Macbeth Key Quotes
Ambition and Power
“I have no spur to prick the sides of my intent, only vaulting ambition which o’erleaps itself and falls
on th’other” – MB A1:S7
Shakespeare uses an extended metaphor to show how MB acknowledges that his only motivation
in murdering King Duncan is his own ambition, as he clearly states his hamartia to the audience.
‘no spur’ implies that there is no other motivation for MB suggesting that he is a complicated
character as he faces internal conflict between his conscience and desire for self-gain
‘o’erleaps’ alludes to MB’s awareness of the consequences of his actions in committing regicide, a
sin that cannot be forgiven, => Shakespeare’s intention with this is to foreshadow his inevitable
death
“When you durst do it, then you were a man” – Lady MB A1:S7
Lady MB attacks MB’s masculinity by challenging him with the murder of King Duncan, which
highlights Lady MB’s manipulative and deceptive character
As a result, this would hurt MB’s pride; in the Jacobean era, manliness would equate with strength
therefore Lady MB implies that he is weak and lacks masculinity if he were to allow anyone other
than him to gain the throne
Example of role reversal where Lady MB, unusually for a woman, dominates in their relationship
=> Shakespeare may have intended to depict Lady MB as controlling to suggest MB’s ambition is
dependent on her implying MB is being used like an object to fulfil Lady MB’s greatest desires =>
sense of vulnerability which could creates catharsis in the audience
“Life… is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing” – MB A5:S5
Appears after MB has been told the death of his wife, Lady MB
‘signifying nothing’ is an example of nihilism (a belief that life is pointless), creating a hopeless and
despondent tone => could be implying that Lady MB was his only source of motivation and
ambition. Without her guidance, MB feels a sense of loss and futility
For a largely Christian Jacobean audience, this rejection of God’s plan, and the suggestion of a
rejection of Heaven and Hell, would have been shocking
However it is a moment of pathos: the audience, despite his blasphemous words, would still feel
sympathy for a once noble general who has lost his wife
“From this moment, the very firstlings of my heart shall be the firstlings of my hand” –MB A4:S1
Suggests his ambitious nature as the first thing he thinks of doing will be the first thing he does
Portrays Macbeth’s new Aristotelian hubris, where his hamartia is his ambition which will
eventually lead to his inevitable downfall
Repetition of ‘firstlings’ => ironic childish language and gives us a strong clue of his underlying
emotion
Macbeth has a ‘fruitless crown’ suggesting that he cannot have children hence, he wants murder
to be his legacy
Also highlights MB’s complicated character as he is not thinking straight; he’s thinking from his
heart rather than his head => he believes that he invincible and no longer needs to consult Lady
MB
Shakespeare dehumanises MB to have no human qualities whatsoever, particularly no moral
conscience => acts as a foil to Macduff where Shakespeare shows through the nemesis of Macduff
that to be a true man, you need to be able to have feelings as well, which MB lacks
, “Stars hide your fires, let not light see my black and deep desires” – MB A1:S4
‘black’ has connotations of evil, violence and moral corruption where ‘light’ is associated with
morality, reason, purity and truth
The antithesis of light and dark represents good and evil => suggests MB’s ambitious nature in his
desire to hide his impulses
Stars are a metonym with God and fate, but the fact that he instructs the stars to ‘hide [their]
fires’ suggests that he is taking his fate in his own hands, and is about to pursue a course of action
which goes against the path that ‘fate’ may dictate => this moral ambivalence illustrates MB;s
complex character
“Come, thick night and pall thee in the dunnest smoke of Hell… nor Heaven peep through” - Lady MB
A1:S5
Macbeth echoes Lady Macbeth’s words suggesting that they still have a close relationship based
on shared ideas
Also significant that MB speaks his lines after Lady MB => Shakespeare’s intentions with this may
be to suggest that MB is led or controlled by Lady MB which reinforces her manipulative character
as she dominates in their relationship
Religious symbolism of “stars” “light” “heaven” and “hell” suggests that both characters are aware
of the consequences of committing regicide
Both characters use imperative verbs such as “hide” and “come” to command the natural world =>
this could be seen as blasphemous and an attempt to distrupt the Great Chain of Being or God’s
plan
“Come you spirits…unsex me here…take my milk for gall” – Lady MB A1:S5
Imperative verbs “come””unsex” “take” suggests her demanding and controlling behaviour
“Milk” has connotations of purity and is associated to maternal actions whilst ‘gall’ has
connotations of bitterness and malevolence
This suggests that she wants to subvert the characteristics of a typical Jacobean woman by
demanding evil spirits to remove her feminine trait
Her association to witchcraft may have been used by Shakespeare to imply that it is unnatural for
a woman to have more power over their husband
Alternatively, Shakespeare may be criticising how society denies women of their own freedom and
autonomy, which explains why Lady MB manipulate and uses MB like a puppet to gain power
“Make thick my blood” Lady MB A1:S5
Metaphor for life and death showing her desire and ambition
Links to theory of humours => an imbalance of liquids in the body will be the cause of madness =>
presents Lady as abnormal => foreshadows her madness after murder later in the text
Violence
“I would, while it was smiling in my face, have pluck’d my nipple from his boneless gums and dash’d
the brains out” Lady MB A1:S7
Aggressive verbs ‘pluck’d’ and ‘dash’d’ reflect Lady MB’s ruthless character + juxtaposes the
innocence and purity connoted by the baby => she doesn’t conform to the ideologies and
stereotypes of typical Jacobean women suggestive of her confident and assertive nature,
particularly seen through her manipulation and domination over her husband
Hinting they had a child who died => uses anecdotal references as emotional manipulation to
build up MB’s ambition and desire to gain the throne
Ambition and Power
“I have no spur to prick the sides of my intent, only vaulting ambition which o’erleaps itself and falls
on th’other” – MB A1:S7
Shakespeare uses an extended metaphor to show how MB acknowledges that his only motivation
in murdering King Duncan is his own ambition, as he clearly states his hamartia to the audience.
