faced loon! Where gott’st thou that goose look?”

Meaning:  In a state of paranoia and anger, Macbeth berates a servant.

Macbeth quotes by Lady Macbeth

Among all of Shakespeare’s plays, Lady Macbeth is one of the most complex and powerful female characters, is central to the dramatic development of “Macbeth.” Known for her burning ambition to be queen, she exhibits a fascinating blend of strength, ambition, and psychological complexity. Initially, she is portrayed as a strong, manipulative figure, deeply involved in plotting King Duncan’s murder and challenging traditional gender roles. Her taunting of Macbeth’s courage and her lack of humanity highlight her ruthless nature.

However, as the play progresses, Lady Macbeth’s facade of strength crumbles under the weight of guilt and madness. Her descent into madness, marked by sleepwalking and obsessive hand-washing, reflects her deep remorse and inability to cope with the consequences of her actions. This transformation from a figure of immense power and control to a tragic, guilt-ridden character underscores the themes of ambition, power, and the psychological repercussions of guilt in Shakespeare’s work. If you’re studying Macbeth, it’s a good idea to know about Lady Macbeth and her most important key quotes and lines from Macbeth.

34. “The raven himself is hoarse that croaks the fatal entrance of Duncan under my battlements.”

Who: Lady Macbeth

Where: Scene 5, Act 1

Meaning:  Lady Macbeth sees the raven as a symbol of Duncan’s impending death at her castle.

35. “Yet do I fear thy nature; it is too full o’ the milk of human kindness.”

Meaning:  Fearing that Macbeth is too kind and moral to seize the crown by murder, Lady Macbeth is questioning his nature.

36. “O, never shall sun that morrow see! Your face, my thane, is as a book where men may read strange matters. To beguile the time, look like the time. Bear welcome in your eye, your hand, your tongue. Look like the’ innocent flower, but be the serpent under ‘t. He that’s coming must be provide for: and you shall put this night’s great business into my dispatch, which shall to all our nights and days to come give solely sovereign sway and masterdom.”

Meaning:  Lady Macbeth instructs Macbeth to hide his true intentions and act welcoming to King Duncan.

37. “Would’st thou have that which thou esteem’st the ornament of life, and live a coward in thine own esteem, letting “I dare not” wait upon “I would,” like the poor cat i’ the’ adage?”

Meaning: Challenging Macbeth’s manhood, Lady Macbeth is accusing him of being a coward for hesitating to murder Duncan.

38. “Here’s the smell of blood still. All the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand”

Where: Scene 1, Act 5

Meaning: Here Lady Macbeth is showing how she is tormented by guilt, imagining that her hands will never be free of the smell of blood.

39. “Come, you spirits, that tend on mortal thoughts. Unsex me here, and fill me, from the crown to the toe, top-full of direst cruelty. Make thick my blood. Stop up the’ access and passage to remorse, that no compunctious visiting of nature shake my fell purpose, nor keep peace between th’ effect and it. Come to my woman’s breasts, and take my milk for gall, you murd’ring ministers, wherever in your sightless substances you wait on nature’s mischief. Come, thick night, and pall thee in the dunnest smoke of hell, that my keen knife see not the wound it makes, nor heaven peep through the blanket of the dark, to cry “Hold, hold!””

Meaning: Lady Macbeth calls on evil spirits to make her ruthless and capable of committing murder.

40. “When thou durst do it, then you were a man”

Meaning:  This is another quote where Lady Macbeth questions Macbeth’s manhood, suggesting that he would be more of a man if he went through with the murder.

41. “I have given suck, and know how tender ’tis to love the babe that milks me. I would, while it was smiling in my face, have plucked my nipple from his boneless gums and dashed the brains out, had I so sworn as you have done to this.”

Meaning:  Lady Macbeth is expressing her commitment to their murderous plan, suggesting she would kill her own child if she had sworn to do so, as Macbeth has sworn to kill Duncan.

42. “I laid their daggers ready; he could not miss ’em. Had he not resembled my father as he slept, I had done’t.”

Meaning:  Here she reveals she would have killed Duncan herself if he hadn’t reminded her of her father, showing her ruthless nature and commitment to their plan.

42. “Out! Damned spot! One, two – why, then ’tis time to don’t. Hell is murky. Fie, my lord, fie, a soldier and afeard? What need we fear who knows it, when none can call our power to account? – Yet who would have thought the old man to have had so much blood in him.”

Meaning:  In her madness, Lady Macbeth is obsessively trying to wash away an imaginary bloodstain, symbolising her guilt over the murders.

43. “What’s done cannot be undone.”

Meaning: Lady Macbeth is acknowledging that the consequences of their actions are irreversible, expressing despair and resignation.

The key quotes in Macbeth come from all different characters, with many from the leading characters of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. They’re bound to be an essential element of any assignment or exam surrounding the infamous Shakespeare play. If you’re planning to do more literature study in the future, then you’ll need to know the best universities for English Literature in the UK . Luckily, we’ve found them for you.

Last Updated on July 26, 2024

Published on December 18, 2020

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Macbeth Quotes

Famous quotes from macbeth.

“When shall we three meet again / In thunder, lightning, or in rain ? / When the hurly burly ‘s done, /When the battle ‘s lost and won.”

“Fair is foul, and foul is fair / Hover through the fog and filthy air.”

