best macbeth essays

129 Macbeth Essay Topic Ideas & Examples

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Writing an essay on Shakespearean tragedies may be tricky for some students. There are a lot of ideas to put in your paper, and that may puzzle you. That’s why we’ve prepared a short guide on how to write Macbeth essay.

Macbeth is a tragedy by William Shakespeare based on the true story of Scottish king Macbeth. The play tells us about a Scottish general who heard a prophecy from a trio of witches and decided to bring predictions to fulfillment. This is a drama about the jeopardy of excessive lust for power and betrayal of friends.

Some researchers state that William Shakespeare adopted the plot from Holinshed’s Chronicles, a popular history of England, while others argue that the plot of the play was borrowed from George Buchanan. Before you start your Macbeth essay, you should do thorough research on facts and fiction around the play.

To give you ideas on how and what to write in your essay, check the tips below:

• Check our Macbeth essay samples to acquire knowledge on characters: Macbeth, Lady Macbeth, King Duncan, Banquo, Malcolm, Macduff, Three Witches, and others. Each character is unique, and it’s quite easy to write a paper on each of them. Make a meticulous analysis of each of them, if you decide to write an essay on Macbeth characters. Use dialogues and monologues as supporting arguments to your ideas.
• In your Macbeth essay introduction provide readers with the thesis statement and a summary you’re going to discuss in the paper. Specify what exactly you will depict or analyze. Sometimes, you may need to write the intro after you finish the body and already have done an in-depth analysis of text and critique materials.
• When writing body paragraphs, describe the essay topic in detail. Start each section with a short statement, provide a supporting quote, explain it, and make a conclusion. You can always analyze IvyPanda Macbeth essay titles to learn various points of view on each character and event.
• In the Macbeth essay conclusion, reiterate a topic and your analysis. You should not only summarize the information you’ve gathered and analyzed in the paper body. You have to get back to the intro and provide clear and extensive answers on the questions you raised. Try not to leave any further questions for your readers. Here’s the secret: some professors read the conclusion first. So make it persuasive and give a complete portion of information.

You may be wondering how to use essay examples that you may find on our website. It is super easy. First of all, look through the titles to get some topic ideas.

Then, look through the sample and learn how to create your outline. Think about what you can write in your essay. Check the bibliography: there you can find useful sources for the research.

Indeed, any paper on Shakespeare’s play may concern a variety of topics. So check out our Macbeth essay examples and think of the topics which you can choose.

