macbeth quotes you can use in an essay

Macbeth Quotes

Read our selection of the most memorable and significant Macbeth quotes. William Shakespeare’s Macbeth is one of his most often quoted plays, with famous quotes aplenty.

As ever, Shakespeare brings his Mabeth characters to life with memorable dialogue and a number of intense monologues and soliloquies. We’ve pulled together all of the top Macbeth quotes below from primary and secondary characters – as well as a good selection from the eponymous hero and his wife – shown in order of the quote appearing in the play, listing the character speaking along with act and scene.

“Fair is foul, and foul is fair.”

Three Witches (Act 1 Scene 1)

“What bloody man is that?”

King Duncan (Act 1 Scene 2)

“If you can look into the seeds of time, And say which grain will grow and which will not.”

Banquo (Act 1 Scene 3)

“Or have we eaten on the insane root That takes the reason prisoner?”

“What! can the devil speak true?”

“Present fears Are less than horrible imaginings.”

King Duncan (Act 1 Scene 4)

“There’s daggers in men’s smiles”

Donalbain (Act 2 Scene 3)

“ Double, double toil and trouble : Fire burn, and cauldron bubble.”

Witches (Act 4 Scene 1)

“By the pricking of my thumbs, Something wicked this way comes .”

Second Witch (Act 4 Scene 1)

“Macbeth shall never vanquished be until Great Birnam wood to high Dunsinane Hill Shall come against him.”

Third apparition (Act 4 Scene 1)

“A deed without a name.”

“When our actions do not, Our fears do make us traitors.”

Lady Macduff (Act 4 Scene 2)

“Now does he feel his title Hang loose about him, like a giant’s robe Upon a dwarfish thief.”

Angus (Act 5 Scene 2)

“Tongue nor heart Cannot conceive nor name thee!”

Macduff (Act 2 Scene 3)

“The patient Must minister to himself.”

Doctor (Act 5 Scene 3)

“Those clamorous harbingers of blood and death.”

Macduff (Act 5 Scene 6)

…and here are some Macbeth quotes from Macbeth himself:

“Nothing is But what is not.”

Macbeth (Act 1 Scene 3)

“Come what come may, Time and the hour runs through the roughest day.”

“False face must hide what the false heart doth know.”

Macbeth (Act 1 Scene 7)

“I dare do all that may become a man; Who dares do more is none.”

“ If it were done when ’tis done, then ’twere well It were done quickly.”

“To prick the sides of my intent, but only vaulting ambition, which o’erleaps itself and falls on th’other”

“ Is this a dagger which I see before me, The handle toward my hand? Come, let me clutch thee: I have thee not, and yet I see thee still.”

Macbeth (Act 2 Scene 1)

“Thou sure and firm-set earth, Hear not my steps, which way they walk, for fear Thy very stones prate of my whereabout”

“Will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood Clean from my hand? No, this my hand will rather The multitudinous seas incarnadine, Making the green one red.”

Macbeth (Act 2 Scene 2)

“Methought I heard a voice cry, ‘Sleep no more! Macbeth does murder sleep:  the innocent sleep, Sleep that knits up the ravelled sleeve of care, The death of each day’s life, sore labor’s bath, Balm of hurt minds, great nature’s second course, Chief nourisher in life’s feast.”

“Things bad begun make strong themselves by ill.”

Macbeth (Act 3 Scene 2)

“Blood will have blood.”

Macbeth (Act 3 Scene 4)

“It will have blood, they say: blood will have blood.”

“How now, you secret, black, and midnight hags!”

Macbeth (Act 4 Scene 1)

“The devil damn thee black, thou cream-faced loon! Where gott’st thou that goose look?”

Macbeth (Act 5 Scene 3)

“To-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow, Creeps in this petty pace from day to day To the last syllable of recorded time, And all our yesterdays have lighted fools The way to dusty death. 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.”

Macbeth (Act 5 Scene 5)

“I bear a charmed life.”

Macbeth (Act 5 Scene 8)

Macbeth quotes by Lady Macbeth:

The raven himself is hoarse That croaks the fatal entrance of Duncan Under my battlements”

Lady Macbeth ( Act 1, Scene 5 )

“Yet do I fear thy nature; It is too full o’ the milk of human kindness.”

Lady Macbeth (Act 1, Scene 5)

“Come  you spirits , That tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here.”

“O, never Shall sun that morrow see! Your face, my thane, is as a book where men May read strange matters. To beguile the time, Look like the time. Bear welcome in your eye, Your hand, your tongue. Look like th’ innocent flower, But be the serpent under ‘t. He that’s coming Must be provide for: and you shall put This night’s great business into my dispatch, Which shall to all our nights and days to come Give solely sovereign sway and masterdom.”

“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. Stop up th’ access and passage to remorse, That no compunctious visitings of nature Shake my fell purpose, nor keep peace between Th’ effect and it. Come to my woman’s breasts, And take my milk for gall, you murd’ring ministers, Wherever in your sightless substances You wait on nature’s mischief. Come, thick night, And pall thee in the dunnest smoke of hell, That my keen knife see not the wound it makes, Nor heaven peep through the blanket of the dark, To cry “Hold, hold!””

“Would’st thou have that Which thou esteem’st the ornament of life, And live a coward in thine own esteem, Letting “I dare not” wait upon “I would,” Like the poor cat i’ th’ adage?”

Lady Macbeth (Act 1, Scene 7)

“I have given suck, and know How tender ’tis to love the babe that milks me. I would, while it was smiling in my face, Have plucked my nipple from his boneless gums And dashed the brains out, had I so sworn as you Have done to this.”

“I laid their daggers ready; He could not miss ‘em. Had he not resembled My father as he slept, I had done’t.”

Lady Macbeth (Act 2, Scene 2)

“ Out! damned spot!  One, two, — why, then ‘tis time to do’t. Hell is murky. Fie, my lord, fie, a soldier and afeard? What need we fear who knows it, when none can call our power to account? – Yet who would have thought the old man to have had so much blood in him.”

Lady Macbeth ( Act 5, Scene 1 )

“All the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand.”

Lady Macbeth (Act 5, Scene 1)

“What’s done cannot be undone.”

