Studying Shakespeare is something everybody will do, whether it’s at school, college or university. There is no denying that Macbeth is a staple of English classes in general. But knowing the key quotes in Macbeth for your GCSEs, A-levels or degree is crucial, especially if you’re on a deadline or revising for an exam. We’ve provided a useful summary of all the Macbeth key quotes and a brief analysis to help you out.
What is Macbeth about?
Macbeth” is a renowned tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in the early 17th century. This dark and powerful play delves into the destructive effects of ambition, guilt, and moral corruption.
The story unfolds in medieval Scotland and follows the rise and fall of the titular character, Macbeth, a valiant warrior and a thane (a Scottish noble). The play begins with Macbeth earning high praise for his bravery and skill in battle, defending King Duncan’s realm. However, his encounter with three witches, or Weird Sisters, sets the stage for his tragic downfall. The witches prophesy that Macbeth will become the Thane of Cawdor and eventually the King of Scotland.
Intrigued and ambitious, Macbeth shares this prophecy with his wife, Lady Macbeth, a character as ambitious and ruthless as Macbeth himself. Together, they hatch a plan to hasten the prophecy’s fulfilment. This leads to Macbeth’s murder of King Duncan and his subsequent ascension to the throne. However, this act of regicide plunges both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth into a world of guilt, paranoia, and madness.
As the play progresses, Macbeth becomes increasingly tyrannical and bloodthirsty, ordering the murder of those he perceives as threats, including his friend Banquo and the family of his rival, Macduff. These acts of violence and betrayal create a climate of fear and unrest in Scotland.
Meanwhile, Lady Macbeth, tormented by guilt, descends into madness, leading to one of the play’s most famous scenes where she attempts to wash the imagined bloodstains from her hands. Macbeth, too, is haunted by his deeds, experiencing hallucinations and deepening paranoia.
The play reaches its climax as Macduff, seeking revenge for the slaughter of his family, leads an army against Macbeth. Despite a second set of prophecies from the witches that seem to suggest Macbeth is invincible, he is ultimately defeated and killed in battle, and Malcolm, Duncan’s son, is restored to the throne.
“Macbeth” explores themes such as the corrupting power of unchecked ambition, the moral and psychological effects of guilt and sin, and the relationship between violence and tyranny. It also delves into the supernatural and the ambiguous nature of prophecy. The play remains a timeless classic, resonating with modern audiences for its exploration of the dark aspects of human nature and the consequences of moral decay.
Most important Macbeth key quotes and analysis
1. “Fair is foul and foul is fair”
Who: The Witches
Where: Scene 1, Act 1
Meaning: This quote reflects the play’s theme of ambiguity and moral confusion. What is perceived as good (fair) is actually bad (foul) and vice versa, indicating a world turned upside down by deceit and evil.
2. “What bloody man is that?”
Who: King Duncan
Where: Scene 2, Act 1
Meaning: King Duncan is inquiring about a sergeant who is covered in blood. This sets the tone for the play’s violent and bloody nature.
3. “If you can look into the seeds of time, and say which grain will grow and which will not.”
Who: Banquo
Where: Scene 3, Act 1
Meaning: Banquo is asking the witches to predict his future, as they did for Macbeth, showing his curiosity about his own fate.
4. Or have we eaten on the insane root that takes the reason prisoner?”
Who: Banquo
Where: Scene 3, Act 1
Meaning: Here, Banquo is questioning the reality of his encounter with the witches, wondering if they have eaten a hallucinogenic plant that has led them to hallucinate the witches.
5. “What! Can the devil speak true?”
Who: Banquo
Where: Scene 3, Act 1
Meaning: Banquo is shocked that the witches’ prophecy about Macbeth has come true, suggesting that sometimes evil tells the truth to serve its purposes.
6. “Present fears are less than horrible imaginings.”
Who: King Duncan
Where: Scene 4, Act 1
Meaning: This is King Duncan expressing that sometimes our fears are not as bad as the horrors we imagine, reflecting the theme of fear and foresight.
7. “There’s daggers in men’s smiles.”
Who: Donalbain
Where: Scene 3, Act 2
Meaning: Highlighting a theme of deception, Donalbain implies that there are hidden dangers and betrayals even in friendly appearances.
8. “Double, double toil and trouble: Fire burn, and cauldron bubble.”
