Macbeth - Quizlet Quotes Flashcards
“I have no spur to prick the side of my intent, only vaulting ambition”
- Macbeth - Act 1 Scene 7
Theme: Ambition & Power
PERSONIFICATION: Macbeth personifies his ambition, portraying it as possessing a potency comparable to a human force that can exert influence and pull him into the allure of acquiring the illegitimate title of king
- When he acknowledges its eventual “fall”, it indicates Macbeth’s awareness that his all-encompassing ambition is his hamartia destined to decline as he will be VIOLATING THE TRUE ESSENCE OF KINGSHIP - the divine right of kings
- Alternatively this portrayal positions Macbeth as a VICTIM ENSNARED (trapped) by his own ambition, showcasing his introspective understanding of its fatal consequences and presenting him as vulnerable to is relentless influence.
METAPHOR: the metaphorical portrayal of Macbeth’s “vaulting ambition” draws a parallel between him and a jockey who is to manage an untameable, almost animalistic force.
- this metaphor not only depicts Macbeth’s struggle to control his ambitious desires to violate kingship but also suggests self-deception
“Worthy Cawdor![…] all hail hereafter” “to a coward”
- Lady Macbeth - Act 1 Scene 7
Theme: Ambition & Power
JUXTAPOSITION: LM’s initial flattery curdles into a poisonous insult in which emasculates Macbeth. Having hailed him as soon to be king, she now reduces him to be a mere “coward” to catalyse him into committing regicide to become king.
- The single word pierces Macbeth’s core, a soldier defined by courage and strength. it is not just a questioning of his masculinity; it is a brutal attack on the very essence of his identity and his battlefield reputation
CONTEXTUAL LINK: within the rigid gender roles of Jacobean society, a man’s dominance over his wide was paramount. LM recognised that M’s ambition, his hamartia, was deeply intertwined with his perceived masculinity and exploits this to propel him to violate kingship.
- By stripping him of the mantle of a dominant husband through the EPITHET (nickname) “coward” she threatened the very foundation of his self worth. This emasculation becomes a kay factor in his downfall is his ambition crumbles when his image of a powerful man is shattered and all he can do to reinstate his power lost is to become king.
“Life […] is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.”
- Macbeth - Act 5 Scene 5
Theme: Ambition & Power
This is an example of nihilism: a belief that life is pointless (“signifying nothing”)
For a largely Christian Jacobean audience, this rejection of God’s plan and the suggestion of a rejection of Heaven and Hell, would have been shocking
However, it is also a moment of pathos: the audience, despite his blasphemous words, would still feel sympathy for a once noble general who has lost his wife
It perhaps also represents a moment of anagnorisis: a tragic hero’s realisation that all his actions were for “nothing” and that he will be defeated
“Art not without ambition but without the illness that should attend it.”
- Lady Macbeth - Act 1 Scene 5
Theme: Ambition & Power
“illness” is a metaphor for the ruthlessness required to carry out a deed as horrible as killing a king. repetition of “without” to also emphasise his absence of pure evil and implies that she will provide him with the poison to help him do this deed.
“Thou hast it now […] and i fear thou play’dst most foully for it”
- Banquo - Act 3 Scene 1
Theme: Ambition & Power
Shakespeare places alliteration in this context to show heightened emotion. Banquo has just realized his best friend most likely murdered the King. The circumstance escalates his feelings, which then affects the language that conveys what he feels. The most telling example of this alliteration occurs at the end. The cacophonous “f” sound represents the disgust Banquo feels well.
“Oftentimes, to win us to our harm, the instruments of darkness tell us truths.”
- Banquo - Act 1 Scene 3
Theme: Supernatural
AUDITORY image on “instruments”: the auditory imagery created by the lexis (word choice) “instruments” to characterise the Witches implies a malevolent musicality. This showcases how their words possess an almost hypnotic trance for Macbeth in which catalyses his usurpation of kingship.
