Macbeth

• Stars hide your fires; let not light see my black and deep desires - Macbeth (Act 1 Scene 4)

  Macbeth wants to hide his dark feelings he wants his secret yearning for the throne to remain covered in darkness, especially the fact that he would be willing to do anything, including murdering Duncan, the rightful king, to achieve his ambition.

  "Stars hide your fires" is personification. The stars are being asked to give Macbeth darkness, so no one can see his "black and deep desires." Calling his desires black and deep is a metaphor, because the thoughts are not literally dark, but he is saying they are dark because they are evil.See an expert-written answer!We have an expert-written solution to this problem!
• "Double, double, toil and trouble;

  Fire burn, and cauldron bubble!" - The witches (Act 4 Scene 1)


  These lines show how what the witches say can have double meanings and can be contradictory.
• "Look like the innocent flower,

  But be the serpent under it." - Lady Macbeth (Act 1 Scene 5)


  Lady Macbeth is telling Macbeth to have the guise of the innocent while his true nature should be of a serpent. He should have the temptation to do evil with in him and not have any remorse when going through with what is believed to be the necessary actions.

  Lady Macbeth is using this metaphor to show her true feeling's and influence for Macbeth into looking innocent like a flower but without hiding from the devious nature that she believes he should have as a man.
• "What's done cannot be undone. To bed, to bed, to bed!"- Lady Macbeth (Act 5 Scene 1 )


  Lady Macbeth is trying to be reassuring she tries to stay away from the whole womanly bit. And that includes reassuring her husband. We're thinking this is about more than actual blood staining her hands. In fact, we think blood is a symbol for guilt in this play.
• "Out, out, brief candle! Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player that struts and frets his hour upon the stage and is heard no more. It is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing." - Macbeth (Act 5 Scene 5)


  It is spoken by Macbeth after he hears that his wife has committed suicide and he also knows that armies are marching against him. He says that days on this world are short, a 'brief candle' and ultimately one is enveloped in darkness. He compares life to an unimportant actor, a 'walking shadow' for the character he plays. This insignificant actor "struts and frets his hour upon the stage" or is proud and anxious for the small part he has to perform on stage and then he is heard no more. He then compares life to the tale told by a director which is full of noise and passion but ultimately it signifies nothing. Comparing life to theatre, Shakespeare not only questions the purpose of life but also gives a reminder of the illusionary nature of theatre.
• "False face must hide what the false heart doth know." - Macbeth (Act 1 Scene 7)

  Macbeth is saying that he will put on a false front and act as if everything is normal, even though he is plotting to kill Duncan. This betrayal of his king is what he is talking about when he speaks of a "false heart." In the lines of literature this theme falls within "appearance vs. reality." We know that Macbeth is easy to read, or it's easy to tell what he's feeling, so he must work extra hard to change his appearance to hide the reality of his murderous plot.
• "Fair is foul, and foul is fair, hover through fog and filthy air." - The Witches (Act 1 Scene 1)


  It could be simply deciphered as what is fair or pretty will become foul or ugly and vice versa, i.e. things would be opposite to what they appear. It could be also interpreted as suggesting that Macbeth's world will become upside down and he will do things he considers foul or unfair disregarding what appears fair to him. This line is among the most important in Macbeth and can be considered closest to describing the theme of the play.
• "I dare do all that may become a man;

  Who dares do more, is none" - Macbeth (Act 1 Scene 7)


  Macbeth replies in self-defense that he "dares do all that may become a man," meaning that he dares to do all that is good for a man to do. This is "become" in the sense that we mean when we say that a color "becomes you." He then adds, "who dares do more is none," meaning that someone who dares do more than what is good for a man to do is not really a man at all.

  
  

  Soon, however, he succumbs to his ambitions and his wife's urging, and does the act which is "more than may become a man" — he murders his king, to whom he has sworn fealty and who is also his guest, which in that society was equally reprehensible. His statement that "who dares do more is none" turns out to be prophetic; by daring to commit this crime, he sets his own destruction in motion.
• "Come, you spirits

  That tend on mortal thoughts! Unsex me here" - Lady Macbeth (Act 1 Scene 5)


  She essentially asks these spirits which she invokes to remove all aspects of her femininity because she seeks to gain power through the position that the witches have promised her husband. Her ability to carry out that which she fears her husband will lack the gumption to commit, Duncan's murder, is inhibited by the constraints of her assigned gender. She maintains her feminine power through her sexuality and feigned weakness as seen through her fainting spell at the announcement of Duncan's death, however, she presents an alternative femininity that embraces masculine power behind the shroud of feminine appearance. The play presents the act of murdering as antithetical to femininity and therefore antithetical to the possibility of power. The desire for power and her plans to obtain said power are the main markers of her dwindling femininity that makes her threatening and forceful.