“If chance will have me king, why, chance may crown me / Without my stir.”

“Yet do I fear thy nature; / It is too full o’ the milk of human kindness .”

“Where we are, / There’s daggers in men’s smiles, / The near in blood, the nearer bloody.”

“Things without all remedy / Should be without regard: What’s done is done.”

“I dare do all that may become a man; / Who dares do more is none.”

“Double, double toil and trouble; / Fire burn, and cauldron bubble.”

“Here’s the smell of blood. / All the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand.”

“ Out, out , brief candle! / Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player / That struts and frets his hour upon the stage / And then is heard no more. It is a tale / Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, / Signifying nothing.”

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Macbeth’s Best Key Quotations

Here’s a list of the best key quotations for Macbeth. I’ve been teaching Macbeth for years and these quotations are the ones that I find myself returning to over and over again. They have lots of techniques and imagery in them, and they relate to a huge range of different key themes and ideas in the play: violence, madness, masculinity, death, religion, the supernatural and more.

Thanks for reading! If you’re looking for a full list of quotations from every character in the play, you can purchase the full downloadable document .

If you find this resource useful, you can take a look at our full online Macbeth course here .  

This course includes: 

• A full set of video lessons on each key element of the text: summary, themes, setting, characters, context, attitudes, analysis of key quotes, essay questions, essay examples
• Downloadable documents for each video lesson 
• A range of example B-A* / L7-L9 grade essays, both at GCSE (ages 14-16) and A-Level (age 16+) with teacher comments and mark scheme feedback
• A bonus Macbeth workbook designed to guide you through each scene of the play!

Key Quotations:

“Unseam’d him from the nave to’th’chops, and fixed his head upon the battlements” – 1.2 – Asks us to question Macbeth’s nature.  

“brave Macbeth—well he deserves that name” – “O valiant cousin, worthy gentleman” – 1.2 – Captain describes Macbeth; Duncan to Macbeth.

“So foul and fair a day I have not seen” – 1.3 – Macbeth’s first line. Echoes the witches’ words in 1.1. 

The thane of Cawdor lives. Why do you dress me / In borrowed robes? Macbeth 1.3

“Vaulting ambition, which o’erleaps itself” – 1.7 – Macbeth’s soliloquy exploring his motivations for murder – his fatal flaw is ‘ambition’, personification. 

“I dare do all that may become a man; Who dares do more, is none” – 1.7 – Macbeth

“Is this a dagger which I see before me?” – 2.1 – Macbeth’s soliloquy, supernatural vision (or alternatively madness), violence – foreshadowing Duncan’s death, madness, manipulation by witches, rhetorical question – asking no one. 

“Fruitless crown……barren scepter” 3.1 – Macbeth Soliloquy

“(Aside to Macbeth) Are you a man? ” – 3.4 – Lady Macbeth challenges Macbeth’s strength when he has a nervous breakdown after seeing the ghost

“I am in blood/Stepp’d in so far that, should I wade no more” – 3.4. – Macbeth 

“Give to the edge of the sword his wife his babes” 4.1 – Macbeth soliloquy regarding Macduff’s family.

“none of woman born / Shall harm Macbeth” “beware Macduff” 4.1 the Witches’ second set of prophecies 

“bloody, / Luxurious, avaricious, false, deceitful, / Sudden, malicious, smacking of every sin / That has a name.”  Malcolm 4.3, about Macbeth 

“Life is but a walking shadow… a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing” – 5.5 – Macbeth before death – shows his full tragic fall. 

“Out, out brief candle!” Macbeth soliloquy 5.5

“This dead butcher and his fiendlike queen” 5.8 Malcolm, about the Macbeths 

Macbeth Act 1.1: Modern English Translation

If you’re studying Macbeth, you can click here to buy our full online course. Use the code “SHAKESPEARE” to receive a 50% discount!

You will gain access to  over 8 hours  of  engaging video content , plus  downloadable PDF guides  for  Macbeth  that cover the following topics:

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Macbeth Quotes

FIRST WITCH: When shall we three meet again In thunder, lightning, or in rain? SECOND WITCH: When the hurly-burly’s done, When the battle’s lost and won.

– William Shakespeare

Fair is foul, and foul is fair: Hover through the fog and filthy air.

What bloody man is that?

Doubtful it stood, As two spent swimmers that do cling together And choke their art.

The merciless Macdonwald – Worthy to be a rebel, for to that The multiplying villanies of nature Do swarm upon him… For brave Macbeth – well he deserves that name! Disdaining fortune, with his brandished steel, Which smoked with bloody execution, Like valour’s minion carved out his passage Till he faced the slave; Which ne’er shook hands, nor bade farewell to him, Till he unseam’d him from the nave to th’ chops, And fix’d his head upon our battlements.

But I am faint, my gashes cry for help.

O valiant cousin! worthy gentleman!

No more that thane of Cawdor shall deceive Our bosom interest: go pronounce his present death, And with his former title greet Macbeth.

What he hath lost, noble Macbeth hath won.

I’ll give thee a wind.

Sleep shall neither night nor day Hang upon his pent-house lid.

Shall he dwindle, peak and pine.

Though his bark cannot be lost, Yet it shall be tempest-toss’d.

