Macbeth Quotes
Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow / Creeps in this petty pace from day to day
This quote from Act 5, Scene 5 of Shakespeare's 'Macbeth' is Macbeth's famous soliloquy upon hearing of his wife's death. The surrounding analysis highlights Macbeth's descent...
The Queen, my lord, is dead.
She should have died hereafter;
There would have been a time for such a word.
Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow
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.
This quote from Act 5, Scene 5 of Shakespeare's 'Macbeth' is Macbeth's famous soliloquy upon hearing of his wife's death. The surrounding analysis highlights Macbeth's descent into nihilism, the futility he sees in life, and the use of theatrical metaphors to express the fleeting and meaningless nature of existence. The quote is spoken by Macbeth (with Seyton delivering the news), and relates to themes of nihilism, ambition, and the use of metaphor and symbolism in Shakespeare's style.
This quote is one of the most famous soliloquies in all of Shakespeare, encapsulating Macbeth's utter despair and nihilism at the end of his journey. Upon hearing of Lady Macbeth's death, Macbeth reflects on the futility and meaninglessness of life. The repetition of 'tomorrow' emphasizes the monotonous, relentless passage of time, which, to Macbeth, now seems empty and pointless. The metaphors of life as a 'walking shadow,' a 'poor player,' and a 'tale told by an idiot' all reinforce the idea that human existence is fleeting, insubstantial, and ultimately without purpose. This speech marks the culmination of Macbeth's moral and emotional disintegration; having sacrificed everything for power, he finds it hollow and is left with nothing but existential emptiness. The speech also serves as a commentary on the human condition, resonating with audiences across time as a meditation on mortality, ambition, and the search for meaning.
Stars, hide your fires; / Let not light see my black and deep desires:
Macbeth privately acknowledges that Malcolm's appointment as heir stands in the way of his own ambitions, and he contemplates committing terrible deeds to achieve the throne,...
DUNCAN:
Sons, kinsmen, thanes,
And you whose places are the nearest, know
We will establish our estate upon
Our eldest, Malcolm, whom we name hereafter
The Prince of Cumberland;MACBETH:
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:
The eye wink at the hand; yet let that be
Which the eye fears, when it is done, to see.
Macbeth privately acknowledges that Malcolm's appointment as heir stands in the way of his own ambitions, and he contemplates committing terrible deeds to achieve the throne, revealing his internal struggle and foreshadowing his moral decline.
Upon hearing that Malcolm is named Prince of Cumberland and thus heir to the throne, Macbeth experiences a profound internal conflict that marks a turning point in his psychological and moral journey. The announcement is a direct obstacle to his ambitions, as prophesied by the witches, and Macbeth immediately recognizes that he must either accept this setback or take drastic, immoral action to achieve his goal of becoming king. The metaphor of a "step" he must "fall down, or else o'erleap" encapsulates his awareness that passivity will not bring him the crown; instead, he must actively intervene, even if it means resorting to murder. His invocation to the stars to "hide your fires" and his plea that "light not see my black and deep desires" reveal his acute awareness of the darkness and moral depravity of his intentions, as well as his desire to conceal them from both the world and himself. The line "the eye wink at the hand; yet let that be which the eye fears, when it is done, to see" suggests a willful blindness to the evil he contemplates, foreshadowing the guilt and psychological torment that will follow. This soliloquy demonstrates that Macbeth's ambition and willingness to contemplate regicide are present before Lady Macbeth's influence, highlighting his agency and the theme of free will versus fate. The passage is also rich in dramatic irony, as Duncan and others remain oblivious to Macbeth's true intentions. Ultimately, this moment sets Macbeth on a path of moral descent, driven by unchecked ambition, and establishes the central conflict between his conscience and his lust for power.
Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player / That struts and frets his hour upon the stage
Macbeth, reeling from his wife's death and the collapse of his ambitions, reflects on the fleeting, performative, and ultimately meaningless nature of life, using vivid metaphors...
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.
Macbeth, reeling from his wife's death and the collapse of his ambitions, reflects on the fleeting, performative, and ultimately meaningless nature of life, using vivid metaphors and literary devices to express his despair and sense of futility.