Are any of your favourite Macbeth quotes missing from this list? Please let us know in the comments below! We also have this list of LadyMacbeth quotes that might be of interest :)

Read Mabeth quotes in modern English :

• Is this a dagger which I see before me?
• If it were done when ’tis done
• The raven himself is hoarse
• Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow
• More about the RSC’s take on Macbeth on screen

Shakespeare Quotes by Play

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See All Macbeth Resources

Macbeth | Macbeth summary | Macbeth characters : Banquo , Lady Macbeth , Macbeth , Macduff , Three Witches | Macbeth settings | Modern Macbeth translation  | Macbeth full text | Macbeth PDF  |  Modern Macbeth ebook | Macbeth for kids ebooks | Macbeth quotes | Macbeth ambition quotes |  Macbeth quote translations | Macbeth monologues | Macbeth soliloquies | Macbeth movies | Macbeth themes

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haha we laughed about the egg quote for 20 minutes in class when we learnt macbeth

are you popping bottles, sparkles and champagne?

you forgot ‘look like the innocent flower but be the serpent under’t’.

nah its on there m8 but you jus never read the long quotes

They didn’t i saw it. Macbeth is such an amazing play with so many plot twists. Shakespeare is an amazing playwright

nah bro macbeth is mid but a fitty

I Love the egg quote it reminded me o f eggs

What about ” I am in blood stepts so far that to wade no more would be as tedious as to return over!

this book sucks so much i want to strangle shakespeare when he was a baby so i dont have to be here 700 years later reading on some pure WAFFLE!!

macbeth is a baby

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Macbeth Essay Quotes

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Yet do I fear thy nature; It is too full o' the milk of human kindness.

If chance will have me king, why, chance may crown me.

False face must hide what the false heart doth know.

I am in blood Stepp'd in so far, that, should I wade no more, Returning were as tedious as go o'er.

A little water clears us of this deed.

Fair is foul, and foul is fair, hover through fog and filthy air.

Vaulting ambition, which o'erleaps itself And falls on the other side

Will all great Neptune's ocean wash this blood clean from my hand? No, this my hand will rather the multitudinous seas incarnadine, making the green one red.

Look like the innocent flower, But be the serpent under it.

My hands are of your color, but I shame to wear a heart so white.

All the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand! Oh, oh, oh!

Bloody instructions, which, being taught, return to plague the inventor.

I dare do all that may become a man; Who dares do more, is none

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.

So foul and fair a day I have not seen.

The instruments of darkness tell us truths.

Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow,Creeps in this petty pace from day to day

Out, damned spot! Out, I say!

Yet who would have thought the old man to have had so much blood in him? - Lady Macbeth

We fail! But screw your courage to the sticking-place, And we'll not fail.

It is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury; signifying nothing.

By the pricking of my thumbs, Something wicked this way comes.

Nothing in his life became him like leaving it.

To-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow, Creeps in this petty pace from day to day, To the last syllable of recorded time; And all our yesterdays have lighted fools The way to dusty death. 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.

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43 of the best key quotes in Macbeth and their meanings

Laycie Beck

Studying Shakespeare is something everybody will do, whether it’s at school, college or university. There is no denying that Macbeth is a staple of English classes in general. But knowing the key quotes in Macbeth for your GCSEs, A-levels or degree is crucial, especially if you’re on a deadline or revising for an exam. We’ve provided a useful summary of all the Macbeth key quotes and a brief analysis to help you out.

What is Macbeth about?

Macbeth” is a renowned tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in the early 17th century. This dark and powerful play delves into the destructive effects of ambition, guilt, and moral corruption.

The story unfolds in medieval Scotland and follows the rise and fall of the titular character, Macbeth, a valiant warrior and a thane (a Scottish noble). The play begins with Macbeth earning high praise for his bravery and skill in battle, defending King Duncan’s realm. However, his encounter with three witches, or Weird Sisters, sets the stage for his tragic downfall. The witches prophesy that Macbeth will become the Thane of Cawdor and eventually the King of Scotland.

Intrigued and ambitious, Macbeth shares this prophecy with his wife, Lady Macbeth, a character as ambitious and ruthless as Macbeth himself. Together, they hatch a plan to hasten the prophecy’s fulfilment. This leads to Macbeth’s murder of King Duncan and his subsequent ascension to the throne. However, this act of regicide plunges both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth into a world of guilt, paranoia, and madness.

As the play progresses, Macbeth becomes increasingly tyrannical and bloodthirsty, ordering the murder of those he perceives as threats, including his friend Banquo and the family of his rival, Macduff. These acts of violence and betrayal create a climate of fear and unrest in Scotland.

Meanwhile, Lady Macbeth, tormented by guilt, descends into madness, leading to one of the play’s most famous scenes where she attempts to wash the imagined bloodstains from her hands. Macbeth, too, is haunted by his deeds, experiencing hallucinations and deepening paranoia.

The play reaches its climax as Macduff, seeking revenge for the slaughter of his family, leads an army against Macbeth. Despite a second set of prophecies from the witches that seem to suggest Macbeth is invincible, he is ultimately defeated and killed in battle, and Malcolm, Duncan’s son, is restored to the throne.

“Macbeth” explores themes such as the corrupting power of unchecked ambition, the moral and psychological effects of guilt and sin, and the relationship between violence and tyranny. It also delves into the supernatural and the ambiguous nature of prophecy. The play remains a timeless classic, resonating with modern audiences for its exploration of the dark aspects of human nature and the consequences of moral decay.

Most important Macbeth key quotes and analysis

1. “Fair is foul and foul is fair”

Who: The Witches

Where: Scene 1, Act 1

Meaning: This quote reflects the play’s theme of ambiguity and moral confusion. What is perceived as good (fair) is actually bad (foul) and vice versa, indicating a world turned upside down by deceit and evil.

2. “What bloody man is that?”

Who: King Duncan

Where: Scene 2, Act 1

Meaning : King Duncan is inquiring about a sergeant who is covered in blood. This sets the tone for the play’s violent and bloody nature.

3. “If you can look into the seeds of time, and say which grain will grow and which will not.”

Who: Banquo

Where: Scene 3, Act 1

Meaning : Banquo is asking the witches to predict his future, as they did for Macbeth, showing his curiosity about his own fate.

4. Or have we eaten on the insane root that takes the reason prisoner?”

Meaning : Here, Banquo is questioning the reality of his encounter with the witches, wondering if they have eaten a hallucinogenic plant that has led them to hallucinate the witches.

5. “What! Can the devil speak true?”

Meaning: Banquo is shocked that the witches’ prophecy about Macbeth has come true, suggesting that sometimes evil tells the truth to serve its purposes.

6. “Present fears are less than horrible imaginings.”

Where: Scene 4, Act 1

Meaning : This is King Duncan expressing that sometimes our fears are not as bad as the horrors we imagine, reflecting the theme of fear and foresight.

7. “There’s daggers in men’s smiles.”

Who: Donalbain

Where: Scene 3, Act 2

Meaning : Highlighting a theme of deception, Donalbain implies that there are hidden dangers and betrayals even in friendly appearances.

8. “Double, double toil and trouble: Fire burn, and cauldron bubble.”

Where: Scene 1, Act 4

Meaning : The witches chant this as they concoct a spell, symbolising the dark and mysterious forces at work in the play

9. “By the pricking of my thumbs, something wicked this way comes.”

Who: Second Witch

Meaning: The Second Witch senses Macbeth’s approach, indicating that evil is drawn to evil.

10. “Macbeth shall never vanquished be until Great Birnam wood to high Dusinane Hill shall come against him.”