Who: The Witches
Where: Scene 1, Act 4
Meaning: The witches chant this as they concoct a spell, symbolising the dark and mysterious forces at work in the play
9. “By the pricking of my thumbs, something wicked this way comes.”
Who: Second Witch
Where: Scene 1, Act 4
Meaning: The Second Witch senses Macbeth’s approach, indicating that evil is drawn to evil.
10. “Macbeth shall never vanquished be until Great Birnam wood to high Dusinane Hill shall come against him.”
Who: Third Apparition
Where: Scene 1, Act 4
Meaning: The Third Apparition’s prophecy suggests that Macbeth will not be defeated until an impossible event (a forest moving) occurs, giving Macbeth a false sense of security.
11. “A deed without a name.”
Who: The Witches
Where: Scene 1, Act 4
Meaning: Here the Witches are refering to their own actions, which are so unnatural and horrific that they cannot be named.
12. “When our actions do not, our fears do make us traitors.”
Who: Lady Macduff
Where: Scene 2, Act 4
Meaning: Lady Macduff suggests that fear can lead us to betray ourselves or others, reflecting on the consequences of fear and paranoia.
13. “Tongue nor heart cannot conceive nor name thee!”
Who: Lady Macduff
Where: Scene 3, Act 2
Meaning: This is a reaction from Lady Macduff, where she is expressing her inability to fully comprehend or articulate the horror and evil she is facing.
14. “The patient must minister to himself.”
Who: Doctor
Where: Scene 3, Act 5
Meaning: The Doctor implies that some ailments, particularly those of the mind or soul, must be healed by the individual, not by a physician.
15. “Those clamorous harbingers of blood and death.”
Who: Lady Macduff
Where: Scene 6, Act 5
Meaning: Lady Macduff refers to the signs that foretell violence and death, possibly alluding to the omens and prophecies in the play that predict tragedy.
Macbeth quotes from Macbeth himself
Of course, many of the key quotes in Macbeth come from Macbeth himself. As the central character in William Shakespeare’s tragedy of the same name, he undergoes a profound and tragic transformation throughout the play. Initially presented as a valiant and respected hero, Macbeth’s character evolves dramatically following his encounter with the supernatural (the Weird Sisters) and under the influence of his ambitious wife, Lady Macbeth.
His bravery, ambition, and self-doubt are key attributes that struggle for dominance within him, according to Sparknotes. As the play progresses, these traits, particularly his ambition and susceptibility to doubt and guilt, lead him down a dark path. Macbeth becomes a figure of tyranny and moral decay, illustrating the catastrophic effects of unchecked ambition and a weak character. His journey from hero to villain is marked by his increasingly ruthless actions, including regicide and other murders, and is driven by both human flaws and supernatural elements. Ultimately, Macbeth’s tragic downfall is a result of his internal conflicts and the consequences of his actions, making him a complex and deeply flawed character in Shakespearean literature If you’re in need of Macbeth quotes from the man himself, look no further…
16. “I have no spur, to prick the sides of my intent, but only vaulting ambition which o’erleaps itself and falls on the other”
Who: Macbeth
Where: Scene 7, Act 1
Meaning: Macbeth acknowledges that he has no real reason to kill Duncan, only his excessive ambition, which might lead to his downfall.
17. “Will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood clean from my hand? No, this my hand will rather the multitudinous seas incarnadine, making the green one red.”
Who: Macbeth
Where: Scene 2, Act 2
Meaning: Macbeth realises that his guilt (symbolised by the blood on his hands) is so great that it would turn the oceans red, rather than being washed away.
18. “Nothing is but what is not.”
Who: Macbeth
Where: Scene 3, Act 1
Meaning: Macbeth is contemplating the paradoxical nature of reality, suggesting that what exists is defined by what does not.
19. “Come what come may, time and the hour runs through the roughest day.”
Who: Macbeth
Where: Scene 3, Act 1
Meaning: Here, Macbeth is expressing a sense of fatalism, accepting whatever may happen in the future.
20. “False face must hide what the false heart doth know.”
Who: Macbeth
Where: Scene 7, Act 1
Meaning: The advice given here by Macbeth is that one must hide their true, evil intentions behind a false appearance.
21. “Stars hide your fires; let not light see my dark and deep desires”
Who: Macbeth
Where: Scene 4, Act 1
Meaning: Talking to the stars, Macbeth is asking them not to shine on his evil plans, so that his intentions remain hidden.
