English resources/Macbeth/Quotes
Macbeth quotes, in plain words
Every big quote from the book. Who says it, where, and what it means. Start with the twenty marked with a dot.
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Learn these twenty first
Short. Easy to remember. Between them they cover every theme and every main character.
Fair is foul, and foul is fair
Witches · Act 1, Scene 1 · the supernatural · appearance and reality
Good things are bad. Bad things are good. That is the rule of the play.
So foul and fair a day I have not seen
Macbeth · Act 1, Scene 3 · the supernatural · appearance and reality
Macbeth's first words copy the witches. He has not met them yet.
Stars, hide your fires; Let not light see my black and deep desires
Macbeth · Act 1, Scene 4 · ambition · guilt · appearance and reality
Macbeth asks the stars to go dark. He does not want anyone to see what he wants.
Yet do I fear thy nature; It is too full o' th' milk of human kindness
Lady Macbeth · Act 1, Scene 5 · gender and manhood · ambition
Lady Macbeth thinks her husband is too kind. She wants to make him hard.
Come, you spirits That tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here
Lady Macbeth · Act 1, Scene 5 · gender and manhood · the supernatural · violence
She asks the spirits to take away the woman in her. Then she can be cruel.
Look like th' innocent flower, But be the serpent under 't
Lady Macbeth · Act 1, Scene 5 · appearance and reality
Look like a nice flower. Be the snake under it. That is her plan.
I have no spur To prick the sides of my intent, but only Vaulting ambition, which o'erleaps itself And falls on th' other
Macbeth · Act 1, Scene 7 · ambition
Macbeth has no good reason to kill. Only wanting more. Wanting more jumps too far and falls.
When you durst do it, then you were a man
Lady Macbeth · Act 1, Scene 7 · gender and manhood · violence
She says a real man would do it. He believes her.
Is this a dagger which I see before me, The handle toward my hand?
Macbeth · Act 2, Scene 1 · the supernatural · guilt · violence
Macbeth sees a knife in the air. Real or not, it points him to the king's room.
Macbeth does murder sleep
Macbeth · Act 2, Scene 2 · guilt
A voice says he has killed sleep itself. He will not sleep well again.
Will all great Neptune's ocean wash this blood Clean from my hand?
Macbeth · Act 2, Scene 2 · guilt · violence
Can the whole sea wash the blood off his hands? No.
A little water clears us of this deed
Lady Macbeth · Act 2, Scene 2 · guilt · appearance and reality
She says a bit of water will clean them. In Act 5, nothing can.
To be thus is nothing, But to be safely thus
Macbeth · Act 3, Scene 1 · ambition · kingship
Being king is nothing if you are not safe. So Macbeth must kill again.
O, full of scorpions is my mind, dear wife!
Macbeth · Act 3, Scene 2 · guilt
His mind is full of stings. He stops telling his wife his plans.
Thou canst not say I did it. Never shake Thy gory locks at me
Macbeth · Act 3, Scene 4 · guilt · the supernatural
Macbeth sees Banquo's ghost at dinner. No one else can. They see a king going mad.
I am in blood Stepped in so far that, should I wade no more, Returning were as tedious as go o'er
Macbeth · Act 3, Scene 4 · violence · guilt
He is so deep in blood that going back is as hard as going on. So he goes on.
By the pricking of my thumbs, Something wicked this way comes
Witches · Act 4, Scene 1 · the supernatural · appearance and reality
The witches call Macbeth 'something wicked'. He is one of them now.
none of woman born Shall harm Macbeth
Apparition · Act 4, Scene 1 · fate and free will · the supernatural · appearance and reality
No one born from a woman can hurt Macbeth. He feels safe. He should not.
Out, damned spot, out, I say!
Lady Macbeth · Act 5, Scene 1 · guilt
Lady Macbeth walks in her sleep. She washes her hands. The blood is not there. She still sees it.
Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow Creeps in this petty pace from day to day
Macbeth · Act 5, Scene 5 · fate and free will
Day follows day. None of them mean anything.
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
Macbeth · Act 5, Scene 5 · fate and free will · appearance and reality
Life is a short candle. A bad actor on a stage. Then gone.
this dead butcher and his fiend-like queen
Malcolm · Act 5, Scene 8 · kingship · violence
Malcolm's last word on them. A butcher and his devil queen.
Every quote, in order
All 73, in the order they happen.
