seen").

Banquo is the object of multiple paradoxes in this scene:

FIRST WITCH. Lesser than Macbeth, and greater.
SECOND WITCH. Not so happy, yet much happier.
THIRD WITCH. Thou shalt get kings, though thou be none. (1.3.68-70)

The first and third of these paradoxes aren't difficult to understand, but how, exactly, is Banquo "much happier" than Macbeth? Macbeth has Banquo murdered early in the play. There's no time for Banquo to be happy about his son becoming King, for example, and there's no other happy or important event that Banquo enjoys in the play. Is Banquo supposed to be happy, or simply content, to know that he "shalt get kings"?

The Witches don't appear to anyone in the play except Macbeth and Banquo. Thus, there is the question of whether the witches really exist. Banquo voices this question:

BANQUO. Were such things here as we do speak about?
Or have we eaten on the insane root
That takes the reason prisoner? (1.3.86-88)

Near the end of the scene, Macbeth thinks about what's happened. Why did the Witches appear and make these prophecies?

MACBETH. This supernatural soliciting
Cannot be ill, cannot be good. (1.3.141-142)

Macbeth works out this paradox for himself in the rest of the speech. He ends the speech by saying in plain language what the Witches expressed paradoxically in the first scene of the play.

MACBETH. ... and nothing is
But what is not. (1.3.152-153)

It remains to be seen how all of these paradoxes are resolved through the rest of the play.

It is also worth noting some of the metaphors that Shakespeare uses in act 1 of the play. In scene 3, for instance, there is a metaphor in the following quote:

Two truths are told,
As happy prologues to the swelling act
Of the imperial theme.

Through the reference to "happy prologues" and the "swelling act," Shakespeare is comparing Macbeth's rise to power to the sequence of acts and scenes in a play which leads to a climax. For Macbeth, the climax will be his accession to the throne of Scotland.

In addition, there is another metaphor in act 1, scene 7:

To prick the sides of my intent, but only
Vaulting ambition, which o'erleaps itself
And falls on th' other.

In this example, Macbeth is comparing his ambition to a horse jumping over a fence. This metaphor helps to emphasize just how ambitious Macbeth really is: his ambition is galloping ahead of himself. He is barely in control of it.

It is also worth noting the use of irony in act 1. In scene 4, for example, there is irony in the following words from King Duncan:

There’s no art
To find the mind’s construction in the face.
He was a gentleman on whom I built
An absolute trust.

This is ironic because King Duncan does not realize that Macbeth is already planning his murder. Just like the previous Thane of Cawdor, Macbeth is acting kind and loyal towards Duncan but is already planning his removal from the throne.

In act 1, scene 1, there are many examples of end rhyme in the weird sisters' speech. At the end of the scene, they chant altogether,

Fair is foul, and foul is fair
Hover through the fog and filthy air. (1.1.12-13)

Here, they employ alliteration—the repetition of the "f" sound in "fair," "foul," "foul," "fair," "fog," and "filthy." This particular sound, when repeated, begins to sound dirty or sordid, an association appropriate given the statement's meaning and the sisters' intent.

In act 1, scene 2, the captain employs a simile to compare Macbeth and Banquo to weaker animals who must fight more predatory ones. When asked if the Norwegian king, with his fresh troops, was frightening to these two soldiers, the Captain says, "Yes, as sparrows eagles, or the hare the lion" (1.2.35). He compares them to sparrows who must face eagles or hares that must face lions.  And yet they do fight, proving their valor again. The captain also uses an allusion when he refers to "Golgotha," the site where Jesus was crucified in the Bible (1.2.40).

You might like to examine a scene such as Act I scene 2 and focus on the literary devices that this scene contains. One of the notable examples of literary devices is the way that the Captain reports the deeds of Macbeth in battle and how he is compared to various things to emphasise his valour, bravery and skill in warfare. Note the following examples of similes:

Doubtful it stood;
As two spent swimmers, that do cling together
And choke their art.

Here the Captain describes the fight between the two sides and how close it was, comparing the armies to two exhausted swimmers who can not beat the other because of their fatigue. However, it is Macbeth, who enters "like Valour's minion" who wins the day and tips the balance of the battle.

These are some of the examples of literary devices in this scene, but there are plenty of others, so hopefully now that I have shown you what you are looking for you can go back and identify other examples of literary devices in Act I. Good luck!

The play begins with one of the most often quoted paradoxes:

Fair is foul and foul is fair.

A paradox is a seeming contradiction, and this line spoken by all three witches at the end of the first scene suggests their deceptive nature--nothing is what it seems to be.

Examples of personification are more difficult to find perhaps because they are more scarce.  But one example of giving inanimate objects human characteristics might be in King Duncan's speech:

My plenteous joys,
Wanton in fullness, seek to hide themselves
In drops of sorrow.

Here Duncan is ascribing human traits to his happiness that is disguising itself with his tears (of joy).

Alliteration is the repetition of the first consonant sounds of words that are close together.  It serves as a type of verbal highlighter that emphasizes key ideas.  Alliteration is quite common throughout the play.  One example is Macbeth's speech in scene 4:

Stars, hide your fires;
Let not light see my black and deep desires.

"Deep desires" is an example of alliteration suggesting Macbeth's murderous inclination.  This line, by the way, is also filled with assonance--repetition of vowel sounds.  Look how many times the long i sound, as in "eyes," is repeated.

The Weird Sisters deliver a paradox when they tell Banquo that he will be "Lesser than Macbeth and greater" and "Not so happy, yet much happier" (1.3.68, 69). How can it be possible to be both lesser than Macbeth and greater? Or less happy and happier at the same time? The answer is that Banquo will not be king himself (so he'll be less great and less happy), but his descendants will be kings (so he'll be greater and happier than Macbeth, who will not pass on his crown to his progeny).

Banquo uses a simile when he says, "The earth hath bubbles, as the water has, / And these are of them" (1.3.82-83). He says that the appearance of the Weird Sisters seems to come from bubbles surfacing from the depths of the earth, just as bubbles in the water do because their appearance was so sudden and immediate.

Macbeth employs a metaphor that also doubles as clothing imagery when he says to the Thanes of Ross and Angus "The Thane of Cawdor lives. Why do you dress me / In borrowed robes?" (1.3.114-115). He compares the new title he's been awarded to a set of borrowed clothing because he does not realize that the Thane of Cawdor is a traitor and will soon be executed. Banquo employs another metaphor and clothing image when he says of Macbeth "New honors come upon him, / Like our strange garments, cleave not to their mold / But with the aid of use" (1.3.160-162). He compares the new honors that Macbeth has been granted to new clothes that don't fit or feel quite right until one wears them awhile.

The Captain employs an allusion when he refers to the field of battle where Macbeth and Banquo fight as "another Golgotha" (1.2.44). Golgotha is "the place of dead men's skulls" (Mark 15:22) where Jesus Christ was crucified in the Bible, and the Captain implies that the field of battle is so terrible that it is like such a horrible place.

King Duncan uses the Doctrine of Correspondence when he claims that "signs of nobleness, like stars, shall shine / On all deservers" (1.4.47-48). He suggests that the heavens above will recognize those deserving on earth and will shine on them.

An example of paradox is when the witches say, "Fair is foul, and foul is fair." Their statement says that what is seemingly good turns out to be bad.

And example of a simile is when the first witch says in sc. 3 that "Like a rat without a tail, I'll do, I'll do, and I'll do." She's comparing herself to a rat without a tail.

An example of a metaphor is when Banquo says in the same scene "If you can look into the seeds of time, and say which grain will grow and which will not." Grains and time are being compared--there are seconds and minutes in time, but not grains.

An example of Doctrine of Correspondence is when Lady Macbeth is addressing Macbeth and telling him how to act.  "To beguile the time, look like the time; bear welcome in your eye, your hand, your tongue: look like th' innocent flower, but be the serpent under 't."   She is using a tangible thing to explain something that is abstract.

An example of clothing imagery would be when Macbeth and Banquo approach the witches not knowing who or what they are.  "What are these so withered, and so wild in their attire, that look not like th' inhabitants o' th' earth, and yet are on't?"  This describes how they appear to the men.  Very crazy and unkempt.

I haven't found an allusion to use.  But the others are all examples for you.

The first scene of this play is very carefully crafted and uses multiple literary devices to convey the themes of appearance versus reality and the inversion of things, which will fill the rest of the play. The stage is set for a sense of doom symbolized by the bad weather, "in thunder, lightning or in rain."

Meanwhile, the witches uses parallelism ("when shall we three..." "When the hurlyburly..." "When the battle...") to enhance the sense that they are chanting a sort of ritualistic prophecy (or curse). We also see the use of a chorus—a feature borrowed from Greek tragedy—to emphasize one particular section of dialogue which is pronounced by all of the witches together, underscoring the fact that this is the most important feature of all they have said: "Fair is foul and foul is fair..."

This idea, stated here through the use of chiasmus and oxymoron, is the core of the whole play to follow: things are not what they seem, and what first appears to be bad may actually be good, and vice versa.

As pointed out in the previous answer, this opening scene of the play uses the imagery of thunder and lightning. This is an example of pathetic fallacy, a traditional and common literary device whereby the state of nature reflects what is going on in the world of the human characters in the story. The storm in the heavens mirrors the storm that is brewing among the characters, and most of all in the heart of the titular character.

At the very beginning of this play, then, we get a sense of an upheaval in the natural order of things. This reflects the unnatural events that are about to transpire in which an esteemed general kills his much-loved king and kinsman, encouraged by his wife who appears to deliberately  to 'unsex' herself, to put off traditional feminine qualities of softness and tenderness. This sense of the overthrow of the natural order is further enhanced with images of bloody children (conjured up by the witches, and imagined by Lady Macbeth), hallucinations of bloody swords, walking woods and men 'untimely ripped' from the womb (Macduff). All of this springs from Macbeth's unnatural desire to kill his king, and colours the entire play from the start.

The use of dialogue in this first scene is also notable. The witches' conversation is quite terse and cryptic and made more memorable by the use of alliteration, the repeating of consonants at the beginning of words, as in the famous line: 'Fair is foul, and foul is fair'.

In the first scene of Macbeth, Shakespeare uses the imagery of thunder and lightning as the three Witches enter to suggest the tumult that is about to occur in Scotland. The sisters speak in rhymes: "When the hurlyburly's done/When the battle's lost and won." They also speak in contradictions, including the "lost and won" line, and later in the scene, where they all sing together "fair is foul and foul is fair." Through these paradoxes, Shakespeare may be suggesting the deception and duplicity that will characterize the events of the play. The descriptors "foul" and "filthy" emphasize the evil of the witches, as well as the mischief they will perpetrate. Overall, Shakespeare uses this scene to foreshadow the terrible events that are to come. 

At the beginning of the scene, the sergeant uses imagery of storms to describe the chaos and carnage of the battle. He speaks of "Shipwrecking storms and direful thunders." This is an example of pathetic fallacy, a literary device whereby the weather is used to reflect the mood of the story. In this instance, the fierce storms and the crashing thunder reflect the explosive violence of the battle.

Describing the traitor Macdonwald, the sergeant says that the "multiplying villainies of nature / Do swarm upon him." This is an example of a metaphor. Macdonwald's "villainies," or villainous traits, do not literally "swarm" upon or around him, but the metaphorical swarm vividly evokes for the audience an impression of just how villainous Macdonwald is. He is, as it were, completely surrounded by his own evil.

Throughout the scene, there are several examples of exclamatory sentences. Upon hearing of Macbeth's bravery, for example, King Duncan exclaims, "O valiant cousin! Worthy gentleman!" These exclamations show just how happy Duncan is to hear about Macbeth's exploits. Later in the scene, after hearing about their victory in the battle, Duncan exclaims, "Great happiness!" The effect of this exclamation is the same as the effect of the previous one. The audience is left in no doubt as to how happy and how relieved Duncan is that the battle has gone well.

At the end of the scene, there are two rhyming couplets. Speaking about Macdonwald, Duncan says:

go pronounce his present death,
And with his former title greet Macbeth.

Immediately after these lines, there is a second rhyming couplet, this time shared by Ross and Duncan. After Ross says, "I'll see it done," Duncan proclaims, "What he hath lost noble Macbeth hath won." These two rhyming couplets, one after the other, help to give a sense of closure and finality to the end of the scene. Shakespeare often concludes his scenes with a rhyming couplet to suggest this sense of closure and to indicate the end of one scene and the beginning of the next.

Shakespeare's skillful use of literary devices, especially figurative language, is one of the most important factors contributing to the playwright's enduring popularity. Macbeth, Act 1, scene 2 exhibits many classic examples of figurative language, and one of the most masterful literary devices in the passage can be found in one of the Sergeant's rich similes:

As whence the sun 'gins his reflection
Shipwrecking storms and direful thunders
break,
So from that spring whence comfort seem'd to 
come,
Discomfort swells. (25-28)

This simile compares Macbeth's heroic defense against Macdonwald's forces to a brief sun break in a tempestuous storm. Just as the sun can momentarily put a stop to "shipwrecking storms and direful thunders," so too does Macbeth's valor provide respite on the battlefield (at least, as we see later on in the scene, until reinforcements arrive to oppose him).

This simile works as a brilliant literary device, as it adds an extra layer of description and emotion to the scene. By comparing Macbeth's military exploits to stormy weather broken by a ray of sunshine, Shakespeare evocatively brings to life an important plot point using poetic language. In this way, the playwright avoids actually staging a critical action sequence while still exciting the audience.

Macbeth opens to an ominous sight as the three witches' actions and behavior forewarn the audience, amidst the thunder and lightning, that "fair is foul, and foul is fair," (I.i.10). Act I, scene ii introduces King Duncan, who will become Macbeth's primary target and the main obstacle to Macbeth's path to becoming king, although Macbeth will remove him and any other perceived threat along the way.

Literary devices or terms add depth to any text. They also allow for interpretation; therefore, giving the audience a broader visual image. Malcolm uses simile to reinforce the sergeant or captain's bravery when he saves Malcolm. Malcolm says "...like a good and hardy soldier," (4). Although he is already a soldier anyway, Malcolm has made this comparison to suggest that the captain has exceeded expectations by going to great lengths to save Malcolm himself.

The sergeant or captain makes use of simile when he makes a comparison between the tired soldiers and "two spent swimmers that do cling together," (8), suggesting that the soldiers are more than merely tired, being confused and even helpless. Simile is also used when the sergeant extols Macbeth's virtues as he, "Like valor's minion, carved out his passage..."(19) Macbeth is to be emulated, setting an example, having learnt from "valor" itself. Simile and the other devices used in this scene contribute to the intense situation which is developing. 

