macbeths key quote analysis

Question 1

fair is foul and foul is fair

Answer 1

• paradox creates an air of confusionand mystery. Shows that the witches are morally confused as they value things which are foul and corrupt and despise things that are pleasant and good.
• The use of parallelism and nonsensical nature of the language means that it sounds spooky like the Witches are chanting a spell.
• The verb ‘is’ shows that the witches feel they have the powerv to force their morals onto others. it has connotations of confidence and power.

shakespeare presents the witches as evil. the have intentions to challenge DRoK by corrupting macbeth making his think beyond his place.

Question 2

brave Macbeth- well he deserves that name- confronted him with brandished steel and smoked with bloody execution

Answer 2

• ‘confronted’ shows macbeths dominance and power as he isnt afraid of anyone.
• ’ smoked’- this metaphor shows and image of macbeth as a killer surrounded by a mist of blood empha sisng his power and violent ability
• ‘bloody’ shows macbeths lack of mercy and suggests thata no one stands a chance against him on the battlefield. he is messy and brutal in the way he kills and makes no apology for it.

shakespeare presents macbeth as overwhelmningly positive yet violent and brutality to emphasize his nobility to duncan. he does this to show how ambition can influence the mkind as at the end of the play he is a tyrant.

Question 3

stars hide your fires let not light see my black and deep desires

Answer 3

• ‘black’ connotes to darkness and eveil whereas ‘deep’ suggests that his desire to be king is deep within him and therefore he cant be dissuaded from his ambition to become king.
• the jusxtapostion between ‘light’ and ‘black’ represents both sides of macbeths personality. his ambition is the darkness and his nobility is the ‘light’. it shows the start of macbeths harmartia

shkespeare presents macbeth this way to show how the witches have corrupted him through their prophecies. shakespeare does this to warn us about the dangers of gthe supernatural as the witches are controlling macbeth like a puppet.

Question 4

[macbeth] is too full of thmilk of human kindness

Answer 4

• ‘full’ connotes that macbeth is virtually overflowing with kindness and compassion . it links to his nobility and is usually a positive emotion. however LM feels disdain for it which shows her twisted morality.
• ‘thmilk’ links to the idea of infants and innocence. it shows that macbeth is childlike in his innocengt and naive view on the world and power.he fells the right thing to do is to wait and become king naturally through line of sucession when he says’if chance will have me king why chance may crown me without my stir
• ‘milk’ could also suggest LMsees macbeth as achild solely reliant on her as his mother figure guiding his morality to gain the power she feels they both deserve.

shakespeare wanted to demostrate how LM morals were twisted in a similar way to the witches. he domonstrates her disregard for traditional gender stereotypes and the poor view of her husbands morality.

Question 5

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

Answer 5

• the rhetorical question could indicate macbeths mental state is fragile. macbeth is questioning his own sanity. the dagger could be a manifestation of his amibition or coukd be a spell put there by the witches to ensure he follows through on their prophecies.
• ‘come’ and ‘clutch’- these imperative verbs showing how much macbeth wants to kil duncan. he is demanding the weapon to come to him almost like he is desperate to get the dedd done quickly. clutch suggests a tight almost desperate grip- perhaps his grip on sanity/bravery.

shakespeare wanted to show that uncotrolled power and amibition is dangerous and to be avoided. the fact it consumes macbeth thoroughly shows it willl lead to his destruction.

Question 6

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

Answer 6

• macbeth is uncertain and desperate to escape his guilt. He knows he will never escape it. this is a rhetorical question since he knows that he will never escape his guilt.
• neptunes oceans -The scale of his guilt is shown by the metaphor of an Ocean needed to wash his guilt away.He is appealing to a Roman God as he knows the Christian God has forsaken him as he killed the rightful King.
• clean-Shows Macbeth’s soul will never be clear again it is permanently stained by Duncan’s blood. blood Is a motif which recurs and symbolises guilt and violence. Suggesting this can never be removed.

Shakespeare wanted to show that if you betray the Divine Right of Kings and break the Great Chain of Being God will never forgive you.

Question 7

thou canst not say I did it: never shake/ the gory locks at me!