The weird sisters, hand in hand, Posters of the sea and land, Thus do go about, about: Thrice to thine, and thrice to mine, And thrice again, to make up nine.

So foul and fair a day I have not seen.

What are these So wither’d and so wild in their attire, That look not like the inhabitants o’ the earth, And yet are on ‘t?

FIRST WITCH: All hail, Macbeth! hail to thee, thane of Glamis! SECOND WITCH: All hail, Macbeth, hail to thee, thane of Cawdor! THIRD WITCH: All hail, Macbeth, thou shalt be king hereafter!

If you can look into the seeds of time, And say which grain will grow and which will not.

FIRST WITCH: Lesser than Macbeth, and greater. SECOND WITCH: Not so happy, yet much happier. THIRD WITCH: Thou shalt get kings, though thou be none.

Stay, you imperfect speakers, tell me more: By Sinel’s death I know I am thane of Glamis; But how of Cawdor? the thane of Cawdor lives, A prosperous gentleman; and to be king Stands not within the prospect of belief, No more than to be Cawdor.

And to be king Stands not within the prospect of belief, No more than to be Cawdor.

Say, from whence You owe this strange intelligence? or why Upon this blasted heath you stop our way With such prophetic greeting? Speak, I charge you.

Or have we eaten on the insane root That takes the reason prisoner?

Every one did bear Thy praises in his kingdom’s great defence.

And, for an earnest of a greater honour, He bade me, from him, call thee thane of Cawdor: In which addition, hail, most worthy thane! For it is thine.

What! can the devil speak true?

Why do you dress me In borrowed robes?

And oftentimes, to win us to our harm, The instruments of darkness tell us truths, Win us with honest trifles, to betray ‘s In deepest consequence.

Two truths are told, As happy prologues to the swelling act Of the imperial theme.

Cannot be ill, cannot be good: if ill, Why hath it given me earnest of success, Commencing in a truth? I am thane of Cawdor: If good, why do I yield to that suggestion Whose horrid image doth unfix my hair And make my seated heart knock at my ribs, Against the use of nature? Present fears Are less than horrible imaginings: My thought, whose murder yet is but fantastical, Shakes so my single state of man that function Is smother’d in surmise, and nothing is But what is not.

