GCSE 2018-2019 LIT PAPER 1: SHAKESPEARE QPHS ENGLISH
key quotations:
macbeth
Name:
,GCSE 2018-2019 LIT PAPER 1: SHAKESPEARE QPHS ENGLISH
a note on using quotationS
The Macbeth section of Literature Paper 1 will consist of an extract and a question. You will need to
answer the question, referring to both the extract and the whole of the play.
While your answer should make close analysis of the language in the given extract, you also need
to be able to quote accurately from the rest of the play. This will enable you to draw connections
between different scenes, and comment on how characters/themes/ideas are developed in the
course of the play.
This booklet aims to identify some of the most useful quotations from Macbeth. These are quotations
which illuminate key character traits and which highlight the deeper ideas within the play. They
can be used to answer a wide range of questions, and are rich with possibilities for thoughtful and
personal analysis. They are organised into themes, and labelled with the relevant character, act and
scene.
There is no expectation that you will commit all of these quotations to memory; this is solely
intended as a guide to some of the quotations you may wish to learn. If you are unsure of where to
begin in memorising quotations, I would recommend starting with those that are highlighted in
each section. These are some of the most versatile, in that they encompass several themes.
Remember: it’s what you say about the quotation that is important. Think about levels of analysis:
1. What does this word literally mean?
2. What is this word’s deeper/symbolic meaning?
3. What does this word reveal to us about this character?
4. How is this relevant to character development/plot?
I hope that this is useful to you as you undertake revision for this exam. Please don’t hesitate to ask
should you have any questions.
Happy reading!
2
,GCSE 2018-2019 LIT PAPER 1: SHAKESPEARE QPHS ENGLISH
Contents
1 ambition
2 violence
3 guilt
4 fate
5 Masculinity and femininity
6 madness and paranoia
7 kings and leadership
8 sleep
9 blood
10 nature
3
, GCSE 2018-2019 LIT PAPER 1: SHAKESPEARE QPHS ENGLISH
1 ambition
Macbeth, Act 1 Scene 3
‘Why do I yield to that suggestion, whose horrid image doth unfix my hair
and make my seated heart knock at my ribs [...]?’
Macbeth, Act 1 Scene 4
‘Stars, hide your fires! Let not light see my black and deep desires.’
Lady Macbeth, Act 1 Scene 5
‘I do fear thy nature, it is too full o’th’milk of human kindness to catch the
nearest way.’
Lady Macbeth, Act 1 Scene 5
‘Thou wouldst be great, art not without ambition, but without the illness
should attend it.’
Lady Macbeth, Act 1 Scene 5
‘Thy letters have transported me beyond the ignorant present, and I feel
now the future in the instant.’
Lady Macbeth, Act 1 Scene 5
‘Look like th’innocent flower, but be the serpent under’t’
Macbeth, Act 1 Scene 7
‘I have no spur to prick the sides of my intent, but only vaulting ambition,
which o’erleaps itself and falls on the other.’
Macbeth, Act 3 Scene 1
‘To be thus is nothing, but to be safely thus.’
Lady Macbeth, Act 3 Scene 2
‘Nought’s had, all’s spent, where our desire is got without content.’
4
key quotations:
macbeth
Name:
,GCSE 2018-2019 LIT PAPER 1: SHAKESPEARE QPHS ENGLISH
a note on using quotationS
The Macbeth section of Literature Paper 1 will consist of an extract and a question. You will need to
answer the question, referring to both the extract and the whole of the play.
While your answer should make close analysis of the language in the given extract, you also need
to be able to quote accurately from the rest of the play. This will enable you to draw connections
between different scenes, and comment on how characters/themes/ideas are developed in the
course of the play.
This booklet aims to identify some of the most useful quotations from Macbeth. These are quotations
which illuminate key character traits and which highlight the deeper ideas within the play. They
can be used to answer a wide range of questions, and are rich with possibilities for thoughtful and
personal analysis. They are organised into themes, and labelled with the relevant character, act and
scene.
There is no expectation that you will commit all of these quotations to memory; this is solely
intended as a guide to some of the quotations you may wish to learn. If you are unsure of where to
begin in memorising quotations, I would recommend starting with those that are highlighted in
each section. These are some of the most versatile, in that they encompass several themes.
Remember: it’s what you say about the quotation that is important. Think about levels of analysis:
1. What does this word literally mean?
2. What is this word’s deeper/symbolic meaning?
3. What does this word reveal to us about this character?
4. How is this relevant to character development/plot?
I hope that this is useful to you as you undertake revision for this exam. Please don’t hesitate to ask
should you have any questions.
Happy reading!
2
,GCSE 2018-2019 LIT PAPER 1: SHAKESPEARE QPHS ENGLISH
Contents
1 ambition
2 violence
3 guilt
4 fate
5 Masculinity and femininity
6 madness and paranoia
7 kings and leadership
8 sleep
9 blood
10 nature
3
, GCSE 2018-2019 LIT PAPER 1: SHAKESPEARE QPHS ENGLISH
1 ambition
Macbeth, Act 1 Scene 3
‘Why do I yield to that suggestion, whose horrid image doth unfix my hair
and make my seated heart knock at my ribs [...]?’
Macbeth, Act 1 Scene 4
‘Stars, hide your fires! Let not light see my black and deep desires.’
Lady Macbeth, Act 1 Scene 5
‘I do fear thy nature, it is too full o’th’milk of human kindness to catch the
nearest way.’
Lady Macbeth, Act 1 Scene 5
‘Thou wouldst be great, art not without ambition, but without the illness
should attend it.’
Lady Macbeth, Act 1 Scene 5
‘Thy letters have transported me beyond the ignorant present, and I feel
now the future in the instant.’
Lady Macbeth, Act 1 Scene 5
‘Look like th’innocent flower, but be the serpent under’t’
Macbeth, Act 1 Scene 7
‘I have no spur to prick the sides of my intent, but only vaulting ambition,
which o’erleaps itself and falls on the other.’
Macbeth, Act 3 Scene 1
‘To be thus is nothing, but to be safely thus.’
Lady Macbeth, Act 3 Scene 2
‘Nought’s had, all’s spent, where our desire is got without content.’
4
