Macbeth: Character Quotations (AQA GCSE English Literature)

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

Key word or phrase to memorise: “foolish thought” and “sorry sight”

What the quotation means: After the murder of King Duncan, Macbeth is distressed and expresses remorse, but Lady Macbeth tells him that it is silly to feel sorry for his actions

Theme:  Guilt

• Shakespeare presents contrasting characters in Lady Macbeth and Macbeth:

  • The reversed gender roles is significant in this scene

  • Macbeth weakens and wails while Lady Macbeth is emotionless

• While the scene is tense, the unexpected responses create some humour:

  • Lady Macbeth’s frustration at her lamenting husband is conveyed in the sibilant “sorry sight” 

• This line highlights her distinct lack of guilt:

  • The word “foolish” implies her pragmatic response to the murder

Key word or phrase to memorise: “smell of blood still” and “all the perfumes” 

What the quotation means: Lady Macbeth is overcome with guilt and imagines that she can smell King Duncan’s blood on her hands, adding that all the perfume in “Arabia” would not make her hands smell sweet as they are forever stained with guilt

Theme:  Guilt

• Lady Macbeth’s line ironically illustrates the error of her previous arrogance:

  • Earlier, she tells Macbeth that “a little water” will clean his hands of blood

  • By Act 5, a contrast in her attitude is highlighted by the word “all”, implying nothing can remove the blood

• Shakespeare’s ideas about guilt are conveyed with metaphor: 

  • Lady Macbeth is haunted by the blood that is “still” on her hands

  • Arabia is associated with the finest perfumes

  • Her guilt leads to mental decline

  • Shakespeare raises questions about  Machiavellian success

Key word or phrase to memorise: “hurlyburly’s done” and “lost and won”

What the quotation means: The witches, in a deserted place, say that they will meet Macbeth once the chaos of the “battle” is over

Theme:  Supernatural

• Shakespeare opens his play ominously foreshadowing the witches’ influence:

  • They discuss events in rhyme, making their speech chant-like as if casting a spell

  • Nevertheless, their words are ambiguous and mysterious

  • Chaos, or “hurly-burly”, is implied 

• Shakespeare creates dramatic irony as audiences hear the witches’ plans:

  • This suggests their power in the play

  • In this way, ideas about the influence of supernatural forces are raised

Key word or phrase to memorise: “Lesser” and “greater” 

What the quotation means: The witches prophesise that Banquo will have a lesser status than Macbeth, but that he will also be better or “greater”

Theme:  Fate 

• Shakespeare uses the witches to present ideas about fate and free will:

  • The witches are perceived as having supernatural qualities 

  • Yet it is Macbeth’s response to their words that realises their prophecies

• The oxymoron “Lesser” and “greater” presents alternative versions of success:

  • Although Macbeth will be king, Banquo’s legacy makes him “greater”

  • Macbeth’s jealous paranoia once he is king leads to his ruin

Key word or phrase to memorise:  “not be commanded” and “More potent”

What the quotation means: When Macbeth returns to the witches, keen to hear more about Banquo, they warn him about his impending death, and become frustrated at his arrogant self-absorption

Theme:  Supernatural

• Shakespeare presents the witches’ loss of power over Macbeth once he becomes king:

  • His obsession with Banquo’s legacy blinds him to the witches’ warnings

  • The witches are frustrated with his refusal to be “commanded”

  • They make the visions scarier to try to shock him 

Key word or phrase to memorise: “instruments of darkness” and “honest trifles”

What the quotation means: Banquo warns Macbeth that the witches’ prophecies may be tempting him with a small truth to lead him to towards darker consequences that will cause him harm

Theme:  Supernatural 

• Shakespeare’s plays often present the danger of placing trust in the supernatural:

  • Banquo resists the witches

  • Imagery emphasises his belief that they are harmful tools of “darkness”

  • The oxymoron (“honest trifles” and “betrays/In deepest”) implies Banquo sees the witches as deceitful

• Banquo acts as a foil to Macbeth:

  • While Macbeth is uncertain, Banquo has clarity and self-assuredness

  • Macbeth is lured into betraying his king, but Banquo remains loyal

Key word or phrase to memorise: “all” and “most foully”

What the quotation means: Banquo reflects on Macbeth’s success (that he has “all” he was promised), but he is concerned that Macbeth has won this success by “playing” unfairly

Theme:  Fate

• Shakespeare illustrates the growing conflict in Macbeth and Banquo’s friendship:

  • Banquo suspects that his friend has acted “foully”

  • This raises ideas about Machiavellian success

• Shakespeare questions ideas about fate, free will, and the power of the supernatural:

  • This line mirrors the witches’ words, “foul and fair”

  • The line is blurred between the prophecies and the way in which Macbeth responds

Key word or phrase to memorise: “treachery”

What the quotation means: Banquo appears surprised that his friend, Macbeth, has betrayed him and sent men to murder him and his son

Theme:  Loyalty

• The climax of the play signals a turning point for Macbeth, the tragic hero:

  • His submission to egomania and violence leads to mental decline and, ultimately, his downfall

  • His “treachery” (as cried out by Banquo) makes him irredeemable 

• However, notably, Banquo calls to his son to seek vengeance:

  • Perhaps Shakespeare implies that loyalty can create a continuous cycle of violent revenge