EN 11 Ms. Vadacchino
Macbeth in 20 Quotations
The play is set in medieval Scotland and opens in an isolated and wild place. Amid thunder and lightning, three witches enter. They have a brief discussion and utter Macbeth’s name for the first time. Their words set the tone for the whole play.
1.Witches to themselves:
Fair is foul, and foul is fair. (1.2)
Meanwhile, a war is waging, and King Duncan of Scotland hears of Macbeth’s valiant fighting and epic bravery on the battlefield. He also hears that the traitor, the Thane of Cawdor has been captured. He decides to execute Cawdor and give his Thane-ship to Macbeth.
2.Duncan to Ross:
Go, pronounce his present death,
And with his former title greet Macbeth. (1.2)
Returning from battle, we finally meet Macbeth and his best friend, Banquo, who run into the three witches from scene one. They are more than a little surprised, especially when the witches start handing out prophesies. Apparently, these witches can see into the future. Things are looking up for Macbeth when they announce:
3.Witches to Macbeth:
All hail Macbeth! That shalt be king hereafter. (1.3)
What would you do if some crazy old hags said you would be king? Would you leave it to fate or would you do something to help the prophesy along. Well, Macbeth just can’t seem to leave well enough alone and begins having dark and sinister thoughts not really befitting a true hero.
4.Macbeth to himself:
Stars, hide your fires!
Let not light see my black and deep desires. (1.4)
Now what could those “deep desires” be, and why does he have to hide them? Could he be thinking about killing the king? Meanwhile, back at the castle – Macbeth’s castle, that is – we meet Macbeth’s wife, Lady Macbeth, arguably one of the best female characters in all of Shakespeare. She’s reading a letter from her husband where he recounts the witches’ prophesies. She knows what needs to be done but fears Macbeth won’t have the balls to do it.
5.Lady Macbeth to herself:
Yet do I fear thy nature;
It is too full o’ the milk of human kindness
To catch the nearest way: (1.5)
So what does she do? She asks for some “help” from the powers above…or would that be the powers below.
6.Lady Macbeth to herself:
Come, you spirits
That tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here, (1.5)
Now why would she ask for that? After Macbeth arrives and the two greet each other warmly, he tells his wife that Duncan and his retinue will be arriving at the castle soon to spend the night. Lady Macbeth has an idea, a deadly idea, to kill the king and ensure Macbeth’s coronation. Didn’t someone else have the same idea? Anyway, she is worried her worthy husband will give the game away. She warns him to…
7.Lady Macbeth to Macbeth:
Look like the innocent flower,
But be the serpent under it. (1.5)
Man, she’s cold. And good thing, too, because later that day Macbeth is starting to have second thoughts. After a lengthy conversation with himself (known in Shakespeare’s parts as a soliloquy) he talks himself out of doing the deed. But, enter Lady Macbeth and all her wily charms to accuse her man of, among other things, cowardliness.
8.Lady Macbeth to Macbeth:
When you durst do it, then you were a man;
But screw your courage to the sticking-place, (1.7)
And it works. Almost. Just before he sets off to off the king he has ANOTHER conversation with himself, this time to psyche himself up to commit the crime. And his imagination starts to get the better of him. Stressed, much?
9.Macbeth to himself:
Is this a dagger which I see before me,
The handle toward my hand? Come let me clutch thee;
I have thee not, and yet I see thee still. (2.1)
Is the dagger truly there or only in his mind? It doesn’t matter because he grabs a real one and kills the king. After a very very tense scene with his wife where they both kind of lose it with blood everywhere, there is knocking at the gate. The king’s peeps have come to wake him up. The gruesome twosome wash up and pretend like nothing has happened. As Macduff, the thane of Fife, goes off to call the king, Lennox, a Scottish nobleman, comments to a now calm Macbeth on how bad the storm is raging outside. Macbeth, waiting for Macduff to discover the slaughtered king, agrees.
