Act 5 Quotations Flashcards
Lady Macbeth: “Out d______ s____! out, I s___”
Act 5, Scene 1
“Out damned spot! out I say”
- Compare to Act 2 when she claims that “a little water clears us of this deed”
- Now she is hallucinating and desperately pleads for the blood to be washed away. It is ironic that when Macbeth desperately needed to clean his hands Lady Macbeth mocked him, but guilt is now having the same effect on her
- Motif of hands - guilt - will not go
- “damned” - biblical allusion - links to hell, her guilt has caught her and she fears she is being punished. The religious audience could see this as a divine punishment from God
- Imperative + repetition - “out”
- “I say” - commanding - trying to regain her power
Macbeth: “The m____ I s____ by, and the h_____ I b____, / Shall never s___ with d______, nor s______ with f____”
Act 5, Scene 3
“The mind I sway by, and the heart I bear, / Shall never sag with doubt, nor shake with fear”
Macbeth has come full circle, and has returned to his former warrior self - powerful leader once more. Although he is now full of evil intentions, his spirit is as strong as ever
In previous acts, Macbeth was riddled with “doubt” and “fear” - now the word “never” is positioned before it, showing he has finally regained control over his own behaviour
“Sag” and “shake” both suggest weak body movements, something Macbeth explicitly rejects. Signifies to the audience that he is still as courageous as he was initially when they called him “brave Macbeth”
Macbeth: “Life’s but a w________ s_______”
Act 5, Scene 5
“Life’s but a walking shadow”
Macbeth has an epiphany (a moment of realisation)
Use of the metaphor “shadow” suggests his life is empty and has no meaning - it also has associations with following (our shadows follow us) as if we are simply following someone else’s plan
The use of “walking” implies life is a journey, but not a dynamic, energetic one - walking is not the powerful, physical action seen in earlier acts, nor the dynamic expectation of a King
The sentence structure focuses on the word “but”, meaning only or just - he is arguing that life is worthless, it is only a shadow
Macbeth: “A p_____ p_______ / That s_____ and f_____ his hour upon the s______.”
Act 5, Scene 5
“A poor player / That struts and frets his hour upon the stage.”
He is simply a “player” who has his life controlled by the witches, and will then be forgotten.
The image of Macbeth as a “poor player” contrasts the previous image of him as a powerful “cannon” in Act One; the alliteration here adds to the pitiful nature of his character.
The verbs “struts” and “frets” are both weak, indecisive actions - they suggest lack of control and power.
The fact that we only have an “hour upon the stage” emphasises how fleeting and insightful each person is, foreshadowing the death that is to come.
Macduff: “I have no w______; / My v______ is with my s______”
Act 5, Scene 8
“I have no words; / My voice is with my sword”
Macduff realises that justice can only be achieved through fighting, not through words. He must meet Macbeth’s violent deeds with violence of his own to avenge the death of his family.
The idea of his voice being “in” his sword suggests the sword is more than just a physical weapon - it contains all of the anger and hatred of Macbeth’s victims, adding to its strength
MACBETH: “She should have d____ h_________”
“She should have died hereafter”
Saying she would’ve died anyways, it was inevitable - cold-hearted