This passage is a profound meditation on the brevity and apparent futility of life, spoken by Macbeth after learning of Lady Macbeth's death. Overwhelmed by grief and the unraveling of his ambitions, Macbeth uses a series of powerful metaphors and literary devices to express his despair. He compares life to a 'brief candle,' emphasizing its fragility and shortness, and extends this with the image of a 'walking shadow' and a 'poor player'—an inept actor who struts and frets on stage for a fleeting moment before disappearing. The alliteration and internal rhyme in phrases like 'struts and frets' add to the speech's musicality and emotional impact. Macbeth's vision is deeply nihilistic: he sees all human effort as a 'tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.' This reflects not only his personal anguish and loss of hope but also a broader existential crisis, as he confronts the emptiness of his actions and the meaninglessness of existence itself. The speech is also meta-theatrical, drawing attention to the performative nature of life and the blurred line between reality and illusion—a recurring theme in the play. Ultimately, Macbeth's words capture the collapse of his psychological state and the tragic consequences of unchecked ambition, as he realizes that both power and life itself are fleeting and insubstantial.
He's here in double trust:
Macbeth weighs his moral obligations and the trust Duncan has placed in him, recognizing the gravity of betraying both kinship and hospitality. This moment highlights his internal...
MACBETH. He's here in double trust:
First, as I am his kinsman and his subject,
Strong both against the deed; then, as his host,
Who should against his murderer shut the door,
Not bear the knife myself. Besides, this Duncan
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 weighs his moral obligations and the trust Duncan has placed in him, recognizing the gravity of betraying both kinship and hospitality. This moment highlights his internal struggle and foreshadows his psychological unraveling as ambition overtakes his conscience.
In this pivotal soliloquy, Macbeth reflects deeply on the moral and ethical consequences of murdering King Duncan. He recognizes that Duncan is present in his home under "double trust": first, as Macbeth's kinsman and subject, which binds him by blood and loyalty to protect the king; and second, as Duncan's host, which imposes a sacred duty to shelter and defend his guest from harm. Macbeth acknowledges that violating these bonds would not only be a profound personal betrayal but also a transgression against the natural and social order. He further notes Duncan's virtuous and gentle nature, suggesting that such a crime would be met with universal outrage and spiritual condemnation. This moment reveals Macbeth's internal conflict, his respect for authority, and his awareness of the gravity of regicide. It is one of his last moments of clear moral reasoning before ambition and external pressures, particularly from Lady Macbeth and the witches, drive him toward the act. The soliloquy underscores themes of loyalty, hospitality, conscience, and the psychological torment that follows the violation of these values, marking the beginning of Macbeth's tragic descent into guilt and madness.
Present fears / Are less than horrible imaginings
Macbeth's realization that two prophecies have come true sparks his ambition and internal conflict, as he contemplates the possibility and moral cost of becoming king,...
Two truths are told,
As happy prologues to the swelling act
Of the imperial theme!...why do I yield to that suggestion
Whose horrid image doth unfix my hair
And make my seated heart knock at my ribs,
Against the use of nature? Present fears
Are less than horrible imaginings...
Macbeth's realization that two prophecies have come true sparks his ambition and internal conflict, as he contemplates the possibility and moral cost of becoming king, foreshadowing his eventual tragic actions.
Macbeth, having just learned from Ross that he is now Thane of Cawdor, realizes that two of the witches' prophecies have come true. This confirmation makes the witches' words seem prophetic and stirs in Macbeth a powerful sense of ambition. He refers to these fulfilled prophecies as 'happy prologues' to the 'swelling act of the imperial theme,' using theatrical language to frame his life as a play in which he might soon take the role of king. This moment marks a turning point for Macbeth: he begins to seriously consider what it would take to become king, including the unsettling possibility of murdering Duncan. The 'horrid image' that makes his 'seated heart knock at [his] ribs' reveals his deep internal conflict and fear at the thought of such an act. The vivid language conveys his psychological turmoil as ambition and imagination begin to overpower his moral restraint. This passage foreshadows Macbeth's descent into regicide and tyranny, highlighting the themes of ambition, fate, and the dangerous power of suggestion.
When you durst do it, then you were a man;
Lady Macbeth manipulates Macbeth by equating manhood with ruthless ambition and violence, challenging his masculinity to push him toward murder. Her tactics invert traditional...
When you durst do it, then you were a man;
And, to be more than what you were, you would
Be so much more the man. Nor time nor place
Did then adhere, and yet you would make both:
They have made themselves, and that their fitness now
Does unmake you. I have given suck, and know
How tender 'tis to love the babe that milks me:
I would, while it was smiling in my face,
Have pluck'd my nipple from his boneless gums,
And dash'd the brains out, had I so sworn as you
Have done to this.
Lady Macbeth manipulates Macbeth by equating manhood with ruthless ambition and violence, challenging his masculinity to push him toward murder. Her tactics invert traditional values and highlight the toxic dynamics of gender roles and ambition in their relationship.
