Macbeth quotes (3)

For brave Macbeth - well he deserves that name... disdaining fortune

Act 1 Scene 2

Captain

Symbolism of names for power and status; we immediately get a subtle hint that while he deserves this name, he doesn't deserve others, such as King, and relates to the great chain of being; foreshadowing etc

'Disdaining fortune' could simply be interpreted as him being powerful and defying the odds by being brave and strong, but on a much deeper level, it could be foreshadowing of his later defiance of the great chain of being and the natural order

"Unsex me here and fill me from the crown to the toe topfull of direst cruelty"

Act 1 Scene 5

Lady Macbeth

Metaphor- used to show her defiance of the natural order; women were below men on the great chain of being, shows how she breaks this, and therefore later justifies her fate, she becomes insane and kills herself which is punishment for this; also means that we are supposed to dislike her from the onset, and immedaitely grasp the type of character she is; also relates to supernatural

Royal Symbolism- she uses the term 'crown' when referring to herself, which either simply shows how she believes that she should be queen, but on a much deeper level how she is breaking the great chain of being, shows how she is dangerous and unnatural

"'Glamis hath murder'd sleep ', and therefore Cawdor shall sleep no more: Macbeth shall sleep no more."

Act 2 Scene 2

Macbeth

Nomenclature- Macbeth is named by 3 different titles; Glamis, Cawdor, and his name; but never king; despite the fact that the murder is done, and therefore he is technically king now, he is not even called king by his own hallucinations, shows how he doesn't deserve the crown, and even the evil of the supernaturals know it

Symbolism of sleep- sleep is associated with being calm, tranquil and at peace; could be that after his murder he will never be at peace again, and will never be able to sleep again; themes of morality and guilt; or could be that Duncan was a peaceful and tranquil, as he was asleep, and shows that macbeth was a coward, for he murdered someone in their sleep, when they were at peace and vulnerable

"My hands are of your colour, but I shame to wear a heart so white."

Act 2 Scene 2

Lady Macbeth

Colour Imagery- Hands are associated with actions, and she agrees and takes responsibility for the murder, just as much as Macbeth. But a heart is associated with morality and virtue; white is associated with holiness and moral purity, as well as surrendering and cowardice so she is expressing that Macbeth is still far too moral and good-willed, that she she would be ashamed to be like that; from this we can infer that she believes they have committed the same deed, yet Macbeth is still too concerned with the ethical issues, and at this point in the play, Macbeth is concerned about morality, and L macbeth isn't

"We have scorch'd the snake, not kill'd it"

Act 3 Scene 2

Macbeth

Metaphor and Biblical Symbolism- could be interpreted as 'the snake' being the enemy, as snakes are typically portrayed as an enemy in stories; by doing this he implies that they have simply tortured they're enemies with the death of Duncan, especially characters such as Banquo and Macduff, but they haven't yet removed them as nobles who may be suspicious; it foreshadows their future plans to remove Banquo, and the macduffs, and begins to show their fall from morality; or could be used to show their sin; in the bible, the snake is symbolic of sin, so in this instance he is implying that they haven't removed themselves of this sin; he has progressed from 'all neptune's oceans' to now admitting that their sin can be destroyed and forgotten, and all they need to do is remove their enemies.

However, contractions on the specific violent words do imply remorse and could imply that he still isn't ready to fully admit and be open about his violence; his progression to immorality is only partly completed.

"It will have blood they say: blood will have blood."

Repetition of 'blood'- draws more attention to it, and shows how Macbeth is thinking about it a lot

Blood Symbolism- throughout the play blood is symbolic of guilt, and the way in which is spoken about is symbolic of how the character is experiencing guilt at this point in the play; for example 'all great neptune's oceans' quote shows he doesn't believe he will ever get over and relieve himself of the guilt of this murder; at this point, the repetition shows he is, at the very least, contemplating guilt, but really he makes no mention of blood in relation to himself, he uses third person pronouns, so while he thinks about guilt, all he is really worried about is his murder being found out

Foreshadowing- the second clause implies there will be future murders, and therefore shows his future intentions to the audience

"From this moment, the very firstlings of my heart shall be the firstlings of my hand."

Act 4 Scene 1

Macbeth

Repetition- Used for emphasis, to show his recklessness and the way that he has decayed since the overthinking, thoughtful Macbeth we see at the start- 'my thought whose murder yet is but fantastical... smothers reason'- shows how he has been corrupted by power, and now has no regard for the well-being or life of others

Symbolism- the idea of 'heart' connotes feeling and desire, and implies his thoughts are represented by this; the idea of 'hand' connotes actions and the things he will actually do; therefore, this quotes implies and is symbolic of his recklessness, as he will now simply do whatever comes to mind, and is symbolic of the way that that guilt has destroyed his mind, and has dissolved all sense of morality

"Double, double toil and trouble, Fire burn, and cauldron bubble."

Act 4 Scene 1

Witches

Rhyming- Gives the speech a spell like tone, and unsettles the audience; it establishes an uncomfortable tone in the scene, and therefore means that during the supernatural hallucinations, the audience is on edge and uncomfortable during the scene, which adds to the witchcraft aspect of it

Trochaic Tetrameter- the inverse of iambic pentameter, which shows how they are unnatural and defy the natural order; it again establishes them as unnatural characters who should not be trusted; link to James I social context

"Out, damned spot! Out I say!"

Act 5 Scene 1

Lady Macbeth

Repetition- emphasise her struggle to remove this spot of blood, and therefore later link into the symbolism

Symbolism- could simply be perceived as a representation of her damaged psyche, and therefore show her representation of guilt on a surface level; but also the symbolism of blood occurs again, so we can see that this representation of her struggling to rid herself of this 'damned spot' is symbolic of her struggling to rid herself of the guilt of the murders she has committed; reverse pattern with Macbeth; 'A little water clears us of this deed'

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

Act 5 Scene 1

Lady Macbeth

Metaphor- connotes her hand is so cursed and god-forsaken that nothing will ever be able to free it from this curse; as seen before, hands are associated with actions, so her actions have been so awful and evil that nothing will be able to clear her conscience; link to 'all great neptune's oceans'

Across this scene we see lots of child-like language, link to 'dashed the brains out' quote- at the start she threatened to kill a baby, showing she had all the power in this dynamic, but now this guilt has made her the vulnerable and weak one