Act 1, Scene 2, from Macbeth is rich in figurative language. 

Personification

"And Fortune, on his damned quarrel smiling, showed like a rebel's whore; but at all's too weak" (14-15).  Shakespeare personifies fortune, giving it human-like attributes of quarreling and smiling.  The emotions ascribed to Fortune portray 'him' to be contrary, leaving the reader to understand that not only does fate have a role in the play, but also shows itself to be fickle.

Imagery

"For brave Macbeth...disdaining fortune, with his brandished steel which smoked with bloody execution" (16-18).    Shakespeare uses descriptive details that appeal to the audience's emotions and imaginations.  Duncan's captain describes Macbeth as "disdaining fortune," which later proves to be ironic since one of Macbeth's tragic flaws is his ambition.  The description of Macbeth's sword as an instrument of execution foreshadows later murderous events in the play. 

If you can look into the seeds of time
And say which grain will grow and which will not,
Speak, then, to me

A literary device is a tool which, because it is used uniquely from writer to writer, promotes inventiveness and suspense. It allows writers to express themselves distinctively and to create extraordinary situations out of the most mundane or standard occurrences and also from the most heinous and hideous experiences. It also allows writers to introduce drama and intensity and to draw the audience or reader into the center of an event. Whereas in the twenty-first century we are often able to rely on visual effects to create drama to help us visualize what came before or is still to come, historically and in literature, that has to come from clever language use and manipulation.

Macbeth is dramatic in the extreme. Macbeth becomes a killing machine; Lady Macbeth goes insane, unable to wash out that "damned spot" (V.i.33); the witches relish their control over Macbeth who, even for them, represents "something wicked" (Iv.i.45); the woods at Dunsinaine "began to move" (V.v.34). These all represent the clever use of literary devices in creating the intensity of the situation. 

In Act I, scene iii, Macbeth and Banquo, returning from a successful battle, meet the witches on this "foul and fair a day" (38). The audience has no doubt that the scene is quite desolate and dark and indicative of what may follow. Among the many examples of literary devices (including the foul and fair analogy) are simile, metaphor, hyperbole, alliteration; the list is endless. Shakespeare uses personification extensively in Macbeth, famously personifying sleep and, in the scene under discussion, the "insane root...takes the reason prisoner" (84-85). As Macbeth will abandon all reason and Lady Macbeth will go insane, using personification here and giving human characteristics to the insane root and to reason strengthens the conflicting circumstances of a day that is both foul and fair and it forewarns the audience that things are going to change.

Chance is also personified in Act I, scene iii and this is very significant because of Macbeth's reliance on the witches. The audience wonders whether Macbeth will allow time and circumstance to to take effect so that "Chance may crown me, Without my stir" (143). 

Act I, scene 3 in Macbeth uses many literary devices, especially in the witches' dialogue.

"I will drain him dry as hay" (18)-- This line uses simile, comparing the dryness to that of hay.  I like how the witch uses 'hay' in her comparison, something natural and common to the audience, which provides an interesting juxtaposition to the otherworldly strangeness of the sisters. 

"So foul and fair a day I have not seen" (37)-- Macbeth uses alliteration with the repeating consonant sounds which make the words sound similar, but the actual meaning of the words creates a vivid contrast.  This idea of contrast becomes a theme throughout Macbeth, that outward appearance does not always suggest inward motive.

"Into the air; and what seemed corporeal, melted, As breath into the wind" (81-82)-- Macbeth uses simile to compare the witches' disappearance to breathe evaporating in the wind.  The comparison is an interesting one, because Macbeth and Banquo use the natural world (bubbles, water, breath) to explain an unnatural occurrence.  This supports Shakespeare's developing theme of contrasting outer appearance with what is on the inside.

In this scene, we find an interesting use of extended metaphor and a semantic field of money and financial interaction. We can find this between lines 19 and 30, in the conversation between Duncan and Macbeth. Duncan says:

The sin of my ingratitude even now
Was heavy on me: thou art so far before
That swiftest wing of recompense is slow
To overtake thee.

Literally translated, Duncan is saying that the fact that he has been ungrateful to Macbeth—or rather, not rewarded him—is weighing heavily upon his conscience and that Macbeth has so outdone him in doing him good deeds that "swiftest wing of recompense is slow to overtake thee." Here, Duncan uses a metaphor, comparing "recompense," or anything he might do to make things up to Macbeth, to a bird flying swiftly in an attempt to overtake Macbeth's own good deeds towards Duncan. This section from Duncan ends with a rhyming couplet, which usually indicates the conclusion of an argument or train of thought in Shakespeare:

only I have left to say,
More is thy due than more than all can pay.

The construction of the final line utilizes parallelism to draw specific attention to what Duncan is saying: Macbeth is owed more than could be paid by more than all.

Macbeth continues the use of this extended metaphor, that Macbeth is owed dues and should be paid (monetary terms, although Duncan means them metaphorically).

The service and the loyalty I owe,
In doing it, pays itself.

Macbeth responds that the services and loyalty he offers to Duncan are their own reward; the doing of this "pays itself." This is, of course, also dramatic irony, as Macbeth will soon repay Duncan by killing him.

One other literary device occurs in this couplet, found at the end of the scene:

The eye wink at the hand; yet let that be,
Which the eye fears, when it is done, to see. (53–54)

This is an example of synecdoche, a device in which one part of something represents the whole. Macbeth asks that "the eye wink at the hand," expressing a hope that "the eye" (meaning, the whole person) will "wink," or look away from, what "the hand" (meaning, again, the whole person) is doing. Meanwhile, he prays "yet let that be"—let the thing come to pass—which the eye would fear to look upon.

When Malcolm relates a conversation he had with someone who saw the old Thane of Cawdor executed, he says that the old thane died

As one that had been studied in his death
To throw away the dearest thing he owed
As 'twere a careless trifle. (1.4.10-12)

The simile, a comparison of two unalike things using like or as, compares the nobleman, just as he was about to be executed, to someone who has practiced how to throw away his most valued possession as though it were nothing. In other words, then, the thane died with some dignity and honor, without histrionics or drama.  

Then, when Duncan thanks him for his wonderfully loyal service to the crown, Macbeth says,

Your Highness' part
Is to receive our duties, and our duties
Are to your throne and state children and servants,
Which do but what they should by doing everything
Safe toward your love and honor.  (1.4.26-30)

Here, Macbeth uses a metaphor, a comparison of two unalike things where one says that something is something else. He says that it is Duncan's duty to accept the loyalty and service of others and that his subjects have a duty to him, just as children owe to their parents and servants to their masters. In doing everything possible to secure Duncan's safety, they are only doing what duty requires. He compares Duncan's subjects to children and servants in terms of their duty.

"There's no art to find the mind's construction in the face: He was a gentleman on whom I built an absolute trust" (12-15).  In this quote, Duncan uses a building metaphor.  Using the comparison of "construction," Duncan relates knowing the mind of a man to being able to read his face.  He speaks of building trust, but the reality is that Duncan speaks of a man who betrayed him.   He could not rely on outward appearance alone.

"I have begun to plant thee, and will labour to make thee full of growing" (28-29).  Duncan uses a planting metaphor to describe the ways that he will encourage and help his kinsmen be successful.  The metaphor also extends to how Banquo will grow in Duncan's heart.  Banquo responds, still buying into Duncan's comparison, that "the harvest is your own" (34).  The idea of harvest, crops, and planting suggests growth and development, emotionally and socially for Banquo as well as Duncan.

Macbeth also joins in with metaphor of his own as he compares the Prince of Cumberland to a "step on which I must fall down, or else o'er leap" (48-49).  This comparison reveals that Macbeth sees the prince as an obstacle which must be overcome, foreshadowing Macbeth's ambitious desire to reach the throne. 

Personification also occurs in lines 50-52, as Macbeth commands the stars to "hide your fires," so they would not see his "black and deep desires."  Macbeth's address to the stars reveals his true intent, in an aside to the audience.  The stars also symbolize fate.

In this scene, Duncan arrives at Macbeth's castle to be his guest and accept his hospitality. Shakespeare reinforces the irony of this scene every step of the way. The type of irony he uses is called dramatic irony, because the audience knows what Duncan does not: that the Macbeths plan to murder him. 

The first irony is in Duncan's description of the setting. From the very first, Duncan misreads the scene, saying

This castle hath a pleasant seat. The air
Nimbly and sweetly recommends itself
Unto our gentle senses.

In Act 1, Scene 6 ofMacbeth,Shakespeare uses many literary devices to enrich the layers of meaning within his text. 

Personification

In this scene, Banquo uses personification of a bird to agree with King Duncan that Macbeth's castle seems pleasant:

"This guest of summer,
The temple-haunting martlet does approve
By his loved mansionry that the heaven's breath
Smells wooingly here" (4-7).

Banquo extends the personification of the martlet throughout his short speech to Duncan, saying the bird approves of the castle because of the delicate air. 

Simile

Duncan uses a riding jargon as he asks after Macbeth, saying "we coursed him at the heels," meaning they rode closely behind him.  Thinking that Macbeth rode quickly, he compares Macbeth's love "sharp as his spur" which helped him home.  This simile suggests that Macbeth's great love for his home was the driving force behind his fast pace.

In Scene 1, Banquo has a conversation with Macbeth but is not aware that Macbeth is plotting to kill King Duncan. However, the audience is aware of Macbeth's plot. This would classify as dramatic irony since the audience has knowledge of the plot while certain characters in the play are unaware of the situation.

In Scene 2, Macbeth laments about his restlessness and uses a metaphor by comparing his sleep to "great nature’s second course." Lady Macbeth then calls her husband a coward and uses a simile to compare dead bodies to harmless pictures by saying, "The sleeping and the dead are but as pictures."

In Scene 2, Macbeth uses a hyperbole to describe his guilt after killing King Duncan. After Lady Macbeth tells him to wash the blood off of his hands, Macbeth says,

"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" (2.3.60-64).

In Scene 3, Lennox describes the eerie night when King Duncan was murdered. He provides imagery of the chaotic night by saying,

"Our chimneys were blown down and, as they say, lamentings heard i' th' air, strange screams of death, and prophesying with accents terrible of dire combustion and confused events new hatched to the woeful time. The obscure bird clamored the livelong night" (2.3.29-35).

He then employs personification by commenting that the Earth shook and was "feverous."

The literary devices in Macbeth's soliloquy reflect the perturbation of his mind. He begins with a rhetorical question, then, in a technique which is to recur throughout the passage, apostrophizes the dagger, questioning it directly, despite the fact that he has not decided whether it exists.

Macbeth employs apostrophe again and again as he questions the dagger with an assumption of sentience that amounts to personification. He also repeats the words "I see thee still" as epistrophe at the end of two lines, varying this slightly to "I see thee yet" at the beginning of another.

The focus on the dagger at the beginning of the soliloquy is obsessive, but at the end, after he has sharply told himself that there is no such thing, Macbeth turns his attention outwards with allusions, first to Hecate, Queen of the Witches (who is, in fact, a character in the play, though there is no indication that Macbeth knows this), then to Tarquin, the son of the last Roman king. The reference to Tarquin is a particularly inauspicious one, as his dishonorable action in raping Lucretia brought down the royal house of which he was a member. He ends with further apostrophe, asking the earth not to betray him to the stones of the castle walls, and Duncan not to hear the bell. These words give some indication of Macbeth's hypersensitive nervous state, in which the very earth and stones seem sentient and the sleeping Duncan is likely to wake at any moment.

Macbeth personifies the dagger he sees, giving it the human attributes of being able to listen and respond to him. He tells the weapon, "Come, let me clutch thee," as though it could hear him and do as he asks (2.1.45). He continues to speak directly to the dagger, even asking it questions, as if it could answer him. He also uses visual imagery when he describes the "gouts of blood" that appear on its blade and handle (2.1.58). Visual imagery is a vivid description of something one might see. This imagery intensifies the horror of the scene, especially because Macbeth connects this hallucinated dagger to the one he plans to use to kill Duncan. He employs an allusion when he speaks of "Tarquin's ravishing strikes," referring to a sixth-century BCE Roman king who sneaked through his palace to rape a noblewoman (eventually leading to his own downfall) (2.1.67). An allusion is an indirect reference to another text, historical event, or person, etc. In this way, too, Macbeth's words actually foreshadow his own downfall, the path to which begins with his murder of Duncan.

In Macbeth, Macbeth suffers tragic consequences due to his "vaulting ambition" which by his own admittance "o'er-leaps itself," (I.vii.27). He is unduly influenced by the witches and his downfall is set in motion on "so foul and fair a day," (I.iii.39). Ambition is one of Macbeth's tragic flaws. 

Making use of literary devices enhances the drama in Macbeth's soliloquy in Act II, scene i, lines 31-63 as Macbeth must face his fears. He believes that the only way to further his own ambition to be king is to kill Duncan. Visual elements intensify the symbolism as the audience prepares for what will follow. 

Alliteration is evident in this soliloquy; for example, "The handle towards my hand," (34); as Macbeth tries to steel himself for his deed, adding emphasis to what is about to happen and also a rhythmic quality to the soliloquy. "Bloody business," "which way they walk"  and "heaven or hell,"are also examples of alliteration. There is emphasis on blood and Macbeth's confusion is highlighted. 

Repetition is used to great effect and is particularly significant in referring to being able to "see",  a quality that Macbeth sorely lacks in terms of his long term future. He says, "I see thee" (35,40,45) on three occasions and makes references to sight and his eyes. He wonders whether the dagger is real or imagined. He seems to have an awareness but is powerless to fight against it as he is being instructed by some force which "marshall'st me the way I was going," (42). The paradox between appearance and reality is stressed from what Macbeth imagines here and what he sees; I have thee not, and yet, I see thee still,"(35). 

"Pale Hectate's offerings," (52) somehow justify what he believes he must do. Just as she may perform a ritual and offer a sacrifice, so it seems Duncan will be the sacrifice for Macbeth in order for Macbeth to become king. Here Macbeth is alluding to the ancient practices of sacrifice in order to serve an apparent greater good. 

Shakespeare's use of literary devices allows him to describe and explain in vivid detail so that the audience, or the reader can almost participate in the drama. 

Blood/Death imagery is the dominant device: "dagger"; "thy blade and dudgeon gouts of blood,"; "It is the bloody business"; "wither'd murder,"

Heaven/Hell Imagery: "That summons thee to heaven or to hell."

Paradox: "I have thee not, and yet I see thee still."

Metaphor: "Art thou not, fatal vision,"; "A dagger of the mind, a false creation,"; "Nature seems dead"; the bell invites me. / for it is a knell / That summons thee to heaven or to hell.