Lady Macbeth's speech is a masterful and disturbing example of psychological manipulation, in which she challenges Macbeth's masculinity and resolve to push him toward the murder of King Duncan. She equates true manhood with the willingness to commit violent and ambitious acts, suggesting that Macbeth was only a man when he dared to consider regicide, and that to be even more of a man, he must follow through. This argument is deeply paradoxical, as it inverts the traditional and Christian values of the time, which associated manliness with honor, self-control, and humanity, not ruthless violence. Lady Macbeth's rhetoric not only attacks Macbeth's pride and sense of identity, but also undermines his humanity, urging him to abandon his conscience and moral restraint. Her willingness to renounce her own femininity and maternal instincts—claiming she would kill her own child if she had sworn to do so—further highlights the limitations and expectations of gender roles in their society. By belittling and emasculating Macbeth, Lady Macbeth assumes dominance in their relationship, exploiting the toxic dynamics of gender and ambition to drive the plot forward. This moment is pivotal, as it sets Macbeth on the path to regicide and moral decline, while exposing the destructive power of unchecked ambition and the subversion of natural order and gender roles.
The instruments of darkness tell us truths
Banquo cautions that evil may use partial truths to lure people into harm, contrasting his skepticism with Macbeth's ambition and foreshadowing the tragic consequences of trusting...
That, trusted home,
Might yet enkindle you unto the crown,
Besides the Thane of Cawdor. But ’tis strange;
And oftentimes, to win us to our harm,
The instruments of darkness tell us truths,
Win us with honest trifles, to betray's
In deepest consequence—
Banquo cautions that evil may use partial truths to lure people into harm, contrasting his skepticism with Macbeth's ambition and foreshadowing the tragic consequences of trusting deceptive appearances.
Banquo's warning to Macbeth, delivered after the witches' prophecies, reveals his deep skepticism and wisdom in the face of the supernatural. He cautions that the 'instruments of darkness'—the witches—may tell partial truths or 'honest trifles' to gain trust, only to ultimately lead people to ruin by betraying them in matters of great consequence. Banquo's insight highlights the theme of equivocation and the deceptive nature of evil, which is woven throughout the play. His words serve as a voice of reason, urging caution and suspicion, and stand in stark contrast to Macbeth's ambitious and credulous response to the witches' predictions. This moment not only foreshadows Macbeth's tragic downfall as he becomes consumed by ambition and acts on the witches' words, but also sets up a central conflict between moral integrity and unchecked desire. Banquo's skepticism and moral caution underscore the dangers of temptation, deception, and the seductive power of evil, while also exploring the motif of appearance versus reality. Ultimately, Banquo's warning encapsulates the play's exploration of how evil can manipulate through half-truths, leading to disastrous consequences for those who fail to heed such caution.
Come, you spirits / That tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here
Lady Macbeth's plea to be stripped of feminine qualities and filled with cruelty exposes her ambition and willingness to reject traditional gender roles, aligning her with...
Come, you spirits That tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here, And fill me from the crown to the toe top-full Of direst cruelty. Make thick my blood. Stop up the access and passage to remorse, That no compunctious visitings of nature Shake my fell purpose, nor keep peace between The effect and it! Come to my woman’s breasts, And take my milk for gall, you murd'ring ministers, Wherever in your sightless substances You wait on nature’s mischief. Come, thick night, And pall thee in the dunnest smoke of hell, That my keen knife see not the wound it makes, Nor heaven peep through the blanket of the dark To cry “Hold, hold!”
Lady Macbeth's plea to be stripped of feminine qualities and filled with cruelty exposes her ambition and willingness to reject traditional gender roles, aligning her with supernatural forces and setting the stage for the play's exploration of power, morality, and the consequences of transgressing natural and social boundaries.
Lady Macbeth's soliloquy, in which she implores supernatural forces to "unsex" her and fill her with "direst cruelty," is a defining moment that reveals the depth of her ambition and her willingness to transgress both moral and gender boundaries. She recognizes that the qualities traditionally associated with femininity—compassion, nurturing, and remorse—are obstacles to the ruthless act of regicide she is determined to commit. By asking to be stripped of her womanhood and to have her "milk for gall," Lady Macbeth seeks to embody the masculine traits of brutality and resolve, which she believes are necessary for seizing power. This invocation of dark spirits not only underscores her rejection of societal expectations for women but also aligns her with the supernatural elements of the play, particularly the witches, who themselves blur gender lines and represent unnatural influences. The imagery of thickened blood and the desire to suppress any "compunctious visitings of nature" highlight her determination to silence her conscience and pursue her ambitions at any cost. This speech is pivotal in establishing Lady Macbeth as a driving force behind Macbeth's actions, setting the stage for the play's exploration of the corrupting influence of unchecked ambition, the subversion of natural order, and the psychological consequences of denying one's own humanity.
