Macbeth key quotes Flashcards
(19 cards)
Good vs evil a1
The witches a1
supernatural a1
‘Fair is foul and foul is fair’
sets the theme of moral confusion and the battle between good and evil
Ambition a1
Macbeth a1
guilt a1
‘Stars hide your fires let not light see my black and deep desires’
Macbeth acknowledges his ambition but tries to hide it
Supernatural a1
Banquo a1
Witches a1
‘What are these so withered and so wild in their attire’
banquos scepticism and the unatural presence of the witches
Appearance vs reality a1
LM a1
‘Look like the innocent flower but be the serpent under’t’
LM telling m to deceive others while hiding his true intentions
Loyalty a1
Duncan a1
‘He was a gentleman on whom i build an absolute trust’
speaks of previous thane of Cawdor unaware that ironically Macbeth will murder him
Guilt a1
Macbeth a1
‘If it were done when tis done then twere well it were done quickly’
Macbeth hesitates before killing Duncan
Gender a1
LM a1
Unsex me here and fill me from the crown to the toe top full of direst cruelty’
LM rejects her femininity to allow her to achieve her goal that is against Elizabethan gender norms
good vs evil a2
macduff a2
‘most sacrilegious murder hath broke ope’
macduff compares the murder of duncan to the destruction of a holy building renforcing that macbeth is evil
ambition a2
LM a2
‘infirm of purpose give me the daggers’
LM takes control when macbeth hesitates showing how ambition drives her actions
supernatural a2
‘tis said they eat each other’
duncans horses eat each other showing the breakdown of the natural order and moral disorder seen as a metaphor for macbeths actions additionally symbolises the cannibalistic nature of power how it leads to more bloodshed and inevitably leads to self destruction
[should change to is this a dagger i see before me]
appearance vs reality a2
banquo a2
‘their candles are all out’
banquo notices the unnatural darkness of the world responding to the hidden crime that is about to happen
loalty a2
macbeth a2
‘I go, and it is a knell That summons thee to heaven or to hell.’
macbeth feels an internal conflict as he realizes the gravity of his disloyalty by commiting regicide on a person who trusted him
guilt a2
macbeth a2
‘sleep no more macbeth does murder sleep’
macbeth feels like he will not rest again after what he has done showing the weight of his guilt
gender a2
appearence vs reality a2
LM a2
‘tis not for you to hear what i can speak the repetition in a womans ear would murder as it fell’
macduff thinks that because LM is a woman she is too vulnerable to hear about the murder this is ironic because LM wanted to cast off her femininity in act 1 to make her capable of murder
good vs evil a5
guilt a5
macbeth a5
‘out out brief candle’ ‘ i have lived long enugh’
macbeths life has been consumed by his evil actions and has lost all his good qualities however dispite his power he is isolated and morally bankrupt his guild has lead him to despair
ambition a5
to be thus is nothing but to be safely thus
‘till Burnham wood comes to dunsinane i cannot taint with fear’
macbeth knows about the incoming english army but is fearless because of the prophecies made by the apparitions say that he cannot be killed by anybody born of a woman who he beleves is impossible
supernatural a5
guilt a5
gender a5
LM a5
‘out danmed spot out i say’
LM tourmented by her guilt imagines a spot on her hand that will not wash off showing that she cannot remove her guilt this shows the reversal of when she got rid of her femininity in act 1 as now she cannot handle the guilt of her actions
appearance vs reality a5
ambition a5
macbeth a5
‘she should have died hereafter’
macbeth is now desensitised to the reality of death and the tragic nature of his ambition
loyalty a5
macduff a5
‘thou liest hated tyrant with my sword ill prove the lie thou speakst’
young siward is fearless and determined to kill macbeth
