Macbeth character quotations✅

get this guy to the psych ward

v a w o i a f o t o

Vaulting ambition which overleaps itself and falls on the other

Vaulting ambition which overleaps itself and falls on the other

• Demonstrates how Macbeth’s hamartia is ambition

• Metaphor

• He is aware that ambition may lead to him down a dangerous path, but commits regicide nevertheless

U s h f t n t t c

Unseamed him from the nave to the chaps

Unseamed him from the nave to the chaps

• Macbeth is a skilled fighter

• The verb ‘unseam’ is precise

• This is said before the audience meets Macbeth; their first impressions of him are that he is brave and ruthless in battle

• Homophone of ‘seam’ - Macbeth seems to be loyal but the opposite turns out to be the case

I c w h m k t c m c m w m s

If chance will have me king then chance may crown me without my stir

If chance will have me king then chance may crown me without my stir

• Shows inner turmoil between fate and free will - Macbeth is questioning how much action he needs to take to become king

• Modal verb “may” shows passivity and hesitancy, hinting at a reluctancy to commit regicide

• “Chance” is personified as something that has the power to crown you, showing Macbeth’s belief in fate

T f o t m o h k

Too full of the milk of human kindness

Too full of the milk of human kindness

• Lady Macbeth believes her husband is too kind to kill

• Metaphor of “milk” symbolises innocence and nurturing, qualities that LM sees as weak

S h y f l n l s m b a d d

Stars hide your fires let not light see my black and deep desires

Stars hide your fires let not light see my black and deep desires

• Imagery of “light” and “black” (dark) symbolises good and evil.

• As Macbeth embraces the darkness we see how he is accepting his immoral desires

• Foreshadows later line when Banquo and Fleance comment on the dark night, showing how the stars listened to Macbeth

S f a f a d i h n s

So foul and fair a day I have not seen

So foul and fair a day I have not seen

• Callback to witches “fair is foul and foul is fair”

• Shows his alignment with the supernatural

• Paradoxical language highlights how the line between good and evil is blurring

S w t w c

Something wicked this way comes

Something wicked this way comes

• Macbeth is seen as a wicked figure by the most wicked things in existence (the witches)

• Dehumanises Macbeth, suggesting he is no longer a noble figure

I a i b s i s f … r w a t a g o

I am in blood stepped in so far … returning were as tedious as go over

I am in blood stepped in so far … returning were as tedious as go over

• Macbeth finds it easier to keep killing than to stop

• Shows how easy it is for him to get trapped in a cycle of bloodshed and violence

• Metaphor of “wading” shows how Macbeth feels physically trapped in his guilt

• He has caused so much bloodshed that he is wading through it - suggests waist height

M d m s

Macbeth does murder sleep

Macbeth does murder sleep

• Symbolises emotional isolation as regicide has left him without joy or peace

• Shows guilt and psychological torment

• Juxtaposition between an innocent idea of sleep, with the brutal act of murder

C c c

Cabined cribbed confined

Cabined cribbed confined

• Shows Macbeth’s mental turmoil

• Repetition shows how his life has become restricted due to ambition and guilt

• Images of physical restraint imply that Macbeth is a prisoner to his paranoia and guilt and he is unable to escape the consequences

I t a d w i s b m … c l m c t

Is this a dagger which I see before me … come let me clutch thee

Is this a dagger which I see before me … come let me clutch thee

• Sign of Macbeth’s deteriorating mental state and his descent into madness

• Tangible confirmation of Macbeth’s ambitious desire to murder Duncan

N s t g l a m

Never shake thy gory locks at me

Never shake thy gory locks at me

• Imperative verb implies that Macbeth believes he has power over the supernatural

• reveals Macbeth's internal struggle with guilt and his descent into madness.

• The "gory locks" represent Banquo's violent death, and Macbeth's plea to the ghost to stop shaking them signifies his attempt to deny or suppress his own guilt

F o s i m m

Full of scorpions is my mind

Full of scorpions is my mind

• Scorpions poison whatever they come into contact with, so this line symbolises the contaminating nature of the witches

• The audience might even feel sorry for Macbeth as his choice of metaphor reveals his mental anguish

• Irony - his murder of the King has condemned him to a nightmarish hell but also gifted him the crown

I c n s a

I could not say amen

I could not say amen

• Shows how Macbeth is separating himself from God and religion

• This line reflects Macbeth's deep guilt and spiritual turmoil after murdering King Duncan

L i a t t b a i

Life is a tale told by an idiot

Life is a tale told by an idiot

• Shows Macbeth’s nihilism

• This highlights how the great gift of kingship is only a reward if you have earned it through the Divine Right of Kings, as otherwise you won’t live a joyous life