Act 1
Fair is foul, and foul is fair
Witches · Act 1, Scene 1 · the supernatural · appearance and reality
Good things are bad. Bad things are good. That is the rule of the play.
When the battle's lost and won
Witches · Act 1, Scene 1 · the supernatural · appearance and reality
A fight can be won and lost at the same time. That is Macbeth's whole story.
brave Macbeth (well he deserves that name)
Captain · Act 1, Scene 2 · violence · kingship
At the start, Macbeth is a hero. He wins the battle for the king.
O valiant cousin, worthy gentleman!
Duncan · Act 1, Scene 2 · kingship
The king loves Macbeth. He trusts him. That is why he dies.
What he hath lost, noble Macbeth hath won
Duncan · Act 1, Scene 2 · kingship · fate and free will
A traitor loses his title. Macbeth gets it. He gets a traitor's name before he does anything wrong.
So foul and fair a day I have not seen
Macbeth · Act 1, Scene 3 · the supernatural · appearance and reality
Macbeth's first words copy the witches. He has not met them yet.
Lesser than Macbeth and greater
Witches · Act 1, Scene 3 · fate and free will · the supernatural
The witches tell Banquo he is lower than Macbeth, but higher too. His sons will be kings.
Thou shalt get kings, though thou be none
Witches · Act 1, Scene 3 · fate and free will · kingship
Banquo will never be king. But his children will. Macbeth cannot forget this.
If chance will have me king, why, chance may crown me Without my stir
Macbeth · Act 1, Scene 3 · ambition · fate and free will
Macbeth says he will wait and let luck make him king. He cannot wait.
Present fears Are less than horrible imaginings
Macbeth · Act 1, Scene 3 · ambition · guilt
Real danger scares him less than the things he imagines. His mind is his enemy.
The instruments of darkness tell us truths, Win us with honest trifles, to betray 's In deepest consequence
Banquo · Act 1, Scene 3 · the supernatural · appearance and reality
Banquo sees the trick. The witches tell small true things so you believe one big lie.
There's no art To find the mind's construction in the face
Duncan · Act 1, Scene 4 · appearance and reality · kingship
You cannot read a face, says the king. Then Macbeth walks in. The king cannot read his face.
Stars, hide your fires; Let not light see my black and deep desires
Macbeth · Act 1, Scene 4 · ambition · guilt · appearance and reality
Macbeth asks the stars to go dark. He does not want anyone to see what he wants.
The Prince of Cumberland! That is a step On which I must fall down or else o'erleap
Macbeth · Act 1, Scene 4 · ambition · kingship
The king picks his son to be next. Now that son is in Macbeth's way.
Yet do I fear thy nature; It is too full o' th' milk of human kindness
Lady Macbeth · Act 1, Scene 5 · gender and manhood · ambition
Lady Macbeth thinks her husband is too kind. She wants to make him hard.
Thou wouldst be great, Art not without ambition, but without The illness should attend it
Lady Macbeth · Act 1, Scene 5 · ambition
He wants to be great. But he is not cruel enough. She thinks cruel is good.
Come, you spirits That tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here
Lady Macbeth · Act 1, Scene 5 · gender and manhood · the supernatural · violence
She asks the spirits to take away the woman in her. Then she can be cruel.
Come, thick night, And pall thee in the dunnest smoke of hell
Lady Macbeth · Act 1, Scene 5 · the supernatural · guilt · appearance and reality
She asks the night to hide the murder. Her husband asked the stars the same thing.
Look like th' innocent flower, But be the serpent under 't
Lady Macbeth · Act 1, Scene 5 · appearance and reality
Look like a nice flower. Be the snake under it. That is her plan.
If it were done when 'tis done, then 'twere well It were done quickly
Macbeth · Act 1, Scene 7 · ambition · guilt
Macbeth wishes the murder could be over as soon as it is done. He knows it will not be.
His virtues Will plead like angels, trumpet-tongued, against The deep damnation of his taking-off
Macbeth · Act 1, Scene 7 · kingship · guilt
The king is such a good man that heaven will cry out when he dies. Macbeth knows it.
I have no spur To prick the sides of my intent, but only Vaulting ambition, which o'erleaps itself And falls on th' other
Macbeth · Act 1, Scene 7 · ambition
Macbeth has no good reason to kill. Only wanting more. Wanting more jumps too far and falls.
We will proceed no further in this business
Macbeth · Act 1, Scene 7 · ambition · gender and manhood
Macbeth says no. He will not do it. His wife changes his mind in forty lines.