Rhetorical Question: "Art thou not sensible to feeling as to sight?" "Proceeding from the heat-oppressed brain?"

Personification: "Thou marshall'st me the way that I was going;" "Mine eyes are made the fools o' the other senses,"; "wicked dreams abuse The curtain'd sleep"

Allusion: "Pale Hecate's offerings," and "With Tarquin's ravishing strides, towards his design"

Simile: "Moves like a ghost."

Apostrophe: "Thou sure and firm-set earth, Hear not my steps,"; "Hear it not, Duncan;"

Analogy: "Words to the heat of deeds too cold breath gives."

Hyperbole: "Now o'er the one halfworld / Nature seems dead, and wicked dreams abuse / The curtain'd sleep"

Shakespeare loves to create vivid figures of speech to help get his meaning across. The play Macbeth is no exception. He is able to make them so often that we easily do not realize that we are reading metaphors, similes, and personification unless we stop and read carefully.

In addition to the examples in the above answer, we have several metaphors. In line 92, Macbeth is talking to Donalbain about the fact that his father, King Duncan, has been killed:

. . . the fountain of your blood
Is stopped; the very source of it is stopped.

Fountain here refers to King Duncan, because he is the one who gave Donalbain life. As a fountain pours forth with water, Duncan poured forth his blood to create Donalbain.

In line 96 Lennox is describing the appearance of the guards who have just been discovered dead and bloody. They are being blamed to Duncan’s murder:

Their hands and faces were all badged with blood;

The key word here is “badged,” which means “marked.” By using the word badge we imply that the blood identifies (like a badge would) the identity of the killers and is therefore a metaphor. Shakespeare could have just said that the guards were bloody, therefore they were probably the killers, but that would have been less dramatic and made less of an impression on the reader.

I would identify dramatic irony as the chief literary device used by Shakespeare, particularly in Act 3, scene 4 of Macbeth.

In the banquet scene it is impossible to know if Banquo's ghost is real or a hallucination. The fact that no one sees the figure except Macbeth does not prove it unreal, since ghosts presumably have the power to appear only to select persons and to be invisible to everyone else, and often do so in literature. But it is ironic that Macbeth, in attempting to free himself of his worries by having Banquo killed, has created the opposite result: he has, in effect, caused his guilt to be revealed to the courtiers when he sees the ghost and becomes hysterical. Though at this point Ross, Lennox and the others cannot know exactly what has happened that led to Macbeth's panic, his behavior must at least arouse their suspicions.

The second instance of dramatic irony is Lady Macbeth's reaction to his behavior. Though she is at least partly responsible for the chain of events leading to the crisis at this moment, she is intolerant of Macbeth and condemns him for being a coward. But it is also ironic that although she doesn't see the ghost herself, she seems unsurprised by Macbeth's hysteria and shows not the slightest confusion or puzzlement herself, simply saying to him, "Are you a man?" instead of, for instance, asking him, "What is it? What's wrong?" Last, when she makes excuses to the courtiers, saying,

Think of this, good peers, but as a thing of custom

she's apparently trying to provide a bogus explanation for the strange way he's acting. But ironically, she may be telling the truth about Macbeth's general tendency to go crazy and imagine things—just as he imagined (and she reminds him of this) the "air-drawn dagger" before he killed Duncan. The entire scene is replete with ambiguity as well as irony. We do not know if the ghost is real, yet if it is, there is even the possibility that Lady Macbeth (given that she doesn't find it necessary to ask Macbeth exactly what's causing his hysteria) does see it, but that she is so cold-blooded and so practiced a liar that she can remain perfectly calm and act as if nothing has happened as she gives her reassurances to the courtiers.

There are more literary devices than I can name, but in Act 3, Scene 1, there are three that stand out: alliteration, metaphor, and allusion.  These all relate to the theme of betrayal.

The first literary device that stands out is in Act 3, Scene 1, when Banquo comments to himself on Macbeth’s succession to king.  He shares his suspicions with the audience.

I fear
Thou play'dst most foully for't: (p. 40)

The repetition of initial consonant sounds is called alliteration.  In this case, the alliteration of the f sound at the beginning of “fear,” “foully” and “for’t.”  This reinforces the idea that Banquo is frustrated and angry.  The bitterness comes out through the alliteration.

Banquo also uses an interesting metaphor when talking to Macbeth.

I must become a borrower of the night
For a dark hour or twain.(30) (p. 41)

This is a metaphor because of course you cannot borrow night.  It is also an interesting element of foreshadowing, because Banquo is about to die.

Finally, there are allusions to historical events.  An allusion is a reference to something that happened in the past.  In this case, there is an allusion to another famous betrayal: Ceasar and Mark Antony.

My genius is rebuked, as it is said(60)
Mark Antony's was by Caesar.

As Caesar thought that Mark Antony betrayed him, Macbeth thinks that Banquo betrayed him.  This connects again to the theme of betrayal present so highly in this act.

Another literary device employed in this soliloquy is metonymy. Consider these lines:

Upon my head they placed a fruitless crown
And put a barren scepter in my grip (III.i.65-66)

Metonymy is the use of one idea for something closely associated with it. For example, the saying "The pen is mightier than the sword" has two uses of metonymy. "Pen" is used to represent the written word, which pens are often used to construct, and "sword" represents wars, which are often fought with swords.

So in our example from Macbeth, the crown is an example of metonymy, used to represent his kingship. Scepter, a representation of sovereignty, is also used as an example of metonymy in these lines. He further personifies the scepter, describing it as barren. This indicates Macbeth's agony over acquiring a kingship that he cannot pass on to any heirs. It also is a pun; the outcome of his much-desired goal of kingship has been rather pointless—it has produced no positive outcomes for him thus far.

Also consider the anastrophe in the following line:

For them the gracious Duncan have I murdered;

Anastrophe is the reversal of a typically expected sentence structure. For this sentence, we would typically expect something along the lines of "I have murdered the gracious Duncan for them." In this section of Macbeth's soliloquy, there are several places where the expected order of words is rearranged, and this structure serves to reflect the deteriorating nature of Macbeth's ability to reason effectively.

In this soliloquy, Macbeth muses to himself on how his "fears in Banquo / stick deep" because "in his royalty of nature / reigns much to be feared." These two metaphors imply the depth of character in Banquo, which makes Macbeth anxious: the second metaphor plays on "royalty" (here meaning "supremacy" –– essentially, Banquo has a good and righteous nature in which reigns much for Macbeth to be afraid).

Macbeth also uses allusion to compare himself and Banquo to Marc Antony and Caesar, suggesting that Banquo "rebukes" Macbeth's "Genius." This creates an understanding in the audience of the relationship between Banquo and the king, with Banquo his righthand man and advisor.

Macbeth then reminds the audience that the witches had "hailed [Banquo] father to a line of kings." Using a semantic field of children and fatherhood, he says that his own crown will be "fruitless" and a "barren sceptre" has been placed in his "gripe." The imagery here, particularly "gripe," suggests that the sceptre has not been given to Macbeth, so much as shoved into his bowels as a punishment. This could perhaps even allude to Christ on the cross with his side pierced, suggesting Macbeth's sense of himself as a martyr. Macbeth is certainly concerned that "for Banquo's issue have a filed my mind" –– that is, he has worn down his mind in worrying over someone else's children, although there is, of course, a pun on "issue" here, with the word referring both to Banquo's potential children and to the matter of Banquo.

To be thus is nothing;
    But to be safely thus.--Our fears in Banquo
    Stick deep; and in his royalty of nature
    Reigns that which would be fear'd: 'tis much he dares;
    And, to that dauntless temper of his mind,
    He hath a wisdom that doth guide his valour
    To act in safety. There is none but he
    Whose being I do fear: and, under him,
    My Genius is rebuked; as, it is said,
    Mark Antony's was by Caesar. He chid the sisters
    When first they put the name of king upon me,
    And bade them speak to him: then prophet-like
    They hail'd him father to a line of kings:
    Upon my head they placed a fruitless crown,
    And put a barren sceptre in my gripe,
    Thence to be wrench'd with an unlineal hand,
    No son of mine succeeding. If 't be so,
    For Banquo's issue have I filed my mind;
    For them the gracious Duncan have I murder'd;
    Put rancours in the vessel of my peace
    Only for them; and mine eternal jewel
    Given to the common enemy of man,
    To make them kings, the seed of Banquo kings!
    Rather than so, come fate into the list.
    And champion me to the utterance! Who's there!

1. Metaphor - "our fears in Banquo stick deep"
2. Metaphor - "dauntless temper of his mind"
3. Personification - "wisdom that doth guide his valor"
4. Simile - "then prophet like"
5. Imagery - "fruitless crown", "barren sceptre"
6. Metaphor - "rancours in the vessel of my peace"
7. Metaphor - "and mine eternal jewel
       Given to the common enemy of man,"

Now, YOU try some - first try to figure out what he is saying, then look at the language again and see how these thoughts are expressed poetically. For example, the "fruitless crown" and "barren sceptre" refer to the fact that Macbeth will have no sons to reign after he is gone, unlike Banquo.

See the analysis on eNotes for further help.

Numerous literary devices exist in Macbeth's speech in Act III, Scene 1 of Shakespeare's Macbeth.  I'll start you off with one, metaphor.  When Macbeth says:

Our fears in Banquo stick deep,...

he is comparing the fear he has for Banquo (since Banquo is noble, self-controlled, and wise) to something piercing his body, a dagger or sword, maybe.  His fear is the tenor of the metaphor and "stick deep" is the vehicle.  In other words, Macbeth explains or elaborates on his fear by comparing it to a deep wound.

A second metaphor is used when Macbeth says:

Upon my head they [the witches] placed a fruitless crown,...

Here, his crown is compared to a fruitless tree, of course.

The depiction of Macbeth's ambition is furthered in this speech.  Before he attained the crown, Macbeth didn't give a second thought to the fact that he alone would rule but not his heirs (according to the witches).  But once he has it, as we see, that is no longer enough.

Some literary elements in Macbeth's aside in (1.3.147-63) include:

1. Firstly, it is an "aside" which is similar to a soliloquy in that it is an alone speech given to reveal the internal thoughts of a meditating character.

2. There is a distinctive use of symbolism, with the use of "imperial theme" and the "seated heart knocking at my ribs."

3.  There is hyperbole in how the "horrid image doth unfix my hair / And make my seated heart knock at my ribs."

This can get you started...

When Banquo, speaking to himself, says, "If there come truth from [the Weird Sisters] / (As upon thee, Macbeth, their speeches shine)," he uses a metaphor (3.1.5-6).  He compares the Weird Sisters' speeches to Macbeth—most importantly, that he would become king—to a light that seems to shine on him.

When Lady Macbeth, talking about Banquo, tells Macbeth, "If he had been forgotten, / It had been as a gap in our great feast," she employs a simile (3.1.12-13).  She compares Banquo's potential absence to a physical gap.  In other words, it would have been felt keenly and quite noticeable.

Banquo tells Macbeth, "Let your Highness / Command upon me, to the which my duties / Are with a most indissoluble tie / Forever knit" (3.1.17-20).  Here, he uses a metaphor to compare the strength of his loyalty to Macbeth to a bind that cannot be weakened or destroyed.

In his soliloquy, Macbeth says, "Our fears in Banquo / Stick deep, and in his royalty of nature / Reigns that which would be feared" (3.1.53-55).  Here, he personifies the qualities that Banquo possesses.  These qualities rule Banquo and concern Macbeth a great deal.

Later in this speech, he says, "To make them kings, the seeds of Banquo kings" (3.1.75).  Obviously, he is not referring to actual seeds, but he is substituting "seeds" for "children"—this is called metonymy: when you substitute something associated with the thing you mean for that thing.  

Then, when speaking to the murderers, Macbeth asks, "Are you so gospeled / To pray for this good man and for his issue, / Whose heavy hand hath bowed you to the grave / And beggared yours forever?" (3.1.98-101).  He uses hyperbole, or overstatement, to suggest that Banquo is responsible for the terrible misfortune that has befallen these men (though not quite death) and their posterity forever.

In Act II, Scene I of Macbeth there are these literary devices:

• Banquo, after congratulating Macbeth on being King, speaks to Macbeth in metaphor:  "I must become a borrower of the night" (26) 
• With figurative language, Banquo says that he will be gone for a "dark hour or twain" (27) 
• Macbeth,too, uses a figure of speech as he says, "We hear our bloody cousins are bestowed/In England..." (29-30)
• Macbeth uses a metaphor as he says, "Let every man be master of his time" (40)

IN HIS SOLILOQUY

• Macbeth uses a simile:  My genius is rebuked, it is said/Mark Antony's was by Caesar"  (57)
• Macbeth uses metaphors:  Upon my head they placed a fruitless crown/And put a barren scepter in my gripe [meaning he has no heirs] (61,62)
• Macbeth uses synedoche:  "Then to be wrenched with an unlineal hand" (the hand represents his body and descendants)
• Macbeth uses metaphors: "the vessel of my peace...and mine eternal jewel [soul]" (68-69)

___________________________________________________

• Macbeth employs a simile:  "Ay, in the catlogue ye go for men;/As hounds and greyhounds, mongrels, spaniels, curs...(93-94)
• Macbeth employs figures of speech:  "barefaced power" (119) "dark hour" (137) [Banquo's] soul's flight (141)

The first portion of act 3, scene 1 shows Banquo engaged in a soliloquy, a speech a character delivers when they are alone on stage:

Thou hast it now,—king, Cawdor, Glamis, all.
As the weird women promised; and, I fear,
Thou play'dst most foully for't: yet it was said
It should not stand in thy posterity;
But that myself should be the root and father
Of many kings. If there come truth from them,—
As upon me, Macbeth, their speeches shine,—
Why, by the verities on thee made good,
May they not be my oracles as well,
And set me up in hope? But, hush; no more.

A soliloquy tends to show a character's interior life, suggesting that the audience is being given access to a character's unspoken thoughts. This is a common device in Shakespeare's plays. On a stage, the audience needs the character to address them outright with this information, unlike in a novel or even a film, where the character's inner monologue can be portrayed as only existing in thoughts or voice-over.

Here, Banquo shares his thoughts about the fulfillment of the witches' prophecy in regard to Macbeth becoming king. Since it was prophesied that he himself would be an ancestor to kings, he shares his hope that the same will come to pass for his part of the prophecy. The soliloquy ends with Banquo noticing the arrival of other characters, so he halts his thought process (and therefore, the soliloquy itself) with "hush; no more."