Answer 7

• macbeth aims the command at banquo in attempt to distance himslef from the death of his noble friend.He is playing with the language semantically as he didnt physically kill banquo himself but did order it.
• The shaking of Banquo’s head is the internal disapproval Macbeth feels towards his own actions. Potentially showing his personality being fracture.
• Macbeth uses the euphemism ‘it’ to further distance himself from the murder of Banquo. Just like with Duncan he cannot clearly articulate what he’s done due to the extent of his guilt.

Shakespeare wanted to show that Macbeth’s ambition has corrupted him to the point he is hallucinating due to guilt. He has no choice but to fully embrace his ambition and the power he has stolen showing its corruptive effect.

Question 8

I am I blood stepped so far that should I wade no more returning,were as tedious as go o’er

Answer 8

• ** I am in blood** -Use of the personal pronoun suggests Macbeth is aware of his actions and is accepting them.Motif of blood symbolises the link between violence and guilt in a cycle that Macbeth is trapped in.
• tedious-Has connotations of boring/difficult showing Macbeth realises he is in a difficult situation and he’s struggling to get out of it. It also has connotations of frustration.
• wade-Evokes an image of a river of blood showing the enormity of the violence he has committed and the guilt he feels. Wading is hard work/difficult showing the difficulty of the situation he is in.

Question 9

this tyrant whose sole name blisters our tongue

Answer 9

• tyrant Has connotations of violence and fear showing that the once well respected Macbeth is now only able to maintain his power through brutality.
• tongues Has connotations of pain and suffering. This indicates that even the mention of Macbeth is enough to create feelings of anguish showing how incapable and brutal he is as a ruler.
• the image blistering could be linked to corrosive/corruptive maybe linking to the corruption insude macbeth.

Shakespeare wanted to show that Macbeth’s reign has failed because he is not the rightful monarch according to Divine Right. Malcolm is

Question 10

here’s the smell of blood still. All the perfumes of arabia will not sweeten this little hand

Answer 10

• smell of blood-Her senses are overwhelmed by the ‘blood’ showing the guilt is always with her.
• ‘still’ cerates a sense of finality and that she cant escape her feelings no matter how hard shee tries
• ’ sweeten’ and ‘hand’ is femeinin language which demonstrayes that even though she wanted feminin characteristics removed they are still present. LM is paying for the consequences for her dominant masculine actions in mental torment

Shakespeare wanted to show that power is corruptive and that going against the natural order like Lady Macbeth did by denying her femininity will have consequences.

Question 11

life is a tale told by an idiot fullk of sound and fury signifying nothing

Answer 11

• tale - macbeth feels that his life is a story made up by the witches/ fate illustrating how he feels he has no control over his life and therefore it is meaningless
• idiot has conotations of being stupid and unintelligent suggesting macbeth feels fate makes ni sense. aditionally, Macbeth could be describing himself this way since he is the who made the ultimate decision to kill duncan.
• sound Has connotations of dramatic events/trauma suggesting Macbeth feels that life is volatile and overwhelming. He lacks control and is traumatised by the things he has done to hold power.
• nothing Has connotations of emptiness and desolation. Macbeth concludes that life is meaningless and makes no sense.Macbeth has lost so much in his pursuit of power including Lady Macbeth and his own nobility he now feels empty.

Shakespeare wanted to show that power seized by the wrong means (breaking The Great chain of Being) is corruptive and will lead to destruction.

Question 12

of this dead butcher and fiend like queen

Answer 12

• dead butcher has connotations of emotionlessly carving into people.Indiscriminately murdering - as evidenced when he killed Macduff’s entire family even innocent children. By asserting he’s dead Malcolm is reassuring the soldiers and nobles tha the natural order has been restored.
• **fiend like ** this simile associates LM with the supernatural. fiend has connotations of a spirit or demon indicating malcolm believs she was associated with the witches

Shakespeare wanted to show that power seized by the wrong means (breaking The Great Chain of Being) is corruptive and will lead to destruction. Malcolm being back on the throne restores the natural order and Macbeth’s legacy is one of ‘butchery’ and tyranny rather than ‘nobility’