- The choice of “instruments” suggests a deliberate orchestration of their deceit framing their speech as a manipulative melodic composition that enchants its victims
PLOSIVE on “darkness”: the ‘d’ plosive sound in the word “darkness” creates a harsh sound foreshadowing the dark, ominous and grim destiny the witches are ready to inflict upon Macbeth due to his blind violation of the divine right of kings.
- significantly Banquo’s discernment ability to judge well) of this “Darkness” indicates his immunity to the hypnotic and malevolent musicality that captivates Macbeth. Banquo’s ability to perceive their looming malevolence distinguishes him as a character not easily swayed by the enchanting allure of kingship that Macbeth falls victim to.
“Fair is foul and foul is fair
hover through the fog and filthy air”
- The Witches - Act 1 Scene 1
Theme: Supernatural, Appearance vs Reality
-The witches are presenting the audience with a paradox: a contradictory statement that suggests that the play will involve the themes of deception and appearance versus reality
It is also a suggestion from Shakespeare of the disruption and chaos to come, of a kingdom turned upside down
The paradox suggests that the words of the witches might be in the form of riddles: confusing, or misleading, just as their prophecies are to Macbeth
Macbeth, without having met the witches, echoes their language:
This suggests he is already being led by them, or under their spell
This suggests to the audience that perhaps his “fair” character will be corrupted and become most “foul”
- Trochaic Tetrameter - Creates a mysterious atmosphere and tone like a spell is being cast
“Come you spirits […] unsex me here and fill me from the crown to the toe top-full of direst cruelty”
- Lady Macbeth - Act 1 Scene 5
Theme: Supernatural, Appearance vs Reality
Shakespeare has Lady Macbeth use imperative verbs (“Come”; “unsex”) when commanding evil spirits:
This shows her power at this point in the play (or at least the power she believes she commands)
The fact that she is commanding evil spirits shows her hubris: it is arrogant for humans to believe they can control evil forces
She wants to remove her feminine traits (being nurturing, dutiful, powerless) and become “unsexed”:
She wants to subvert the characteristics of a typical woman
Shakespeare could be suggesting that only by adopting male characteristics can women gain power
This would have been seen as disturbing to a Jacobean audience and very unnatural, perhaps akin to the actions of a witch
“Stars, hide your fires, let not light see my black and deep desires.”
- Macbeth - Act 1 Scene 4
Theme: Supernatural
and
“Come thick night and pall thee in the dunnest smoke of hell…nor heaven peep through”
- Lady Macbeth - Act 1 Scene 5
Theme: Supernatural
Lady Macbeth and Macbeth are both on their own on stage when they speak these lines, suggesting that they reveal the characters’ true feelings
The fact that Macbeth echoes Lady Macbeth’s words shows that they still have a close relationship based on shared ideas (unlike later in the play)
However, it is also significant that Macbeth speaks these lines after Lady Macbeth; Shakespeare could be suggesting that Macbeth is led, or controlled, by Lady Macbeth’s thinking
The religious symbolism (“stars”, “light”, “Heaven”) suggests that both characters are aware of the significance and consequences (“Hell”) of committing regicide
Both characters use imperative verbs (“hide”, “come”) to command the natural world (“stars”, “night”). This could be seen as blasphemous and an attempt to disrupt the Great Chain of Being or God’s plan
“Look like th’innocent flower but be the serpent under’t”
- Lady Macbeth - Act 1 Scene 5
Theme: Appearance vs Reality
This quotation is reflective of Lady Macbeth’s duplicitous nature
Her use of the imperative verb “look” also shows her power over Macbeth
She has no trouble acting like “an innocent flower” in the very next scene when greeting King Duncan
The “serpent” has religious connotations: it is a reference from the Christian Bible to the snake (a representation of the Devil), who tempts Eve in the Garden of Eden:
Lady Macbeth is also a woman who is tempted by evil and, in turn, tempts a man (Macbeth)
In the Bible, this temptation causes the fall of man. In Macbeth, it causes the downfall of Lady Macbeth and her husband
This could be Shakespeare suggesting that committing blasphemous acts will always lead to ruin
“Out damned spot: out i say!”
