Macbeth Character Quotations edexcel 1-Shakespeare

Key word or phrase to memorise: “Cannot be ill, cannot be good” and “earnest of success”

What the quotation means: In an aside, Macbeth evaluates whether the witches’ prophecies are good or bad, but goes on to question how they could possibly be bad as the witches predicted his successful future alongside a truth (that he was Thane of Glamis and Cawdor)

Theme: Fate

• Shakespeare raises questions about fate and free will through his protagonist:

  • His tragic hero expresses uncertainty about the ambiguous prophecies

  • The oxymoronic “ill” or “good” conveys dichotomies in his dilemma 

  • Macbeth, via his questioning nature, is presented as doubtful and reflective

• Shakespeare presents Macbeth as, initially, dubious about the witches’ prophecies:

  • However, his question suggests he is inclined to believe the witches’ words

  • This may imply his receptiveness to supernatural ideas, as well as his ambition 

Key word or phrase to memorise: “dare do all” and “dares do more” 

What the quotation means: Macbeth denies Lady Macbeth’s challenge to his masculinity and insists that he is a brave man, arguing that what he does already proves that, and that if he were to “do more” (kill King Duncan), he would be less of a man

Theme: Loyalty 

• Shakespeare illustrates the pressures between Macbeth and his wife:

  • Macbeth’s loyalty is challenged 

  • While their relationship is close, gender issues cause conflict as a result of Lady Macbeth’s masculine qualities

• The alliterative anaphora “dare do all” and “dares do more” stresses Macbeth’s attitudes towards masculinity:

  • Macbeth’s repetition of “dare” links to bravery and, perhaps, recklessness

  • His loyalty to the king, Macbeth suggests, makes him more of a man

Key word or phrase to memorise:  “for fear” and “stones prate” 

What the quotation means: When Macbeth hallucinates that he sees a dagger and begins to doubt his senses, his paranoia increases so that, by the end, he believes that every footstep alerts the castle, as if the stones talk (“prate”)

Theme: Guilt

• Shakespeare’s tragic hero experiences psychological turmoil and guilt:

  • Macbeth’s hallucination indicates his anxious need to detach from reality 

  • His soliloquy expresses his troubled state as he doubts his senses

• The scene’s tension is emphasised by the silence to which Macbeth refers:

  • This emphasises Macbeth’s paranoia about being caught

  • As he talks to himself, he draws attention to his footsteps

  • He personifies the stones, believing that they will expose him

Key word or phrase to memorise: “the valour of my tongue” and “All that impedes thee”

What the quotation means: After Lady Macbeth reads about the prophecy, she decides to help Macbeth overcome all obstacles to the crown (“golden round”), and says that she will need to persuade him (“pour” her “spirits”) with the power of her “tongue”, and that she may need to “chastise” (lecture) him

Theme: Loyalty

• Shakespeare initially introduces Lady Macbeth as a loyal wife:

  • Her determination to help Macbeth fulfil his destiny is conveyed by the phrase “All that impedes thee”

  • She implies that her power lies in the strength of her speech and her ability to manipulate Macbeth to her bidding

• Shakespeare foreshadows Lady Macbeth’s relentless persuasion in Act 1, Scene 7:

  • In her soliloquy, audiences hear her plans to scold Macbeth