Best Macbeth Quotes - GCSE English Literature Revision Notes

Key Quotations

The best way to revise quotations is to group them by character or theme. Here are some key themes explored in Macbeth, along with important quotations:

Themes

1. Ambition and Power
2. The Supernatural
3. Appearance versus Reality
4. Corruption of Nature

Ambition and Power

• Macbeth's Soliloquy (Act I, Scene VII):
  • "I have no spur to prick the sides of my intent, only vaulting ambition"
  • Meaning: Macbeth’s ambition is his sole drive for committing murder.
  • Analysis: Highlights Macbeth’s fatal flaw (hamartia) of ambition.
• Lady Macbeth (Act I, Scene VII):
  • "When you durst do it, then you were a man"
  • Meaning: Encourages Macbeth to prove his manhood by committing regicide.
  • Analysis: Attacks Macbeth’s masculinity, reversing traditional gender roles.
• Macbeth (Act V, Scene V):
  • "Life is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing"
  • Meaning: Life is ultimately meaningless.
  • Analysis: Reflects nihilism and a moment of anagnorisis.

The Supernatural

• Macbeth (Act I, Scene IV):
  • "Stars hide your fires; let not light see my black and deep desires"
  • Meaning: Macbeth wishes to hide his dark intentions.
  • Analysis: The invocation of darkness suggests acknowledgment of evil.
• Lady Macbeth (Act I, Scene V):
  • "Come, thick night and pall thee in the dunnest smoke of Hell"
  • Meaning: Desires darkness to conceal her deeds.
  • Analysis: Echoes Macbeth’s wish for concealment, showing their bond.
• Macbeth (Act II, Scene I):
  • "A dagger of the mind"
  • Meaning: A hallucination leading Macbeth to kill Duncan.
  • Analysis: Shows the influence of supernatural on Macbeth.

Appearance versus Reality

• Lady Macbeth (Act I, Scene V):
  • "Look like the innocent flower but be the serpent underneath it"
  • Meaning: Advises Macbeth to conceal his true intentions.
  • Analysis: Demonstrates her manipulative nature.
• Lady Macbeth (Act I, Scene V):
  • "Come you spirits... Unsex me here"
  • Meaning: Calls on spirits to remove her femininity.
  • Analysis: Challenges gender norms by seeking power.
• Lady Macbeth (Act V, Scene I):
  • "Out, damned spot: out, I say!"
  • Meaning: Desperately tries to wash away guilt.
  • Analysis: Reveals her mental breakdown and irony in her earlier confidence.

Corruption of Nature

• Three Witches (Act I, Scene I):
  • "Fair is foul and foul is fair"
  • Meaning: Good and bad are indistinguishable.
  • Analysis: Introduces theme of deception and chaos.
• Macbeth (Act II, Scene II):
  • "Macbeth does murder sleep!"
  • Meaning: Macbeth loses peace after regicide.
  • Analysis: Highlights his internal torment and guilt.

Conclusion

These quotations collectively illustrate the themes of ambition, power, the supernatural, and deception in "Macbeth." They highlight the key moral and psychological transformations of characters, particularly Macbeth and Lady Macbeth, as they grapple with their ambitions and the consequences of their actions.