“Like Valour’s minion”
Act 1 Scene 1 - the Captain (praising Macbeth to Duncan)
Simile - comparing Macbeth to being a servant to bravery itself
Makes Macbeth seem incredibly courageous and shows his loyalty to Duncan/his commitment to fighting
“Carved out his passage”
Act 1 Scene 1 - the Captain (praising Macbeth to Duncan)
Violent imagery
“Carved” has connotations of both brutality and artistry (like a craftsman)
Shows how dangerous but also how skilful Macbeth is in battle
“Stars, hide your fires: let not light see my black and deep desires”
Act 1 Scene 4 - Macbeth (when Duncan has announced Malcolm will be the next king)
Imperatives - calling on the supernatural to hide his sinful lust for power
“mine eternal jewel / Given to the common enemy of man”
Act 3 Scene 1 - Macbeth (when plotting to kill Banquo)
Metaphor - comparing killing Duncan to giving his soul to the devil
Shows Macbeth knows this is an irreversible sinful act
“to be thus is nothing; But to be safely thus”
Act 3 Scene 1 - Macbeth (when plotting to kill Banquo)
Euphemism - Macbeth feels so insecure in his power, he cannot even say he is king
“I am in blood / Stepped in so far that, should I wade no more / Returning were as tedious as go o’er”
Act 3 Scene 4 - Macbeth (after seeing Banquo’s ghost)
Metaphor of Macbeth standing in a river of blood - shows the extent of his guilt
“tedious” - Macbeth is motivated by convenience rather than morality
“Seize upon Fife; give to the edge o’ the sword / His wife, his babes and all unfortunate souls”
Act 4 Scene 1 - Macbeth (after he has heard the new prophecies)
Imperatives - makes Macbeth seem reckless or impulsive
Listing - shows the extent of the murders Macbeth is willing to commit
“unfortunate” - reveals that Macbeth knows they are innocent victims
“Turn, hell-hound, turn”
Act 5 Scene 8 - Macduff (to Macbeth on the battlefield)
Metaphor comparing Macbeth to a “hell-hound” - makes him seem like a monster sent from hell and therefore immoral/corrupted
“the usurper’s cursed head”
Act 5 Scene 8 - Macduff (to Macbeth on the battlefield)
“cursed” - certainty that Macbeth will be punished in the afterlife
Cyclical structure - Macbeth started the play by beheading a traitor and has now been beheaded as a traitor (shows how power corrupts/traitors are always punished)
“this dead butcher and his fiend-like queen”
Act 5 Scene 9 - Malcolm (in the final speech of the play)
“butcher” - shows Macbeth’s ruthlessness and brutality
Unnamed in the end - shows how they will be forgotten/lost their legacy and reputation
“this _______ ________ and his ______ -like ________”
“this dead butcher and his fiend-like queen”
“the __________ cursed ________”
“the usurper’s cursed head”
“Turn, _________, turn”
“Turn, hell-hound, turn”
“Seize upon ____________; give to the ______________ / His _________, his __________ and all _____________ souls”
“Seize upon Fife; give to the edge o’ the sword / His wife, his babes and all unfortunate souls”
“I am in _________ / Stepped ____________ that, should I wade no more / Returning were as ________________ as go o’er”
“I am in blood / Stepped in so far that, should I wade no more / Returning were as tedious as go o’er”
“to be _____ is _________ but to be ________ thus”
“to be thus is nothing; But to be safely thus”
“mine ________ ________ / Given to the ______ _______ of _______-“
“mine eternal jewel / Given to the common enemy of man”
“Stars ___________: let not light see my _______ and ______ ________”
“Stars, hide your fires: let not light see my black and deep desires”
“smoked with _______ __________”
“smoked with bloody execution”
“Like ______’s ________”
“Like Valour’s minion”