10.Macbeth to Lennox:
‘Twas a rough night. (2.3)
You can say that again. The murder is discovered and all hell breaks loose. People faint, more people are killed, and the king’s sons decide to flee the country. Donalbain smells a rat.
11.Donalbain to Malcolm:
There’s daggers in men’s smiles. (2.3)
Suspicion for the murder is cast on the two sons and Macbeth is crowned king. That should be the end of the play right? Wrong. Macbeth starts to become increasingly paranoid and is worried he will lose the crown. He devises another murder. Who will it be this time? You’ll have to read the play to find out. Our once great hero is now a serial killer.
12.Macbeth to Lady Macbeth:
O full of scorpions is my mind dear wife.
There shall be done
A deed of dreadful note. (3.2)
Unfortunately, the dreadful deed comes back to haunt him – literally. During a great banquet attended by all the Scottish nobles, the ghost of Macbeth’s latest victim shows up to drive Macbeth a little more crazy than he already is. Macbeth is the only one who sees him so the guests and Lady Macbeth are getting a bit worried, especially when Macbeth addresses what they think is empty space.
13.Macbeth to Ghost:
Avaunt! and quit my sight! Let the earth hide thee! (3.4)
Lady Macbeth hurriedly ushers everyone out before Macbeth can make a total fool of himself. And in a moment of lucidity he begins to realize how far he has fallen and how much farther he has to fall.
14.Macbeth to Lady Macbeth:
I am in blood
Stepp’d in so far, that, should I wade no more,
Returning were as tedious as go o’er: (3.4)
Meanwhile, back at the cave, the witches are cooking up some stew, complete with “eye of newt, and toe of frog.” They dance around crazily and chant.
15.Three Witches:
Double, double, toil and trouble;
Fire burn, and cauldron bubble. (4.1)
Macbeth barges in and crashes the party, demanding to know more about his future. They comply and give him the good news and the bad news. The bad news is Macduff is going to kill him. The good news is, it’s impossible for Macduff to kill him. Confused? Well, this play is full of paradoxes. Macbeth decides to be on the safe side and have Macduff, and his family, killed. He hires some hitmen to break into Macduff’s castle. Macduff, however, has fled to England to try and convince Malcolm (King Duncan’s son) to return and overthrow Macbeth, leaving his family particularly vulnerable. You can guess what happens.
16.
Murderer: What, you egg! [Stabbing him]
You fry of treachery.
Macduff’s son: He has killed me. Mother
Run away, I pray you. [Dies] (4.2)
Over in England Macduff finally convinces Malcolm to return to Scotland, along with the king of England’s army, to try and defeat Macbeth and assume his rightful place on the throne. Malcolm is only too pleased to comply. He also encourages Macduff to get over the news of his family’s murder by killing Macbeth.
17.Malcolm to Macduff:
Macbeth
Is ripe for the shaking and the powers above
Put on their instruments. (4.3)
Meanwhile, back at the castle, Lady Macbeth has gone insane. The pressure finally gets to her and she paces around the castle endlessly, muttering about how she just can’t get this darn blood off her hands, no matter how hard she scrubs.
18.Lady Macbeth to herself:
Out, damned spot! Out, I say! (5.1)
And, soon after that, she dies. Surprisingly, Macbeth didn’t kill her. He has bigger fish to fry. His troops are deserting him and Malcolm’s forces are approaching. Alone in his castle he has a moment to reflect on life and wonders, what does it all mean?
19.Macbeth to himself:
Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow,
Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor play
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. (5.5)
On that uplifting note, he heads onto the battlefield where Macduff is waiting for him. And now the final showdown, the epic battle between these two arch enemies. Who will win? You’ll have to read the play to find out. They take out their swords and fight.
20.Macbeth to Macduff:
Lay on Macduff;
And damn’d by him that first cries ‘Hold, enough!’ (5.8)