> Macbeth Study Guide Study Guides Master Shakespeare's Macbeth using Absolute Shakespeare's Macbeth essay, plot summary, quotes and characters study guides. Plot Summary : A quick review of the plot of Macbeth including every important action in the play. An ideal introduction before reading the original text. Commentary : Detailed description of each act with translations and explanations for all important quotes. The next best thing to an modern English translation. Characters : Review of each character's role in the play including defining quotes and character motivations for all major characters. Characters Analysis : Critical essay by influential Shakespeare scholar and commentator William Hazlitt, discussing all you need to know on the characters of Macbeth. Macbeth Essay : Samuel Taylor Coleridge's famous essay on Macbeth based on his legendary and influential lectures and notes on Shakespeare. “Macbeth” – Important quotes to memorize Daniel Paul • Fair is foul, and foul is fair – The Witches (Act 1, Scene 1) • If you can look into the seeds of time, And say which grain will grow, and which will not, speak. – Banquo (Act 1, Scene 3) • And oftentimes, to win us to our harm, The instruments of darkness tell us truths, Win us with honest trifles, to betray’s In deepest consequence. – Banquo (Act 1, Scene 3) • If chance will have me king, why, chance may crown me. – Macbeth (Act 1, Scene 3) • There’s no art to find the mind’s construction in the face. – Duncan (Act 1, Scene 4) • Stars, hide your fires! Let not light see my black and deep desires. – Macbeth (Act 1, Scene 4) • Come, you spirits That tend on moral thoughts! unsex me here, And fill me from the crown to the toe, top-full Of direst cruelty – Lady Macbeth (Act 1, Scene 5) • Look like the innocent flower, But be the serpent under it. – Lady Macbeth (Act 1, Scene 5) • I dare do all that my become a man; Who dares do more, is none. – Macbeth (Act 1, Scene 7) • I have given suck, and know How tender ’tis to love the babe that milks me: I would, while it was smiling in my face, Have pluck’d my nipple from his boneless gums, And dash’d the brains out, had I so sworn As you have done to this. – Lady Macbeth (Act 1, Scene 7) • Screw your courage to the sticking-place. – Lady Macbeth (Act 1, Scene 7) • 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. Art thou not, fatal vision, sensible To feeling as to sight? – Macbeth (Act 2, Scene 1) • The wine of life is drawn, and the mere lees is left this vault to brag of. – Macbeth (Act 2, Scene 1) • To show an unfelt sorrow is an office which the false man does easy. – Malcolm (Act 2, Scene 2) • There’s daggers in men’s smiles. – Donalbain (Act 2, Scene 3) • I am in blood steepp’d in so far, that, should I wade no more, returning were as tedious as go o’er. – Macbeth (Act 3, Scene  4) • Double, double toil and trouble; Fire burn and cauldron bubble. – Witches (Act 4, Scene 1) • When our actions do not, Our fears do make us traitors. – Lady Macduff (Act 4, Scene 2) • Angels are bright still, though the brightest fell; though all things foul would wear the brows of grace, yet grace must still look so. – Malcolm (Act 4, Scene 3) • Give sorrow words: the grief that does not speak Whispers the o’er-fraught heart, and bids it break. – Malcolm (Act 4, Scene 3) • Out, damned spot! out, I say! – Lady Macbeth (Act 5, Scene 1) • Those he commands move only in command, Nothing in love: now does he feel his title hand loose about him, like a giant’s robe upon a dwarfish thief. – Angus (Act 5, Scene 2) • I have supp’d full with horrors; direness, familiar to my slaughterous thoughts cannot once start me. – Macbeth (Act 5, Scene 5) • Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player that struts and frets his hour upon the stage, and then is heard no more. It is a talk told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing. – Macbeth (Act 5, Scene 5) would these be enough for every theme and character? If i use references to the text also.  MACBETH 10 KEY QUOTES. We know that learning and analysing key quotes is a vital of preparing for the GCSE English Literature exam. These quotes cover a range of literary devices, themes and characters, meaning you’ll be prepared no matter what question you get in your exam. These quotes cover a range of literary devices, themes and characters, meaning students will be prepared no matter what question comes up on exam. Starter Activity:  do a close reading of one of these quotes. This could be done individually, in pairs or small groups, or as a class. Annotate the quote, consider its context within the play, and explore any interesting linguistic elements. Contextualising the quote will help unlock the themes highlighted. We use cookies to ensure you get the best experience from our website. Carry on browsing if you're happy with this, or find out how to manage cookies . CRUNCH TIME SALE! Further 25% OFF 3 Month ATARNotes+ Digital Passes! USE CODE: CRUNCH25. ACCESS NOW ! How to Use Quotes When Analysing Macbeth Tuesday 30th, August 2022 Jess Laven graduated in 2020 with an ATAR of 96.60. In this article, Jess runs through some tips on how to use quotes when analysing Macbeth , based on Jess' own study experiences. Check out ATAR Notes' Text Guide for Macbeth here . 📚 One of the challenges of Macbeth English exams is knowing what quotes to memorise and how to use them to analyse the play. In an earlier article, I gave 10 things you need to know when studying Macbeth . This article focuses on quotes, offering the tips and examples you need to ace your exam. What Macbeth Quotes Should I Memorise? Choose quotes: That can be used for a range of essay questions. Doing this will mean you won’t need to remember as many quotes because you’ll be able to spin your quotes to suit different essay prompts. From throughout the play. Don’t limit yourself to one Act in the play. This would make it harder to answer essay questions that focus on a different section of the play. It may also give markers the impression that you haven’t put in the effort to read and understand the full play. That are well-known and less well-known. It is best to have a combination. Using less well-known quotes will showcase the depth of your knowledge. Meanwhile, using well-known quotes is helpful because they tend to suit many essay questions. That cover a majority of the play’s themes. Macbeth has many themes. Essay questions tend to revolve around one or more of these themes either