Quotation about Macbeths vaulting ambition
I have no spur / To prick the sides of my intent, but only / Vaulting ambition” (Macbeth)
Macbeth acknowledges his ambition is his only motivation for murder.
Quotation about ambition used as an insult on Macbeth said by lady Macbeth
When you durst do it, then you were a man” (Lady Macbeth)
Lady Macbeth questions Macbeth’s masculinity to manipulate him into action
Deception (appearance vs reality) said by lady Macbeth (very famous quote)
Look like th’ innocent flower, / But be the serpent under’t.”: (Lady Macbeth)
Instructs Macbeth to hide his true intentions behind a facade of innocence.
Supernatural/ corruption Witches (paradox)
Fair is foul, and foul is fair” (Witches)
This line, spoken in the first scene, sets up the theme of unnatural disorder and blurred morality
Supernatural and corruption Lady Macbeth says this to get her female nature so she will be stronger (more manly)
Come, you spirits / That tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here” (Lady Macbeth)
Lady Macbeth’s prayer to evil spirits to remove her female nature so she can be ruthless enough to commit murder
said by Macbeth to do with corruption shows he is plotting
Let not light see my black and deep desires” (Macbeth)
Macbeth asks for darkness to hide his evil plan from the heavens.
Guilt and madness said by Macbeth
Macbeth does murder sleep!” (Macbeth)
Represents his guilt, which prevents him from sleeping and disturbs the natural order.
Guilt and Madness said by lady Macbeth to do with blood
Out, damned spot! Out, I say!” (Lady Macbeth)
Lady Macbeth’s desperate attempt to wash away the symbolic bloodstain of her guilt
Divine right of kings Macbeth says this it signifies his deceit and regret
“I could not say ‘Amen’” (2.2.32): Macbeth’s inability to say “Amen” after killing Duncan signifies his loss of God’s grace due to his sacrilegious act
Great chain of being said by Macbeth about Duncan
his gash’d stabs look’d like a breach in nature” (2.3.112-114): This quote directly states that the king’s murder has broken the natural order of the universe, a key element of the Great Chain of Being.
Macbeth key quote linking to madness
“Full of scorpions is my mind, dear wife” (Act 3, Scene 2): Shows his psychological torment and paranoia after the murder of Duncan.
Key quotes Lady Macbeth links to her guilt and blood alludes to the pungent spices of Arabia
“all the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand” (Act 5, Scene 1): Represents the overwhelming and permanent guilt that has now consumed her, a stark contrast to her earlier belief that “a little water” would wash their hands clean
Key quote Macduff and his dead family
Macduff’s quote about his dead family is, “All my pretty chickens and their dam / At one fell swoop?”. He exclaims this in Macbeth, Act 4, Scene 3, after learning from Ross that Macbeth has ordered the slaughter of his wife and children. The quote expresses his shock and grief over the immense and sudden loss of his entire family, which he calls “pretty chickens,” and motivates his desire for revenge against Macbeth
Quote by Angus about how Macbeth must feel without allies
“Now does he feel his title hang loose about him, like a giants robe Upon a dwarfish thief” links to act 1 scene 3 line 106 “why do you dress me in borrowed robes
Quote about gods and links to water and blood
“Will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood Clean from my hand?” This famous line from Shakespeare’s Macbeth shows the immense and permanent guilt Macbeth feels after committing murder. He believes that even the vastness of the entire ocean, personified as Neptune’s domain, is insufficient to wash the literal blood from his hands, and metaphorically, to cleanse his conscience from his sinful deed. The quote emphasizes that the murder has stained him forever and he will never be free from the guilt
Natural order quote to do with prey and predators and unbalance
A falcon, tow’ring in her pride of place, / Was by a mousing owl hawk’d at and kill’d” (Old Man, Act 2, Scene 4): This imagery of a powerful falcon being killed by a common owl represents how the natural hierarchy has been inverted, with a lesser creature (Macbeth) preying on a nobler one (Duncan).
Macbeths ambition quote referring to Malcom
That is a step on which I must fall down or else so a leap for in my way it lies”: This quote refers directly to Malcolm. Macbeth sees the son of Duncan as a physical obstacle that his ambition must either jump over or fall down on