Who: Third Apparition

Meaning: The Third Apparition’s prophecy suggests that Macbeth will not be defeated until an impossible event (a forest moving) occurs, giving Macbeth a false sense of security.

11. “A deed without a name.”

Meaning: Here the Witches are refering to their own actions, which are so unnatural and horrific that they cannot be named.

12. “When our actions do not, our fears do make us traitors.”

Who: Lady Macduff

Where: Scene 2, Act 4

Meaning: Lady Macduff suggests that fear can lead us to betray ourselves or others, reflecting on the consequences of fear and paranoia.

13. “Tongue nor heart cannot conceive nor name thee!”

Meaning: This is a reaction from Lady Macduff, where she is expressing her inability to fully comprehend or articulate the horror and evil she is facing.

14. “The patient must minister to himself.”

Who: Doctor

Where: Scene 3, Act 5

Meaning:  The Doctor implies that some ailments, particularly those of the mind or soul, must be healed by the individual, not by a physician.

15. “Those clamorous harbingers of blood and death.”

Where: Scene 6, Act 5

Meaning:  Lady Macduff refers to the signs that foretell violence and death, possibly alluding to the omens and prophecies in the play that predict tragedy.

Macbeth quotes from Macbeth himself

Of course, many of the key quotes in Macbeth come from Macbeth himself. As the central character in William Shakespeare’s tragedy of the same name, he undergoes a profound and tragic transformation throughout the play. Initially presented as a valiant and respected hero, Macbeth’s character evolves dramatically following his encounter with the supernatural (the Weird Sisters) and under the influence of his ambitious wife, Lady Macbeth.

His bravery, ambition, and self-doubt are key attributes that struggle for dominance within him, according to Sparknotes.   As the play progresses, these traits, particularly his ambition and susceptibility to doubt and guilt, lead him down a dark path. Macbeth becomes a figure of tyranny and moral decay, illustrating the catastrophic effects of unchecked ambition and a weak character. His journey from hero to villain is marked by his increasingly ruthless actions, including regicide and other murders, and is driven by both human flaws and supernatural elements. Ultimately, Macbeth’s tragic downfall is a result of his internal conflicts and the consequences of his actions, making him a complex and deeply flawed character in Shakespearean literature If you’re in need of Macbeth quotes from the man himself, look no further…

16. “I have no spur, to prick the sides of my intent, but only vaulting ambition which o’erleaps itself and falls on the other”

Who: Macbeth

Where: Scene 7, Act 1

Meaning: Macbeth acknowledges that he has no real reason to kill Duncan, only his excessive ambition, which might lead to his downfall.

17. “Will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood clean from my hand? No, this my hand will rather the multitudinous seas incarnadine, making the green one red.”

Where: Scene 2, Act 2

Meaning:  Macbeth realises that his guilt (symbolised by the blood on his hands) is so great that it would turn the oceans red, rather than being washed away.

18. “Nothing is but what is not.”

Meaning:  Macbeth is contemplating the paradoxical nature of reality, suggesting that what exists is defined by what does not.

19. “Come what come may, time and the hour runs through the roughest day.”

Meaning:  Here, Macbeth is expressing a sense of fatalism, accepting whatever may happen in the future.

20. “False face must hide what the false heart doth know.”

Meaning:  The advice given here by Macbeth is that one must hide their true, evil intentions behind a false appearance.

21. “Stars hide your fires; let not light see my dark and deep desires”

Meaning: Talking to the stars, Macbeth is asking them not to shine on his evil plans, so that his intentions remain hidden.

22. “I dare do all that may become a man; who dares do more is none.”

Meaning: Macbeth asserts that he is willing to do anything that is appropriate for a man to do; anyone who does more is not a true man.

23. “Is this a dagger which I see before me, the handle toward my hand? Come, let me clutch thee: I have thee not, and yet I see thee still.”

Where: Scene 1, Act 2

Meaning: While hallucinating a dagger, Macbeth is manifesting his guilt and intent to murder Duncan

24. “I am in blood, steeped in so far, that, should I wade no more, returning were as tedious as go o’er”

Where: Scene 4, Act 3

Meaning:  Macbeth acknowledges that he is so deep into his murderous actions that it’s as hard to stop as it is to continue.

25. “If it were done when ’tis done, then ’twere well it were done quickly.”

Meaning: This is the moment that Macbeth is musing that if the murder could be completed quickly and have no consequences, it would be best to get it over with quickly.

26. “Methought I heard a voice cry, ‘Sleep no more! Macbeth does murder sleep: the innocent sleep, sleep that knits up the ravelled sleeve of care, the death of each day’s life, sore labor’s bath, balm of hurt minds, great nature’s second course, chief nourished in life’s feast.”

Meaning: Tormented by guilt after the murder of Duncan, Macbeth is feeling that he has murdered the peaceful innocence of sleep.

27. “Things bad begun make strong themselves by ill.”

Where: Scene 2, Act 3

Meaning:  This quote suggests that once you start doing evil things, they strengthen and perpetuate themselves through further evil actions.

28. “Blood will have blood.”

Where: Scene

Meaning: Macbeth means that one violent act will inevitably lead to another, as each act of violence necessitates further violence to cover it up.

29. “Thou sure and firm-set earth, hear not my steps, which way they walk, for fear thy very stones prate of my whereabouts.”

Meaning:  So consumed by guilt and fear, Macbeth is imagining the ground itself might betray his murderous actions.

30. “How now, you secret, black, and midnight hags!”

Meaning:  Macbeth addresses the witches, acknowledging their dark and mysterious nature.

31. “To-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow, creeps in this petty pace from day to day to the last syllable of recorded time, and all our yesterdays have lighted fools the way to dusty death. 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.”

Where: Scene 5, Act 5

Meaning: After hearing of his wife’s death, Macbeth reflects on the futility and meaninglessness of life.

32. “I bear a charmed life.”

Where: Scene 8, Act 5

Meaning:  Macbeth believes he is invincible because of the witches’ prophecy that no man born of a woman can harm him.

33. “The devil damn thee black, thou cream-faced loon! Where gott’st thou that goose look?”

Meaning:  In a state of paranoia and anger, Macbeth berates a servant.

Macbeth quotes by Lady Macbeth

Among all of Shakespeare’s plays, Lady Macbeth is one of the most complex and powerful female characters, is central to the dramatic development of “Macbeth.” Known for her burning ambition to be queen, she exhibits a fascinating blend of strength, ambition, and psychological complexity. Initially, she is portrayed as a strong, manipulative figure, deeply involved in plotting King Duncan’s murder and challenging traditional gender roles. Her taunting of Macbeth’s courage and her lack of humanity highlight her ruthless nature.

