Macbeth Test

• Lady Macbeth: 'Look like th' innocent flower, but be the serpent under 't.'
• Lady Macbeth advises Macbeth


  To act kind and welcoming to hide his cruel intentions to murder Duncan
• The quote


  • Highlights the theme of deception and the idea that appearances can be misleading
  • Reveals Lady Macbeth's cunning and manipulative nature because of her determination and willingness to control her husband
• Macbeth: 'I have no spur to prick the sides of my intent, but only vaulting ambition'
• The quote


  • Explores the theme of unchecked ambition and the internal struggle faced by Macbeth
  • Foreshadows the tragic consequences of his actions
• Lady Macbeth: 'Yet do I fear thy nature; it is too full o' the milk of human kindness.'
• The quote


  • Contrasts Macbeth's inherent kindness with the cruelty required for their ambitions
  • Underscores the theme of moral corruption
• Macbeth: 'Will all great Neptune's ocean wash this blood clean from my hand?'
• The quote


  • Symbolizes guilt, remorse, and the irreversible consequences of violence
  • Reflects Macbeth's descent into madness and tyranny
• Macbeth: 'Oh full of scorpions is my mind dear wife'
• The quote


  • Reflects Macbeth's worsening mental state and inner turmoil
  • Emphasizes the theme of psychological downfall by showing how ambition and ruthless actions lead to internal chaos and moral destruction
• Malcolm: 'I think our country sinks beneath the yoke, it weeps, it bleeds, and each new day a gash is added to her wounds.'
• The quote


  • Emphasizes the theme of political instability, tyranny, and the impact of corrupt leadership on a nation
  • Uses vivid imagery and pathetic fallacy to describe the suffering caused by Macbeth's tyranny
• Macbeth: 'Out, out, brief candle! Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player that struts and frets his hour upon the stage. And then is heard no more: it is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.'
• The quote


  • Uses a metaphor to compare the length of life to the briefness of a candle's burn time
  • Highlights the theme of mortality because Macbeth's ambition makes him feel empty and realize that everything that happens in life leads to nothing and has no meaning
• Macbeth: 'Had I but lived an hour before this chance, I had lived a blessed time.'
• The quote


  • Highlights the theme of fate and the inevitability of Macbeth's downfall
  • Reveals his realization that his cruel actions have caused his destruction and downfall
• Macbeth: 'The bell invites me. Hear it not, Duncan; for it is a knell that summons thee to heaven or to hell.'
• The quote


  • Foreshadows Duncan's impending fate and Macbeth's internal struggle between ambition and guilt
  • Links to the theme of betrayal and the corrupting influence of power
• Lady Macbeth: 'Out, damned spot!'
• The quote


  • Symbolizes guilt, remorse, and the inability to cleanse oneself of wrongdoing
  • Reveals Lady Macbeth's transformation from ruthless planner to guilt-ridden madness
• Three witches: 'Double, double, toil and trouble, fire burn and cauldron bubble'
• The quote


  • Sets an eerie tone and foreshadows the chaos caused by supernatural elements in the play
  • Reinforces the theme of the supernatural, fate, and the witches' influence on Macbeth's actions
• Three witches: 'Fair is foul and foul is fair.'
• The quote


  • Sets the tone for the play, suggesting that appearances can be deceptive
  • Explores the theme of moral ambiguity, the inversion of values, and the idea that good and evil are not always clear-cut
• Macbeth: 'I dare do all that may become a man; who dares do more is none.'
• The quote


  • Highlights the theme of gender roles, ambition, and the pressure to conform to societal expectations
  • Reveals Lady Macbeth's manipulative personality and her attempts to control Macbeth's sense of manhood
• Duncan: 'This castle hath a pleasant seat; the air nimbly and sweetly recommends itself unto our gentle senses.'
• The quote


  • Creates dramatic irony, as the audience knows the castle will soon turn from pleasant to deadly
  • Underscores the theme of appearances versus reality
• Doctor: 'Foul whisperings are abroad. Unnatural deeds do breed unnatural troubles; infected minds to their deaf pillows will discharge their secrets'
• The quote


  • Highlights the theme of guilt and the consequences of unnatural actions because it underscores the destructive impact of ambition and the destruction of Lady Macbeth's mind
• Banquo: 'And oftentimes, to win us to our harm / The instruments of darkness tell us truths'
• The quote


  • Foreshadows Macbeth's tragic downfall due to his ambition and reliance on supernatural forces
• Lady Macbeth: 'Come, you spirits that tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here, and fill me from the crown to the toe top-full of direst cruelty. Make thick my blood.'
• The quote


  • Reflects her ambition and willingness to defy traditional gender roles
  • The imagery of thickening her blood symbolizes her desire for emotional numbness and determination to commit inhumane acts in pursuit of power
• Macduff: 'What, all my pretty chickens and their dam at one fell swoop?'
• The quote


  • Highlights the theme of violence and the personal cost of Macbeth's tyranny, while also emphasizing Macbeth's cruelty
• Lady Macbeth: 'The raven himself is hoarse, that croaks the fatal entrance of Duncan under my battlements.'
• The quote


  • Foreshadows Duncan's fate and Lady Macbeth's ruthless determination
  • Links to the theme of ambition and the cost of achieving power
• Third Apparition: 'Macbeth shall never vanquish until Great Birnam wood to high Dunsinane hill shall come against him.'