- Lady Macbeth - Act 5 Scene 1
Theme: Appearance vs Reality
Lady Macbeth’s desperation is apparent in her ramblings: to show this, Shakespeare:
uses lots of punctuation to reflect her disjointed mind
uses repetition (“out”) to show her increasing desperation
The use of imperative verbs (“out”) is ironic: whereas earlier in the play she used commanding language with evil spirits, she has now completely lost power. Commands have turned into pleas of desperation
“Out, out, brief candle”
- Macbeth - Act 5 Scene 5
Theme: Appearance vs Reality
Macbeth echoes the language of Lady Macbeth (“out, out”)
However, unlike other times when Macbeth echoes the language of Lady Macbeth or the witches, this quotation doesn’t imply he is being led by them
Lady Macbeth’s desperation has turned into a reflection of Macbeth:
It is a realisation that what he – and Lady Macbeth – have done was worthless
It creates a sense of pathos for the audience
Macbeth using Lady Macbeth’s words brings the couple closer again
“Is this a dagger which i see before me”
“Or art thou but a dagger of the mind, a false creation,
Proceeding from the heat-oppressèd brain”
- Macbeth - Act 2 Scene 1
Theme: Appearance vs Reality
The soliloquy is the opening to the first signs of Macbeth’s insanity. He possesses an inability to distinguish between an hallucinations and reality does not restrict him to “clutch” either dagger.
* Adjective “heat-oppressed” - realises this vision is diminishing his sanity. However, contrasted with the further adjective “palpable” - comparing it to his own physical sword.
* Echoes witches earlier paradox “Fair is foul and foul is fair” - In a sense, the “foul” vision is actually “fair” that it is a representation of accurate reality (Macbeth’s plot to kill Duncan)
* Verb “draw” - when Macbeth draws his sword, it shows that it has a casual effect on his actions, making them seem rational. Shakespeare presents false visions not as figments of the imagination but capable of inducing changes to reality itself.
“Macbeth does murder sleep!”
- Macbeth - Act 2 Scene 1
Theme: Corruption & Guilt
Macbeth returns from murdering Duncan in a panicked state and is hallucinating
He hears a voice telling him he will no longer be able to sleep
“Sleep” symbolises peace or calm, so this is a suggestion that Macbeth will no longer be at peace because he committed regicide
Shakespeare could be suggesting that in the act of murdering a king, he has murdered his own chance at peace – and perhaps eternal peace: Heaven
- The disintegration of innocence is a direct consequence of his deceitful actions in seizing the throne and committing regicide. Macbeth’s descent into madness is evident as he no longer issues IMPERATIVE COMMANDS like “stars hide your fires”. instead he reflects on the mental anguish and haunting cries that torment his troubled mind due to his transgression of the divine right of kings.
- EXCLAMATIVE SENTENCE emphasises the enduring and irreversible nature of Macbeth’s loss of sleep and innocence. His disruption of the natural order through his wickedness, masked by a facade of moral piety (religiousness) has forever condemned his mind to the relentless torment of guilt.
“Here’s the smell of blood still. All the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand”
- Lady Macbeth - Act 5 Scene 1
Theme: Corruption & Guilt
It is ironic that later in the play, Lady Macbeth sees blood on her hands (guilt and responsibility for the murder of Duncan)
However, it also becomes clear that her original confidence was misplaced: her “little hand” (conoting innocence like of that of a child’s) is dirtied by blood, and seemingly nothing (even “all the perfumes of Arabia”) can cleanse it of her guilt and responsibility
Shakespeare could be suggesting that once Lady Macbeth accepted responsibility for the murder, the guilt was overwhelming