Banquo's hopes are also a clear example of irony. Irony is when an event occurs contrary to what one would expect. Banquo hopes his part of the prophecy will also come true, not realizing that it is his murder at the hands of his former friend, Macbeth, that will make sure it comes to fruition.

Macbeth makes an allusion when he discusses his one-time friend, Banquo. He says,

There is none but he
Whose being I do fear; and under him
My genius is rebuked, as it is said
Mark Antony's was by Caesar. (3.1.59-62)

Macbeth compares himself to Mark Antony and Banquo to Caesar, implying that his fortune and fate will be less than Banquo's as a result of the prophecy which declared that Banquo would father a line of kings, whereas Macbeth would only be king himself. In this allusion, Macbeth compares himself to a famous and talented leader, someone legendary, and so this shows us not only his fear of Banquo's power but also his feelings about himself.

In this same speech, Macbeth describes his tenure as king as a "fruitless crown" (3.1.65). This is an example of metonymy: when something associated with a thing is substituted for the thing itself. The word fruitless signals Macbeth's lack of fertility, the fact that he will not father kings, that he is—in fact—not a father at all, and so he cannot pass on his crown to his line. The word crown signals Macbeth's role and status as king. He is very upset about the fact that he has done so much in order to become king, and it will all be for nothing once he is dead and gone, as he has no heir to whom he can pass on his power.

Early on in this scene, in a soliloquy, Banquo uses the literary device of alliteration. Alliteration occurs when words that begin with the same letter are placed in close proximity to each other. This device is found in lines two and three:

Shakespeare uses extended metaphor in Macbeth's dialogue with the murderers in Macbeth.

In Act 3, Scene 1, when Macbeth interviews his murderers for hire, the murderers affirm that they are men.  To which Macbeth wittily replies:

Ay, in the catalogue ye go for men;
As hounds and greyhounds, mongrels, spaniels, curs,
Shoughs, water-rugs and demi-wolves, are clept
All by the name of dogs.

Macbeth's use of extended metaphor in these lines reveals his cautious appraisal of Banquo's would-be murderers.  The direct comparison between men and dogs suggests Macbeth's shrewd belief that men, like dogs, are not all created in equal respects; just as there are various breeds of dogs, so are there variations among men.

Macbeth continues his extended metaphor as he derives addtional meaning from the comparison.  Some dogs have special talents or gifts "which bounteous nature Hath in him closed", and Macbeth hopes that his murderers-for-hire, like the dogs, have the gift of the "subtle" and "the hunter."

First, Shakespeare gives us two soliloquies almost back-to-back: Banquo's secretive musings on the Weird Sisters' prophecies, which start the scene in an eerie, hushed manner, then shortly thereafter, Macbeth's "To be thus is nothing" soliloquy, which reinforces these musings but from another viewpoint. Macbeth's speech foreshadows the death of Banquo. Also used is repetition, in "To make them kings, the seed of Banquo, kings!" which emphasizes Macbeth's agitated state of mind and conjures up further unease in the audience.

When speaking to the murderers, Macbeth uses sarcasm to inflame the killers toward their purpose ("Are you so gospell'd / To pray for this good man and for his issue"), and also compares the murderers, if they fail to rise to his bait, to various kinds of dogs.

In a device that Shakespeare frequently uses to "punch" the end of important speeches or scenes, this scene concludes with a rhymed couplet, serving to increase the audience's sense of the inevitability of evil and doom that impends.

When Lady Macbeth tells Macbeth to "sleek o'er your rugged looks," she is using a rhetorical device known as anthimeria. Anthimeria is when a writer uses one part of speech to serve as another. "Sleek" is an adjective, but by using "sleek" as a command, Lady Macbeth turns it into a verb, telling Macbeth to smooth his face out so he doesn't give them away. Shakespeare also uses rhymingcouplets to great effect in this scene; in fact, pairs of couplets bookend it. We begin with Lady Macbeth saying "naught's had, all's spent / Where our desire is got without content. / 'Tis better to be that which we destroy / Than by destruction dwell in doubtful joy" and end with Macbeth saying "Good things of day begin to droop and drowse, / Whiles night’s black agents to their preys do rouse.— / Thou marvel’st at my words, but hold thee still. / Things bad begun make strong themselves by ill." In both cases, the repeated couplet shows that the character was not satisfied with their first statement and felt they needed to express themselves further before moving on. Also, of course, the scene contains many vivid metaphors, as when Macbeth says that his mind is "full of scorpions" or refers to life as a "fitful fever." All these literary devices contribute to the sense that things are getting out of control.

In act 3, scene 2 of Shakespeare's Macbeth, an example of apostrophe can be found in Macbeth's last speech of the scene. Macbeth starts and finishes the speech by addressing Lady Macbeth, but he interrupts himself to address the night, which is an abstract concept:

Come, seeling night,
Scarf up the tender eye of pitiful day
And with thy bloody and invisible hand
Cancel and tear to pieces that great bond
Which keeps me pale.

These lines addressed directly to the night enhance the audience's appreciation of Macbeth as a dark character who has associations with dark elements, like the witches and the nighttime. Macbeth is, in a sense, asking the night to do him a favor to help him get rid of Banquo. This request suggests that Macbeth and the night are in cahoots and that they scheme together to accomplish tasks that are too distressing for the sensitive nature of daytime.

In this scene, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are both feeling a great degree of doubt and misgiving about what they have done to attain the throne. Macbeth remembers that the witches’ prophecy did more than just say that Macbeth would one day be king, it also said that one of Banquo’s line would one day be king. This prophecy leads Macbeth to mistrust his old friend. Macbeth’s paranoia reaches its height as he hires murderers to kill Banquo.

The following lines from Act III, Scene II by Macbeth contain two literary devices:

We have scotch'd the snake, not kill'd it:
She'll close and be herself, whilst our poor
malice Remains in danger of her former tooth.

In this quotation, the “snake” is a metaphor that represents the dangers posed to Macbeth as king. The term “scotch’d” probably means “scorched,” and signifies that they have not completely eliminated the danger.

This is also personification, because Shakespeare is saying that the snake will take action like a human would.

Act III, Scene III is very short, as the murderers lie in wait for Banquo. Macbeth has enlisted them to kill Banquo and his Fleance, and thereby render impossible the witches’ prophecy that one of Banquo’s line would someday have the throne that Macbeth now possesses.

There isn’t a lot in terms of literary device in this scene, other than the usual dialogue that one expects in a play. There is, however, a nice piece of imagery early in the scene, when the First Murderer says:

The west yet glimmers with some streaks of day:

Shakespeare could have just had the First Murderer say, “It’s getting late in the day.” But that would certainly not be his style. By describing the appearance of the sky, Shakespeare puts a visual image in our mind. This was particularly important in his day, when the stage productions offered little in the way of scenery or special effects.

In Act III, Scene 3 of Macbeth, the three murderers enter to kill Banquo and his son.  This third murderer has joined the other two from another direction; together, they wait to ambush the nobleman and son. As he and his son are attacked, Banquo cries out,

O, treachery! Fly, good Fleance, fly, fly, fly!
Thou mayst revenge. O slave! (3.3.25-26)

In these lines, the ambushed Banquo cries out to his son to flee as he realizes the treachery of Macbeth. His address to "treachery" is a literary device called apostrophe. Apostrophe is a figure of speech in which a nonhuman quality or thing is addressed as though it were present and able to reply like a person.

In describing his reactions to learning that Fleance has escaped, Macbeth uses similes and metaphors. A simile is a comparison for effect using “like” or “as,” while a metaphor is a direct comparison. Using similes, he compares himself to two kinds of stone, saying he is as “whole as the marble, [and] founded as the rock.” He then uses several metaphors about confinement to describe his feelings: “now I am cabin'd, cribb'd, confined, bound in. ...” This phrase also uses alliteration, the repetition of initial consonant sounds. Omitting the conjunctions between the words, the device called asyndeton, suggests he is rushed or anxious, and the hard “K” sound in those words emphasizes the harshness of his emotion.

Lady Macbeth also uses metaphor in describing the desired environment at the dinner party, noting that “the sauce to meat is ceremony”: if people just ate a simple meal without a pleasant atmosphere, it would be dull. After her husband reacts to seeing Banquo’s ghost, she realizes that he is hallucinating. She uses metaphors to explain this, calling the vision a "painting" and to compare this imaginative act to the previous one:

This is the very painting of your fear;
This is the air-drawn dagger. ...

Additional uses of alliteration appears as Macbeth addresses Banquo, with "B" and "M" sounds repeated:

Those that we bury back, our monuments
Shall be the maws of kites.

Both the "M" and "N" sounds are further used as consonance, the repetition of a consonant sound within a word, in “monuments," in “unmanned,” and in Lady Macbeth’s next line, “What, unmanned in folly?” This repetition creates a flow between his line and hers. Similarly, the use of rhyme connects his "kites" with her "quite."

In this scene, Shakespeare uses the literary device of dramatic irony. We as an audience have been given the information that Banquo is dead, but the guests at the party have no idea of it. They see Macbeth acting very strangely, but he brushes it off as a childhood infirmity. Then he drinks a toast to Banquo. The guests join in, not knowing as we do that the man they are cheerfully toasting is dead. Another example of dramatic irony is that while we as an audience know that Macbeth is seeing Banquo's ghost, the guests are utterly confused and can't understand what Macbeth is going on about.

Macbeth uses hyperbole too in addressing the ghost, stating that even the most fearsome creatures in nature would not be frightening to him when compared to the ghost: 

Approach thou like the rugged Russian bear,
The armed rhinoceros, or th' Hyrcan tiger;
Take any shape but that, and my firm nerves
Shall never tremble.

In Act 3, scene 4, Macbeth uses a series of similes to describe how he feels after he hears Fleance has escaped. He says, "I had else been perfect/Whole as the marble, founded as the rock" (lines 23-24). He later uses a metaphor to describe Fleance's escape; he says, "There the grown serpent lies" (line 31). In this metaphor, he likens Fleance to a worm who will grow into a snake and develop the capacity for venom. Later in the scene, Lady Macbeth says that the ghost and dagger that are menacing Macbeth are "impostors to true fear" (line 77). This is a metaphor in which Lady Macbeth says that Macbeth's fears are not real.

Later, Macbeth says that if ghosts keep springing from graves, "our monuments shall be the maw of kites" (line 87). In this metaphor, Macbeth is comparing graves, or monuments, to stomachs of the birds of prey, which regurgitate parts of what they eat. Later, Macbeth describes the appearance of Banquo's ghost as something that "overcome[s] us like the summer's cloud" (line 136). In this simile, Banquo's ghost is compared to a cloud that overshadows a fair day.

William Shakespeare's Macbeth is filled with examples of literary devices. Specifically looking at Act III, scene iv, here are the literary devices which appear.

Alliteration: Alliteration is the repetition of a consonant sound within a line of poetry. An example of alliteration is found in line 5.

And play the humble host.

Here, the repetition of the "h" sound in "humble" and "host" is defined as alliteration. Another example is found in line 7.

And we will require her welcome.

This time, the "w" sound in "we," "will," and "welcome" is repeated.

Personification: Personification is the giving of human characteristics to non-living/non-human things. An example of personification is found in line nine.

For my heart speaks they are welcome.

Here, Lady Macbeth's statement gives her heart the ability to speak.

Metaphor: A metaphor is a comparison between two things (not using "like" or "as", as with a simile, to make the comparison). An example of a metaphor is found in lines 23 and 24.

Then comes my fit again: I had else been perfect,
Whole as the marble, founded as the rock.

Here, Macbeth compares his prior state of existence to that of a rock. This defines him as being a person who used to be strong.

Later in the act, line 32, another metaphor is found.

There the grown serpent lies; the worm that's fled.

Here, Macbeth compares Banquo to a snake and Banquo's son, Fleance, to a worm.

In Shakespeare's Macbeth, Act III, scene iv, metonymy is used in line 18.

"Metonymy" is a complicated literary device when one first looks at it; but once you can wrap your brain around it, it is easier to see the flexibility and artistry evident in language. Metonymy comes from...

...the Greek [meaning] "changed label"; the name of one object is substituted for that of another closely associated with it...

One of my favorite examples comes from "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock," written by T.S. Eliot:

I should have been a pair of ragged claws

Scuttling across the floors of silent seas. (lines 73-74)

In this example, the speaker notes not that he should be a crab on the sea floor, but "a pair of ragged claws." The claws represent the crab. Why not simply say "crab?" This comes from a poem. Many of the most stunning uses of literary devices are found in poetry because of the freer, more poetic nature of the writing. It creates music for one's ears using words. Literary devices offer insight to much of the most impressive thoughts and expressions of poetic genius. In other words, it sounds better. (And remember, Shakespeare writes poetically in his sonnets and plays!)

You use this device when you speak of eating cookies or brownies. You might say, "I could eat the whole plate." You don't mean to eat the plate, but what is on the plate. This makes the writing figurative rather than literal, which is what literary devices are: creating resplendent images in the mind as we read.

Not a literary device that gets a great deal of attention—like metaphors and similes—metonymy is a wonderful writing tool. Look then, to the quote in Macbeth. The tyrant king has just ordered the murder of his best friend, Banquo. One of the murderers comes to say that part of Macbeth's plan has been carried out: Banquo is dead.

MACBETH:
Thou art the best o’ the cut-throats! (18)

"Cut-throat" represents what the murderer does, but he is a murderer, an assassin. This expression has come to mean the same thing, but the association of the method of murder now represents the label of the person who does the deed.

A more traditional literary device is found in lines 32-34, with the famous extended metaphor that describes Banquo and his son Fleance (and recall that Fleance gets away).

MACBETH:
There the grown serpent lies; the worm that's fled
Hath nature that in time will venom breed,
No teeth for the present.

In this case, remember that a metaphor is the comparison of two dissimilar things that share similar characteristics, and they are presented as if they were the same thing.

Here Macbeth says that Banquo is "a grown serpent." This is figurative, of course. Banquo is not a snake, but had (as Macbeth sees it) similar characteristics. Banquo was dangerous to Macbeth's plan to hold on to the throne. He knew of the witches' predictions and could have questioned how Macbeth became King...did he help Duncan into his grave because the witches prophesied that he would be King? Macbeth kills him because he knows Banquo is honest and would not remain silent.

Using the same comparison ("extending" the metaphor), Macbeth worries because Fleance has escaped. He calls him a "worm," like a baby snake, with "no teeth for the present" (not a danger now), but could be so later—"in time will venom breed." Neither father nor son is a snake of any kind, but Macbeth sees in them danger to his rule as King of Scotland.

