Macbeth

• 'For brave Macbeth (well he deserves that name)'


  The Captain, who is telling King Duncan about the battle, is clearly impressed by Macbeth's bravery. By using brackets here (or dashes in some versions), Shakespeare is emphasising that Macbeth deserves to be called brave and that his bravery stands out.
• ‘He unseam'd him from the nave to the chaps, / And fix'd his head upon our battlements’


  When fighting the Norwegian enemies, Macbeth attacked a man he had never met before and slit him open from his belly to his jaw, and then cut off his head and placed it on the battlements. This action is horrific, but is viewed as heroic because it happened to an enemy.
• • In the 11th century (when the play is set), hospitality was very important. Duncan placed himself in the care of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth, who should have treated him with kindness and loyalty. Instead, they betray his trust and murder him.
• • It is also Macbeth who begins to trust witchcraft and the supernatural, letting it take over his life – King James I, and most citizens of England and Scotland, hated anything supernatural.
• 'If chance will have me king, why then chance may crown me, / Without my stir' (1,3).


  Towards the beginning of the play, Macbeth decides that if fate has said he will be king, then that will happen without him interfering
• 'What's he / That was not born of woman? Such a one / Am I to fear or none.' (5,7)

  • Macbeth is still thinking about the prophecies, even when trapped in the castle
  • Macbeth thinks he can't be harmed by anyone that a woman gave birth to.
  • Siward's son is the first to fight Macbeth, but he loses. Macbeth believes that the prophecy is protecting him. He does not fear anyone: 'But swords I smile at, weapons laugh to scorn, / Brandished by man that's of a woman born.'
• 'I fear thy nature, / It is too full o' th' milk of human kindness / To catch the nearest way' (1,5).

  • Shakespeare uses this metaphor to suggest that Macbeth is a good man. But milk, a substance that mothers make to feed to their young, might also suggest that Lady Macbeth sees his kindness as weakness.
  • In this way, as is the case with many Shakespearian plays, the male character seems to have more stereotypically feminine traits (i.e. Macbeth seems kinder and more caring).
• 'Be innocent of the knowledge, dearest chuck' (3,2)

  • Macbeth says this to his wife.
  • Lady Macbeth was the key motivator behind the murder of King Duncan. But Macbeth doesn't even discuss his plan to kill Banquo. 
  • Perhaps he wants to save her the suffering that he feels: 'O, full of scorpions is my mind, dear wife!' (3,2). 
  • It seems he has taken control and there has been a power shift in their relationship.
  • Macbeth is almost shown to be paranoid here.
• ‘We have scorch’d the snake, not killed it’

  • This is what Macbeth responds when Lady Macbeth worries he is thinking a lot of bad thoughts about killing King Duncan and says: ‘what’s done, is done’.
• 'murdered sleep' (2,2)

  • After Macbeth has killed King Duncan, he believes he has 'murdered sleep' (2,2). 
  • He seems ashamed of the blood on his hands, calling it a 'sorry sight'. 
  • This suggests that he already feels regret over the murder. It is the last time, until the final act, that we see Macbeth kill anyone with his own hands. 
  • Murder seems to have disturbed him.
• 'To be thus is nothing, / But to be safely thus.' (3,1)

  • This is part of Macbeth`s soliloquy (speech to himself). He talks about why he must murder Banquo to keep his crown safe. 
  • He does not want Banquo's sons to inherit the crown because Macbeth has damned himself to get it from King Duncan and his heirs – he has worked hard to murder King Duncan and gain the crown, and does not want to give it up
• ‘mine eternal jewel Given to the common enemy of man'

  • This speech shows that Macbeth is struggling mentally after the murder and cannot find peace. 
  • Shakespeare hints at his lack of sleep many times throughout the play. This might be to explain why he acts in violent ways. 
  • The metaphor, 'eternal jewel' refers to his immortal soul. He has given his soul to the 'common enemy of man'. 
  • This means that he believes Satan will now possess his soul after death and he is damned (condemned) to being tortured in Hell.
• When Macbeth visits the witches in Act 4, Scene 1, they refer to him as 'something wicked'. This highlights his shift to being an evil character.
• ‘Doth unfix my hair / And make my seated heart knock at my ribs / Against the use of nature’.

  • Macbeth says this in an aside.
  • Macbeth feels afraid because something would have to happen to King Duncan for him to become king. He might even have to harm King Duncan.
  • At this point, he does not want to harm King Duncan, as he recognises the Divine Right of Kings, knowing that King Duncan was chosen by God to rule Scotland.
  • He also feels a sense of loyalty to his friend.
• ‘So fair and foul a day I have not seen’

  • Macbeth enters the stage for the first time in this scene. This is his first line of the play.
  • This is important because it shows he knows about the trouble in nature. Things are mixed up and strange. 
  • This foreshadows (indicates something in the future) the conflict that will soon happen. 
  • This could also show how Macbeth’s personality and feelings are mixed, and that the play will show his true nature.
• 'Till Birnam Wood remove to Dunsinane, / I cannot taint with fear'

  • This is what Macbeth tells his advisors.
  • This moment contrasts to Macbeth’s first meeting with the witches, where he did not believe them because he felt that witchcraft was evil. Here, Macbeth is living his life based on the prophecies from the witches and ignores warnings.
• ‘A tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing’.(5,5)

  • Macbeth is shocked after finding out that Lady Macbeth is dead. He realises he has lost everything.
  • This shows how the loss of his wife, and his increased power, have completely changed Macbeth. He feels there is no point to life anymore.
• ‘something wicked'

  • This is how the witches refer to Macbeth during his visit in Act 4, Scene 1. This highlights his shift to being an evil character.
  • Contextually, Macbeth’s allegiance with the witches and his desire to see their prophecies come true, suggest he is as an evil character – he seems to accept supernatural forces, whereas a Jacobean audience would consider this incredibly evil. 
  • He uses witchcraft to reinforce his tyrannical reign – Scotland suffers because he listened to the witches and became ruler, killing anyone who disagreed with him or was a potential threat