However, as the play progresses, Lady Macbeth’s facade of strength crumbles under the weight of guilt and madness. Her descent into madness, marked by sleepwalking and obsessive hand-washing, reflects her deep remorse and inability to cope with the consequences of her actions. This transformation from a figure of immense power and control to a tragic, guilt-ridden character underscores the themes of ambition, power, and the psychological repercussions of guilt in Shakespeare’s work. If you’re studying Macbeth, it’s a good idea to know about Lady Macbeth and her most important key quotes and lines from Macbeth.

34. “The raven himself is hoarse that croaks the fatal entrance of Duncan under my battlements.”

Who: Lady Macbeth

Where: Scene 5, Act 1

Meaning:  Lady Macbeth sees the raven as a symbol of Duncan’s impending death at her castle.

35. “Yet do I fear thy nature; it is too full o’ the milk of human kindness.”

Meaning:  Fearing that Macbeth is too kind and moral to seize the crown by murder, Lady Macbeth is questioning his nature.

36. “O, never shall sun that morrow see! Your face, my thane, is as a book where men may read strange matters. To beguile the time, look like the time. Bear welcome in your eye, your hand, your tongue. Look like the’ innocent flower, but be the serpent under ‘t. He that’s coming must be provide for: and you shall put this night’s great business into my dispatch, which shall to all our nights and days to come give solely sovereign sway and masterdom.”

Meaning:  Lady Macbeth instructs Macbeth to hide his true intentions and act welcoming to King Duncan.

37. “Would’st thou have that which thou esteem’st the ornament of life, and live a coward in thine own esteem, letting “I dare not” wait upon “I would,” like the poor cat i’ the’ adage?”

Meaning: Challenging Macbeth’s manhood, Lady Macbeth is accusing him of being a coward for hesitating to murder Duncan.

38. “Here’s the smell of blood still. All the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand”

Where: Scene 1, Act 5

Meaning: Here Lady Macbeth is showing how she is tormented by guilt, imagining that her hands will never be free of the smell of blood.

39. “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. Stop up the’ access and passage to remorse, that no compunctious visiting of nature shake my fell purpose, nor keep peace between th’ effect and it. Come to my woman’s breasts, and take my milk for gall, you murd’ring ministers, wherever in your sightless substances you wait on nature’s mischief. Come, thick night, and pall thee in the dunnest smoke of hell, that my keen knife see not the wound it makes, nor heaven peep through the blanket of the dark, to cry “Hold, hold!””

Meaning: Lady Macbeth calls on evil spirits to make her ruthless and capable of committing murder.

40. “When thou durst do it, then you were a man”

Meaning:  This is another quote where Lady Macbeth questions Macbeth’s manhood, suggesting that he would be more of a man if he went through with the murder.

41. “I have given suck, and know how tender ’tis to love the babe that milks me. I would, while it was smiling in my face, have plucked my nipple from his boneless gums and dashed the brains out, had I so sworn as you have done to this.”

Meaning:  Lady Macbeth is expressing her commitment to their murderous plan, suggesting she would kill her own child if she had sworn to do so, as Macbeth has sworn to kill Duncan.

42. “I laid their daggers ready; he could not miss ’em. Had he not resembled my father as he slept, I had done’t.”

Meaning:  Here she reveals she would have killed Duncan herself if he hadn’t reminded her of her father, showing her ruthless nature and commitment to their plan.

42. “Out! Damned spot! One, two – why, then ’tis time to don’t. Hell is murky. Fie, my lord, fie, a soldier and afeard? What need we fear who knows it, when none can call our power to account? – Yet who would have thought the old man to have had so much blood in him.”

Meaning:  In her madness, Lady Macbeth is obsessively trying to wash away an imaginary bloodstain, symbolising her guilt over the murders.

43. “What’s done cannot be undone.”

Meaning: Lady Macbeth is acknowledging that the consequences of their actions are irreversible, expressing despair and resignation.

The key quotes in Macbeth come from all different characters, with many from the leading characters of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. They’re bound to be an essential element of any assignment or exam surrounding the infamous Shakespeare play. If you’re planning to do more literature study in the future, then you’ll need to know the best universities for English Literature in the UK . Luckily, we’ve found them for you.

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Macbeth Quotes

Every masterpiece or a literary piece has unique quotations expressing universal themes. These quotes are often quoted by all in common conversation and specific writings, speeches, and addresses. Some of the famous quotes from Macbeth , which convey the same collective themes and expressions, are discussed below.

Famous Quotes from Macbeth

“When shall we three meet again / In thunder, lightning, or in rain ? / When the hurly burly ‘s done, /When the battle ‘s lost and won.”

(Lines 1-4, Act I, Scene I).

These are the initial lines spoken by First Witch and Second Witch when weaving a spell to lure Macbeth. These lines are rhyming with each other to show that the incantation of the witches has begun. The main theme of these lines is to decide when the witches would meet next. While the first witch expresses the unfavorable weather, the Second Witch says that they might meet after all the chaos is over and one of the kingdoms has won the war in Scotland.

“Fair is foul, and foul is fair / Hover through the fog and filthy air.”

(Lines 12-13, Act I, Scene I).

Three witches who appear in Macbeth in the first scene speak these lines as they continue to weave their spell. They say that whatever they do seems good, but it will bring evil. In the same way, whatever seems bad is actually good. They agree with each other to vanish after the incantation is over and while the air is still dirty and misty. Perhaps to make things from bad to worse.

“If chance will have me king, why, chance may crown me / Without my stir.”

(Lines 144, Act I, Scene III).

Macbeth speaks these words in an aside when he is with Banquo, his loyal friend. As one of the witches prophecies came true and he already became Thane of Cawdor by chance. He is thinking about his future as a king. He believes that if the luck made him a Thame, he could also become a king. In that case, he doesn’t have to kill the king. In other words, he believes in destiny and prophecy will create a situation for him to be the king without him trying.

“Yet do I fear thy nature; / It is too full o’ the milk of human kindness .”

(Lines 16-17, Act I, Scene V).

Lady Macbeth speaks these lines to evaluate that Macbeth is not as ruthless as she is. She thinks that he is too kind and compassionate to kill the King or anybody else. In fact, she is also afraid that Macbeth is unprepared in spite of the promise given by the witches. According to Lady Macbeth kind people cannot be in the higher position as they may lack authority.

“Where we are, / There’s daggers in men’s smiles, / The near in blood, the nearer bloody.”

(Lines 139-141, Act II, Sc. III).

Donalbain speaks these lines to Malcolm, his brother. They come to know, King Duncan, their father, has been murdered. Following the murder of the King, Macbeth also kills the guards in rage. As they try to recover from their loss, they understand that they cannot trust anyone. Also, people can pretend to be friends while harboring hate in their heart, and enemies are usually closer than their friends. The last line shows Donalbain’s mistrust on people around them. They know that their own relatives are now after their lives to get the throne of their father.

“Things without all remedy / Should be without regard: What’s done is done.”

(Lines 10-12, Act III, Scene II).

