Macbeth Quotations + Analysis

• Opening

  Shakespeare presents Macbeth as a powerful character through depicting him as incredibly brave and valiant - in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds. Also, Shakespeare shows that once Macbeth's ambition has been inflamed, no one is immune from the consequences.
• "Stars hide your fires, Let not light see my black and deep desires"


  • Characters: Macbeth

  
  

  • Themes: Ambition, Violence, Supernatural and Deception

  
  

  • Noun phrase - "Stars, hide your fires" shows that Macbeth wishes to remain in complete darkness and invisible, so that his "deep desires" can not be observed.

  
  

  • Metaphors of "light" and "dark" - "dark" stands for Macbeths moral unscrupulousness.

  
  

  • "Light" is personified to be an active agent that can "see" into desires; possibly a supernatural force that scrutunizes human actions.

  
  

  • Macbeth may believe in a God-like figure who will judge his actions. His concern does not lie with views of other human beings, just for the supernatural - showing his impending allegiance to the supernatural - shows his guilt complex.
• I burned in desire


  this metaphor signifies macbeth's extreme ambition which is ignited by the witches.
• "I have no spur to prick the sides of my intent, but only vaulting ambition which o'erleaps itself and falls on th'other -"


  Verb "spur" - shows clear impetus for committing the murder

  Noun phrase "vaulting ambition" - more generalised. Macbeth is keenly aware of his motivations and is not instantly convinced by the desire.

  "prick the sides" - it is a narrow stimulus; and has a direct casual effect on his intent.
• "Is this a dagger I see before me [...] And such an instrument I was to use."


  • 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-opressed" - 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.
• "Methought I heard a voice cry 'sleep no more, Macbeth does murder sleep', the innocent sleep [...] Chief nourisher in life's feast"


  • Exclamatory sentence "Sleep no more" - indicates a belief that Macbeth is referring killing Duncan, but is later revealed to be a defenseless person person while they were in a "innocent sleep". Also shows rampant guilt and madness that will plague him and Lady Macbeth to their deaths.

  
  

  • Macbeth solely focuses on the abstract idea of sleep. He imagines it to be a weaver who "knits up" in a coherent and composed "ravell'd sleave of care". "Ravell'd sleave" is a messy and disorganised garment, which juxtaposes the alluded weaver's skill. This could be reflective of Macbeth's mental state.

  
  

  • Metaphor of "sleep" is presented as a tranquil and organising force that helps make a person have coherence over the chaos life.

  
  

  • In the following lines, he almost casts sleep as the inverse, saying that sleep is the "death" after each "life", the restful "bath" after one works. Emphasises the depth Macbeth feels he has violated human life - by removing the King of Scotland in a somewhat sacred space of rejuvenation.
• O valiant cousin, worthy gentleman

  These exclamatory sentences coupled with the positive adjectives 'valiant' and 'worthy' illustrate that macbeth is really admirable and accomplished as a warrior.
• "will all great neptunes oceans wash this blood clean from my hand?"


  Rhetorical question - shows that macbeth feels guilty for his actionsmetaphor - the blood on macbeth's hand represents the guilt that he that he feels for the murder of king duncan
• vaulting ambition

  metaphor "vaulting ambition" - suggests that the only thing motivating macbeth is his ambition. this is macbeths fatal flaw which makes him a tragic hero.
• "carved out his passage and unseamed him from his nave to th' chaps"


  violent imagery - establishes macbeth as a true war hero who shows no mercy to his foesverb "carved" - shows macbeths determination to kill the traitor mcdonald and emphasises his bravery
• o full of scorpians is my mind


  Scorpions inflict pain and therefore he is aware that his ambition is in fact harming him on the flip side of that is it also gives him the power to be corrupt and inflict pain on others-symbolically, ancient Egyptians revered the scorpion spirit as a potent guardian for souls moving from one world to the next

  zoomorphism
• barren sceptre

  Noun "barren" once again could be a direct link to LM and inability to have offspring
• gory locks at me"


  adj "gory" - blood symbolism used to show the disintegration of the mental and emotional stability of Macbeth-hallucinating again-metaphorically, the banquet failing represents Macbeth's internal psychological collapse
• This dead butcher and his fiend like queen"


  -horrendous juxtaposition of the brave and nov,e Macbeth from the beginning of the play to this murdered and tyrant
• "What he hath lost noble macbeth hath won"

  -lexical field of winning and losing which are also opposites. Hints that fortunes and fates may change suddenly. Words echo witches