For brave Macbeth--well he deserves that name--
Macbeth is introduced as a courageous and honorable warrior, admired for his bravery and effectiveness in battle. His celebrated violence, initially seen as a virtue, foreshadows...
... but all's too weak:
For brave Macbeth--well he deserves that name--
Disdaining fortune, with his brandish'd steel,
Which smoked with bloody execution,
Like valour's minion carved out his passage
Till he faced the slave;
Which ne'er shook hands, nor bade farewell to him,
Till he unseam'd him from the nave to the chaps,
And fix'd his head upon our battlements.
O valiant cousin! worthy gentleman!
Macbeth is introduced as a courageous and honorable warrior, admired for his bravery and effectiveness in battle. His celebrated violence, initially seen as a virtue, foreshadows the tragic transformation of his character, highlighting the play's exploration of the fine line between heroism and brutality, and the dangers of unchecked ambition.
This passage, spoken by the Sergeant (or Captain) in Act 1, Scene 2, is a vivid and powerful account of Macbeth's valor and brutality on the battlefield. The Sergeant describes Macbeth as 'brave' and 'valor's minion,' emphasizing that his reputation for courage is well-earned through his actions. The imagery—his sword 'smoked with bloody execution,' and he 'unseam'd' his enemy from 'the nave to the chaps'—highlights both his martial prowess and his capacity for ruthless violence. Macbeth's willingness to risk his life for king and country, and his effectiveness in battle, earn him admiration and respect from his peers and King Duncan, who calls him a 'valiant cousin' and 'worthy gentleman.' This early depiction of Macbeth as an honorable and loyal hero is crucial, as it sets up a stark contrast with his later moral decline. The cultural context of the play equates martial skill and even brutality with heroism, suggesting that violence, when in service of one's country, is a celebrated virtue. However, this same capacity for violence foreshadows the tragic arc of Macbeth's character, as his 'virtue' of courage transforms into the 'vice' of ruthless ambition and tyranny. The passage thus introduces key themes of the play: the duality of virtue and vice, the fine line between heroism and savagery, and the corrupting influence of unchecked ambition and power.
Be bloody, bold, and resolute; laugh to scorn / The power of man, for none of woman born / Shall...
The prophecy is an ambiguous and deceptive statement that gives Macbeth false confidence, leading him to believe he is invincible. Its equivocation is central to the play's themes...
SECOND APPARITION. Be bloody, bold, and resolute; laugh to
scorn
The power of man, for none of woman born
Shall harm Macbeth.MACBETH. Then live, Macduff. What need I fear of thee?
But yet I'll make assurance double sure,
And take a bond of fate: thou shalt not live,
That I may tell pale-hearted fear it lies,
And sleep in spite of thunder.
The prophecy is an ambiguous and deceptive statement that gives Macbeth false confidence, leading him to believe he is invincible. Its equivocation is central to the play's themes of fate, free will, and deception, and it foreshadows Macbeth's downfall at the hands of Macduff, who was not 'of woman born' in the usual sense.
The Second Apparition's prophecy, delivered in the form of the words "Be bloody, bold, and resolute; laugh to scorn the power of man, for none of woman born shall harm Macbeth," is a masterful example of equivocation and dramatic irony. The prophecy is intentionally ambiguous, exploiting Macbeth's assumptions and fueling his overconfidence. Macbeth interprets the statement literally, believing it guarantees his invincibility since he assumes all men are born of women. This false sense of security emboldens him to act with increasing ruthlessness and disregard for real threats, particularly from Macduff. However, the prophecy is based on a technicality: Macduff was delivered by Caesarean section and thus not "born of woman" in the usual sense. This loophole is only revealed at the climax of the play, leading to Macbeth's shock and ultimate defeat. The prophecy's ambiguity and the witches' manipulation highlight central themes of the play, including the tension between fate and free will, the dangers of misinterpretation and overconfidence, and the deceptive power of language. The witches' use of paradox and verbal irony not only misleads Macbeth but also demonstrates how prophecies can be self-fulfilling when characters act on their flawed interpretations. Ultimately, the prophecy foreshadows Macbeth's downfall and serves as a cautionary example of the perils of hubris and the limits of human understanding in the face of ambiguous or supernatural guidance.
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