Lady Macbeth speaks these words to her husband, Macbeth, after he kills King Duncan. Macbeth suffers from hallucinations and mental breakdown after the murder. Hence, Lady Macbeth tells that there is no point of regretting over things that already happened because you cannot reverse it. Lady Macbeth encourages her husband to remove any regrets and forget the crime.

“I dare do all that may become a man; / Who dares do more is none.”

(Lines 45-47, Act I, Sc. VII).

These lines are spoken by Macbeth when Lady Macbeth coaxes her husband to kill the King and become the king himself. However, he is not ready and tries to explain Lady Macbeth that he is happy with the honor he had already received. He is already a man and doesn’t need a dare to prove otherwise or commit an evil act. Here, Macbeth has not yet given into his wife’s manipulation to kill the king.

“Double, double toil and trouble; / Fire burn, and cauldron bubble.”

(Act IV, Scene I).

The above lines are spoken by three witches while they are casting a spell over Macbeth. It doesn’t have a specific purpose. However, it could mean that though Macbeth would become the King he will face many troubles and eventually destroy himself.

“Here’s the smell of blood. / All the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand.”

(Lines, 144, Act V, Sc. I).

Lady Macbeth speaks these words as she begins to feel guilty after King Duncan’s death. While Macbeth is able to accept his crime and becomes ambitious, Lady Macbeth loses her grip over the situations and becomes weaker. Also, remorse begins to weigh heavily upon her. Being a weak-minded, she starts sleepwalking and suffers from acute depression. As she recalls King’s death realizes that she played a huge part in the murder, she will not be able to wash away or hide her crime.

“ 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.”

(Lines 26-31, Act V, Scene V).

Macbeth speaks these words after Lady Macbeth’s death. He expresses that human life is nothing but a walking shadow. He also compares life with a candle that burns brightly before it melts away. He realizes that because of his actions he will face terrible consequences and his demise is inevitable. He further explains that life is nothing and humans are mere actors on the stage. Each has a small part to play before they become insignificant.

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Macbeth: Key Quotes Explained

By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University)

If, as the old quip has it, Hamlet is a great play but it has too many quotations in it, a similar charge might be laid against Macbeth , one of Shakespeare’s most popular plays. So many lines in the play have become proverbial and are often quoted outside of the context of the play itself.

But what are the most famous quotations from Macbeth , and what do they mean? Let’s look at some of the most important quotations found in this short tragedy.

‘When shall we three meet again?’

This opening scene of the play , according to the stage directions, takes place in ‘an open place’. Immediately, Shakespeare establishes an atmosphere of foreboding: the storm which begins Macbeth heralds the turbulent events which are going to follow, all of which the Witches have prophesied. The opening lines of the play run:

FIRST WITCH When shall we three meet again? In thunder, lightning, or in rain?

SECOND WITCH When the hurly-burly’s done, When the battle’s lost and won.

‘ Fair is foul, and foul is fair ’.

This line is spoken by the three Witches or Weird Sisters towards the end of the play’s opening scene:

‘Fair is foul, and foul is fair Hover through the fog and filthy air.’

The line ‘Fair is foul, and foul is fair’ is almost proverbial, and was already so when Shakespeare wrote this line. In Edmund Spenser’s The Faerie Queene from the 1590s, for instance, we find the line, ‘Then faire grew foule, and foule grew faire in sight’.

Once again, here, we have the natural order being overturned and inverted, with the pair of opposites dissolving into one: fair has been rendered foul, and foul has become fair. Good and evil appear to have swapped places.

‘By the pricking of my thumbs, Something wicked this way comes.’

This line is spoken by one of the Weird Sisters as Macbeth approaches them with Banquo, and suggests that the Witches have a kind of ‘sixth sense’ (the strange tingling they experience in their thumbs) about Macbeth being a bad egg.

‘I have no spur To prick the sides of my intent, but only Vaulting ambition …’

Macbeth’s own description of his ‘vaulting ambition’ has become familiar to many a student of Shakespeare’s play: it neatly encapsulates the strong sense of ambition he feels, an ambition over which he does not have full control.

He is like a rider on a horse that got out of control, and whether or not the horse runs is not within his power (hence the reference to the ‘spur’, used by a rider to kick the horse into a run).

‘Is this a dagger which I see before me, The handle toward my hand?’

So begins one of the most famous soliloquies in Shakespeare’s Macbeth – indeed, perhaps in all of Shakespeare. We have analysed it in detail here . It begins:

Is this a dagger which I see before me, The handle toward my hand? Come, let me clutch thee. I have thee not, and yet I see thee still.

‘Is this a dagger which I see before me’ is often staged, and filmed, with the dagger suspended in mid-air.

‘Yet do I fear thy nature; It is too full o’ the milk of human kindness’.

Spoken by Lady Macbeth to her husband, these lines reveal Lady Macbeth to be the more brutal and unfeeling of the pair, with no misgivings about murdering the king in order to achieve their aims.

In speaking these words, Lady Macbeth gave us a now ubiquitous phrase (‘milk of human kindness’, although Shakespeare may also have intended ‘milk of humankindness’, i.e. those qualities which make us part of humankind), drawing on early modern notions of milk-drinking as leading to softness and soppiness of temperament.

‘If it were done when ’tis done, then ’twere well It were done quickly’.

So begins one of the most famous and revealing soliloquies spoken by Macbeth. The words appear in act I scene VII of the play and see Macbeth, in a room in his castle, meditating on whether to go through with his (and his wife’s) plan to murder Duncan, the king, and seize the throne of Scotland for himself.

This speech also features the earliest known use of the word ‘assassination’.

‘Will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood Clean from my hand?’

Spoken by Macbeth shortly after he has murdered Duncan in his bed, and his hands are still covered in the late king’s blood, this question is followed by an admission that nothing can wash the stain of this crime from his hand:

No, this my hand will rather The multitudinous seas incarnadine, Making the green one red.

‘I am in blood Stepp’d in so far that, should I wade no more, Returning were as tedious as go o’er.’

As you may have gathered by now, many of the most memorable quotations from Macbeth involve blood. In this quotation from Act 3, Macbeth acknowledges that he has already committed so many vile deeds that he may as well continue: he is beyond redemption, and there’s no way back now.

‘Double, double toil and trouble: Fire burn, and cauldron bubble.’

Spoken by the Witches in Act 4, these incantations are among the most memorable lines in the whole play, with the air of magic and witchcraft contained within them (they are spoken by the Weird Sisters as they put various disgusting ingredients into their bubbling cauldron) embodying the general mood of the play.

‘Out, damned spot! out, I say!’

Like Macbeth’s earlier complaint that all of Neptune’s oceans could not wash his bloody hand clean, Lady Macbeth’s sleepwalking mutterings betray her guilt: the blood on her hands may be metaphorical (or hallucinatory), but the guilt she feels is the same. Her conscience has been well and truly pricked, and she will die (offstage) shortly after this. We have analysed this scene here .

