Macbeth Quotes

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“Stars hide your fires, let not light see through my black and deep desires.” (Ambition)

• Unchecked ambition.

• His ambition is sinful against god.

• Rhyming couplets highlights Macbeth’s mindset descent into dark thoughts.

“I have no spur to prick the sides of my intent, only vaulting ambition.” (Ambition)

• A metaphor is used here.

• Macbeth recognises his ambition as an uncontrollable horse that will throw it’s rider.

• It also conveys how he has no proper reason to killing King Duncan.

"To be thus is nothing; but to be safely thus." (Ambition)

• The use of parallel sentence structure.

• It helps to show how ambition is endless, never satisfied.

"Look like the innocent flower, but be the serpent under 't." (Appearance vs. Reality)

• It is an allusion to the Gunpowder’s Plot that happened in 1605.

• The imperative verb suggests how Macbeth can easily fall into oppression by his wife due to her controlling nature, which led him to follow his ambitious desires.

• To his perspective, he had no choice, but in reality he did.

“Fair is foul and foul is fair".” (Appearance vs Reality) by the witches.

• The use of parallel sentence structure suggests how moral boundaries are completely inverted and how it is reversed.

• It also suggests how Macbeth hid his true intentions and was viewed as a “valiant cousin.”

• Killing a king seems to look great through ambition, but it isn’t in which led to Macbeth’s hamartia.

"Will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood clean from my hand?” (Guilt)

• Hyperbole and vivid color imagery.

• The use of hyperbole as “Neptune’s ocean” and his sinful act suggests how his sin is unforgivable by god.

• It also emphasises his immense guilt - the blood.

“Is this a dagger which I see before me?” (Guilt)

• The dagger symbolizes the sin he committed - regicide.

• Internal conflict in his mind due to the sin of immense guilt.

• Hallucination and mental instability.

“I dare do all that may become a man; who dares do more is none.” (Masculinity and Manhood)

• Use of antithesis.

• The contrast between this quote and “When you durst do it, then you were a man” shows two different ideas on masculinity - one about courage and morality, second about aggression and ambition.

“O’ full of scorpions in my mind.” (Guilt)

• Metaphor

• Scorpions are represented as poisonous guilt.

• From regicide.

"A giant's robe upon a dwarfish thief." (Kingship)

• It suggests how his role is not fit for Macbeth.

• Big clothes suggests how he is not truly fit for the role of being king.

• “dwarfish and giant” contrast suggests how he is too inadequate for the role.

• “thief” highlights how he has taken the role.

"Life's but a walking shadow... a tale told by an idiot... signifying nothing." (Nihilism)

• Metaphor highlights how life is temporary.

• Highlights consequences of ambition.

• Shadow represents mortality, illusion and the temporary power he has.

• “a tale told by an idiot” highlights how he has 0 purpose now.

“Each new morn, new widows howl, new orphans cry.” (Kingship vs Tyranny) By Macduff

• Emotive language.

• Highlights how under his reign, he constantly puts the kingdom in a state of misery and depression.

“When you durst do it, then you were a man.” (Gender Roles/Masculinity) by Lady Macbeth

• Conditional Statement/Monologue

• Attacking his manhood, suggests how masculinity in her pov represents aggression and violence.

• Challenges traditional gender roles as Lady Macbeth is being controlling and oppressing towards Macbeth.