directly or indirectly. Knowing quotes that relate to most of these themes will set you up for success. How Do I Use My Quotes to Analyse Macbeth ? Macbeth quotes often relate to more than one of the play’s themes. You might find it helpful to note down what these themes are for each quote. I have pulled quotes from the list I memorised for my Year 12 external English exam and categorised them under one of their dominant themes. Hopefully, this will demonstrate the role and significance of these themes, and give you some ideas about good quotes and how to analyse them. Macbeth quotes often relate to more than one of the play’s themes. Power and Ambition There are several types of power in Macbeth , including unearned power, corruption of power, women in power and supernatural power. Macbeth and Lady Macbeth’s desire for power is driven by their unchecked ambition, which is a closely interrelated theme. Macbeth displays his ambition to become King after Duncan names his eldest son, Malcolm, as his heir to the Scottish throne. He pleads, “Stars, hide your fires; Let not light see my black and deep desires” (1.4). Lady Macbeth recognises this ambition, though she doesn’t believe he possesses the manliness to act on it by killing Duncan. In reference to Macbeth and his nature, she says: “It is too full o’ th’ milk of human kindness To catch the nearest way: thou wouldst be great, Art not without ambition, but without The illness should attend it” (1.5). She says this after reading the letter from Macbeth about the witches’ prophecies. It is at this point that she begins to devise her plan to coerce Macbeth to commit regicide.  Macbeth supports Lady Macbeth’s suspicions when he admits, “I have no spur To prick the sides of my intent, but only Vaulting ambition” (1.7). Here, he indicates that ambition is his only motivation for killing Duncan. After Macbeth becomes King, he reveals that he is still restless and insecure, fearing he may lose his position. He is also bothered that he has no heir and therefore no guarantee that his lineage will continue after his passing. He claims, “To be thus is nothing, But to be safely thus” (3.1). This quote also explains why killing King Duncan triggered Macbeth to commit a series of future violent deeds in an attempt to secure his power. Macbeth refers to this chain reaction when he says, “I am in blood Stepped in so far that, should I wade no more, Returning were as tedious as go o’er” (3.4). Guilt and Remorse Macbeth expresses his uneasiness over his plan to kill Duncan, stating, “My thought, whose murder yet is but fantastical, Shakes so my single state of man” (1.3). Once the deed is done, he immediately expresses his guilt and remorse. For example, Macbeth claims that all of the oceans in the world would not be able to wash the blood from his hands. Instead, he suggests that the blood would stain the ocean red, indicating that his guilt will never waver and his crime could be uncovered: “Will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood Clean from my hand? No, this my hand will rather The multitudinous seas incarnadine, Making the green one red” (2.2). Once the deed is done, he immediately expresses his guilt and remorse. Macbeth clearly expresses his remorse over killing Duncan when he says, “Wake Duncan with thy knocking. I would thou couldst” (2.2). Macduff is knocking on Duncan’s door, and Macbeth is saying that he wishes Macduff could wake Duncan. In other words, he wishes he could take back his actions. Macbeth also feels guilt over orchestrating Banquo’s murder. Macbeth says, “Thou canst not say I did it. Never shake Thy gory locks at me” (3.4). He is trying to convince himself that he was not guilty because it was not him who killed Banquo. Rather, it was the assassins he hired.  Lady Macbeth’s guilt and remorse appear later than Macbeth’s. An example of this is when she demands, “Out, damned spot! Out, I say!” (5.1), believing that there is blood on her hands. This is a symbol of her involvement in Duncan’s death and her inability to undo it or rid herself of her guilt. Appearance and Reality Hallucinations, manipulation and deception are important in Macbeth . Banquo foreshadows the unfortunate events of the play when he says, “And oftentimes, to win us to our harm, The instruments of darkness tell us truths, Win us with honest trifles, to betray ’s In deepest consequence” (1.3). Banquo is warning Macbeth that the witches may be telling the truth about unimportant things, only to lie later when the consequences are worse. Hallucinations, manipulation and deception are important in Macbeth . The original Thane of Cawdor was a traitor, leading Duncan to conclude that, “There’s no art To find the mind’s construction in the face” (1.4). In other words, it is impossible to look at someone’s face and know their thoughts and plans. This is ironic because Macbeth, the subsequent Thane of Cawdor, asks the stars to hide his desires at the end of this scene and later goes on to kill Duncan. One of Lady Macbeth’s most renowned quotes is, “Look like th’ innocent flower, But be the serpent under ’t” (1.5). Here, she is encouraging Macbeth to act normally so as to deceive everyone and avoid arousing suspicion about their plan to kill Duncan. Macbeth’s hallucinations emerge before he kills Duncan. He asks, “Is this a dagger which I see before me, The handle toward my hand” (2.1)? This is symbolic of his impending crime. Macbeth may have been trying to rationalise his decision to kill Duncan by imagining a dagger, the killing weapon, and perceiving it as a sign that he is destined to commit regicide.    