MACBETH QUOTES

MACBETH act 1 scene 3

Why do I yield to that suggestion/whose horrid image doth unfix my hair?

.Macbeth is questioning why he is giving in to the thought or temptation that has come into his mind. Rhetorical questioning highlights his internal conflict and foreshadows his descent into ambition and madness.

.horrid image” uses vivid imagery to convey a disturbing mental picture. This image isn't a literal one but a visual representation of his fear and the violent thought of murdering Duncan.

.“unfix my hair” is a physical reaction to fear, invoking the image of someone experiencing horror or shock.Metaphor for fear and the thought od murder is unnatural.

MACBETH Act 2 Scene 1

Is this a dagger which i see before me, the handle toward my hand? Come,let me clutch thee.

. Embraces madness and rejects his guilt.

.Macbeth speaks directly to the dagger, even though it is not a real, physical object but a hallucination. This is an example of apostrophe. Macbeth’s delusion is becoming so vivid that he feels the need to speak to the dagger as if it’s a real entity. Shows him succumbing to his inner turmoil and the influence of his ambition.

MACBETH Act 2 Scene 2

Macbeth shall sleep no more

.Sleep is a symbol of peace and rest, and Macbeth's inability to sleep represents the profound psychological impact of his actions. 

Loss on innocense

Macbeth

will all great neptune’s ocean wash this blood clean from my hands

Macbeth

O’ brave Macbeth

Lady Macbeth Act 1 Scene 5

Come you spirits that tend on my mortal thoughts unsex me here

.Lady Macbeth asks to be stripped of her feminine qualities, which she associates with weakness and compassion

.Foreshadowing for Lady Macbeth's eventual descent into madness. Her call for the spirits to “unsex” her marks the beginning of her transformation from a woman who desires power to someone who becomes consumed by her ambition. Over time, her guilt and psychological torment will overwhelm her, leading to her downfall.

Lady Macbeth

Come to my woman's breasts and take my milk for gall

.Oxymoronic phrase, milk is nutritious and has medicinal properties while gall is toxic and poisonous. Lady Macbeth is metaphorically asking the spirits to rid her of any guilt, or 'human kindness' as it will hinder her chance of successfully persuading Macbeth into killing Duncan, leading her to become Queen

Lady Macbeth Act 1 Scene 5

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

Lady Macbeth Act 5 Scene 1

Out damn spot out I say

Lady Macbeth Act 1 Scene 7

Have plucked my nipple from his boneless gums and dashed the brains out

.Lady Macbeth is attempting to convey the depth of her ruthlessness and the lengths to which she would go to achieve power.

.provoke a strong emotional reaction from the audience.

Lady Macbeth

All the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand.

THE WITCHES

All hail Macbeth that shalt be king hereafter

THE WITCHES

fair is foul and foul is fair

.a paradox,

.suggests that appearances can be deceiving, and that what seems righteous or virtuous may, in fact, be harmful

.use of alliteration gives the line a musical quality and makes it memorable.

witches Act 4 scene 1

by the pricking of my thumbs, something wicked this way comes

MACDUTH ACT 2 SCENE 3

O horror, horror, horror!" 

repetition of the word “horror” emphasizes the extreme shock and disgust that Macduff feels upon discovering Duncan’s murder

moral collapse of Scotland following Duncan’s murder. Duncan, as a king, represents order and justice. His brutal death symbolizes the disruption of the natural order

MACDUTH ACT 4 SCENE 3

All my pretty ones? Did you say all?"

repetition of "all" in "Did you say all?" emphasizes the shock and disbelief Macduff feels upon hearing the news.

audience’s emotions, invoking sympathy for Macduff, who has just learned of the murder of his innocent children and wife. The use of the word "pretty ones" to refer to his children heightens the emotional impact, emphasizing their innocence and the unfairness of their deaths.

, ACT 3 SCENE 1

Our fears in Banquo stick deep

seen as a metaphor for Macbeth’s unfulfilled ambition. The idea of “being thus” (king) is empty for Macbeth if he is not safe in that position. The metaphor suggests that his power is fragile, and that ambition alone is not enough to satisfy him.