What does the quote “Unmannerly breeched with gore. Who could refrain/ That had a heart to love, and in that heart/ Courage to make ’s love known” from Macbeth mean?
In Act 2, Scene 3, Macduff discovers Duncan's dead body, and Macbeth and Lennox go into the bedchamber to see it for themselves. (Of course, Macbeth is acting because he killed Duncan himself a few hours earlier.) While Macbeth and Lennox are in the room, Macbeth kills the two chamberlains that he and Lady Macbeth framed for the murder. When Macduff asks him why he killed them, Macbeth says,
Who can be wise,
amazed, temp'rate, and furious,
Loyal, and neutral, in a
moment? No man.
Th' expedition of my
violent love
Outrun the pauser,
reason. (2.3.126-129)
In other words, he asks, who can think clearly when he feels all these big, conflicting feelings at once? He insists that his overwhelming love for Duncan outstripped his reason, and in saying that "No man" could love so much and not act as he did, Macbeth actually implies...
Unlock This Answer Now
Start your 48-hour free trial and get ahead in class. Boost your grades with access to expert answers and top-tier study guides. Thousands of students are already mastering their assignments—don't miss out. Cancel anytime.
Already a member? Log in here.
that he loved the king the most! He says that themurderers were
Steeped in the colors
of their trade, their daggers
Unmannerly breeched with
gore. Who could refrain
That had a heart to
love, and in that heart
Courage to make 's love
known?
The murderers were covered with blood, their daggers still coated with the gore of the murder. He asks, who -- if he really loved Duncan and had the courage to show it -- could see this sight and NOT kill the king's murderers? Again, he implies that he was one who most loved the king: pretty ironic since he was the real murderer.
What does the quote "That had a heart to love and in that heart / Courage to make 's love known" from Macbeth mean?
The line is spoken by Macbeth in act 2, scene 3. As always with quotations, it's important to understand the context in which they are spoken.
What's happening in this scene is that Duncan's brutal murder has just been uncovered. Everyone naturally assumes that it was his guards, whose hands and daggers are covered in blood. They too are dead, and Macbeth claims responsibility for killing them (but not for killing Duncan).
When Macduff asks him why he killed the guards, Macbeth launches into a lengthy justification of his actions. He claims that his love for Duncan was so powerful that it drove him into a violent rage before he'd had time to think through the consequences of his actions.
Most of those around Macbeth would much rather that he had not killed the guards. If they'd still been alive, then it would've been possible to interrogate them and find out who sent them to kill Duncan and why. But of course Macbeth doesn't want anyone to know the terrible truth of what really happened, so he killed the guards to keep them quiet.
With an astonishing degree of cynicism and hypocrisy, Macbeth asks those gathered round him a rhetorical question:
Who could refrain,
That had a heart to love, and in that heart
Courage to make 's love known?