Scene 4 of Act III takes place at Macbeth's palace where a banquet has been prepared with Macbeth, Lady Macbeth, Ross, Lennox, Lords, and attendants present.  As the banquet begins, Macbeth is informed by one of the murderers of Banquo that Fleance has escaped.  Although Macbeth dismisses the man, he is visibly shaken; in fact, he later imagines that he sees the ghost of Banquo.  In Scene 4, the phantasmorgic realm dominates Macbeth and he is visibly shaken.  

At the point in which the murderer informs Macbeth that Fleance has escaped, Macbeth employs similes in his remarks,

Then comes my fit again: I had else been perfect,
Whole as the marble, founded as the rock,As broad and general as the casing air: (3.4.23-25)

Similes are stated comparisons between two unlike things using the words like or as. In the above passage, Macbeth compares his nature with "marble," "rock," and "casing air."  But, when he encounters Banquo's ghost, Macbeth's fortitude leaves him.

Some scholars believe that the character of Hecate and the scenes in which she appears were added to Shakespeare's Macbeth by Thomas Middleton (1580–1627) or another playwright at some time after Shakespeare's death. It's for this reason, and for the generally subpar quality of the writing, that this scene is often omitted from modern productions of the play.

Macbeth mentions Hecate in two lines prior to her entrance in the play—"witchcraft celebrates / Pale Hecate's offerings" (2.1.59–60) and "ere to black Hecate's summons" (3.2.45)—but these are passing references with no particularly significance in the play.

In act 3, scene 5, Hecate meets with the three Witches and angrily berates them for daring to "To trade and traffic with Macbeth / In riddles and affairs of death" without her.

Hecate refers to herself as "the mistress of your charms. / The close contriver of all harms" (3.5.6–7), meaning that she's their superior and she's the one who should be organizing the plotting against Macbeth, not them.

This raises a question regarding the dramatic intent of this scene because the Witches don't actually plot against Macbeth. They tell him (and Banquo) their prophecies in act 1, scene 3, then they go away until they appear again in the "apparition scene," act 4, scene 1. The Witches don't otherwise interact with Macbeth.

Hecate suggests that she's going to take a much more active role in Macbeth's fate than the Witches:

HECATE. [T]his night I'll spend
Unto a dismal and a fatal end.
Great business must be wrought ere noon:
Upon the corner of the moon
There hangs a vaporous drop profound;
I'll catch it ere it come to ground.
And that distill'd by magic sleights
Shall raise such artificial sprites
As by the strength of their illusion
Shall draw him on to his confusion. (3.5.20–29)

This is quite a build-up for something that never happens. The audience never sees Hecate use the "vaporous drops profound" to confuse Macbeth—perhaps in a scene reminiscent of Puck putting Oberon's love potion into the eyes of the lovers in A Midsummer Night's Dream.

As for the "artificial sprites," the audience doesn't see them, either, unless Hecate is referring to the apparitions in act 4, scene 1. Even then, Hecate really has nothing to do with that scene. The Witches do all the work with the "poison'd entrails," "Eye of newt and toe of frog, / Wool of bat and tongue of dog," and other savory items that they toss into the bubbling cauldron. Hecate appears to say five lines in the entire scene, does some singing and dancing, and is never seen again in the play.

The quality of the literary devices in act 3, scene 5, is not up to the level of the rest of the play. The alliteration is sporadic, weak, and unimaginative:

How did you dare
To trade and traffic with Macbeth...

The close contriver (emphasis added)

The "Acheron," to which Hecate alludes in her speech is one of the rivers in the underworld. The "pit of Acheron," likely refers to a cave or a pathway that leads down to the underworld.

This is another example of Hecate's "oversell." Macbeth meets the Witches in a cave in the "apparition scene," but neither the Witches or Macbeth make any mention of the cave, which they might be expected to do if the cave was a pathway to the underworld.

The imagery in the scene is also a bit lacking, and somewhat imprecise:

[M]y little spirit, see,
Sits in a foggy cloud and stays for me.

"Foggy cloud" is redundant. Clouds are foggy by nature.

The figurative language of: I am for the air" (emphasis added) and " Upon the corner of the moon / There hangs a vaporous drop profound; / I'll catch it ere it come to ground" (emphasis added) provides an image of a flying witch taking to the air, flying to the moon, and catching one of those "vaporous drops" while it's still in the air.

The "security" in "And you all know security / Is mortals’ chiefest enemy" paradoxically refers to Macbeth feeling safe and secure in his physical environment and in the prophecies and his fate, but Hecate also refers to Macbeth's pride, arrogance, and supreme self-confidence. It's Hecate's way of saying "Pride goes before destruction, And a haughty spirit before a fall" (Proverbs 16:18, KJV).

1. Paradox: Toward the end of Hecate's speech, she says to the Weird Sisters, "And you all know, security / Is mortals' chiefest enemy" (3.5.32-33). This is a paradox because we would consider security to be a wonderful thing; it's something most people we strive for and try so hard to gain. However, Hecate is representing security as our biggestenemy, and this seems like a major contradiction. However, when we consider that feeling secure will allow Macbeth to let down his guard, leaving him vulnerable to being manipulated and overcome, the paradox is resolved.

2. End rhyme: Hecate's speech sounds very chant-like as a result of her use of end rhyme. You'll notice that her lines are delivered in sets of two (called couplets), where each set of two ends with words that rhyme. For example, she says, "Spiteful and wrathful, who, as others do, / Loves for his own ends, not for you" (3.5.12-13, my emphasis). This rhyming makes Hecate's speech seem otherworldly, almost like a spell, which makes sense given who she is.

3. Metaphor: Hecate calls Macbeth a "wayward son," but he is obviously not the son of any of these witches (3.5.11). She means that he is spoiled and stubborn, and so she compares him to a bratty little kid that has developed such entitlement.

4. Alliteration: Near the very beginning of her speech, Hecate employs alliteration, repeating the harsh, plosive sounds "d" and "t" that seem to emphasize her anger: it sounds like she's spitting these sounds out when she asks, "Saucy and overbold, how did you dare / To trade and traffic with Macbeth[?]" (3.5.3-4). The sound device reinforces her feelings.

This scene focuses on Hecate's anger at her subordinates for dealing with Macbeth without involving her, their leader, in their arrangements. The most obvious literary effect in her monologue is the rhyme. She speaks in rhyming couplets. The effect is lyrical and ties in with the rhythmic pattern of the language the witches use when they perform their spells.

It is generally believed that charms have to rhyme and one can note this convention in most literature in which spells, charms and curses are being cast. Furthermore, the belief that there is power in words is further emphasized in the manner that Hecate, as well as the other witches, speak throughout the play.

At the beginning of the play, the witches use the same structure:

First WitchWhen shall we three meet again
In thunder, lightning, or in rain?

Second WitchWhen the hurlyburly's done,
When the battle's lost and won.

And

ALLFair is foul, and foul is fair:
Hover through the fog and filthy air

This is sustained throughout. Note, for example, the first witch's final words to Macbeth:

Ay, sir, all this is so: but why
Stands Macbeth thus amazedly?
Come, sisters, cheer we up his sprites,
And show the best of our delights:
I'll charm the air to give a sound,
While you perform your antic round:
That this great king may kindly say,
Our duties did his welcome pay.

The rhyme emphasizes the supernatural nature of the witches and adds to the eerie atmosphere whenever they encounter Macbeth. The paired rhyme enhances the fantastical nature of all that is happening and is probably the reason why Macbeth was so easily misled. It had a hypnotic effect on the ruthless tyrant for he was overwhelmed by what the weird sisters said and he fell for their wicked charms. It is this which irrevocably led him to his doom.  

In Act III, Scene 5, Hecate is a fourth witch, introduced in this scene; she is angered that she has not been consulted by the three sisters as they have "traded and trafficked" with Macbeth. Furthermore, the three witches have made mistakes.  She tells them, 

And, which is worse, all you have done
Hath been but for a wayward son,
Spiteful and wrathful: who, as others do,
Loves for his own ends, not for you. (3.5.10-13)

"Wayward son" is a metaphor for Macbeth, who has been resistant to the witches' guidance and influence.

So, Hecate tells the other witches that she will conjure "a dismal and a fatal end" for Macbeth. The fate that she will mix up for Macbeth, Hecate declares, will cause him to become overly confident, and

He shall spurn fate, scorn death, and bear
His hopes ’bove wisdom, grace, and fear.
And you all know securityIs mortals’ chiefest enemy. (3.5.30-33)

In this passage, "fate," "death," and "security," "wisdom," "grace," and "fear" are all personified as they are given the qualities of animate beings which can be the recipients of emotion.

Act 3, scene 6 of Macbeth features numerous literary devices in the speeches of both Lennox and the character identified only as “another Lord.” Notable devices are personification, rhetorical questions, irony, synecdoche, alliteration, assonance, and metaphor.

Personification is the attribution of human qualities to animals, inanimate objects, or concepts. Lennox personifies his speeches in saying, “My former speeches have but hit your thoughts….”

Lennox uses rhetorical questions together with irony. Rhetorical questions that may be expected to receive a positive response are often used instead of a statement. Those that Lennox poses are also ironic: he is commenting on Macbeth’s hypocrisy. He wants the Lord to reflect on Macbeth’s behavior, which was meant to cover up his crimes. Lennox asks, “Who cannot want the thought…?” followed by “And did he not straight… the two delinquents tear…? Was not that nobly done?”

Synecdoche is the substitution of a part for the whole. Lennox uses “heart” to mean a feeling person, saying “’twould have anger'd any heart alive….”

Both Lennox and the Lord use alliteration, the repetition of initial consonant sounds. We see this in Lennox’s phrase “Fleance kill'd, / For Fleance fled.” The Lord alliterates both the F and the B sound.

Free from our feasts and banquets bloody knives,
Do faithful homage, and receive free honors….

Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds. In using alliteration and assonance together, Lennox makes his lines flow smoothly. Long E, short A, and short O sounds are repeated. Some examples include: free, fear; receive, free; and, banquets; homage, honors.

Metaphor is a direct comparison of unlike things for effect. For a messenger, Lennox uses “holy angel” to emphasize the moral importance of the message, and "fly" to indicate the need for speed:

Some holy angel
Fly to the court of England and unfold
His message….

At the beginning of the scene and throughout his initial speech with the lord, Lennox uses verbal irony, which means he is saying the opposite of what he really means. For this reason, he adopts a sarcastic tone. The lord obviously understands exactly what Lennox is implying for, at this point in the drama, everyone is aware of Macbeth's malice.

He starts off by mentioning that Macbeth had pity for the kindly Duncan but that Duncan was dead, which suggests that Macbeth's pity had no value and implies that such pity was hypocritical. He then states that Banquo put himself at risk by wandering out at night and that it could be suggested that Fleance, Banquo's son, had killed his father, for Fleance fled after the murder. Lennox ties Fleance's actions to those of Malcolm and Donalbain after their father's assassination. They also fled, so surely they must have killed Duncan—their flight proves this. He ambiguously states that 'men must not walk too late,' suggesting that Banquo and others should have suspected Macbeth's malice from the outset and should have left Scotland before he could harm them, as he and others, such as Macduff (whom he refers to later), had done.

Lennox ironically emphasizes how terrible a deed it was for Malcolm and Donalbain to have killed their caring father. His exclamation that it is a 'damned fact' emphasizes just the opposite. It was assumed to be a fact but was, indeed, not so. He then sarcastically mentions how supposedly aggrieved Macbeth had been by this pernicious deed that 'in pious rage' he tore apart Duncan's two drunken chamberlains for murdering their king. 'Pious' is ambiguous since it firstly suggests genuine outrage and, secondly, hypocrisy. Obviously, Lennox means the second interpretation. He continues the sarcasm by rhetorically asking if Macbeth's retaliation was not noble, suggesting that it was actually the complete opposite—it was a heinous crime.

Lennox suggests that Macbeth had been wise in executing the two chamberlains, for anyone who would have heard them deny their guilt would have been angry. The suggestion here is that the anger would have been directed at them since the circumstantial evidence undeniably proved their guilt, and that knowing someone else and not they had committed the crime would have evoked just as much rage. Lennox states that, overall, it seems as if Macbeth has managed well for himself.

He continues by saying that if Macbeth had had Duncan's sons and Fleance imprisoned, they would surely have also felt the brunt of his vengeance for having foully murdered their parents. The remark is also bitterly ironic, for Lennox is suggesting that Macbeth would have executed the three just as he had executed Duncan's guards, apparently out of moral outrage. The real reason would have been to remove them permanently, for all three would have put him at risk, which they obviously eventually do by rising up against him.

In Act III, Scene 6, Lennox does not believe that the sons of Duncan and Banquo have killed their fathers. He speaks with irony to another lord that Macbeth "nobly" killed the "two delinquents" because anyone would have been "angered" to hear the men deny that they had slain Duncan,

...Did he not straight,
In pious rage, the two delinquents tear,
That were the slaves of drink and thralls of sleep?
Was not that nobly done? Ay, and wisely too,
For ’twould have anger'd any heart alive
To hear the men deny't. (3.6.11-16)

In this passage "the slaves of drink and thralls of sleep" the word slaves is a metaphor for the two servants who were drunken and sleeping and thus were exploited by any one else who was present as they guarded their king.  Within this metaphor, too, is the literary device of personification, which is the attribution of human qualities to inanimate things.  "Drink" and "sleep" are conditions that are personified, for only humans can own slaves.

The scene begins with a double entendre: Lady Macduff says of her son, "Fathered he is, and yet he’s fatherless." She's saying that her son has a father, which, of course, he does, but that his father is as good as dead, because he has been branded a traitor.

After telling her son that his father is dead, she asks how he will live. He says he will live "as birds do" and then clarifies that he will do what he must do to survive. She asks why he doesn't fear danger from the "pitfalls" of life. She is referring both to the difficulties of everyday survival and to the dangers from evil men. Her son is naive and believes that because he is weak and helpless, he is not in danger, as there's nothing to gain by "trapping" him.

The discussion of birds is an extended metaphor throughout act 4. Lady Macduff divides people into birds that are hunters and those that are prey. She scolds her husband in abstentia because he has fled accusations of treason, abandoning his family to danger:

He wants the natural touch: for the poor wren,
The most diminutive of birds, will fight,
Her young ones in her nest, against the owl.

She's not without a point, as she and her family are about to be murdered by Macbeth's henchmen.

Macduff, in the following scene, upon hearing about the murder of his family, continues the metaphor with the exclamation

All my pretty ones?
Did you say all? O hell-kite! All?
What, all my pretty chickens and their dam
At one fell swoop?

He refers to Macbeth as a "hell-kite," basically a hawk from hell, which has swooped upon his harmless and helpless "chickens," or his wife and family.