  Lady Macbeth's power is further complicated by the fact that she uses a proxy rather than committing the murder herself. Although she drugs Duncan's guards and returns the daggers to the scene of the crime, she manipulates her husband to gain the ruthless result that she desires: regicide. Manipulation, especially through sexuality, is often seen as a source of woman's power, yet Lady Macbeth uses this feminine power to participate in murder, a masculine display of power. During this part of the play, she uses feminine power for masculine gains, a dichotomy few characters would be able to balance in the way Lady Macbeth does.
• "I am in blood

  Stepp'd in so far that, should I wade no more,

  Returning were as tedious as go o'er." - Macbeth (Act 3 Scene 4)


  Macbeth has gone so far into killing that it would be easier for him to surrender himself to the darkness until he can't go back to the way he used to be. He is literally and metaphorically steeped in blood, he cannot return to his former self.

  he says it as " I am in blood", then says " stepped in so far" means involved in such a way, then " should i wade no more" means metaphorically he has stepped at the middle of a pool of blood, if he do not move forward and decides to come back to home bank it will be similar difficult to move forward and reach to far bank.
• "O, full of scorpions is my mind! ,my dear wife!" - Macbeth (Act 3 Scene 2)

  His mind is vastly out of control that it is not controlled by something natural as the brain, but replaced by 'scorpions'. The symbolic Connotations of scorpion is death and dying, scorpions are known for their immense claws that can rip through prey easily. Just like that, his mind is a weapon that craves death. He not only says that, but states that his mind is 'full' of these foul creatures. His mind has no remorse, emotion or feelings,only the desire to crush his enemies, if his mind is 'full' of them, therefore he has no conscience and if his mind has no conscience, he is not a human, but instead he is the personification of a creature like a scorpion who kills anything it wishes. His mind is also so immeasurably unstable, he begs his wife to save him from it, he screams: 'dear wife!' 'scorpions' and 'dear' both juxtapose each other and the fact that they are used in the same sentence shows he can't tell the difference between evil or good and switches between the both.The exclamation mark exemplifies his desperation for His wife to help him from his peril, the emphasis on 'wife' shows only the love and comfort of her will save him, only she can make the 'scorpions' in his mind disappear.

  Even though ironically, Lady Macbeth was the one who motivated him to kill king Duncan to secure the crown with quotes such as 'art thou afeard to act in thine own desire?' She accused him of cowardice to try-and motivate his ambition to kill the king and now he wants her 'dear' wife, which has connotations of goodness to relieve him of his evil intentions, once again proving he can't tell the difference between right or wrong. At the time of Shakespeare , the audience would mostly be Christian, they believed all life was sacred, a quote in the bible: "all life is sacred' exemplifies this. They believed that anyone who defied this sacred belief is banished from God and will walk along an unknown path away from God, Macbeth's inability to control his own mind shows he is-already walking along the unknown path and has no guidance from God. The play of Macbeth was also a tragedy, meaning a a protagonist's fatal flaw will be his downfall. Macbeth's fatal flaw is the desire for death and the crown, he was once a person who served the king with honor, now his fatal flaw has lead him into a path of darkness and confusion. He is officially lost.
• "My hands are of your color, but I shame to wear a heart so white." - Lady Macbeth (Act 2 Scene 2)


  Lady Macbeth is insulting Macbeth she says this in response to his nervous and guilty attitude.

  By saying "My hands are of your color" she means they are blood red, also, because she is just as guilty as he is. When she says "But I shame to wear a heart so white" she means she would be ashamed of having such a weak heart as Macbeth is suffering from at that point.
• "Look, how our partner's rapt." - Banquo (Act 1 Scene 3)


  Banquo notices that Macbeth's brain is working overtime as he has just heard the witches' suggestion that he will become king. Banquo has suspicions about his friend's obsession for the crown.
• "This is a sorry sight." - Macbeth (Act 2 Scene 2)


  Macbeth has feelings of regrettable and unwelcome aspect or feature. Now also used to mean something or someone of untidy appearance.
• "To-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow" - Macbeth (Act 5 Scene 5)


  Bearing in mind Macbeth's mental state at this point in the play. We start to see his sanity unravel even before the murder of Duncan. Macbeth's speech is an extremely depressing view of not just human mortality, but also what we leave behind. And what we leave behind is, essentially, nothing He's done some terrible things; sacrificed his morals and his sanity..and for what? A short spell on the throne, which will evaporate with his death.
• "Yet do I fear thy nature, It is too full o' th' milk of human kindness to catch the nearest way." - Lady Macbeth (Act 1 Scene 5)


  She is excited by the letter but fears that Macbeth is too 'full of the milk of human kindness' or of too good a nature, to take the shortest route to the crown which would be to eliminate the king and seize the throne.
• "Be bloody, bold, and resolute. Laugh to scorn the power of man, for none of woman born shall harm Macbeth." - Second Apparition (Act 4 Scene 1)


  This second apparition is significant because it gives Macbeth a false sense of security and encourages his tyrannical behavior. Macbeth is comforted and feels confident in his ability to maintain his position as king.
• "There's daggers in men's smiles. The near in blood, The nearer bloody." - Donalbain (Act 2 Scene 3)


  Donalbain suspects that the people who surround them and are acting kindly contain among them the person who murdered their father. He says that daggers are present in men's smile probably referring to the canines which show when one smiles and implying that not everyone who acts friendly is a friend. 'The near in blood, the nearer bloody' implies that beware of the ones who are in the closest-relation with you as they are most likely to betray and murder you.
• "Here's the smell of the blood still. All the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand. " - Lady Macbeth (Act 5 Scene 1 )


  Lady Macbeth is traumatized and guilt-ridden and she says that she cannot get rid of the smell of blood from her hands, not even if all the perfumes of Arabia are applied to it. This is in sharp contrast to her statement to Macbeth when he murdered Duncan where she said "a little water clears us of this deed". Knowing that she was the prime force that led Macbeth to this murderous path, her guilt dominates her thoughts and she is unable to turn away from what she now considers sins.