Was the hope drunk Wherein you dressed yourself?
Lady Macbeth · Act 1, Scene 7 · gender and manhood · ambition
She asks if his courage was only drunk talk. She is making fun of him.
When you durst do it, then you were a man
Lady Macbeth · Act 1, Scene 7 · gender and manhood · violence
She says a real man would do it. He believes her.
I dare do all that may become a man. Who dares do more is none
Macbeth · Act 1, Scene 7 · gender and manhood · violence
Macbeth says a real man knows when to stop. He loses this fight.
I have given suck, and know How tender 'tis to love the babe that milks me
Lady Macbeth · Act 1, Scene 7 · gender and manhood · violence
She says she would kill her own baby before she broke a promise. This is how far she will go.
But screw your courage to the sticking place And we'll not fail
Lady Macbeth · Act 1, Scene 7 · ambition · gender and manhood
Hold your nerve tight, like a bow string. Then we will not fail.
Bring forth men-children only
Macbeth · Act 1, Scene 7 · gender and manhood
He gives in. He says a woman this hard should only have sons.
False face must hide what the false heart doth know
Macbeth · Act 1, Scene 7 · appearance and reality · guilt
Show a false face. Hide what you really feel. The murder plan is set.
Act 2
Is this a dagger which I see before me, The handle toward my hand?
Macbeth · Act 2, Scene 1 · the supernatural · guilt · violence
Macbeth sees a knife in the air. Real or not, it points him to the king's room.
Macbeth does murder sleep
Macbeth · Act 2, Scene 2 · guilt
A voice says he has killed sleep itself. He will not sleep well again.
Will all great Neptune's ocean wash this blood Clean from my hand?
Macbeth · Act 2, Scene 2 · guilt · violence
Can the whole sea wash the blood off his hands? No.
A little water clears us of this deed
Lady Macbeth · Act 2, Scene 2 · guilt · appearance and reality
She says a bit of water will clean them. In Act 5, nothing can.
My hands are of your color, but I shame To wear a heart so white
Lady Macbeth · Act 2, Scene 2 · gender and manhood · guilt
Her hands are as red as his. But she is not scared. He is.
Confusion now hath made his masterpiece
Macduff · Act 2, Scene 3 · kingship · order and disorder
Macduff finds the dead king. Killing a king breaks the whole world.
There's daggers in men's smiles
Donalbain · Act 2, Scene 3 · appearance and reality · violence
The king's sons run away. Any smile could hide a knife.
Act 3
Thou hast it now--king, Cawdor, Glamis, all As the Weird Women promised, and I fear Thou played'st most foully for 't
Banquo · Act 3, Scene 1 · kingship · fate and free will · guilt
Banquo sees it. Macbeth has everything the witches said. He got it by murder.
To be thus is nothing, But to be safely thus
Macbeth · Act 3, Scene 1 · ambition · kingship
Being king is nothing if you are not safe. So Macbeth must kill again.
Upon my head they placed a fruitless crown And put a barren scepter in my grip
Macbeth · Act 3, Scene 1 · kingship · fate and free will
Macbeth has a crown but no son to give it to. That eats him.
Naught's had, all's spent, Where our desire is got without content
Lady Macbeth · Act 3, Scene 2 · ambition · guilt
They got everything they wanted. They are not happy.
We have scorched the snake, not killed it
Macbeth · Act 3, Scene 2 · violence · guilt
They hurt the snake. They did not kill it. The danger is still there.
O, full of scorpions is my mind, dear wife!
Macbeth · Act 3, Scene 2 · guilt
His mind is full of stings. He stops telling his wife his plans.
Come, seeling night, Scarf up the tender eye of pitiful day
Macbeth · Act 3, Scene 2 · the supernatural · violence
Now Macbeth asks the night to hide his crime. His wife used to say this. They have swapped.
Thou canst not say I did it. Never shake Thy gory locks at me
Macbeth · Act 3, Scene 4 · guilt · the supernatural
Macbeth sees Banquo's ghost at dinner. No one else can. They see a king going mad.
Stand not upon the order of your going, But go at once
Lady Macbeth · Act 3, Scene 4 · kingship · order and disorder
She tells the guests to leave, no matter their rank. Order has broken down.
It will have blood, they say; blood will have blood
Macbeth · Act 3, Scene 4 · violence · guilt · fate and free will
Blood wants more blood. One murder needs another.