Malcom and Donalbain, Duncan’s sons, recognise that they are in danger and decide to escape. Donalbain says, “There’s daggers in men’s smiles. The near in blood, The nearer bloody” (2.3). Here, he suggests that there are enemies among them who are hiding their evil intentions behind smiles. He suspects that the people who are close to them, and therefore close to the throne, are most likely to kill them. Macbeth continues to hallucinate after killing Duncan. After he arranges the murder of Banquo, he hallucinates the ghost of his former friend at the banquet. Lady Macbeth scolds him, saying, “This is the very painting of your fear. This is the air-drawn dagger…” (3.4), emphasising the disjunction between appearance and reality for Macbeth. There are many more themes and many more significant quotes in Macbeth . Keep an eye out for future articles in which I explore these. In the meantime, happy reading and Googling! Featured Articles What does it actually mean to “study smart”? When I was in high school, I was often told to “study smart, not hard”. It’s a common high school trope and, to be completely frank, I didn’t know what it m... The benefit of asking questions in high school For whatever reason, asking questions through class can actually be pretty tough. Maybe you feel embarrassed about not knowing the answer. Maybe you haven’t yet developed rap... How to study in high school - the 'dos' and 'don'ts' As we know, different students study in different ways, and that’s totally fine. This article isn’t prescriptive - we’re not telling you what must be done - but w... Spare 5 minutes? Here are 7 quick study strategies There are sometimes occasions when you only have a few minutes to yourself, and you want to be productive, but you’re not sure how. You don’t have a lot of time up your... 'Macbeth' Quotes Explained Doctor of Arts, University of Albany, SUNY M.S., Literacy Education, University of Albany, SUNY B.A., English, Virginia Commonwealth University Macbeth , William Shakespeare's bloodiest play, is one of the most quoted dramatic works in the English language. Memorable lines from the tragedy explore themes like reality and illusion, ambition and power, and guilt and remorse. Famous quotations from Macbeth are still recited (and sometimes spoofed) today in movies, TV shows, commercials, and even the daily news. Quotes About Reality and Illusion "Fair is foul, and foul is fair: Hover through the fog and filthy air." (Act I, Scene 1) The Tragedy of Macbeth opens with an eerie, supernatural scene. Amidst thunder and lightening, three witches moan into the wind. They tell us that nothing is as it seems. What's good ("fair") is evil ("foul"). What's evil is good. Everything is strangely reversed. The witches—also called "weird sisters"—are odd and unnatural. They speak in sing-song rhymes, but describe filth and evil. There's an unexpected rhythm to their words. Most of Shakespeare's characters speak in iambs , with the emphasis falling on the second syllable: da- dum , da- dum . Shakespeare's witches, however, chant in  trochees . The emphasis falls on the first syllable: Fair is foul , and foul is fair . This particular quote is also a paradox . By pairing opposites, the witches disrupt the natural order. Macbeth aligns himself with their twisted thinking when he echoes their words in Act I, Scene 3: "So foul and fair a day I have not seen[.]" Shakespeare's witches are fascinating because they force us to question the natural order of things, as well as our notions about fate and free will. Appearing at key moments in Macbeth , they chant prophesies, spark Macbeth's lust for the throne, and manipulate his thinking. "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. Art thou not, fatal vision, sensible To feeling as to sight? Or art thou but A dagger of the mind, a false creation, Proceeding from the heat-oppressed brain?" (Act II, Scene 1) The witches also set the tone for moral confusion and hallucinatory scenes like Macbeth's encounter with a floating dagger. Here, Macbeth is preparing to murder the king when delivers this haunting soliloquy . His tortured imagination ("heat-oppressed brain") conjures the illusion of the murder weapon. His soliloquy becomes a chilling apostrophe in which he speaks directly to the dagger: "Come, let me clutch thee." The dagger, of course, cannot respond. Like many things in Macbeth's distorted vision, it's not even real. Quotes About Ambition and Power "Stars, hide your fires; Let not light see my black and deep desires." (Act I, Scene 4) Macbeth is a complex and conflicted character . His comrades call him "brave" and "worthy," but the witches' prophecy has awakened a secret longing for power. These lines, spoken by Macbeth as an aside, reveal the "black and deep desires" he struggles to hide. Lusting for the crown, Macbeth plots to kill the king. But, on reflection, he questions the practicality of such an action. "I have no spur To prick the sides of my intent, but only Vaulting ambition, which o'erleaps itself And falls on the other." (Act I, Scene 7) Here, Macbeth acknowledges that ambition is his only motivation ("spur") to commit murder. Like a horse spurred to leap too high, this much ambition can only result in downfall. Ambition is Macbeth's tragic flaw , and it's possible that nothing could have saved him from his fate. However, much of the blame can be placed on his wife. Power-hungry and manipulative, Lady Macbeth vows to do whatever it takes to advance her husband's murderous plan. "…Come, you spirits That tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here, And fill me from the crown to the toe top-full Of direst cruelty! make thick my blood; Stop up the access and passage to remorse, That no compunctious visitings of nature Shake my fell purpose, nor keep peace between The effect and it! Come to my woman's breasts, And take my milk for gall, you murdering ministers, Wherever in your sightless substances You wait on nature's mischief!" (Act I, Scene 5) In this soliloquy, Lady Macbeth braces herself for murder. She rejects Elizabethan notions of womanhood ("unsex me"), and begs to be rid of soft emotions and female "visitings of nature" (menstruation). She asks the spirits to fill her breasts with poison ("gall"). Women's milk is a recurring motif in Shakespeare's play, representing the soft, nurturing qualities Lady Macbeth renounces. She believes that her husband is "too full o' the milk of human kindness" (Act I, Scene 5) to kill the king. When he waffles, she tells him that she would rather murder her own infant than abandon their murderous plan. "…I have given suck, and know How tender 'tis to love the babe that milks me: I would, while it was smiling in my face, Have pluck'd my nipple from his boneless gums, And dash'd the brains out, had I so sworn as you Have done to this." In this shocking rebuke, Lady Macbeth attacks her husband's manhood. She implies that he must be weak—weaker than his wife, weaker than a nursing mother—if he cannot keep his vow to take the throne. Elizabethan audiences would have been repulsed by Lady Macbeth's raw ambition and reversal of traditional sex roles. Just as her husband crossed moral boundaries, Lady Macbeth defied her place in society. In the 1600s, she may have appeared as weird and unnatural as the witches with their eerie incantations. Today's attitudes are very different, yet ambitious and powerful women still arouse suspicion. Critics and conspiracy theorists have used the name "Lady Macbeth" to deride public figures like Hillary Clinton and Julia Gillard . Quotes About Guilt and Remorse "Methought I heard a voice cry 'Sleep no more! Macbeth does murder sleep.' What hands are here? ha! they pluck out mine eyes. Will all great Neptune's ocean wash this blood Clean from my hand? No, this my hand will rather The multitudinous seas in incarnadine, Making the green one red." (Act II, Scene 2) Macbeth speaks these lines immediately after murdering the king. To "murder sleep" has a double meaning. Macbeth has killed a sleeping man, and he's also killed his own serenity. Macbeth knows that because of this action, he will never be able to rest peacefully.  