English Literature- Macbeth Quotes

Analysis, Context, and Effect for 8 Macbeth Quotes.

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

• Macbeth says his ambition is like a horse attempting a jump that is too great. Spurs control the horse, and by Macbeth having no spurs, it shows he is not in control.

• It suggests Lady Macbeth is the driving force behind his actions.

• His ambition causes his fall (Hamartia). This foreshadows his death later on in the text.

CONTEXT:

• Macbeth is debating on whether or not to kill the King.

• This quote suggests the eventual demise of Macbeth to his ambition.

• The Great Chain of Beings believes that God appoints the King. The murder of Duncan is an affront to God.

• The foreshadowed death of Macbeth is God restoring the balance of society.

EFFECT:

• The reader experiences Dramatic Irony as we know Macbeth will eventually die.

• It creates a temporary sympathy for Macbeth as we can see his inner turmoil through his soliloquy, as he is not shown as an emotionless killer.

• It also creates suspense as this quote signifies the climax of the play, the reader would be unsure of Macbeth’s actions- it is the point of no return. It makes the reader wonder if Macbeth is going to kill Duncan or not.

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

• Shows the theme Duality. Foul is fair and fair is foul. Suggests deception, and how the witches are not to be trusted.

• Macbeth appears good before committing regicide, Lady Macbeth appears kind and feminine (“Look like the innocent flower, be the serpent underneath.”)

• Becomes a structural motif.

• Hover is a passive verb, it shows how the witches never act, but suggest. Macbeth chooses his fate, the Witches never caused it.

CONTEXT:

• In Greek tragedies, the main character would be trapped by their fate- they remain passive. This contrasts with Macbeth who take action to cause it; committing regicide. He does not wait for things to happen. He is too ambitious, which eventually kills him. This means throughout the play, he rushes towards his fate, as his actions cause his inevitable death.

EFFECT:

• This is the first line of the play. It unsettles the audience; creating a dark mood.

• It signifies the moral confusion the characters face. Good is evil, evil is good. The audience cannot trust the actions of any character- they can be deceptive.

• ‘F’ sounds are fricatives. The sound is aggressive. The audience sees the witches as the dominant force in the play, creating a sense of Dramatic Irony when we see them interact with the other characters later on. This is shown by Macbeth echoing their words. Displaying their control. (‘So foul and fair a day I have not seen.’)

“Out, damned spot! Out, I say! … Hell is murky… Who would have thought the old man to have had so much blood in him?”

• Lady Macbeth begins to unravel. She begins to feel guilty for her actions. At the beginning, she called upon evil sprits, but now sees the consequences of the supernatural.

• Despite her first monologue, she now begins to fear damnation.

• ‘Out, damned spot!’ contrasts with her original belief that ‘A little water clears us of our deeds.’ The repetition of ‘Out’ shows how she is starting to panic, her guilt overcomes her, as she understands the eternal punishment she is going to face.

• Duncan is described as an old man. This portrays Duncan as vulnerable and innocent, emphasising the evil of the Macbeths.

CONTEXT:

• Religious beliefs were extremely widespread- Hell for Sinners and Heaven for the innocent. This links into the belief of The Great Chain of Being, where regicide was a complete affront to God. A little after Lady Macbeth’s Soliloquy, she commits suicide. Suicide was also seen as a damnable act. This solidifies the Macbeths’ place in Hell.

EFFECT:

• This would create a sense of anger in a Jacobean reader, Lady Macbeth directly defies God by both aiding in regicide, and committing suicide. This would be a cautionary tale to women, as this disobedience of God and natural roles would be punished- the balance restored.

• A modern reader would feel sympathy for Lady Macbeth, as we see how the guilt consumes her. Her actions in Act 5 contrast with her monologue in Act 1. We see her as a flawed, pitiful character, due to her loss of power and control. We sympathise with her weakness.

“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’s soliloquy.

• Contrasts with Macbeth’s reservations in his soliloquy.

• Lady Macbeth wants rid of her femininity- sees it as a weakness. Her ambition goes beyond gender normalities of the time.

• Her need for spirits shows her flaws, she is not emotionally powerful enough to act herself. This is later shown when the guilt consumes her; leading to her suicide.

• The noun ‘crown’ creates imagery of royalty. She already sees herself as queen, but like Macbeth, needs that final push to become one.

CONTEXT:

• Women were seen as meek and passive. Murder and cruelty were associated with men during the Jacobean era. Lady Macbeth wants to rid herself of the attributes of femininity and become as cruel as sexless spirits. These sexless spirits would be evil, and abnormal to a Jacobean audience, highlighting the abhorrence her actions would provoke.

EFFECT:

• The reader feels disconnected to Lady Macbeth, seeing her as a rejection of normal society.;

• We would be unable to sympathise and like her character, due to her acceptance of inhumane, powerful spirits.

• The use of supernatural themes mean we see Lady Macbeth as an evil force, rather than a person.