I am in blood Stepped in so far that, should I wade no more, Returning were as tedious as go o'er
Macbeth · Act 3, Scene 4 · violence · guilt
He is so deep in blood that going back is as hard as going on. So he goes on.
Act 4
Double, double toil and trouble; Fire burn, and cauldron bubble
Witches · Act 4, Scene 1 · the supernatural
The witches' spell. It rhymes. No one else in the play talks like this.
By the pricking of my thumbs, Something wicked this way comes
Witches · Act 4, Scene 1 · the supernatural · appearance and reality
The witches call Macbeth 'something wicked'. He is one of them now.
none of woman born Shall harm Macbeth
Apparition · Act 4, Scene 1 · fate and free will · the supernatural · appearance and reality
No one born from a woman can hurt Macbeth. He feels safe. He should not.
Macbeth shall never vanquished be until Great Birnam Wood to high Dunsinane Hill Shall come against him
Apparition · Act 4, Scene 1 · fate and free will · the supernatural · appearance and reality
A forest cannot walk, so Macbeth thinks he is safe. The army carries branches.
All my pretty ones? Did you say "all"? O hell-kite! All?
Macduff · Act 4, Scene 3 · violence · gender and manhood
Macduff hears his family is dead. He asks again and again. He cannot believe it.
But I must also feel it as a man
Macduff · Act 4, Scene 3 · gender and manhood
Malcolm says take it like a man. Macduff says a man feels it too.
Angels are bright still, though the brightest fell
Malcolm · Act 4, Scene 3 · kingship · appearance and reality
Even the devil was an angel once. Malcolm tests Macduff. He trusts no one.
Act 5
Out, damned spot, out, I say!
Lady Macbeth · Act 5, Scene 1 · guilt
Lady Macbeth walks in her sleep. She washes her hands. The blood is not there. She still sees it.
Here's the smell of the blood still. All the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand
Lady Macbeth · Act 5, Scene 1 · guilt
Her hand still smells of blood. No perfume can hide it. A little water did not work.
What's done cannot be undone
Lady Macbeth · Act 5, Scene 1 · guilt · fate and free will
She used to say 'what is done is done' to calm him. Now the words are about her.
Those he commands move only in command, Nothing in love
Angus · Act 5, Scene 2 · kingship
His soldiers obey him. They do not love him. That is the difference between a king and a bully.
Now does he feel his title Hang loose about him, like a giant's robe Upon a dwarfish thief
Angus · Act 5, Scene 2 · kingship · appearance and reality
The crown does not fit him. It is like a giant's coat on a small thief.
Canst thou not minister to a mind diseased
Macbeth · Act 5, Scene 3 · guilt
He asks the doctor to fix his wife's mind. The doctor cannot.
I have almost forgot the taste of fears
Macbeth · Act 5, Scene 5 · violence · guilt
Nothing scares him any more. He feels nothing.
She should have died hereafter
Macbeth · Act 5, Scene 5 · fate and free will · guilt
His wife is dead. He says she would have died some time anyway. That is all he says.
Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow Creeps in this petty pace from day to day
Macbeth · Act 5, Scene 5 · fate and free will
Day follows day. None of them mean anything.
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
Macbeth · Act 5, Scene 5 · fate and free will · appearance and reality
Life is a short candle. A bad actor on a stage. Then gone.
It is a tale Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, Signifying nothing
Macbeth · Act 5, Scene 5 · fate and free will
Life is a story told by a fool. It means nothing. This is where wanting more ends.
I 'gin to be aweary of the sun
Macbeth · Act 5, Scene 5 · fate and free will · guilt
He is tired of the sun. He wants the world to end.
Turn, hellhound, turn!
Macduff · Act 5, Scene 8 · violence
Macduff calls him a dog from hell. Not a king.
I bear a charmèd life, which must not yield To one of woman born
Macbeth · Act 5, Scene 8 · fate and free will · the supernatural · appearance and reality
Macbeth still trusts the witches. The next line breaks him.
Macduff was from his mother's womb Untimely ripped
Macduff · Act 5, Scene 8 · fate and free will · the supernatural · appearance and reality
Macduff was cut out of his mother, not born. So the spell does not protect Macbeth.
Lay on, Macduff, And damned be him that first cries "Hold! Enough!"
Macbeth · Act 5, Scene 8 · violence · fate and free will
His last words. He fights even though he knows he will lose.
this dead butcher and his fiend-like queen
Malcolm · Act 5, Scene 8 · kingship · violence
Malcolm's last word on them. A butcher and his devil queen.
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