The guilt Macbeth feels stirs hallucinations and gruesome visions of blood. He's shocked by the sight of his murderous hands. ("They pluck out mine eyes.") In his tormented mind, his hands are soaked with so much blood, they would turn the ocean red.  Lady Macbeth shares Macbeth's crime, but does not immediately show guilt. She coldly returns the daggers to the crime scene and smears blood on the king's sleeping grooms so that they will be blamed. Seemly unruffled, she tells her husband, "A little water clears us of this deed" (Act II, Scene 2). "Out, damned spot! out, I say! — One: two: why, then, 'tis time to do't. — Hell is murky! — Fie, my lord, fie! a soldier, and afeard? What need we fear who knows it, when none can call our power to account? — Yet who would have thought the old man to have had so much blood in him. The thane of Fife had a wife: where is she now? — What, will these hands ne'er be clean? — No more o' that, my lord, no more o' that: you mar all with this starting. Here's the smell of the blood still: all the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand. Oh, oh, oh! Wash your hands, put on your nightgown; look not so pale. — I tell you yet again, Banquo's buried; he cannot come out on's grave. To bed, to bed! there's knocking at the gate: come, come, come, come, give me your hand. What's done cannot be undone. — To bed, to bed, to bed! " (Act V, Scene 1) The king is only one of many killings during Macbeth's bloody reign. To hold onto his ill-gotten crown, he orders the slaughter of his friend Banquo and the entire household of Lord Macduff, the Thane of Fife. Macbeth suffers fits of hysteria and hallucinates Banquo's ghost with blood-clotted hair. But it's the hard-hearted Lady Macbeth who eventually collapses under the weight of guilt, and she is the one who gives this monologue. Sleepwalking, she wrings her hands and babbles about the stain of so much spilled blood.  The phrase "Out, damned spot!" can seem comical to modern readers. Lady Macbeth's distraught words have been used in advertisements for products ranging from household cleaners to acne medicines. But this is the raving of a woman who teeters on the brink of madness.  Parts of Lady Macbeth's monologue, like the incantation of the witches, depart from the traditional iambic pentameter. In a metrical pattern called a spondee , she strings together syllables that have equal weight: Out-damned-spot-out . Since each one-syllable word is equally stressed, the emotional tension is heightened. Readers (or listeners) are more likely to feel the impact of each word. The words themselves seem nonsensical. They are non sequiturs , jumping from thought to thought. Lady Macbeth is reliving all the crimes, remembering sounds, smells, and images. One after the other, she names murder victims: the king ("the old man"), Macduff's wife, and Banquo. "To-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow, Creeps in this petty pace from day to day To the last syllable of recorded time, And all our yesterdays have lighted fools The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle! Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player That struts and frets his hour upon the stage And then is heard no more: it is a tale Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, Signifying nothing." (Act V, Scene 5) Unable to recover from her guilt, Lady Macbeth kills herself. When this news reaches Macbeth, he's already in deep despair. Abandoned by his noblemen and knowing his own days are numbered, he delivers one of the most desolate soliloquies in the English language. In this extended metaphor , Macbeth compares life to a theatrical performance. Days on earth are as short-lived as the candles that illuminate the Elizabethan stage. Each person is nothing more than a shadow cast by that flickering light, a silly actor who struts about and then vanishes when the candle is snuffed. In this metaphor, nothing is real and nothing matters. Life is "a tale told by an idiot… signifying nothing." American author William Faulkner titled his novel The Sound and the Fury  after a line from Macbeth's soliloquy. Poet Robert Frost borrowed a phrase for his poem, " Out, Out — ." Even the cartoon Simpson family embraced the metaphor with a melodramatic rendition by Homer Simpson . Ironically, Shakespeare's tragedy ends soon after this somber speech. It's easy to imagine audiences blinking from the theater, wondering, What's real? What's illusion? Are we part of the play? Garber, Marjorie. “Shakespeare and Modern Culture, Chapter One.” 10 Dec. 2008, www.nytimes.com/2008/12/11/books/chapters/chapter-shakespeare.html. Excerpted from the book, Pantheon Publishers. Liner, Elaine. “Out, Damned Spot!: The Best Pop Culture References That Came from Macbeth.” 26 Sept. 2012, www.dallasobserver.com/arts/out-damned-spot-the-best-pop-culture-references-that-came-from-macbeth-7097037. Macbeth . Folger Shakespeare Library, www.folger.edu/macbeth. Shakespeare, William. The Tragedy of Macbeth . Arden. Read online at shakespeare.mit.edu/macbeth/index.html Themes in Macbeth . Royal Shakespeare Company, cdn2.rsc.org.uk/sitefinity/education-pdfs/themes-resources/edu-macbeth-themes.pdf?sfvrsn=4. Wojczuk, Tana. The Good Wife – Hillary Clinton as Lady Macbeth . Guernica, 19 Jan. 2016. www.guernicamag.com/tana-wojczuk-the-good-wife-hillary-clinton-as-lady-macbeth/. 