Moral Confusion: Introduced through paradoxical language "fair is foul and foul is fair", foreshadowing the play's events and highlighting Macbeth's hidden evil.
Supernatural Influence: Trochaic meter in the witches' speech adds a magical, mysterious quality.
Heroism and Tragedy: Macbeth is depicted as an archetypal hero through classical metaphors and striking imagery.
Act 1
Scene 1
Quotation: "Fair is foul and foul is fair"
Analysis: Paradox and alliteration create an uneasy tone, indicating moral confusion.
Scene 2
Quotation: "Bellona's Bridegroom"
Analysis: Classical metaphor and alliteration highlight Macbeth's power and heroism.
Quotation: "As sparrows eagles or hare the lion"
Analysis: Animalistic imagery portrays Macbeth as powerful, foreshadowing his ambition.
Scene 3
Quotation: "So fair and foul a day I have not seen"
Analysis: Lexical mirroring shows Macbeth's connection to the witches.
Quotation: "To win us to our harm, the instruments of darkness tell us truths"
Analysis: Metaphor highlights Banquo's view of the witches as dangerous manipulators.
Scene 4
Quotation: "He was a gentleman on whom I built an absolute trust. Enter Macbeth"
Analysis: Timing of Macbeth's entrance foreshadows his betrayal.
Quotation: "Stars, hide your fires. Let not light see my black and deep desires."
Analysis: Color imagery and aside indicate Macbeth's secrecy and growing evil.
Scene 5
Quotation: "I fear thy nature; it is too full of the milk of human kindness"
Analysis: Milk metaphor suggests Macbeth's inner weakness; Lady Macbeth's ambition.
Quotation: "Come, you spirits Unsex me here!"
Analysis: Lady Macbeth's soliloquy and imperative language show her rejection of gender norms and embrace of power.
Scene 7
Quotation: "Vaulting ambition"
Analysis: Macbeth recognizes his fatal flaw, ambition.
Act 2
Scene 1
Quotation: "Is this a dagger I see before me?"
Analysis: Rhetorical question and symbolism reflect Macbeth's mental instability.
Scene 2
Quotation: "Will all great Neptune's ocean wash this blood clean?"
Analysis: Hyperbolic language shows Macbeth's guilt; contrasting with Lady Macbeth's lack of remorse.
Scene 3
Quotation: "His silver skin, laced with golden blood"
Analysis: Metaphors elevate Duncan, contrasting with Macbeth's evil.
Scene 4
Quotation: "A falcon was by a mousing owl killed"
Analysis: Bird imagery symbolizes moral confusion in Scotland.
Act 3
Scene 1
Quotation: "Our fears in Banquo stick deep"
Analysis: Metaphor and juxtaposition highlight Macbeth's paranoia and Banquo's nobility.
Scene 2
Quotation: "O, full of scorpions is my mind, dear wife!"
Analysis: Apostrophe and metaphor reveal Macbeth's poisoned mind.
Scene 4
Quotation: "Hence, horrible shadow!"
Analysis: Exclamatory sentences show Macbeth's mental decline.
Act 4
Scene 3
Quotation: "All my pretty ones?.. I must also feel it as a man."