Anda di halaman 1dari 3

Macbeth- Quote Bank

*Below is a small selection of quotes that may be relevant to


you in discussing power in Macbeth
Quote

Technique

All hail Macbeth, Thane of


Glamis.|All hail Macbeth,
Thane of Cawdor.| All hail
Macbeth, that shalt be king
hereafter. (1.3.46-48)

Repetition

Macbeth: Glamis, and Thane


of Cawdor: | The greatest is
behind. (1.3.115-116)

Aside

Macbeth: If good, why do I


yield to the suggestion, |
Whose horrid image doth unfix
my hair| And make my seated
heart knock at my ribs| Against
the use of nature? (1.3.133136)

Soliloquy/ aside

Banquo: Look how our


partners rapt. (1.3.141)

Characterisatio
n/ dialogue

Banquo: And oftentimes, to


win us to our harm, the
instruments of darkness tell us
truths;|Win us in honest trifles,
to betrays| In deepest
consequence.

Juxtaposition/
characterisatio
n

Exit (Attendant)
Lady Macbeth: The raven

Stage direction,
soliloquy

Analysis
- The witches use their supernatural powers
to prophesy Macbeths future and
manipulate his ambition.
- The witches abuse of their power drives
the action of the play, planting the scene
for Macbeths violent reign.
- Ross and Angus message that Duncan
has granted Macbeth the title of Thane of
Cawdor gives credibility to the witches
prophecies.
Shakespeare
uses
an
aside
to
communicate Macbeths thoughts as he
begins to consider that he may become
King and reveal his ambitious character to
the audience, whilst veiling it from Banquo.
- Shakespeare uses a soliloquy (once again
in the form of an aside) to allow the
audience to learn of Macbeths dark and
treacherous thoughts, while hiding them
from the other characters on stage.
- It is clear that Macbeths ambitious nature
has been quickly awoken by the witches
prophecies. They have abused their power
to great effect, with Macbeth already
considering murdering his King.
- Banquos comment serves to emphasise
that Macbeth is deep in thought after
hearing the prophecies. He is so lost in
thought that Banquo notices his distraction.
- Directly in contrast to Macbeth, Banquo is
not so easily taken in. He is cautious of the
supernatural beings, and warns that they
often operate in ways that seduce men into
devious actions, and lead them to their
downfall.
- Serves to emphasise that Macbeth and
Banquo do have the power of choice over
their actions in the face of the witches
prophecies/ ambition and temptation
- The stage direction indicates that Lady
Macbeths attendant exits the stage,

himself is hoarse| That croaks


the fatal entrance of Duncan|
Under my battlements
(1.5.36-38)

Lady Macbeth: When you


durst do it, then you were a
man. (1.7.49)

Dialogue,
characterisatio
n

Exit Servant
Macbeth: To be thus is
nothing| But to be safely thus.
Our fears in Banquo| Stick
deep (3.1.49-51)

Stage
directions,
soliloquy

Exits and entrances of


Banquos ghost (Act 3 scene 4)
Macbeth: Thou canst not say
I did it; never shake| Thy gory
locks at me! (3.4.50-51)

Staging,
dialogue

Malcolm: This tyrant, whose


sole name blisters our
tongues,| Was once thought to
be honest (4.3.12-13)

Characterisatio
n

Macduff: Not in the legions|


Of horrid hell can come a devil
more damned| In evils to top
Macbeth. (4.3.55-57)

Diction,
Characterisatio
n, Biblical
allusions

Lady Macbeth: Heres the

Monologue

leaving her alone


- The soliloquy allows the audience to hear
Lady Macbeths thoughts, revealing her to
be even more ambitious than her husband.
She is willing to kill her king in order to
attain greater power without a second
thought.
- Lady Macbeth taunts her husband after he
refuses to go ahead with the plan to murder
Duncan. She manipulates him by
suggesting that he is cowardly and has
betrayed her- he is not a man.
- Lady Macbeth abuses her power as
Macbeths wife
- The stage directions indicate that
Macbeths servant exits, leaving Macbeth
alone to think
- The soliloquy allows us to hear Macbeth as
he thinks aloud. Although he is King, and
has attained the highest position of power,
he is now fearful that it will be taken away.
The impact of such power on Macbeth is
that it has made him paranoid, and turned
him into a tyrant who would murder his
friend in order to secure his position.
- The appearance of Banquos ghost
emphasises that Macbeths violent murder
of his friend, committed in order to
maintain and secure power, has caused
guilt and paranoia in the King. Macbeths
descent into violence and madness is a
consequence / impact of his rise to power.
- In death, Banquo wields more power than
in life. Macbeths behaviour at the banquet
arouses suspicions about his role in
Duncans murder in his Thanes and can be
seen as the beginning of his downfall.
- Malcolm highlights that while Macbeth is
now a brutal tyrant, maintaining his power
through violence, he used to be a trusted
Thane to Duncan. Ambition and power have
corrupted a once good man.
- Macduff is saying that Macbeth is more
evil than even the devil. He has gone from
being the worthy and noble Thane
supporting his rightful King to murdering
Gods representative on Earth.
- Lady Macbeth is sleepwalking: she is

smell of blood still; all the


perfumes of Arabia will not
sweeten this little hand!
(5.1.42-43)

literally trying to wash her hands of the


blood of Macbeths victims.
- Her guilt over her role in the murder of
Duncan and her husbands descent into
violent tyranny has sent Lady Macbeth
mad. Gaining and maintaining power/
abusing power has come at the cost of her
sanity. She later commits suicide, unable to
deal with her guilt.

Anda mungkin juga menyukai