22. “I dare do all that may become a man; who dares do more is none.”
Who: Macbeth
Where: Scene 7, Act 1
Meaning:Macbeth asserts that he is willing to do anything that is appropriate for a man to do; anyone who does more is not a true man.
23. “Is this a dagger which I see before me, the handle toward my hand? Come, let me clutch thee: I have thee not, and yet I see thee still.”
Who: Macbeth
Where: Scene 1, Act 2
Meaning: While hallucinating a dagger, Macbeth is manifesting his guilt and intent to murder Duncan
24. “I am in blood, steeped in so far, that, should I wade no more, returning were as tedious as go o’er”
Who: Macbeth
Where: Scene 4, Act 3
Meaning: Macbeth acknowledges that he is so deep into his murderous actions that it’s as hard to stop as it is to continue.
25. “If it were done when ’tis done, then ’twere well it were done quickly.”
Who: Macbeth
Where: Scene 7, Act 1
Meaning: This is the moment that Macbeth is musing that if the murder could be completed quickly and have no consequences, it would be best to get it over with quickly.
26. “Methought I heard a voice cry, ‘Sleep no more! Macbeth does murder sleep: the innocent sleep, sleep that knits up the ravelled sleeve of care, the death of each day’s life, sore labor’s bath, balm of hurt minds, great nature’s second course, chief nourished in life’s feast.”
Who: Macbeth
Where: Scene 2, Act 2
Meaning: Tormented by guilt after the murder of Duncan, Macbeth is feeling that he has murdered the peaceful innocence of sleep.
27. “Things bad begun make strong themselves by ill.”
Who: Macbeth
Where: Scene 2, Act 3
Meaning: This quote suggests that once you start doing evil things, they strengthen and perpetuate themselves through further evil actions.
28. “Blood will have blood.”
Who: Macbeth
Where: Scene
Meaning: Macbeth means that one violent act will inevitably lead to another, as each act of violence necessitates further violence to cover it up.
29. “Thou sure and firm-set earth, hear not my steps, which way they walk, for fear thy very stones prate of my whereabouts.”
Who: Macbeth
Where: Scene 1, Act 2
Meaning: So consumed by guilt and fear, Macbeth is imagining the ground itself might betray his murderous actions.
30. “How now, you secret, black, and midnight hags!”
Who: Macbeth
Where: Scene 1, Act 4
Meaning: Macbeth addresses the witches, acknowledging their dark and mysterious nature.
31. “To-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow, creeps in this petty pace from day to day to the last syllable of recorded time, and all our yesterdays have lighted fools the way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle! Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player that struts and frets his hour upon the stage and then is heard no more: it is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.”
Who: Macbeth
Where: Scene 5, Act 5
Meaning: After hearing of his wife’s death, Macbeth reflects on the futility and meaninglessness of life.
32. “I bear a charmed life.”
Who: Macbeth
Where: Scene 8, Act 5
Meaning: Macbeth believes he is invincible because of the witches’ prophecy that no man born of a woman can harm him.
33. “The devil damn thee black, thou cream-faced loon! Where gott’st thou that goose look?”
Who: Macbeth
Where: Scene 3, Act 5
Meaning: In a state of paranoia and anger, Macbeth berates a servant.
Macbeth quotes by Lady Macbeth
Among all of Shakespeare’s plays, Lady Macbeth is one of the most complex and powerful female characters, is central to the dramatic development of “Macbeth.” Known for her burning ambition to be queen, she exhibits a fascinating blend of strength, ambition, and psychological complexity. Initially, she is portrayed as a strong, manipulative figure, deeply involved in plotting King Duncan’s murder and challenging traditional gender roles. Her taunting of Macbeth’s courage and her lack of humanity highlight her ruthless nature.
However, as the play progresses, Lady Macbeth’s facade of strength crumbles under the weight of guilt and madness. Her descent into madness, marked by sleepwalking and obsessive hand-washing, reflects her deep remorse and inability to cope with the consequences of her actions. This transformation from a figure of immense power and control to a tragic, guilt-ridden character underscores the themes of ambition, power, and the psychological repercussions of guilt in Shakespeare’s work. If you’re studying Macbeth, it’s a good idea to know about Lady Macbeth and her most important key quotes and lines from Macbeth.
34. “The raven himself is hoarse that croaks the fatal entrance of Duncan under my battlements.”