‘What’s done cannot be undone.’

Also spoken by Lady Macbeth as she sleepwalks around the castle grounds, this line points up another aspect of the play’s linguistic fingerprint: the word ‘done’ and its homophones, present in Duncan, Dunsinane, and all the various uses of the word ‘done’ in the play (‘If it were done’, etc.).

‘Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow’.

Spoken upon hearing of the death of his wife, Macbeth’s speech from towards the end of this play has become famous for this line as well as the phrases ‘full of sound and fury / Signifying nothing’ and ‘Out, out, brief candle!’ The speech begins:

Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow, Creeps in this petty pace from day to day, To the last syllable of recorded time; And all our yesterdays have lighted fools The way to dusty death.

Macbeth’s speech is about the futility and illusoriness of all life and everything we do: we are all bound for the grave, and life doesn’t seem to mean anything, ultimately. He is responding to the news that Lady Macbeth is dead here; it’s the beginning of the end for him.

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Master Shakespeare's Macbeth using Absolute Shakespeare's Macbeth essay, plot summary, quotes and characters study guides.

Plot Summary : A quick review of the plot of Macbeth including every important action in the play. An ideal introduction before reading the original text.

Commentary : Detailed description of each act with translations and explanations for all important quotes. The next best thing to an modern English translation.

Characters : Review of each character's role in the play including defining quotes and character motivations for all major characters.

Characters Analysis : Critical essay by influential Shakespeare scholar and commentator William Hazlitt, discussing all you need to know on the characters of Macbeth.

Macbeth Essay : Samuel Taylor Coleridge's famous essay on Macbeth based on his legendary and influential lectures and notes on Shakespeare.

How to Use Quotes When Analysing Macbeth

Tuesday 30th, August 2022

Jess Laven graduated in 2020 with an ATAR of 96.60. In this article, Jess runs through some tips on how to use quotes when analysing Macbeth , based on Jess' own study experiences. Check out ATAR Notes' Text Guide for Macbeth here . 📚

One of the challenges of Macbeth English exams is knowing what quotes to memorise and how to use them to analyse the play. In an earlier article, I gave 10 things you need to know when studying Macbeth . This article focuses on quotes, offering the tips and examples you need to ace your exam.

What Macbeth Quotes Should I Memorise?

Choose quotes:

That can be used for a range of essay questions. Doing this will mean you won’t need to remember as many quotes because you’ll be able to spin your quotes to suit different essay prompts.

From throughout the play. Don’t limit yourself to one Act in the play. This would make it harder to answer essay questions that focus on a different section of the play. It may also give markers the impression that you haven’t put in the effort to read and understand the full play.

That are well-known and less well-known. It is best to have a combination. Using less well-known quotes will showcase the depth of your knowledge. Meanwhile, using well-known quotes is helpful because they tend to suit many essay questions.

That cover a majority of the play’s themes. Macbeth has many themes. Essay questions tend to revolve around one or more of these themes either directly or indirectly. Knowing quotes that relate to most of these themes will set you up for success.

How Do I Use My Quotes to Analyse Macbeth ?

Macbeth quotes often relate to more than one of the play’s themes. You might find it helpful to note down what these themes are for each quote. I have pulled quotes from the list I memorised for my Year 12 external English exam and categorised them under one of their dominant themes. Hopefully, this will demonstrate the role and significance of these themes, and give you some ideas about good quotes and how to analyse them.

Macbeth quotes often relate to more than one of the play’s themes.

Power and Ambition

There are several types of power in Macbeth , including unearned power, corruption of power, women in power and supernatural power. Macbeth and Lady Macbeth’s desire for power is driven by their unchecked ambition, which is a closely interrelated theme.

Macbeth displays his ambition to become King after Duncan names his eldest son, Malcolm, as his heir to the Scottish throne. He pleads, “Stars, hide your fires; Let not light see my black and deep desires” (1.4). Lady Macbeth recognises this ambition, though she doesn’t believe he possesses the manliness to act on it by killing Duncan. In reference to Macbeth and his nature, she says:

“It is too full o’ th’ milk of human kindness To catch the nearest way: thou wouldst be great, Art not without ambition, but without The illness should attend it” (1.5).

She says this after reading the letter from Macbeth about the witches’ prophecies. It is at this point that she begins to devise her plan to coerce Macbeth to commit regicide. 

Macbeth supports Lady Macbeth’s suspicions when he admits, “I have no spur To prick the sides of my intent, but only Vaulting ambition” (1.7). Here, he indicates that ambition is his only motivation for killing Duncan.

After Macbeth becomes King, he reveals that he is still restless and insecure, fearing he may lose his position. He is also bothered that he has no heir and therefore no guarantee that his lineage will continue after his passing. He claims, “To be thus is nothing, But to be safely thus” (3.1).

This quote also explains why killing King Duncan triggered Macbeth to commit a series of future violent deeds in an attempt to secure his power. Macbeth refers to this chain reaction when he says, “I am in blood Stepped in so far that, should I wade no more, Returning were as tedious as go o’er” (3.4).

Guilt and Remorse

Macbeth expresses his uneasiness over his plan to kill Duncan, stating, “My thought, whose murder yet is but fantastical, Shakes so my single state of man” (1.3).

Once the deed is done, he immediately expresses his guilt and remorse. For example, Macbeth claims that all of the oceans in the world would not be able to wash the blood from his hands. Instead, he suggests that the blood would stain the ocean red, indicating that his guilt will never waver and his crime could be uncovered:

“Will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood Clean from my hand? No, this my hand will rather The multitudinous seas incarnadine, Making the green one red” (2.2).

Once the deed is done, he immediately expresses his guilt and remorse.

Macbeth clearly expresses his remorse over killing Duncan when he says, “Wake Duncan with thy knocking. I would thou couldst” (2.2). Macduff is knocking on Duncan’s door, and Macbeth is saying that he wishes Macduff could wake Duncan. In other words, he wishes he could take back his actions.

Macbeth also feels guilt over orchestrating Banquo’s murder. Macbeth says, “Thou canst not say I did it. Never shake Thy gory locks at me” (3.4). He is trying to convince himself that he was not guilty because it was not him who killed Banquo. Rather, it was the assassins he hired. 

Lady Macbeth’s guilt and remorse appear later than Macbeth’s. An example of this is when she demands, “Out, damned spot! Out, I say!” (5.1), believing that there is blood on her hands. This is a symbol of her involvement in Duncan’s death and her inability to undo it or rid herself of her guilt.

Appearance and Reality

Hallucinations, manipulation and deception are important in Macbeth . Banquo foreshadows the unfortunate events of the play when he says, “And oftentimes, to win us to our harm, The instruments of darkness tell us truths, Win us with honest trifles, to betray ’s In deepest consequence” (1.3). Banquo is warning Macbeth that the witches may be telling the truth about unimportant things, only to lie later when the consequences are worse.