‘no spur’ implies that there is no other motivation for MB suggesting that he is a complicated
character as he faces internal conflict between his conscience and desire for self-gain
‘o’erleaps’ alludes to MB’s awareness of the consequences of his actions in committing regicide, a
sin that cannot be forgiven, => Shakespeare’s intention with this is to foreshadow his inevitable
death
“When you durst do it, then you were a man” – Lady MB A1:S7
Lady MB attacks MB’s masculinity by challenging him with the murder of King Duncan, which
highlights Lady MB’s manipulative and deceptive character
As a result, this would hurt MB’s pride; in the Jacobean era, manliness would equate with strength
therefore Lady MB implies that he is weak and lacks masculinity if he were to allow anyone other
than him to gain the throne
Example of role reversal where Lady MB, unusually for a woman, dominates in their relationship
=> Shakespeare may have intended to depict Lady MB as controlling to suggest MB’s ambition is
dependent on her implying MB is being used like an object to fulfil Lady MB’s greatest desires =>
sense of vulnerability which could creates catharsis in the audience
“Life… is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing” – MB A5:S5
Appears after MB has been told the death of his wife, Lady MB
‘signifying nothing’ is an example of nihilism (a belief that life is pointless), creating a hopeless and
despondent tone => could be implying that Lady MB was his only source of motivation and
ambition. Without her guidance, MB feels a sense of loss and futility
For a largely Christian Jacobean audience, this rejection of God’s plan, and the suggestion of a
rejection of Heaven and Hell, would have been shocking
However it is a moment of pathos: the audience, despite his blasphemous words, would still feel
sympathy for a once noble general who has lost his wife
“From this moment, the very firstlings of my heart shall be the firstlings of my hand” –MB A4:S1
Suggests his ambitious nature as the first thing he thinks of doing will be the first thing he does
Portrays Macbeth’s new Aristotelian hubris, where his hamartia is his ambition which will
eventually lead to his inevitable downfall
Repetition of ‘firstlings’ => ironic childish language and gives us a strong clue of his underlying
emotion
Macbeth has a ‘fruitless crown’ suggesting that he cannot have children hence, he wants murder
to be his legacy
Also highlights MB’s complicated character as he is not thinking straight; he’s thinking from his
heart rather than his head => he believes that he invincible and no longer needs to consult Lady
MB
Shakespeare dehumanises MB to have no human qualities whatsoever, particularly no moral
conscience => acts as a foil to Macduff where Shakespeare shows through the nemesis of Macduff
that to be a true man, you need to be able to have feelings as well, which MB lacks
, “Stars hide your fires, let not light see my black and deep desires” – MB A1:S4
‘black’ has connotations of evil, violence and moral corruption where ‘light’ is associated with
morality, reason, purity and truth
The antithesis of light and dark represents good and evil => suggests MB’s ambitious nature in his
desire to hide his impulses
Stars are a metonym with God and fate, but the fact that he instructs the stars to ‘hide [their]
fires’ suggests that he is taking his fate in his own hands, and is about to pursue a course of action
which goes against the path that ‘fate’ may dictate => this moral ambivalence illustrates MB;s
complex character
“Come, thick night and pall thee in the dunnest smoke of Hell… nor Heaven peep through” - Lady MB
A1:S5
Macbeth echoes Lady Macbeth’s words suggesting that they still have a close relationship based
on shared ideas
Also significant that MB speaks his lines after Lady MB => Shakespeare’s intentions with this may
be to suggest that MB is led or controlled by Lady MB which reinforces her manipulative character
as she dominates in their relationship
Religious symbolism of “stars” “light” “heaven” and “hell” suggests that both characters are aware
of the consequences of committing regicide
Both characters use imperative verbs such as “hide” and “come” to command the natural world =>
this could be seen as blasphemous and an attempt to distrupt the Great Chain of Being or God’s
plan
“Come you spirits…unsex me here…take my milk for gall” – Lady MB A1:S5
Imperative verbs “come””unsex” “take” suggests her demanding and controlling behaviour
“Milk” has connotations of purity and is associated to maternal actions whilst ‘gall’ has
connotations of bitterness and malevolence
This suggests that she wants to subvert the characteristics of a typical Jacobean woman by
demanding evil spirits to remove her feminine trait
Her association to witchcraft may have been used by Shakespeare to imply that it is unnatural for
a woman to have more power over their husband
Alternatively, Shakespeare may be criticising how society denies women of their own freedom and
autonomy, which explains why Lady MB manipulate and uses MB like a puppet to gain power
“Make thick my blood” Lady MB A1:S5
Metaphor for life and death showing her desire and ambition
Links to theory of humours => an imbalance of liquids in the body will be the cause of madness =>
presents Lady as abnormal => foreshadows her madness after murder later in the text
Violence
“I would, while it was smiling in my face, have pluck’d my nipple from his boneless gums and dash’d
the brains out” Lady MB A1:S7
Aggressive verbs ‘pluck’d’ and ‘dash’d’ reflect Lady MB’s ruthless character + juxtaposes the
innocence and purity connoted by the baby => she doesn’t conform to the ideologies and
stereotypes of typical Jacobean women suggestive of her confident and assertive nature,
particularly seen through her manipulation and domination over her husband
Hinting they had a child who died => uses anecdotal references as emotional manipulation to
build up MB’s ambition and desire to gain the throne