Who: Lady Macbeth
Where: Scene 5, Act 1
Meaning: Lady Macbeth sees the raven as a symbol of Duncan’s impending death at her castle.
35. “Yet do I fear thy nature; it is too full o’ the milk of human kindness.”
Who: Lady Macbeth
Where: Scene 5, Act 1
Meaning: Fearing that Macbeth is too kind and moral to seize the crown by murder, Lady Macbeth is questioning his nature.
36. “O, never shall sun that morrow see! Your face, my thane, is as a book where men may read strange matters. To beguile the time, look like the time. Bear welcome in your eye, your hand, your tongue. Look like the’ innocent flower, but be the serpent under ‘t. He that’s coming must be provide for: and you shall put this night’s great business into my dispatch, which shall to all our nights and days to come give solely sovereign sway and masterdom.”
Who: Lady Macbeth
Where: Scene 5, Act 1
Meaning: Lady Macbeth instructs Macbeth to hide his true intentions and act welcoming to King Duncan.
37. “Would’st thou have that which thou esteem’st the ornament of life, and live a coward in thine own esteem, letting “I dare not” wait upon “I would,” like the poor cat i’ the’ adage?”
Who: Lady Macbeth
Where: Scene 7, Act 1
Meaning: Challenging Macbeth’s manhood, Lady Macbeth is accusing him of being a coward for hesitating to murder Duncan.
38. “Here’s the smell of blood still. All the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand”
Who: Lady Macbeth
Where: Scene 1, Act 5
Meaning: Here Lady Macbeth is showing how she is tormented by guilt, imagining that her hands will never be free of the smell of blood.
39. “Come, you spirits, that tend on mortal thoughts. Unsex me here, and fill me, from the crown to the toe, top-full of direst cruelty. Make thick my blood. Stop up the’ access and passage to remorse, that no compunctious visiting of nature shake my fell purpose, nor keep peace between th’ effect and it. Come to my woman’s breasts, and take my milk for gall, you murd’ring ministers, wherever in your sightless substances you wait on nature’s mischief. Come, thick night, and pall thee in the dunnest smoke of hell, that my keen knife see not the wound it makes, nor heaven peep through the blanket of the dark, to cry “Hold, hold!””
Who: Lady Macbeth
Where: Scene 5, Act 1
Meaning: Lady Macbeth calls on evil spirits to make her ruthless and capable of committing murder.
40. “When thou durst do it, then you were a man”
Who: Lady Macbeth
Where: Scene 7, Act 1
Meaning: This is another quote where Lady Macbeth questions Macbeth’s manhood, suggesting that he would be more of a man if he went through with the murder.
41. “I have given suck, and know how tender ’tis to love the babe that milks me. I would, while it was smiling in my face, have plucked my nipple from his boneless gums and dashed the brains out, had I so sworn as you have done to this.”
Who: Lady Macbeth
Where: Scene 7, Act 1
Meaning: Lady Macbeth is expressing her commitment to their murderous plan, suggesting she would kill her own child if she had sworn to do so, as Macbeth has sworn to kill Duncan.
42. “I laid their daggers ready; he could not miss ’em. Had he not resembled my father as he slept, I had done’t.”
Who: Lady Macbeth
Where: Scene 2, Act 2
Meaning: Here she reveals she would have killed Duncan herself if he hadn’t reminded her of her father, showing her ruthless nature and commitment to their plan.
42. “Out! Damned spot! One, two – why, then ’tis time to don’t. Hell is murky. Fie, my lord, fie, a soldier and afeard? What need we fear who knows it, when none can call our power to account? – Yet who would have thought the old man to have had so much blood in him.”
Who: Lady Macbeth
Where: Scene 1, Act 5
Meaning: In her madness, Lady Macbeth is obsessively trying to wash away an imaginary bloodstain, symbolising her guilt over the murders.
43. “What’s done cannot be undone.”
Who: Lady Macbeth
Where: Scene 1, Act 5
Meaning: Lady Macbeth is acknowledging that the consequences of their actions are irreversible, expressing despair and resignation.
The key quotes in Macbeth come from all different characters, with many from the leading characters of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. They’re bound to be an essential element of any assignment or exam surrounding the infamous Shakespeare play. If you’re planning to do more literature study in the future, then you’ll need to know the best universities for English Literature in the UK. Luckily, we’ve found them for you.