Hallucinations, manipulation and deception are important in Macbeth .

The original Thane of Cawdor was a traitor, leading Duncan to conclude that, “There’s no art To find the mind’s construction in the face” (1.4). In other words, it is impossible to look at someone’s face and know their thoughts and plans. This is ironic because Macbeth, the subsequent Thane of Cawdor, asks the stars to hide his desires at the end of this scene and later goes on to kill Duncan.

One of Lady Macbeth’s most renowned quotes is, “Look like th’ innocent flower, But be the serpent under ’t” (1.5). Here, she is encouraging Macbeth to act normally so as to deceive everyone and avoid arousing suspicion about their plan to kill Duncan.

Macbeth’s hallucinations emerge before he kills Duncan. He asks, “Is this a dagger which I see before me, The handle toward my hand” (2.1)? This is symbolic of his impending crime. Macbeth may have been trying to rationalise his decision to kill Duncan by imagining a dagger, the killing weapon, and perceiving it as a sign that he is destined to commit regicide.   

Malcom and Donalbain, Duncan’s sons, recognise that they are in danger and decide to escape. Donalbain says, “There’s daggers in men’s smiles. The near in blood, The nearer bloody” (2.3). Here, he suggests that there are enemies among them who are hiding their evil intentions behind smiles. He suspects that the people who are close to them, and therefore close to the throne, are most likely to kill them.

Macbeth continues to hallucinate after killing Duncan. After he arranges the murder of Banquo, he hallucinates the ghost of his former friend at the banquet. Lady Macbeth scolds him, saying, “This is the very painting of your fear. This is the air-drawn dagger…” (3.4), emphasising the disjunction between appearance and reality for Macbeth.

There are many more themes and many more significant quotes in Macbeth . Keep an eye out for future articles in which I explore these.

In the meantime, happy reading and Googling!

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The latest news and views on education from oxford university press., revising quotations: one quote fits all.

Jill Carter shares her advice for making the most out of quotations during this revision period. 

Students, teachers and parents worry about quotations or as they are now acceptably known quotes (in my day that was a verb…). ‘Eek – Macbeth – how can I learn a quote for every possible essay scenario?’ I hear. Our students are being asked to learn quotations from Shakespeare, 19 th century prose, 20 th century prose and poetry. It’s a tall order.

Essay scenarios

One of the tricks is to think about just how many different essay scenarios one quotation can be used to support.

So, let’s take a few areas typical to an essay question on Macbeth and how one quotation could be used in the response:

‘Let not light see my black and deep desires’ A1, Sc4

Character: This implies that Macbeth knows that his deepest desires about power and kingship are very wrong.

Theme: The theme of light and darkness recurs throughout the play and represents the battle between good and evil.

Intention: Shakespeare presents Macbeth as aware of his guilt and responsibility; he knows what he is doing is wrong but cannot control his desire for power.

Context: When the play was written, light was symbolic of God; Macbeth may be saying that he does not want his actions to be witnessed by his god. The word ‘black’ was closely associated with evil emphasising for the Jacobean audience that Macbeth’s intentions are very dark indeed.

Language: The use of alliteration in the phrase ‘deep desires’ adds weight to Macbeth’s words about his new-found ambitions.

Plot and structure: Macbeth delivers this line at the point where Duncan has announced his successor to the throne and so it has a real significance; Macbeth will have to take action if he wants to fulfill the witches’ predictions and this line suggests that what he wants is both deep-seated and malicious. The audience begins to wonder what he might do next.

Suggest that students apply this approach with a series of quotations:

• “Fair is foul, and foul is fair.”  (Act I, Scene I)
• “If chance will have me king, why, chance may crown me.”  (Act I, Scene III)
• “Yet do I fear thy nature; It is too full o’ the milk of human kindness.”  (Act I, Scene V)
• “Come you spirits … unsex me here” (Act I Scene V)
• “fill me from the crown to the toe top-full / Of direst cruelty” (Act I Scene V)
• “Look like the innocent flower, but be the serpent under’t.”  (Act I, Scene V)
• “I dare do all that may become a man; Who dares do more is none.”  (Act I, Scene VII)
• “Screw your courage to the sticking-place.”  (Act I, Scene VII)
• “I have no spur to prick the sides of my intent, but only vaulting ambition (Act I, Scene VII)
• “Will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood clean from my hand?  (Act II, Scene II)
• “There’s daggers in men’s smiles.”  (Act II, Scene III)
• “Oh, full of scorpions is my mind, dear wife!” (Act III, Scene II)
• “Blood will have blood” (Act III, Scene IV)
• “Out, damned spot! out, I say!”  (Act V, Scene I).
• ‘Life’s but a walking shadow’ (Act V, Scene V)
• “I bear a charmed life.”  (Act V, Scene VIII)

There are one-word quotations which fit any task: ‘tyrant’, ‘devil’, ‘blood’, ‘murder’, ‘ambition’ and so on. These can be useful for students who experience genuine struggle or panic when it comes to learning longer quotations.

Close reference to text and own response

You can also encourage students to make close reference to the text and reassure them that this too is acceptable. For example:

Lady Macbeth tells Macbeth to give her the daggers so that she can smear the grooms with blood.

Lady Macbeth repeatedly refers to the blood she believes is on her hands.

Macbeth believes he has waded so far into his crimes that he might as well continue.

Adopting this approach may help them to feel more confident and less ‘defeated before they have even started’.

Above all, keep reminding students quotations are important but, their response to a studied text plays the main part in their exam response. A series of quotations will not necessarily earn them those desired grades. They need to show engagement with the text and an ability to explore and interpret it. Textual references, including quotations, are a powerful means of supporting and illustrating a point of view or developing an argument.* To me this is about developing a sense of the text’s ‘place’ in the world and in life itself. Macbeth’s mind is ‘full of scorpions’ – and we all know how that feels.

*AO1: Read, understand and respond to texts. Students should be able to: • maintain a critical style and develop an informed personal response • use textual references, including quotations, to support and illustrate interpretations.

More from Jill Carter

• What’s the point? By Jill Carter
• Examined poetry: the barbaric yawp

For further set-text support, Oxford Literature Companions study guides and workbooks help students to build a deeper understanding of the text, and are applicable to all exam boards.

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Macbeth – A* / L9 Full Mark Example Essay

This is an A* / L9 full mark example essay on Macbeth completed by a 15-year-old student in timed conditions (50 mins writing, 10 mins planning).

It contained a few minor spelling and grammatical errors – but the quality of analysis overall was very high so this didn’t affect the grade. It is extremely good on form and structure, and perhaps could do with more language analysis of poetic and grammatical devices; as the quality of thought and interpretation is so high this again did not impede the overall mark. 

Thanks for reading! If you find this resource useful, you can take a look at our full online Macbeth course here . Use the code “SHAKESPEARE” to receive a 50% discount!

