| Context | Shakespeare, Medieval times, Scotland |
| Fair is foul, and foul is fair | The main theme of the play Macbeth. It means that appearances can be deceiving. |
| All hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee, thane of Glamis! All hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee, thane of Cawdor! All hail, Macbeth, that shalt be king hereafter!…Thou shalt get kings, though thou be none. So all hail, Macbeth and Banquo! | One of the most important quotes because it tells Macbeth his future and what leads him to do such murderous deeds….Banquo’s children are prophecised to be kings and Macbeth sees this as a problem |
| Look like th’ innocent flower,But be the serpent under ‘t. | This quote is actually being said to Macbeth meaning that look very innocent like you have done nothing but actually be the guilty and sly man underneath it. |
| Is this a dagger which I see before me,The handle toward my hand? Come, let me clutch thee. | This is said by Macbeth, where he is going to kill Duncan but just before that he sees an illusionary dagger in front of him with its handle pointing towards me. |
| I have thee not, and yet I see thee still. | This is also Macbeth and in this he is saying that i have you but i still don’t have you. |
| I go, and it is done. The bell invites me.Hear it not, Duncan, for it is a knellThat summons thee to heaven or to hell. | In this dialogue which is said by Macbeth he is saying that the bell summons him to kill Duncan. Wether Duncan will go to Hell or Heaven. |
| Vaulting Ambition | Macbeth’s fatal flaw |
| I am in blood Stepped in so far | Macbeth finds it easier to continue his killing and continue on his evil course. |
| Macbeth shall never vanquished be until Great Birnam Wood to high Dunsinane Hill Shall come against him….None of woman born Shall harm Macbeth. | This gives Macbeth a false sense of security because he interprets it to be impossible. |
| So clear in his great office | One of Macbeth’s reasons not to kill Duncan. |
| Which of you have done this? | Macbeth’s remark to seeing the ghost of Banquo. |
| Unsex me here. | Lady Macbeth wants to turn into the man her husband can’t be so that she can do the evil deeds. |
| Are you a man? | Lady Macbeth questioning Macbeth’s gender because he is acting like a coward. |
| What, can the devil speak true? | Banquo’s reaction when it turns out that Macbeth has been named Thane of Cawdor, as the witches predicted. |
| Will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood Clean from my hand? | Macbeth fears that he can never wash away the evidence of his guilt. |
| Macduff was from his mother’s womb Untimely ripp’d | Macduff tells Macbeth that he is the man not “of woman born.” |
| She should have died hereafter; There would have been a time for such a word. | Macbeth mourning the death of his wife. |
| Life … is a tale Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, Signifying nothing. | Responding to the news of his wife’s death, Macbeth voices a defiant despair. |
| What’s done cannot be undone. | … |
| False face must hide what the false heart doth know. | … |
| By the pricking of my thumbs, Something wicked this way comes. | … |
| Double, double, toil and trouble | The refrain of the witches’ chant as they await the arrival of Macbeth. |
| Let not light see my black and deep desires. | … |
Macbeth Quotes
August 11, 2019