Macduff's son, the most innocent and pathetic of Macbeth's victims, is referred to by other animal names. His mother calls him a "monkey" for his wit and talkativeness. His murderer refers to him as an "egg" and a "small fry of treason." The first continues the bird metaphor while the second compares him to a newly-hatched fish. These metaphors, taken together, give a sense that Scotland under Macbeth has become a place of slaughter where there are only hunters and prey, who are slaughtered in spite of their innocence.

Referring to her son, Lady Macduff says,

Fathered he is, and yet he's fatherless. (4.2.32)

This is a paradox, a statement that seems to contradict itself but which can be explained and found to be true; after all, how can someone be "fathered" and "fatherless" at the same time? Lady Macduff is angry—very angry—at her husband for appearing to abandon his family in Scotland while a tyrant is on the throne. Macduff, evidently, did not tell his wife about his trip to England to fetch Malcolm home to claim the crown. Lady Macduff now believes him to be a traitor to his family because he has betrayed them by leaving them behind and in danger. Therefore, she tells Ross that her son is "fathered," meaning that he had a father, but that he is now "fatherless" as a result of his father's lack of loyalty.

Further, Lady Macduff calls her son "Poor bird," meaning that he is unfortunate, but her son makes a pun on the word and says that "Poor birds . . . are not set for" (4.2.42). A pun is a joke that exploits different meanings of the same word (or words that sound alike but mean different things).  He uses "poor" in the sense of having no money and suggests that he might be safe from traps and the like because there is nothing to gain by killing him. He's right, but Macbeth is no longer seeking gain, per se; he is seeking revenge and power.

Lady Macduff's son also employs irony when he says that 

the liars and swearers are fools, for there
are liars and swearers enough to beat the honest
men and hang up them. (4.2.62-64)

Irony is created when there is some discrepancy between what we expect to happen and what actually does happen.  We would like to believe that there are more good men in the world than there are bad, and yet this child says what, in this play, seems to be more true: that there are actually more bad men than good—and so, if they got together, they could actually do away with the good people rather than the reverse.

Literary devices are used to add meaning to words.  There are many different kinds.

In line 35, Lady Macduff son enters.  What she first says to him is use of verbal irony.

Father'd he is, and yet he's fatherless.

She is telling him that his father is dead, even though of course he has a father.  What she literally means is that he looks just like his father, and seeing him you see his father.

The first words exchanged with them include a simile, which is basically a joke.

LADY MACDUFF:
Sirrah, your father's dead.(35)
And what will you do now? How will you live?
SON:
As birds do, Mother.
LADY MACDUFF:
What, with worms and flies?
SON:
With what I get, I mean; and so do they.

Her son saying that he will live “as birds do” is a simile, he is comparing how he will live to what birds do.  He will get by where he can.

Lady Macduff  picks up the simile and turns it into an extended metaphor.  A metaphor is a comparison also, but it does not use the word “as” or “like” in the way a simile does.  They continue to talk about his fate comparing him to a bird, and that is what makes it extended.

The conversation continues with the son asking what Lady Macduff  will do for a husband.

SON:
Nay, how will you do for a husband?
LADY MACDUFF:
Why, I can buy me twenty at any market.
SON:
Then you'll buy ’em to sell again.
LADY MACDUFF:
Thou speak'st with all thy wit, and yet, i’ faith,
With wit enough for thee.(50)

Lady Macduff rebukes her son for making a pun about buying and selling husbands, but she starts it.  Her son does not believe that his father is dead, and disagrees that he is a traitor.

The Thane of Ross's description of the current state of affairs in Scotland constitutes situational irony. Situational irony is created when a situation or event is different from, or even opposite of, what we would expect. He says,

But cruel are the times when we are traitors
And do not know ourselves; when we hold rumor
From what we fear, yet know not what we fear . . . (4.2.22–24)

In other words, people are accused of being traitors but have no idea why or what they are accused of doing. Further, people fear the rumors they hear, but they do not know what they should actually be afraid of. One would expect an accused traitor to know what they've done or a fearful person to know what they fear, and so this situation—wherein they do not know—constitutes an irony. This situational irony emphasizes just how corrupt Macbeth's leadership is and how terribly the country has deteriorated under Macbeth's reign.

Ross continues, saying that the citizens of Scotland "float upon a wild and violent sea" (4.2.25). Now, they are not literally floating in the ocean, so we can identify this figure as a metaphor. Macbeth's paranoia and ambition have created such a terrifying reality that Ross compares the corruption of the state to a dangerous, menacing sea that threatens to drown those within it. Again, this emphasizes how bad things are under Macbeth's leadership.

Shakespeare uses an extended bird metaphor throughout Act IV, scene two in Macbeth. The comparison of man to bird begins immediately as the scene opens and Lady Macduff despairs that her husband's "flight was madness" (IV.2.4). 

She goes on to explain to Ross how parents should defend their children, using a wren as a metaphor and example:

From whence himself does fly? He loves us not;
He wants the natural touch for the poor wren,
The most diminuitive of birds, will fight,
Her young ones in her nest, against the owl. (IV.2.11-14)

In Lady Macduff's mind, her husband has acted against nature.  She feels his abandonment keenly.  Her use of the wren metaphor, however, also suggests that she identifies herself to the wren, "the most diminuitive birds," suggesting that she will not run away as her husband has. 

Shakespeare's use of the extended metaphor continues as the son enters the conversation.  When his mother asks him how he will survive without his father, he responds "As birds do, Mother" (IV.2.37).  This comment opens their discussion into more word-play about birds and survival. 

One recurring technique during the conversation between Macduff and Malcolm in act IV, scene iii is the personification of Scotland as a victim, abused and calling out for salvation. MacDuff beseeches Malcolm to act with lines like "(your country) weeps, it bleeds; and each new day a gash is added to her wounds." Macduff also repeats refrains like "Scotland! O, Scotland!" Malcolm follows suit with lines like "Bleed, bleed poor country!" The effect of this technique is to show that Macduff is appealing to the prince's sense of pity and patriotism. He is, in effect, telling Malcolm that seizing the throne from Macbeth is not an ambitious act but a duty, like saving a damsel from a monster.

This alone is not enough to win over Malcolm. Throughout the conversation, we see the prince react to Macduff's overtures first with suspicion (believing the invitation to be a trap laid by Macbeth) and then with protestation that he is not worthy to be king. Malcolm professes that he may even be worse than Macbeth: "my poor country shall have more vices than it had before," "black Macbeth will seem as pure as snow, and the poor state esteem him as a lamb, being compared with my confineless harms." Malcom goes on to list his vices: he claims to be lustful, greedy, violent, and intemperate. Macduff makes a final appeal, calling on Malcolm to recall the goodness of his parents and to consider the reputation of his lineage. These words at last move Malcolm to claim his birthright and to publicly aspire to cast aside his vices.

This conversation is not unlike the courtship of a suitor wooing a maiden. A maiden must protect her virtue and reputation by not giving in too quickly. When she allows herself to be won, it must be for the right reasons. Similarly, Malcolm is by turns cold and then demure toward Macduff but allows himself to be won by his suitor's persistence and appeals to virtue.

This scene gives the reader and strong sense of Shakespeare's attitude toward ambition. He clearly feels that the will to power is unnatural and abhorrent. Many of Shakespeare's villains are driven to evil by such ambition. Claudius kills his brother to get the throne in Hamlet. In Richard III, the eponymous hero climbs over a slew of bodies, including those of his own brother and nephews, to finally get the throne. Richard's deformity, in fact, is basically a metaphor for his unnatural character. In Macbeth, a once-honest and admired man becomes a homicidal tyrant because a prophesy of himself as king drives him mad.

In Malcolm, we see what Shakespeare considers a more appropriate response to absolute power. A good king considers himself unworthy of the throne and doesn't want it. A good king has to be convinced. When the would-be king finally accepts, it is a good thing because it's an act of duty. To refuse in such a context would not be virtuous but cowardly, a betrayal of his country and bloodline.

When Macduff comes to Malcolm at the English court, he describes how terribly Scotland is doing under the Macbeths' reign.  He is desperate to convince Malcolm to come home and overthrow Macbeth, since Malcolm is Duncan's oldest son and the rightful heir to the throne.  Macduff says, "Each new morn / New widows howl, new orphans cry, new sorrows / Strike heaven on the face, that it resounds / As if it felt with Scotland and yelled out / Like syllable of dolor" (4.3.54-58).  In these lines, Macduff uses hyperbole (an overstatement or exaggeration of the truth) to demonstrate just how awful things are in Scotland right now.  It feels like there are new tragedies every day, and the innocent suffer over and over and again.  The hyperbole, thus, emphasizes how badly it feels to be in Scotland right now.  Further, Macduff personifies Scotland's sorrows, making them so significant and profound that they seem to have the ability to reach out and strike heaven's face.  Further, he personifies heaven as being so distraught on Scotland's behalf that it actually cries out in pain for the country.  These all have the effect of highlighting just how quickly and fully Macbeth has corrupted the once-prosperous country as well as how terribly tyrannical Macbeth has become.

One literary technique used very prominently in Act VI, scene 3 of William Shakespeare’s play Macbeth is the technique known as anaphora, when a series of adjacent phrases, clauses, or sentences begin with the same word or words.  Early in the scene, for instance, Malcolm says to Macduff,

What I believe I'll wail, 
What know believe, and what I can redress, 
As I shall find the time to friend, I will. 

Anaphora is used here in the strong emphasis on the repeated word “what.” The use of anaphora is accentuated even further thanks to alliteration in other words – alliteration that echoes the “w” sound of “what” in such other words as “wail” and “will.” These words, in turn, display even further alliteration in their repetition of “l” sounds, sounds that also occur in “I’ll” and “shall.”  In short, this brief passage is brimming with interesting sound effects.

What are some of the psychological implications and emotive effects of Malcolm’s use of anaphora?  In answering that question, one might claim the following:

• The anaphora here makes Malcolm sound extremely determined and emphatic.
• The anaphora also makes Malcolm sound highly logical and rational in his thinking.
• The anaphora also makes Malcolm sound eloquent and self-assured in speech.
• The anaphora also helps emphasize, through contrast, the interrupting, qualifying phrase (“As I shall find time to friend”), so that Malcolm does not sound merely cocky or arrogant. The interrupting phrase implies how particular circumstances may affect his plans. His concession that he will need to adjust to such circumstances implies his humility as well as his wisdom.
• The anaphora helps make Malcolm sound, quite literally, like a man of few words who knows his mind entirely and intends not merely to think or to speak but to act.

SOMETHING EXTRA: In the second half of the twentieth century, the approach to literature known as “formalism” (often also called the “new criticism”) came under heated attack from other adherents of other schools and approaches. Critics of formalism often asserted that formalism was ahistorical, unhistorical, or even anti-historical.  In other words, these critics claimed that formalists ignored how literature was or could be interpreted during its own time. Thus, formalists were alleged to read Shakespeare’s works in ways that were not historically appropriate.

In fact, however, formalism was merely a twentieth-century version of rhetorical criticism, and rhetoric was one of the chief interests of writers and readers during Shakespeare’s age.  Thus, to pay attention to such matters as anaphora, alliteration, assonance, etc., is not to be unhistorical at all – quite the opposite. Shakespeare himself took a keen interest in rhetoric and is, perhaps, the supreme master in the English language of the rhetorical “tropes” (such as metaphors and similes) and “schemes” (such as rhyme and meter) that are of such keen interest to formalist critics.  

In William Shakespeare’s Macbeth, like any other play or book, literary devices can be difficult to find for the unpracticed eye. But the truth is, in any work of literary art every word is part of one literary device or another.

Think of it this way: plot itself is technically a literary device, and everything that happens is part of the plot. Characterization is also a literary device, so everything that a character does or says or experiences is part of its characterization.

You are probably trying to find something more specific, like allusion or symbolism or metaphor, etc. There is not always one of these types of literary devices present in every line of Macbeth, or any other work, for that matter. However, I will tell you that there is an example of a certain type of metaphor called personification within lines 115-131. Look up the definition of personification and see if you can find the example within those lines.

Otherwise, you could think about how these lines advance the plot or serve to further characterize Malcolm or Macduff.

Literary devices are methods an author uses to emphasize a particular idea, action, or event or to convey his or her message. The use of these devices makes it possible for a reader to analyze and critically appraise the writer's effort and purpose.

Below are a few examples of such literary devices in Act V.

Juxtaposition. 

A great perturbation in nature, to receive at oncethe benefit of sleep, and do the effects ofwatching!

The doctor is here, in Scene 1, making a comment about Lady Macbeth's sleepwalking. He contrasts the act of sleeping with her acting as if she is awake. 

Hyperbole (exaggeration)

All the
perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little
hand.

Lady Macbeth, also in Scene 1, is exaggerating the fact that she seemingly cannot remove the smell of King Duncan's blood from her murderous hands. Its stench has become so immersed that it will be impossible to remove.

Metonymy

I would not have such a heart in my bosom for theDignity of the whole body.

Lady Macbeth's gentlewoman, in Scene 1, is using a part (the heart) to represent the whole. She is talking about Lady Macbeth's heart, which is obviously anguished, although it is not just the heart which is in torment, but rather the whole person. 

Repetition

Well, well, well

The doctor is repeating the word "well" here to emphasize his concern for Lady Macbeth's obvious sickness and also to express surprise at the incriminating remarks she is making about her involvement in King Duncan's murder.

Metaphor

He cannot buckle his distemper'd cause
Within the belt of rule.

In Scene 2, Caithness is using a comparison between a belt and Macbeth's destructive belief by saying that the tyrant's evil cannot be tied down as with a belt, which limits or ties an object down. The destruction that Macbeth has initiated cannot now be contained, even though he is king. 

Simile

Now does he feel his title
Hang loose about him, like a giant's robe
Upon a dwarfish thief.

Angus uses a comparison between the power that Macbeth has gained and a large cloak worn by a dwarf. The garment is ill-fitting and uncomfortable. He comments, in Scene 2, that Macbeth has now realized that the power and authority he had so malevolently gained has become too overwhelming for him. He cannot control it and is uncomfortable with it. Such power does not suit him. 

Alliteration

The time approaches
That will with due decision make us know
What we shall say we have and what we owe.

In Scene 4, Siward uses the repetition of the 'w' in these two lines to indicate a positive wish and to emphasize the fact that they have now reached a point where they are ready to go to war against the malevolent tyrant Macbeth.