This course includes: 

• A full set of video lessons on each key element of the text: summary, themes, setting, characters, context, attitudes, analysis of key quotes, essay questions, essay examples
• Downloadable documents for each video lesson 
• A range of example B-A* / L7-L9 grade essays, both at GCSE (ages 14-16) and A-Level (age 16+) with teacher comments and mark scheme feedback
• A bonus Macbeth workbook designed to guide you through each scene of the play!

For more help with Macbeth and Tragedy, read our article here .

MACBETH EXAMPLE ESSAY:

Macbeth’s ambition for status and power grows throughout the play. Shakespeare uses Macbeth as an embodiment of greed and asks the audience to question their own actions through the use of his wrongful deeds.

In the extract, Macbeth is demonstrated to possess some ambition but with overriding morals, when writing to his wife about the prophecies, Lady Macbeth uses metaphors to describe his kind hearted nature: “yet I do fear thy nature, / It is too full o’th’milk of human kindness”. Here, Shakespeare presents Macbeth as a more gentle natured being who is loyal to his king and country. However, the very act of writing the letter demonstrates his inklings of desire, and ambition to take the throne. Perhaps, Shakespeare is aiming to ask the audience about their own thoughts, and whether they would be willing to commit heinous deeds for power and control. 

Furthermore, the extract presents Macbeth’s indecisive tone when thinking of the murder – he doesn’t want to kill Duncan but knows it’s the only way to the throne. Lady Macbeth says she might need to interfere in order to persuade him; his ambition isn’t strong enough yet: “That I may pour my spirits in  thine ear / And chastise with the valour of my tongue”. Here, Shakespeare portrays Lady Macbeth as a manipulative character, conveying she will seduce him in order to “sway “ his mind into killing Duncan. The very need for her persuasion insinuates Macbeth is still weighing up the consequences in his head, his ambition equal with his morality. It would be shocking for the audience to see a female character act in this authoritative way. Lady Macbeth not only holds control of her husband in a patriarchal society but the stage too, speaking in iambic pentameter to portray her status: “To catch the nearest way. Thou wouldst be great”. It is interesting that Shakespeare uses Lady Macbeth in this way; she has more ambition for power than her husband at this part of play. 

As the play progresses, in Act 3, Macbeth’s ambition has grown and now kills with ease. He sends three murders to kill Banquo and his son, Fleance, as the witches predicted that he may have heirs to the throne which could end his reign. Macbeth is suspicious in this act, hiding his true intentions from his dearest companion and his wife: “I wish your horses swift and sure on foot” and “and make our faces vizards to our hearts”. There, we see, as an audience, Macbeth’s longing to remain King much stronger than his initial attitudes towards the throne He was toying with the idea of killing for the throne and now he is killing those that could interfere with his rule without a second thought. It is interesting that Shakespeare presents him this way, as though he is ignoring his morals or that they have been “numbed” by his ambition. Similarly to his wife in the first act, Macbeth also speaks in pentameter to illustrate his increase in power and dominance. 

In Act 4, his ambition and dependence on power has grown even more. When speaking with the witches about the three apparitions, he uses imperatives to portray his newly adopted controlling nature: “I conjure you” and “answer me”. Here, the use of his aggressive demanding demonstrates his reliance on the throne and his need for security. By the Witches showing him the apparitions and predicting his future, he gains a sense of superiority, believing he is safe and protected from everything. Shakespeare also lengthens Macbeth’s speech in front of the Witches in comparison to Act 1 to show his power and ambition has given him confidence, confidence to speak up to the “filthy nags” and expresses his desires. Although it would be easy to infer Macbeth’s greed and ambition has grown from his power-hungry nature, a more compassionate reading of Macbeth demonstrates the pressure he feels as a Jacobean man and soldier. Perhaps he feels he has to constantly strive for more to impress those around him or instead he may want to be king to feel more worthy and possibly less insecure. 

It would be unusual to see a Jacobean citizen approaching an “embodiment” of the supernatural as forming alliance with them was forbidden and frowned upon. Perhaps Shakespeare uses Macbeth to defy these stereotypical views to show that there is a supernatural, a more dark side in us all and it is up to our own decisions whereas we act on these impulses to do what is morally incorrect. 

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Home — Essay Samples — Literature — Macbeth — Fate And Destiny In Shakespeare’s Macbeth

Fate and Destiny in Shakespeare’s Macbeth

• Categories: Macbeth

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Words: 991 |

Published: Feb 8, 2022

Words: 991 | Pages: 2 | 5 min read

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The intricate interplay of fate and destiny in "macbeth", final thoughts, works cited.

• Shakespeare, W. (2015). Macbeth. Simon and Schuster.
• Bloom, H. (Ed.). (2008). Macbeth (Modern Critical Interpretations). Infobase Publishing.
• Kranz, D. (2016). A Companion to Shakespeare's Works: The Tragedies. John Wiley & Sons.
• Bevington, D. (2014). Macbeth (Second Edition) (The Arden Shakespeare Third Series). Bloomsbury Arden Shakespeare.
• Niederkorn, W. S. (2015). Shakespeare: The Tragedies. Pearson.
• Fischlin, D., & Fortier, M. (2017). Macbeth: Language and Writing (Arden Student Skills: Language and Writing). Bloomsbury Arden Shakespeare.
• McEachern, C. (2016). Macbeth: A Critical Reader (Arden Early Modern Drama Guides). Bloomsbury Arden Shakespeare.
• Jackson, R. (2018). Shakespeare and Domestic Life: A Dictionary. ABC-CLIO.
• Montrose, L. A. (2016). The Purpose of Playing: Shakespeare and the Cultural Politics of the Elizabethan Theatre. University of Chicago Press.
• Moulton, C. E. (2018). Shakespeare as Literary Dramatist. Routledge.

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Macbeth Essays

There are loads of ways you can approach writing an essay, but the two i favour are detailed below., the key thing to remember is that an essay should focus on the three aos:, ao1: plot and character development; ao2: language and technique; ao3: context, strategy 1 : extract / rest of play, the first strategy basically splits the essay into 3 paragraphs., the first paragraph focuses on the extract, the second focuses on the rest of the play, the third focuses on context. essentially, it's one ao per paragraph, for a really neatly organised essay., strategy 2 : a structured essay with an argument, this strategy allows you to get a much higher marks as it's structured to form an argument about the whole text. although you might think that's harder - and it's probably going to score more highly - i'd argue that it's actually easier to master. mainly because you do most of the work before the day of the exam., to see some examples of these, click on the links below:, lady macbeth as a powerful woman, macbeth as a heroic character, the key to this style is remembering this: you're going to get a question about a theme, and the extract will definitely relate to the theme., the strategy here is planning out your essays before the exam, knowing that the extract will fit into them somehow., below are some structured essays i've put together., macbeth and gender.