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We've got your covered with the Literature COMMENTS Macbeth Quotes: 60 Significant Quotes From Macbeth ️ Must be provide for: and you shall put. This night's great business into my dispatch, Which shall to all our nights and days to come. Give solely sovereign sway and masterdom.". Lady Macbeth (Act 1, Scene 5) "Come, you spirits. That tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here, And fill me from the crown to the toe top-full. 80 Important Quotes You Should Pay Attention to in Macbeth Two key characters who are tied to ambition throughout the play are Macbeth and Lady Macbeth, which can be seen through the quotes below. #1: Stay, you imperfect speakers, tell me more. / By Sinel's death I know I am thane of Glamis. Character: Macbeth. Act 1, Scene 3. Techniques: Characterisation, fatal flaw. #2: This supernatural soliciting ... TOP 25 MACBETH ESSAY QUOTES Show source. Yet do I fear thy nature; It is too full o' the milk of human kindness. William Shakespeare. Kindness, Play, Lady Macbeth. 24 Copy quote. Show source. If chance will have me king, why, chance may crown me. William Shakespeare. Kings, Lady Macbeth, Crowns. Macbeth Quotes and Analysis Macbeth, 2.1. In this quotation, Macbeth imagines a dagger in front of him that is not really there. This instance marks the first time that Macbeth has a hallucination, suggesting his descent into stress-induced madness. It also reflects the play's overall interest in portraying the supernatural as a formidable force. Macbeth: Key Quotes Explained SECOND WITCH. When the hurly-burly's done, When the battle's lost and won. ' Fair is foul, and foul is fair '. This line is spoken by the three Witches or Weird Sisters towards the end of the play's opening scene: 'Fair is foul, and foul is fair. Hover through the fog and filthy air.'. The line 'Fair is foul, and foul is fair ... 75 Quotes From 'Macbeth' About Guilt, Ambition, Power Macbeth quotes. 1. "By the pricking of my thumbs, something wicked this way comes.". 2. "Infirm of purpose!". 3. "More is thy due than more than all can pay." 4. "I have bought golden ... 43 of the best key quotes in Macbeth and their meanings 26. "Methought I heard a voice cry, 'Sleep no more! Macbeth does murder sleep: the innocent sleep, sleep that knits up the ravelled sleeve of care, the death of each day's life, sore labor's bath, balm of hurt minds, great nature's second course, chief nourished in life's feast.". Who: Macbeth. Where: Scene 2, Act 2. Quotess from Macbeth with Examples and Analysis Quote #2. "Fair is foul, and foul is fair / Hover through the fog and filthy air.". (Lines 12-13, Act I, Scene I). Three witches who appear in Macbeth in the first scene speak these lines as they continue to weave their spell. They say that whatever they do seems good, but it will bring evil. In the same way, whatever seems bad is actually ... Macbeth's Best Key Quotations The thane of Cawdor lives. Why do you dress me / In borrowed robes? Macbeth 1.3. "Vaulting ambition, which o'erleaps itself" - 1.7 - Macbeth's soliloquy exploring his motivations for murder - his fatal flaw is 'ambition', personification. "I dare do all that may become a man; Who dares do more, is none" - 1.7 - Macbeth. Macbeth Quotes Act 1, scene 5 Quotes. Come, you spirits. That tend on mortal thoughts! unsex me here, And fill me from the crown to the toe, top-full. Of direst cruelty; make thick my blood, Stop up the access and passage to remorse, That no compunctious visitings of nature. Shake my fell purpose, nor keep peace between. Macbeth Quotes Macbeth's line echoes the incantation spoken by the Witches and which is synonymous with the play: "Fair is foul, and foul is fair.". Macbeth's first words in the drama are significant. They may refer to the good outcome of the battle that brought victory to Scotland, also the foul weather on the heath. Macbeth Quotes by William Shakespeare You wait on nature's mischief! Come, thick night, And pall thee in the dunnest smoke of hell, That my keen knife see not the wound it makes, Nor Heaven peep through the blanket of the dark, To cry "Hold, hold!". ― William Shakespeare, Macbeth. tags: act-i, scene-v. 211 likes. Shakespeare's Macbeth essay, summary, quotes and character analysis Timeline. Master Shakespeare's Macbeth using Absolute Shakespeare's Macbeth essay, plot summary, quotes and characters study guides. Plot Summary: A quick review of the plot of Macbeth including every important action in the play. An ideal introduction before reading the original text. Commentary: Detailed description of each act with ... Macbeth Critical Essays Macbeth's. Topic #3. A motif is a word, image, or action in a drama that happens over and over again. There is a recurring motif of blood and violence in the tragedy Macbeth. This motif ... SparkNotes SparkNotes "Macbeth" Act 3. • I am in blood steepp'd in so far, that, should I wade no more, returning were as tedious as go o'er. - Macbeth (Act 3, Scene 4) Act 4. • Double, double toil and trouble; Fire burn and cauldron bubble. - Witches (Act 4, Scene 1) • When our actions do not, Our fears do make us traitors. - Lady Macduff (Act 4, Scene 2) PSWDB25 MACBETH 10 KEY QUOTES. These quotes cover a range of literary devices, themes and characters, meaning students will be prepared no matter what question comes up on exam. Starter Activity: do a close reading of one of these quotes. This could be done individually, in pairs or small groups, or as a class. Annotate the quote, consider its context within the play, and ... Macbeth: Key Quotations Revision Notes. BiologyFirst Exams 2025HL. Topic Questions. Revision Notes. Chemistry. ChemistryLast Exams 2024SL. Topic Questions. Revision Notes. Revision notes on Macbeth: Key Quotations for the AQA GCSE English Literature syllabus, written by the English Literature experts at Save My Exams. How to Use Quotes When Analysing Macbeth Check out ATAR Notes' Text Guide for Macbeth here. 📚. One of the challenges of Macbeth English exams is knowing what quotes to memorise and how to use them to analyse the play. In an earlier article, I gave 10 things you need to know when studying Macbeth. This article focuses on quotes, offering the tips and examples you need to ace your exam. 'Macbeth' Quotes Explained Macbeth, William Shakespeare's bloodiest play, is one of the most quoted dramatic works in the English language.Memorable lines from the tragedy explore themes like reality and illusion, ambition and power, and guilt and remorse. Famous quotations from Macbeth are still recited (and sometimes spoofed) today in movies, TV shows, commercials, and even the daily news. assignment essay homework paper phd report resume review speech thesis