In Act V, Scene 3 of Macbeth there are also the following:

Metonymy

Macbeth asks the doctor, "Cleanse the stuffed bosom of that perilous stuff/Which weights upon the heart?" (heart represents the soul)

Alliteration

Macbeth says,

"And with some sweet oblivous antitdote..." (repetition of /s/)

"Thou lily-livered boy..." (repetition of /l/)

Parallelism

Macbeth:  "Go prick thy face and over red thy fear"

Assonance

Macbeth:  "As honor, love, obedience, troops of friends,/I must not look to have; but, in their stead,/Curses not loud byt deep, mouth -honor, breath..."  (repetition of vowel /o/)

Personification

Macbeth: "Curses not loud but deep, mouth-honor, breath,/Which the poor heart would fain deny, and dare not." (the heart denies, but only a person can deny)

Macbeth Act V, iii contains the following literary devices:

Nature Imagery: "Till Birnam Wood remove to Dunsinane I cannot taint with fear."

Alliteration: "Then fly, false thanes,"

Hell Imagery: "The devil damn thee black, thou cream-faced loon!"

Verbal Irony (understatement): "Geese, villain?"

Metaphor: "Those linen cheeks of thine Are counselors to fear."

Natural Imagery / Metaphor: My way of life Is fall'n into the sear, the yellow leaf,"

Verbal Irony (sarcasm): "Therein the patient Must minister to himself."

Disease Imagery: "The water of my land, find her disease And purge it to a sound and pristine health,"

Situational Irony: "Come, put mine armor on;" and then "Pull't off, I say."

There are several literary devices in Shakespeare's Macbeth in Act Five, scene two. One occurs as Lady Macbeth's companion reports her behavior to the doctor. The "gentlewoman" confides that Lady Macbeth acts as if she is writing, reading and sealing a letter and then locking it away—but is sleepwalking. The doctor's response is an example of a paradox. A paradox is a statement of truth that at first seems contradictory and untrue. He notes that she is sleeping yet awake.

DOCTOR:
A great perturbation in nature, to receive at once the
benefit of sleep and do the effects of watching! 

How can one receive the benefits of sleep while walking around? How can one watch when asleep? It is only in the circumstance of sleepwalking that someone can be asleep and seem awake at the same time. (8-9)

There is also the use of hyperbole, or exaggeration used for effect, found in the following quote:

LADY MACBETH:
Here's the smell of the blood still. All the perfumes
of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand. (45-46)

The exaggeration is that perfume might cleanse one's hand, but not all the perfume in the country of Arabia could "sweeten" her hand. The exaggeration conveys the depth of the crime that rests upon her soul and that nothing will wipe it away.

In the following, Shakespeare uses personification as the Doctor describes inanimate things as having human characteristics:

DOCTOR:
Foul whisperings are abroad. Unnatural deeds
Do breed unnatural troubles: infected minds
To their deaf pillows will discharge their secrets... (65-67)

"Whisperings" cannot be foul or sweet. They have no physical substance. Use of the word "breed" means to create, but literally, "unnatural deeds" cannot "breed unnatural troubles"—one cannot create the other, as neither has the power to "breed" or create. Deeds also have no physical substance. Personification is used again when referring to "deaf pillows." Pillows can neither listen nor hear; only humans can do these things.

The literary devices used by Shakespeare in the play encourage the audience to imagine through his descriptions what can only be hinted at on stage. The audience responds to these images and in doing so, the players and the plot take on new life and greater depth through each viewer's use of his or her imagination.

With the tragic flaw of "vaulting ambition," Macbeth is led into a series of bloody and phantasmagoric experiences, insomnia, moral turpitude, and madness. By Act V, Macbeth begins to unravel, and the use of literary techniques illustrates well this unravelling. 

In Scene 3 Macbeth has been given reports by his soldiers, and when a servant reports to the king that there are "ten thousand" soldiers [probably a hyperbole] approaching, Macbeth vents his own fear and emotion upon the servant, ordering him to leave because his "linen cheeks [figurative language] of thine/Are counselors [personification] to fear" (5.3.16-17). Then, Macbeth calls for Seyton, another servant. But, before the man arrives Macbeth speaks to him, saying that he is "sick at heart" [figurative language]; further, he reflects that he has lived enough, having fallen "into the sear,"[figurative language for a withered state.] After this, he compares himself to a "yellow leaf" [a stated metaphor, Macbeth=yellow leaf].

When the physician enters, Macbeth inquires of Lady Macbeth's condition. The doctor informs Macbeth that she is not physically ill; however she is troubled with "thick-coming fancies," [figurative language for her mental delusions]. Macbeth responds by asking,

Canst thou not minister to a mind diseased,
Pluck from the memory a rooted sorrow, [implied metaphor: mind=garden]
Raze out the written troubles of the brain... [implied metaphor: brain=mental tablet on which memories, worries, etc. are recorded]
Cleanse the stuffed bosom of the perilous stuff [implied metaphor: Lady Macbeth's heart = "stuffed bosom"; figure of speech: that which bothers her="perilous stuff"]
Which weighs upon the heart? (5.3.40-44)

Then the physician informs Macbeth that the army approaching can be heard. Macbeth orders his armor and declares that he will not be afraid of death and bane unless "Birnam Forest come to Dunsinane"; that is, until the witches prediction that the forest will move [personification]. But, despite his show of bravado, the literary devices employed in his speeches reveal that Macbeth is fearful as he personifies the cheeks of the servant who reports that the enemy approaches as "counselors to fear. Also, Macbeth perceives himself as "a yellow leaf" who is withering and losing its strength. He is also worried about both himself and Lady Macbeth because he is "sick at heart." 

"Literary devices" is a broad term. I see many poetic/rhetorical devices in this scene. To wit: 

Personification: "Our castle's strength / Will laugh a siege to scorn." Neither a castle nor its strength can laugh (a human ability). 

More personification throughout Macbeth's speech: 

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.

Alliteration: In the line above, look at the "s" words. Macbeth uses a lot of "s" words; they make him sound a bit like the snake he has become. 

Also, not the "b"s in this line: "We might have met them dareful, beard to beard, / And beat them backward home." "B"s are brutal sounds when several are combined in a sentence. He's talking about violence here, so it's fitting.  

Simile: Macbeth says there was a time that there was once a time that his hair would stand on end "As life were in't." 

Refrain (repetition of words or phrases at a single place): "To-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow"

Metaphor: Life is a candle. 

Possibly the most common literary devices in literature are the different types of figurative language.

Shakespeare loves to employ figurative language in his dramatic dialogue. The play Macbeth contains a few of his most famous lines and passages, (“Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow,” “Something wicked this way comes,” Out damned spot”).

Act V, Scene VI comes near the end of the play, as Macbeth finally has to come face to face with the characters who are set on overthrowing him. Here are the first lines of the scene:

Macbeth: They have tied me to a stake; I cannot fly,
But bear-like I must fight the course.

There are two literary devices in these lines. First, Shakespeare creates a metaphor when Macbeth says he is “tied to a stake.” This is not literally true; if it was he would be tied up like an animal. But, like all metaphors, it is true in the figurative sense. He is trapped by the army outside his castle. Second, within the metaphor he has inserted a simile: “bear-like.” Here Shakespeare compares himself to a trapped animal who has no choice but to fight--escape is impossible.

Shortly after this, Macbeth and Young Siward fight, and Young Siward is slain. Macbeth addresses Young Siward's corpse:

Thou wast born of woman.
But swords I smile at, weapons laugh to scorn,
Brandish'd by man that's of a woman born.

Lines spoken to an inanimate object or something not present on the stage are called an “apostrophe” (not to be confused with the punctuation mark we use to denote contractions and possession). In this case, Macbeth is revealing his thoughts by speaking to a dead body. Although the body cannot hear him, the audience can. It is a way for the dramatist to reveal the character's inner state.

As the opposing armies make their way toward his stronghold, Macbeth uses a metaphor to describe his situation. He says that his enemies have tied him "to a stake...bear-like." This is a reference to bear baiting, a blood sport popular in Shakespeare's day, in which bears would be tied to stakes and forced to fight off dogs until they finally succumbed. After setting the tone with this gruesome literary device, which reveals Macbeth's state of mind as the battle approaches, Shakespeare uses irony in two places in the scene. First, when Macbeth points out that young Siward, whom he has just killed, was "born of woman," and exits, only to be followed by Macduff, who, we find out, was not born of woman, having been delivered by Caesarian section. Then there is an example of classic dramatic irony. Siward describes the battle in terms that suggest that Macbeth's castle was taken with relatively little loss. "The castle," he says, "is gently surrounded...little is to do." He does not know that his son was among the dead before the castle walls, killed earlier in the scene by Macbeth. These are the main literary devices in this relatively short, but important scene.

Literary devices are methods used by writers to convey a sentiment or mood and to create a specific effect. This helps the reader in analyzing and interpreting the text so that the author's purpose becomes clear. In the final scene of Macbeth, Shakespeare has employed a variety of such devices, of which a few are mentioned below:

Allusion:

The indirect reference to a significant person, act or event of cultural, historical or literary significance.

Why should I play the Roman fool...

In this line, Macbeth is alluding to a Roman soldier who would, as per their custom, rather commit suicide than suffer the ignominy of surrendering to his enemy. He is not prepared to take his own life since he sees this as a foolish act. He would rather courageously fight to the death.

Anaphora:

The repetition of a word or phrase, especially at the beginning of a sentence, to create a literary effect.

And be these juggling fiends no more believed,
That palter with us in a double sense;
That keep the word of promise to our ear...

In this example, Macbeth repeats "that" to emphasize his disgust with the witches' deception and his utter disillusion that he had been so gullible as to believe them.

Juxtaposition:

Creating a comparison between contrasting ideas by placing them next to each other. 

So great a day as this is cheaply bought. 

In the quote above, the words "cheaply" and "great" are contrasted to indicate Siward's sentiment that the day is significant but that its enormous importance is undermined by the ease with which they have been able to attack Macbeth's castle.

There is, however, also great irony (the opposite of what is expected) in his statement, for he soon discovers that his son has paid dearly for their victory because he has been killed by Macbeth.

Exaggeration:

Making something seem worse or better than it actually is.

...your cause of sorrow
Must not be measured by his worth, for then
It hath no end.

Ross, in stating that Siward's sorrow would have no end if he should compare it to the value of his son, is a kindness in which he attempts to bring the grief-stricken lord some comfort when he learns that his son is dead.

Alliteration:

The repetition of the same consonant sound.

And so, his knell is knoll'd. 

The repetition of the n-sound helps emphasize the depth of Siward's grief at losing his son. It is also an allusion to the ringing of a church's bell when someone has passed on.

Rhyme:

The repetition of similar sounds, normally at the end of a line of poetry. 

He's worth no more
They say he parted well, and paid his score

The last words in these two lines rhyme perfectly and the effect is lyrical. The rhyme is used to indicate that Siward is eulogizing his son and he uses the lyrical form to give his words a musical tenor, as in a praise-song. 

William Shakespeare's play Macbeth is filled with examples of literary devices. The following literary devices are found in Act V, scene viii.

Metaphor: A comparison between two, typically, dissimilar things (not using the words "like" or "as" to make the comparison).

Examples:

- "Why should I play the Roman fool and die" (1). Here, Macbeth states that he would not be a Roman fool and commit suicide as Roman fool would.

- "Turn, hell hound, turn!" (4). Here, Macduff is comparing Macbeth to a hell hound. By calling Macbeth a "hell hound," Macduff is saying that Macbeth reminds him of this creature known to live in hell and behave evilly.

Alliteration: Alliteration is the repetition of a consonant found within a line of poetry.

Examples:

- "But get thee back; my soul is too much charged" (6). Here, the "b" sound in "but" and "back" are repeated. Also, the "m" sound in "my" and "much" are repeated.

- "Than terms can give thee  out!" (10). Here, the "th" sound in "than" and "thee" are repeated.

Kenning: A kenning is typically found in Anglo-Saxon texts. This literary device is a two word phrase which elevates the imagery and language of the text.

Example:

- "Your son, my lord, has paid a soldier's debt" (44). Here, the kenning "soldier's debt" refers to death. 

Figurative language is language that is not meant to be taken literally.  It can be a metaphor, which is an indirect comparison where you say something is something, rather than like something.

Since there are some versions of this play where scene 9 is part of scene 8, I have included a link to it to avoid confusion.

Malcolm begins this scene with a euphemism.

I would the friends we miss were safe arriv’d.

They miss their friends because they are dead.  A euphemism is a kind of metaphor used to avoid saying the reality you’d rather avoid talking about.  It is a battle, and soldiers will die.

An example of figurative language from Act 5, Scene 9, is this line from Siward.

Some must go off; and yet, by these I see,
So great a day as this is cheaply bought.

This is a metaphor, because of course you cannot buy a day.  The soldiers are talking about how they wish some of their friends had not been killed in battle.  They bought time with lives.  It is a sad reality.

Malcolm, Siward, and Macduff have a noble cause—to kill Macbeth and take back their beloved kingdom.  However, there is an actual battle going on, and some people will unfortunately die in it.

When Ross tells Siward that his son is dead, he says this:

Your cause of sorrow
Must not be measur’d by his worth, for then
It hath no end.

This too is a metaphor.  Of course young Siward is worth more than his father can mourn.  When Ross says his worth has no end, he does not want Siward to be sad as much as his son was worth, because then he would be sad forever.

Fair is foul, and foul is fair.
Hover through the fog and filthy air (1.1.11-12).

These famous lines of Shakespeare's Macbeth appear very early in the play, and Shakespeare uses these lines to set the tone and mood for the entire play.

What makes these lines so memorable is that Shakespeare uses a remarkable number of literary devices and techniques in just these two short lines.

Consonance is the recurrence of the same or similar consonant sounds within a sentence or line.

Fair ... foul ... foul ... fair.
Hover ... fog ... filthy ...

Consonance is also a type of alliteration, which is the repetition of an initial sound or group of sounds in a phrase or line.

Shakespeare not only repeats sounds, but he uses repetition for entire words (fair and foul).

A paradox is an apparent contradiction, or something that seems like it can't be true.

Fair is foul, and foul is fair.

How can something be both "fair" and "foul"?

Line 11 employs antimetabole, in which words or phrases from the first part of a sentence (or line in a play) are repeated in reverse order in the second half of the sentence.

Fair is foul, and foul is fair.

Line 11 also uses juxtaposition by contrasting the dissimilar concepts of "fair" with "foul" and by repeating the words in reverse for emphasis.

This line also foreshadows uncertainty and disruption. Things are not as they seem, and things can be "foul" or "fair" depending on the circumstances and situation. This also means that things that seem "fair" now, might seem "foul" at some later time in the play.

This applies to characters in the play as well. Macbeth might seem "fair" and heroic early in the play, but he turns "foul," deceitful, and murderous as the play progresses.

