Macbeth Act 3 – Quotes

O, Proper stuff!This is the very painting of your fear. This is the air-drawn dagger which you saidLed you to Duncan. (Lady Macbeth to Macbeth) Oh come on! Your fear is so obvious. Is this your imagination playing tricks on you again? Is this the same as the time you thought you saw a dagger floating in the air when you killed Duncan? Analysis:This quote displays the motif of gender roles because once again, we see Lady Macbeth questioning Macbeth’s masculinity.
The time has beenThat, when the brains were out, the man would die,And there an end. But now they rise againWith twenty mortal murders on their crownsAnd push us from our stools. (Macbeth to Lady Macbeth) I thought that when someone’s brain was knocked out, they would die and I would never hear from them again. Instead, with twenty wounds to the head, this man I murdered is here haunting me and taking my biggest moment as king away from me. He is literally sitting in the seat he feels he deserves!Analysis:It’s ironic that Macbeth makes note of the unnatural order of things (in this case, the ghost rising again) because he is the one who caused all this.
Thou hast it now – King, Cawdor, Glamis, allAs the Weird Women promised, and I fearThou played’st most foully for ‘t. (Banquo’s soliloquy) Macbeth has everything now King, Thane of Cawdor and Glamis. That is everything that the witches predicted. I am worried that he cheated and did it the wrong way. Quote Significance: This is the first time that Banquo shows suspicion towards Macbeth.
I am in bloodStepped in so far that, should I wade no more,Returning were as tedious as go o’er. (Macbeth to Lady Macbeth) I am standing in a river of blood. I have killed so many people that I think it would be just as hard to go back to being innocent and good as it would be to keep killing and wade into hell.Analysis:Macbeth acknowledges what he had done, but chooses to do more evil. He has no intention of correcting his mistakes. This shows Macbeth’s rejection of any effort to be good. Given that he had once said he wouldn’t take any part in fulfilling his fate of becoming the king in Act 1, this is a drastic change in his character.
To Leave no rubs or botches in the workFleance, his son, that keeps him company,Whose absence is no less material to meThan is his father’s, must embrace the fateOf that dark hour. (Macbeth to the three murderers) When you murder Banquo, do not make any mistakes. Fleance’s death is just as important to me as Banquo’s death because he is a threat to my reign as well. They both must accept that they will die tonight and not be king. Significance:He fears the prophesy of Banquo’s descendants becoming kings.
To be thus is nothing,But to be safely thus. Our fears in Banquo Stick deep, and in his royalty of natureReigns that which would be feared. (Macbeth’s soliloquy) It means nothing to be the king as I am now because I know that neither I nor my children will reign forever. I fear banquo’s natural nobility of character. Significance:This quotation displays the contrast between Macbeth and Banquo. Banquo was given prophesy by the witches as well, but he, unlike Macbeth, remained noble. Macbeth is aware of this, which is why he fears him. I think Shakespeare does this to emphasize the flaws in Macbeth’s character.
Thou art the best o’th’ cutthroats,Yet he’s good that did the like for Fleance.If thou didst it, thou art the nonpareil. (Macbeth to the first murderer) You are the best murderer around. If you managed to kill Fleance as well, I would have you say that you are better that everyone else without comparison. This quotation is a pun on the word “cut throat” because the murderer literally cut Banquo’s throat and is a strict/ hardcore guy.
We hear our bloody cousins are bestowed In England and in Ireland, not confessing Their cruel parricide, filling their hearers With strange invention. (Macbeth to Banquo) I heard that Malcolm and Donaldbain ran away to England and Ireland. They aren’t telling the truth that they murdered (parricide) their father. They are telling lies to anyone who will listen. Significance: Macbeth says this to convince other people that he is not the killer.He manipulates, lies, and kills.
Better be with the dead,Whom we, to gain our peace, have sent to peace,Than on the torture of the mind to lieIn restless ecstasy. (Macbeth to Lady Macbeth? Can you check if this is correct?) I would rather be dead in hell with people who have peace than to live tortured in the chaos of lies and murders I have created. Lady Macbeth expressed similar feelings moments before this quotation. Macbeth obviously feels uneasy. However, unlike before when he was consumed by guilt, he is uneasy because of the insecurity of his position as the king.
August 31, 2019