Macbeth quotes

Cards (389)

  • Macbeth
    A five-act tragedy, written by William Shakespeare in 1606, set in medieval Scotland, mainly taking place in and around Macbeth's castle, Dunsinane
  • Protagonist Macbeth

    • At first presented as a noble warrior and thane who is loyal to his king
    • Ambition, prophecies of three malevolent witches and encouragement of his equally ambitious wife, Lady Macbeth, sees him assassinate his king, Duncan, and ascend the throne himself
  • Macbeth as King of Scotland
    1. Becomes increasingly paranoid that his act of regicide will be discovered, and that he himself will be murdered
    2. Attempts to murder any person he sees as a threat (first his friend and comrade Banquo; later a thane called Macduff)
  • Overwhelming guilt
    Consumes both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth
  • Macbeth's experiences
    • Sees hallucinations - including of his murdered friend Banquo
    • Seeks the dangerous advice of the witches for a second time
    • Lady Macbeth loses her mind completely and commits suicide
  • Play conclusion
    1. Macduff (who managed to escape Macbeth's assassination attempt) kills Macbeth in a duel, thus avenging both his family, whom Macbeth cruelly murdered, and his former king
    2. Order is thus restored in the Kingdom of Scotland, with Duncan's son, and rightful heir to the throne, Malcolm, becoming king
  • Act I
    • Three mischievous witches introduced in the very first scene
    • Macbeth reported as a brave and noble warrior who killed a traitor in battle, showing his loyalty to King Duncan
    • Macbeth and Banquo hear three prophecies from the three witches: that Macbeth will become Thane of Cawdor, that Macbeth will become King, and that Banquo's descendants will become kings
    • The Thane of Cawdor is executed for treason, and Macbeth becomes the new Thane of Cawdor
    • Macbeth sends a letter to Lady Macbeth outlining the witches' prophecies
    • King Duncan comes to visit the Macbeths at their castle, Dunsinane
    • Macbeth deliberates on murdering Duncan, and finally accepts Lady Macbeth's arguments and decides to go ahead with the assassination
  • Act II

  • Macbeth's first hallucination
    • A bloody dagger
  • Macbeth's actions after seeing Banquo and Fleance
    1. Sees the bloody dagger
    2. Returns to Lady Macbeth with murder weapons (two daggers covered in blood)
    3. Duncan's murder takes place off-stage
  • Lady Macbeth's actions
    • Calls Macbeth a coward
    • Returns the daggers to Duncan's chambers to frame the dead king's guards
  • Macduff discovers that Duncan has been murdered
  • Macbeth's claim
    He killed Duncan's guards in an act of revenge
  • Duncan's sons' actions
    1. Malcolm flees to England
    2. Donalbain flees to Ireland
  • Macbeth is crowned King of Scotland
  • Act III
    • Banquo begins to suspect Macbeth of the murder of Duncan
    • Macbeth hires assassins to kill Banquo and his son, Fleance
    • The murderers kill Banquo, but Fleance manages to escape. The assassins return to Dunsinane to tell Macbeth
    • The Macbeths host a banquet at their castle, but Macbeth hallucinates a vision of the murdered Banquo sitting at his place at the table
    • As an increasingly deranged Macbeth starts shouting at Banquo’s ghost, Lady Macbeth asks all the guests to leave
    • We learn that Macduff has gone to England to plot against Macbeth with Malcolm
    Act IV
  • Macbeth returns to the witches for reassurance
    1. Witches offer him three new prophecies:
    2. Beware Macduff
    3. No man of woman born can kill him
    4. He won't be defeated unless Birnam Wood starts marching on his castle
  • Macbeth is told that Macduff has fled for England
  • Macbeth sees Macduff's flight as reason enough to be suspicious
    Macbeth orders the murder of Macduff and his whole family
  • Lady Macduff is advised to flee her castle with her children but refuses, saying that she has done nothing wrong
  • Murderers come to Macduff's castle and brutally murder his wife and children
  • In England, Malcolm tests Macduff's loyalty and is satisfied with Macduff's responses
  • Macduff is told about the murder of his family and vows revenge
  • Act V
    1. Lady Macbeth loses her mind due to overwhelming guilt and hallucinates in her sleep
    2. Lady Macbeth kills herself (this happens off-stage)
  • Act V
    1. Malcolm, Macduff and an army of Scottish thanes advance to Birnam Wood
    2. They use its branches for camouflage
  • Macbeth is told of the death of his wife, and that Birnam Wood is advancing on Dunsinane
  • Macbeth contemplates the pointlessness of life but remains convinced he is invincible because of the witches' second prophecy
  • Act V
    1. Macduff enters the castle and challenges Macbeth to a duel
    2. Macduff admits that he was born by Caesarean section, and is thus not "of woman born"
    3. Macduff kills Macbeth
  • Malcolm is crowned the new King of Scotland
  • Themes
    Your exam question could be on any topic. However, having a really good grasp of the following themes, and crucially, why Shakespeare is exploring these themes, will enable you to produce a “conceptualised response” in your exam:
    • Ambition and Power
    • The Supernatural
    • Appearance versus Reality
    • Corruption of Nature
    Producing a conceptualised essay answer will give you access to the very highest marks on the mark scheme.
  • Macbeth
    • A play about ambition and its consequences
    • A warning against those who seek to undermine or overthrow the rule of a rightful king
  • Tragedy
    A play in which the main character is typically a person of importance and the action culminates in a disaster affecting this person
  • Tragic hero
    • The protagonist of a tragedy
    • Must have a tragic flaw, or hamartia
  • Hamartia
    The tragic flaw of a tragic hero, often hubris (overconfidence in one's own ambitions)
  • Macbeth
    • The play's tragic hero
    • His hamartia is ambition
  • Punishment of tragic heroes in Ancient Greek tragedies
    1. Tragic hero punished by the gods for their actions resulting from their hamartia
    2. Often led to the protagonist's death
  • Macbeth's ambition
    Leads him to abandon his morals and commit regicide, the murder of his best friend, and the murder of women and children
  • Macbeth is condemned to death at the hands of Macduff, and to Hell for all eternity
  • Lady Macbeth

    • Presented as ambitious
    • Her punishment is suicide
  • Divine Right of Kings
    Kings derived their authority from God, and therefore could not be challenged