Macbeth - Quote and Analysis

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18 Terms

1
"let not light see my black and deep desires"

Macbeth - Light - refers to heaven and God, he is asking the dark spirits (possibly witches??) to hide his evil thoughts and doings from God. This shows that Macbeth has a conscience and is not unmoral, simply immoral

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2
"is this a dagger which I see before me"

Macbeth - The questioning represents the inner workings of Macbeth's mind at this point, questioning all his decisions. His doubt of violence (using the dagger) represents change from the start of the play. Context - men are supposed to be strong warriors, he has become less strong from the beginning of the play.

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3
"Whole as the marble, founded as the rock...but now I am cabined, cribbed, confined."

Macbeth - Marble/rock - strong materials, unbreakable, refers to Macbeth at the beginning of the play, as a strong solider. The triocolon and literary consonance of "cabined, cribbed, confined" all link to a feeling of claustrophobia, perhaps suggesting that Macbeth feels trapped because of his decisions, but also because of how much he has changed since the start of the play

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4
"The mind I sway by, and the heart I bear,/Shall never sag with doubt, nor shake with fear."

Macbeth - Act 5 - Macbeth has lost fear, and is consumed with evil spirits. He believes to be in full control of his "mind" and his "heart". Both sag and shake suggest weakness, so Macbeth is removing those from his persona.

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5
"Life's but a walking shadow."

Macbeth - Shadow - suggests that life is empty, and fake, as a shadow simply reflects someone else. Could be seen to reflect how Macbeth feels like his actions have simply reflected his wife's desires.

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6
"She should have died hereafter"

Macbeth - "should" - suggests he almost knew it was coming, the entire tomorrow and tomorrow speech seems muted, considered his love and belief in his wife.

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7
"too full of the milk of human kindness"

Lady Macbeth - "too" amplifies the issue, Macbeth is not only full, he is "too full". Milk suggests motherly and comforting, with Lady Macbeth perhaps even blaming Macbeths mother. "Human" suggests that Lady Macbeth requires her husband to be above this level of sympathy, to a level of non human, perhaps even supernatural.

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8
"A little water clears us of this deed"

Lady Macbeth - Blood is used to resemble guilt, so the idea of water (which is often used to resemble puritiy and cleanliness) being used to remove the guilt suggests an unlikely occurrence. Also, this demonstrates Lady Macbeths optimism, which could perhaps even be considered madness, due to the unlikelihood of water actually clearing away the guilt and the evil that herself and Macbeth have done.

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9
"look like the innocent flower, but be the serpent under't"

Lady Macbeth - Innocent flower suggests a vulnerability, and Lady Macbeth says with scorn that this is not how one should act. The idea of the serpent links to the Bible story of Original Sin, with the snake of temptation. Lady Macbeth is tempted to do evil, if it means good for her and her husband.

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10
"Out damned spot"

Lady Macbeth - "Damned" has associations with Hell, perhaps saying that the Devil has cursed her. This line is ironic as she mocked her husband for being upset about the blood on his hands (both literally and figuratively), and now she is unconsciously terrified of the guilt that this has brought her.

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11
"come you spirits" "unsex me here"

Lady Macbeth - "unsex me here" is a rejection of her feminine qualities. Context - this goes directly against the great chain of beings in which women are suggested to be lower than men. Her rejection of her feminine qualities and her invite to spirits to make her evil suggests she is open to fight. Also, Macbeth wished to hide his evil whereas she is vocally expressing her own villainous side.

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12
"fair is foul and foul is fair"

The Witches - The alliteration of f almost makes a spitting/hissing sound, suggesting the spell the witches are casting is a curse. Foul is more evil than Fair is good suggesting that the evil side will triumph over the good side, however both are played to be the same, by being switched over and the use of the word "is" perhaps suggesting the witches are able to trick people into thinking different meanings"

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13
"something wicked this way comes"

The Witches - This phrase is considered ironic as the witches are considered evil, so the fact they have labelled Macbeth as wicked suggests that he has gone too far even by there standards. In earlier scenes the Witches have praised Macbeth, but here they seem almost intimidated or frightened. This demonstrates the extreme change of Macbeth from hero to tyrant

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14
"so foul and fair a day I have not seen"

The Witches- Duncan states this line, and this demonstrates how the witches can control the weather. It also foreshadows the later death, which some believe the witches cast a spell on Macbeth to do. The fact that a king, God's representative on Earth (context) is able to be controlled by the witches, would illicit fear from a Victorian audience.

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15
"lesser than Macbeth and greater"

Banquo - Banquo is also cursed by the witches, and confused by the ambiguity. This is made more obvious by the fact that we never find out if Fleance becomes king, as the play ends. This provides questions for the readers on if the Witches actually cast a spell or not, seeing as not all their prophecies came true.

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16
"instruments of darkness"

Banquo - Banquo is largely seen as a morally correct character, and this is particularly obvious as he refuses to believe the Witches or get caught up in their prophecies. He believes they are "instruments" of Hell, and is the first to notice that Macbeth believes them.

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17
"I must also feel it as a man"

Macduff - Macduff is told by Malcolm to "dispute it" like a man, similarly to the way that Lady Macbeth instructed Macbeth, however Macduff defends his emotional sensitivity, and says a real man would be upset about the death of his wife and children. This would resonate with the audience as it was unusual to see men feeling sensitive due to gender stereotypes.

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18
"I have no words, my voice is in my sword"

Macduff - The metaphor of Macduff's voice being in his sword means that instead of talking it out, he will fight. This presents Macduff as a strong character, as his refusal to be manipulated (with Malcolm before) is stronger than anyone else. This creates a large area of comparison with Macbeth who is easily manipulated by all around him.

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