Shakespeare also uses a type of symbolism, in which the witches symbolize the archetype of what is generally considered "foul," and Macbeth symbolizes the "fair," even though Macbeth himself later comes to symbolize the "foul."

There's also imagery in these lines. Audience members use their imaginations to "see" what might be hovering "through the fog and filthy air." This helps to create the atmosphere for the play.

Consonance, alliteration, repetition, paradox, antimetabole, juxtaposition, foreshadowing, symbolism,archetypes, and imagery are all used within just two lines.

Shakespeare uses these literary devices and techniques and many others throughout the play, which is what gives depth and meaning to the individuals lines in the play and to the play as a whole.

The literary devices that Shakespeare uses in the "dagger speech" in act 2, scene 1, of Macbeth, aren't limited to the devices that Shakespeare employs within the speech—alliteration, apostrophe, paradox, and allusions to Hecate and Tarquin, for example—but apply to the overall structure of the soliloquy as well:

MACBETH. Go bid thy mistress, when my drink is ready,
She strike upon the bell. Get thee to bed.

Exit Servant.

Macbeth has arranged with Lady Macbeth that she will ring a bell as a signal that she's completed her part of the plan to murder King Duncan, which is to get Duncan's guards so drunk that they fall asleep, then put their daggers where Macbeth can find them so he can use the guard's daggers to kill Duncan.

The servant exits, leaving Macbeth alone, anxiously waiting for the bell to sound.

The following "dagger speech" is structured in iambic pentameter, but Shakespeare molds the flow of the words to fit the content, tone, and mood of the speech, and, incidentally, to suggest how the actor portraying Macbeth should say the lines, and to provide stage directions for the actor as well:

Is this a dagger which I see before me,
The handle toward my hand?

Shakespeare creates an image in the mind of the audience (and in the mind of the actor playing Macbeth) that draws the audience instantly into the speech. The audience "sees" the dagger, perhaps at arm's length in front of Macbeth, the handle pointing in Macbeth's direction.

Shakespeare also imparts a sense of uncertainty with the feminine ending (the unstressed syllable) at the end of the first line:

Come let me clutch thee.

Here, Shakespeare uses single-syllable words to slow down the flow of the speech (a technique that Shakespeare uses quite often in his plays), as Macbeth slowly reaches for the dagger, as the words themselves imply. Another feminine ending ("thee") implies some uncertainty in Macbeth's thoughts and action:

I have thee not, and yet I see thee still.

Macbeth is confused. He reaches out for the dagger, but it isn't really there, and he stops to think about it in single-syllable words as he looks at his hand—"I have thee not"—and then looks back at the dagger—"and yet I see thee still."

Art thou not, fatal vision, sensible
To feeling as to sight? Or art thou but
A dagger of the mind, a false creation,
Proceeding from the heat-oppressed brain?

The words flow quickly, with the use of enjambment, as Macbeth considers what he thinks he's seeing. Shakespeare poses the same question to the audience.

He also poses a question to the actor playing Macbeth. Is the soliloquy projected inward, or does the motivation for the speech come from outside Macbeth? In other words, does Macbeth see the dagger only in his mind, or is it a hallucination, a phantom dagger, placed in front of him by a supernatural force—the witches, perhaps?

I see thee yet

Single-syllable words to slow down the speech as Macbeth looks up at the dagger again.

...in form as palpable
As this which now I draw.

Macbeth slowly pulls out his own dagger. The line has only three feet (iambic trimeter), which draws attention to it.

The line also draws Macbeth from "a dagger of the mind" back to reality (the real dagger in his hand) and back to the reality of his situation:

Thou marshall'st me the way that I was going,(50)
And such an instrument I was to use.
Mine eyes are made the fools o’ the other senses,
Or else worth all the rest.

Macbeth is thinking to himself, his mind wandering a little until he's drawn back to the vision of the dagger yet again, the image of which has become prophetic:

I see thee still,
And on thy blade and dudgeon gouts of blood,
Which was not so before.

There's no such thing.

A definitive, declarative sentence of four, single-syllable words. Macbeth takes charge of his overactive imagination:

It is the bloody business which informs
Thus to mine eyes.

He puts the dagger out of his mind. It's an illusion. It doesn't exist. He can't think about it anymore.

For the rest of the speech, until the bell rings, Macbeth engages in loose word and image association related to the task that very shortly will be at hand.

A bell rings.

I go, and it is done: the bell invites me.
Hear it not, Duncan, for it is a knell
That summons thee to heaven, or to hell.

The time has come. Macbeth has made up his mind to go through with it, with only a slight hesitation at the feminine ending of the first line.

As Shakespeare often does, he ends the scene with a rhymed couplet, here slightly altered in the meter of the first line of the couplet to give a sense of incompleteness to the scene and to lead the audience, and Macbeth, to what happens next.

The unease Macbeth has as he sees a vision of a bloody dagger on the eve of killing Duncan foreshadows Macbeth's bloody future. He will be haunted now by the need for violence, which the bloody dagger symbolizes. The bloody dagger is a literary device: a concrete and memorable symbol or representation of the violent path on which Macbeth is embarking.

Near the end of this soliloquy, a literary device in which an actor who is alone speaks his thoughts aloud to the audience, Macbeth grows more poetic. The passage is below:

..wicked dreams abuse
The curtain'd sleep; witchcraft celebrates
Pale Hecate's offerings, and wither'd murder,
Alarum'd by his sentinel, the wolf,
Whose howl's his watch, thus with his stealthy pace.
With Tarquin's ravishing strides, towards his design
Moves like a ghost.

The repeated "w" sounds at the beginning of words in close proximity are alliterative: they put the emphasis on words with evil connotations: wicked, witchcraft, wither'd, wolf . . . showing Macbeth's darkened state of mind.

Hecate is an allusion or reference to the head of the witches. Although Macbeth will never know it, she will play a strong role in his demise. All in all, this speech creates a mood of anxiety and foreboding, communicating Macbeth's uneasy and frightened emotional state.

1. A motif is an object or idea that continually reappears throughout the work, which has symbolic significance and contributes to the development of a theme. In the first scene of the play, the Three Witches say, "Fair is foul, and foul is fair" (Shakespeare, 1.1.12). This motif essentially means that appearances can be deceiving, and it is repeated throughout the play.

2. Personification is when an idea, animal, or animate object is given human attributes. In Act One, Scene 4, Lady Macbeth utilizes personification by saying,

"Stars, hide your fires; Let not light see my black and deep desires" (Shakespeare, 1.4.52-53).

Light is given the human attribute of sight in this example of personification.

3. Hyperbole is an exaggeration, which is used to add emphasis to a given topic. In Act Two, Scene 2, Macbeth utilizes a hyperbole after murdering King Duncan by saying,

"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" (Shakespeare, 2.2.60-64).

Macbeth is exaggerating the extent of blood on his hands by saying that all of the oceans in the world could not clean his hands.

4. A simile is a direct comparison between two different things using the words "like" or "as." In Act Two, Scene 2, Lady Macbeth uses a simile to compare Duncan's dead chamberlains to harmless pictures. Lady Macbeth says, "The sleeping and the dead Are but as pictures" (Shakespeare, 2.2.53-54).

5. A metaphor makes a hidden or indirect comparison between two seemingly unrelated things, which share some common characteristics. In Act Five, Scene 5, Macbeth is informed about his wife's death and uses a metaphor to describe his negative view of life by saying,

"Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player That struts and frets his hour upon the stage And then is heard no more" (Shakespeare, 5.5.24-26).

Macbeth is filled with imagery: visually descriptive figurative language.  There are many types:

Heaven vs. Hell: "I go, and it is done; the bell invites me. Hear it not, Duncan; for it is a knellThat summons thee to heaven or to hell."

Sound: (as above); "...full of sound and fury signifying nothing..."

Bestial / animal: (Duncan's horses eating each other); ("the raven himself is hoarse...")

Bodily fluids (namely blood): "Can Neptune's great ocean wash the blood from these hands?"

Weather: "So foul and fair a day I have not seen"

Nature (unnatural): "I have drugg'd their possets, That death and nature do contend about them, Whether they live or die."

Equivocations (riddles, paradoxes): "Foul is fair and fair is foul."

Light vs. dark (fire): “The Prince of Cumberland! That is a step on which I must fall down or else o’erleap, for in my way it lies. Stars, hide your fires; let not light see my black and deep desires”

Time (past vs. present): "Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow, Creeps in this petty pace from day to day."

Appearance vs. reality: "Look like the flower but be the serpent under't..."

Sickness / disease: (Lady M's sleepwalking); "Cure her of that..."

Gender (female vs. male): "Shake my fell purpose, nor keep peace between / The effect and it! Come to my woman’s breasts, / And take my milk for gall"

Clothing (crown, robes): "Why do you dress me is borrowed robes...?"

William Shakespeare uses many different literary devices in his tragic play Macbeth.

1. In the very first line of the play alliteration is found. Alliteration is the repetition of a consonant sound within a single line.

When shall we three meet again.

In this line, the "w" sound in "when" and "we" is repeated. This is alliteration.

2. In the very same line assonance is used. Assonance is the repetition of a vowel sound within a single line.

When shall we three meet again.

In this example, the "e" sound is repeated in the words "we" and "three."

3. The play is known for its paradoxes. A paradox is

a statement that is apparently self-contradictory or absurd but really contains a possible truth.

There are multiple examples of paradoxes throughout the play. The most popular are "Fair is foul and foul is fair" and "Lesser than Macbeth, and greater." The first paradox refers to the fact that not all things are as they seem. The second paradox refers to the fact that Banquo may not have a title like Macbeth (which makes him "lesser"), he is a better man than Macbeth (which makes him "greater").

4. Imagery is another literary device used in Macbeth. Imagery is "the forming of mental images, figures, or likenesses of things." Therefore, the opening of the play provides a distinct image for readers, or watchers, of the play:

[Thunder and lightning. Enter three Witches.]

5. Foreshadowing is where the author provides clues, or hints, as to what is to come in the future of the text (or play). Macbeth's hallucination of the dagger provides foreshadowing that a dagger will be used, by Macbeth, to kill Duncan.

6. Symbolism is the use of an object or image to represent something else (this typically alludes to a deeper meaning than on the surface). In Macbeth, the "damned spot" on Lady Macbeth's hand symbolizes her guilt.

7. Personification is the giving of human characteristics to non-human/non-living things. An example of personification in Macbeth is: "Stones have been known to move, and trees to speak." Here, stones can move on their own and trees can talk. Both of these characteristics are not typical of objects, only humans.

8. Rhyme is the repetition of sounds within or at the end of lines. The witches speak in rhyme, which adds to their "realness" in regards to spell casting. The following lines have end rhyme (the ends of the lines rhyme).

And the very ports they blow,
All the quarters that they know.

9. Comic relief is used in the play with the addition of the Porter. The Porter, drunk from the celebrations preceding his scene, offers a comic relief "midst of a serious or tragic[ness]" of the action of the play.

10. A hyperbole is seen when Macbeth asks, and answers, the following question: "Will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood clean from my hand? No." A hyperbole is an exaggerated statement.

There are at least 7 literary devices used throughout Macbeth.  Here are 7 with an example of each.  There may be others, but these will suffice. 

Irony:  It's mostly ironic that Macbeth was named Thane of Cawdor to take place of a man who was treacherous--only Macbeth becomes even worse than treacherous.  He lives to the extent of treachery.

Foreshadowing:  When the reader finds that Macbeth will become "Thane of Cawdor," it foreshadows his future of being King.

Theme:  The overall theme of the play is about ambition and what extreme the characters go to in order to achieve what they want.

Symbol :  The blood on Lady Macbeth's hands represents her guilt in Act III.

Soliloquy: Macbeth's famous soliloquy occurs in Act II when he sees the floating dagger before him and says, "Is this a dagger I see before me?"

Personification:  When the (Act I, Scene 1) scene gives human qualities to the sun in the quote:  "As whence the sun 'gins his reflection"

Aside:  (In Act I, Scene 3) when Ross tells Macbeth of his new title, Thane of Cawdor, Macbeth has an aside that says how he knows now that he will eventually become king because of the prophesies.

A major literary device used in Shakespeare's Macbeth is paradox.  A paradox is a situation that at first appears false but after some thought shows a significant truth.  In the first scene of Act 1, the witches end their meeting by saying, "Fair is foul and foul is fair."  At first, the statement seems false; however, as the events in the play unfold, it becomes clear that the statement is true:  those who appear good and honorable are really ill at heart.  King Duncan gives Macbeth much praise for fighting valiantly for Scotland--he calls him his "worthiest cousin" when he returns from battle.  However, after Macbeth hears the witches' prediction, he cannot abandon his "blackest desires" and plots with his wife to murder Duncan and take the throne.  So, Macbeth who appears to be good and honorable is really ill at heart as suggested by the paradox offered by the witches.

One psychological device Shakespeare uses in Macbeth is the soliloquy. Macbeth's soliloquies reveal his inner deterioration as the play goes on. In an early soliloquy in act 1, scene 7, Macbeth shows he has a conscience. He notes that the bloody deeds he contemplates will come back to plague and poison him, but more importantly he is able to see how good Duncan has been to him and how good a ruler he is in general:

Hath borne his faculties so meek, hath been
So clear in his great office, that his virtues
Will plead like angels, trumpet-tongued, against
The deep damnation of his taking-off

Macbeth, in other words, sees—and feels—clearly that he will be committing an abhorrent crime if he kills a good king. In fact, he talks himself out of the act until his wife pushes all his buttons, persuading him to act.

In his "tomorrow and tomorrow" soliloquy in act 5, scene 5, Shakespeare again shows us Macbeth's inner state of mind. At this point, he has become hardened, his life a misery. He hears of his wife's death but is so dead inside he can hardly react to it. Life has become, as he reveals, a burden to him, and he is simply waiting for death. Nothing about being king has lived up to his expectations. Without this soliloquy, his psychological state would not be so clear to us.

Lady Macbeth's early speech to Macbeth, implying she is more masculine than he is in her hard-hearted willingness to kill the king—and that Macbeth will be unmanned in her eyes if he does not go through with the murder—is another psychological device Shakespeare uses. He shows us clearly how Lady Macbeth, who is not nearly as tough as her speech, is able to manipulate her husband.

Shakespeare uses a metaphor to describe the guilt that haunts Lady Macbeth later in the play: he has her obsessively wash her hands while sleepwalking, trying to wash the blood or guilt from her soul. In fact, this metaphor is so powerful it has entered the common parlance, as when we talk about someone "having blood on their hands" as meaning they are guilty of a crime.