“I would… have pluck’d my nipple from his boneless gums and dash’d the brains out…”

• Gorey imagery. Glimpse into the evil of Lady Macbeth, we feel less inclined to sympathise with her.

• There is no excuse for killing a baby- a pure, innocent being. Lady Macbeth uses this to convince Macbeth to murder Duncan. Duncan reflects the baby, showing him as defenceless, pure, and innocent.

• Shows Lady Macbeth as the drive behind Macbeth’s ambition- willing to murder a baby, when Macbeth cannot fathom killing Duncan. Reflects earlier quote of ‘vaulting ambition’.

CONTEXT:

• Women took motherly roles at this time. They were seen as meek and kind.

• Lady Macbeth completely contrasts these ideas; she is a powerful figure.

• A baby was seen as a gift from God, for Lady Macbeth to easily be able to kill one shows her disregard of Heaven, God, and religion.

EFFECT:

• The reader would be appalled and disgusted, the violence and cruelty displayed by Lady Macbeth shows her power over Macbeth and their relationship. We see how she manipulates Macbeth with shock and horror, which would show on the surface her devotion to him. However, Macbeth desires an heir, so it truly shows the lengths she’d take to stay in power, and her control over the situation.

• It is suggested Macbeth has infertility problems within the play. It would be a miracle for them to have a child, but she disregards it so easily for her ambition for power.

“I ’gin to be aweary of the sun, and wish th’ estate o’ the world were now undone.”

• Macbeth knows he will die.

• References the theme of fate, his death is catching up to him, and all he can do is die in the end.

• He loses his ambition, now asking for change when he cannot take matters into his own hand.

• Shows his weakness; he gives up when things do not go his way. This references how Lady Macbeth is his ‘vaulting ambition’.

• The noun ‘sun’ references God, restoring natural balance. Macbeth’s story is a cautionary tale of what happens when you defy God.

• The sun can also reference Macduff- his killer. This refers to previous quotes of Macduff, where he calls upon the heavens to guide him. It is another contrast between Macbeth and Macduff; one has heaven forced upon him, the other is guided by it.

CONTEXT:

• Divine Right of Kings. God restores natural order by killing Macbeth. The rules of the world were made by God, since God’s word is infallible, it should not be asked to change. Macbeth spends his last moments straying and outright disobeying God.

EFFECT:

• The reader feels no sympathy for Macbeth, despite taking fate into his own hands throughout the play, he now asks for the rules to change. It is childish and weak. We feel justice has prevailed due to his later death. Shakespeare wants the reader to take this play as a cautionary tale, to defy God and fate, is to defy nature. Nature always balances in the end.

“There’s husbandry in heaven; their candles are all out.”

• Banquo and Fleance are wandering around Macbeth’s castle.

• Just before Duncan is murdered.

• Banquo feels uneasy, tense about the sinister feeling within the setting.

• Secrecy, and the supernatural.

• “Candles” being the light of the Lord. References the darkness Lady Macbeth mentions, acting out the murder away from God’s eyes.

• Foreshadows the evil to come. Natural order is about to be disrupted.

• Banquo recognises the evil before it happens- Macbeth does not. FOIL.

• Banquo recognises it, however, he does not go out of his way to prevent it. Banquo is morally good but complacent. This has consequences, this over worldly evil falling over the setting foreshadows both Duncan and Banquo’s death.

CONTEXT:

• Divine Right of Kings. Killing the King brings upon God’s wrath. By God not shining his light upon the setting shows the evil of Macbeth’s action. Banquo’s idleness and lack of loyalty to the real King is also later punished by death.

EFFECT:

• Creates a sense of unease or foreboding for the reader. The absence of God’s light shows natural order is breaking down, this foreshadows the chaos to come, and the fact that Macbeth will go through with this sinful regicide.

• It also highlights the flaws of Banquo- God has left him also. Banquo is shown more similar to Macbeth by his inaction, he does not try and defend God’s plan. His death displaying the power of God, a warning to idlers.

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

• Banquo falls for the witches’ prophecies. Shows his similarities to Macbeth.

• Banquo is not completely good, witchcraft is sinful and devilish.

• “Which will grow” and “Which will not” foreshadows the death of Banquo and the perseverance of Fleance and Malcolm. Suggests fate, his life is written. Also suggests he believes fate is in our hands, implies the witches are unreliable.

• “Look” and “Speak” are passive verbs for him. He asks to see fate, not change it. He is more aware than Macbeth. Follows the ideas of Greek Tragedies, where he falls victim to fate. A contrast to Macbeth’s rejection of fate.

CONTEXT:

• Witches were Satan’s servant, to be a witch or to follow a witch is a sin. Jacobeans saw witchcraft as a disobedience of God.

• Seeds = growth, new. Banquo’s long line of descendants all being Kings. James III was said to be related to Banquo.

EFFECT:

• Banquo as unreliable. He seeks out witchcraft when he shouldn’t.

• Creates a sense of mystery, anything could be possible. Fate is undecided yet.