• Dramatic Irony in Macbeth Essay Shakespeare uses dramatic irony to amuse the audience and to show the level of deception developed by the main character. The porter gives a clear picture of what is about to happen.
• Betrayal in Shakespeare’s “Macbeth” The betrayer, Macbeth betrays the King, friend and other subjects in the kingdom. However when Macbeth is told he has just been chosen as the Thane of Cawdor, scenes of the possibilities of him as […]
• Unchecked Ambition in Shakespeare’s “Macbeth” However, in Act 1, scenes 1 to 4, the audience is introduced to Macbeth’s increasing fear and the developing desire to be the king. It appears that the desire to be the king overrides his […]
• Supernatural Elements of Act I and II in Macbeth In the play, the supernatural things are central to the plot of the play as they provide a basis for action as Shakespeare meant them to fit in putting the play together.
• William Shakespeare: Hamlet and Macbeth It is important to examine the role that the setting plays in Hamlet and Macbeth in relation to the tragic flaw and developments of the plot.
• The Use of Hands as a Motif in Shakespeare’s “Macbeth” The play presents readers with the world of royalty and the well-knit state; the world of Duncan, his two sons, Banquo, Macbeth and the whole of Scotland and England.
• Shakespeare Tragedies: Macbeth and King Lear At the beginning of the play, he decides to abdicate his throne and divide his kingdom among his three daughters. This choice eventually undermines the ethical integrity of this character, and he murders murder to […]
• Literary Character Analysis of Shakespeare’s “Macbeth” The very reason that made me write about this character was how he is depicted as a hero in the opening pages of the play, and only to learn how weak he is from his […]
• Character Analysis of “Macbeth” by William Shakespeare The unplanned overnight stay of King Duncan and his entourage at Macbeth’s castle precipitates Macbeth’s first fateful decision: to murder King Duncan and clear the way for the witches’ prophecy to come true.
• The Downfall of Macbeth Nonetheless, he goes on to murder the king and his character takes a turn for the worst as he kills the chamberlains who would give witness of the king’s death and he claims he killed […]
• Macbeth & Frankenstein: Compare & Contrast In the being of the play, we assume that Macbeth is akin to the king, a loyal soldier, and a person “full of the milk of human kindness”.
• Supernatural in “Macbeth” Play by Shakespeare The supernaturally manufactured predictions lure Macbeth and Banquo with the idea of power, leading Macbeth to plot the cruel murder of Duncan.
• The Life and Work of William Shakespeare: His Contribution to the Contemporary Theater In addition, the plays and sonnets of William Shakespeare continue to set the standard for the study of the English language in its dramatic context in institutes of higher learning and performance training.
• Omens in The “Macbeth” Play by William Shakespeare The supernatural was an aspect of the plot structure used to add tension and drama to the occurrences and situations and manifested in various ways. To conclude, the owl and raven were utilized as omens […]
• “Macbeth” by William Shakespeare: Language and Tropes Typically, ‘the end of something means the onset of another.’ Using this as a viewpoint that provides a lead to what Macbeth is all about, the fact that ‘we will proceed no further in this […]
• Power and Evocation of Horror: The Macbeth Witches’ Chant Among them are the rhymes, the rhythm of the words, the interpolation of a chorus, the increasing complexity of the lines as the poem progresses, and the vivid and horrifying imagery.
• Comparison of the Opening Scene of Macbeth by Orson Welles and The Tragedy of Macbeth by Roman Polanski The opening scene of The Tragedy of Macbeth starts with the words “fair is foul and foul is fair” that Polanski takes from the end of the Shakespeare’s scene.
• Macbeth and Hamlet Characters Comparison The queens in Hamlet and Macbeth play a pivotal role in the life of the heroes of the play. She is portrayed as a mother who, in her awareness of Hamlet’s crisis, feels guilty and […]
• Macbeth Versions Comparison Film Analysis The use of classic settings in the design of the play helps in portraying the role that gangsters play in the original play of Macbeth and helps present it in the modern world.
• The “Macbeth” Film by Rupert Goold While Shakespeare’s play happened in the 11th century in Scotland, the movie’s design is more similar to the events of the 20th century. Corresponding to the era of the first half of the 20th century, […]
• Themes in the Tragedy of Macbeth by Shakespeare The character of Macbeth is used by Shakespeare to illustrate a man who lacks the strength of moral fiber under the affection of guilt and ambition.
• Analyzing the Adaptation of the Shakespeare’s “Macbeth” Furthermore, the names of all the characters in both films are the same except for a little twist in the spelling of names like Mcbeth and Mcduff.
• Shakespeare’s “Macbeth” and Sophocles’ “Oedipus” The idea of a person being in the center of the action and trying to overcome some problems connected with doom, fate and some other supernatural forces become peculiar to this kind of art.
• The Play “Macbeth” by Shakespeare and the Film “Maqbool” by Bhardwaj Bhardwaj’s Maqbool is a great example of how the weather sets the tone for the story, it is not the backdrop in the film, but an active force expressing the psychological state of the characters.
• Concept of Power in Shakespeare’s “Macbeth” While The government is the system that makes laws and ensures that they are followed, it is the person who wields power who is responsible for the equality and impartiality of its enforcement.
• Jeffrey R. Wilson: Macbeth and Criminology The genre of tragedy used in Macbeth poses the question to the reader: who is responsible for committing a crime – the individual or the society?
• Intro to Theatre: “Macbeth” Shakespeare’s theatrical performances are widespread all over the world and do not lose their relevance, both due to the problems raised by the playwright and the various interpretations of his works. One of such plays is the production of Macbeth directed by Bodinetz (2020) and created by the troupe of Digital Theater +. The performance […]
• The Story of Macbeth by W. Sheakspeare: Relationship and Strengths Between Macbeth and His Wife Lady Macbeth reads a letter her husband had written about the witches’ prophecy and manipulates him to kill King Duncan and take over the kingdom.
• Shakespeare and His View on Kingship: Macbeth, King Lear and Othello At the same time, it is beyond doubt in the basement Macbeth’s character is clean and as a soldier, he is true to his job and his king.
• Representing the Heroic: Macbeth and Odysseus In Homer’s Odyssey, the noble nature of the hero is made clear in the way that his servants speak of him and strive to behave as he would expect.
• Emotions and Outward Actions in Shakespeare’s “Macbeth” In this regard, in William Shakespeare’s Macbeth, the relationship of inward emotions and outward actions is relevant in fully conveying the interplay of themes in this tragedy.
• Shakespearean Macbeth as a Tragic Hero In addition to fighting for his king, Macbeth is quickly and well rewarded for his efforts as King Duncan makes him the new Thane of Cawdor in addition to his already holding the title of […]
• Shakespear’s “Macbeth”: Main Character Change Analysis Macbeth is essentially the story of a character who lives his life in a state of confusion to the degree that the only constant in his life changes.
• Chaucer’s ‘Miller’s Tale’ and Shakespeare’s ‘Macbeth’ Chaucer’s The Miller’s Tale and in Shakespeare’s Macbeth, to be more exact, we will find out how the notion of poetic justice is represented by examples of the main characters of the works mentioned.
• An Explication on Shakespeare’s Macbeth However, Macbeth’s wife is murdered and the news is broken to him, and he is drifted into a life of futility and remorsefulness.
• Literary Elements in “Macbeth” Poem In addition, use of Symbolism imagery and symbolism creates a better picture in audience mind, concerning the themes that the play covers; such as where dark is used to represent evil.
• King Macbeth in Shakespeare’s Play and History He proved to be a courageous man and ambitious because he wanted to become the king, and the only way he could do it was by killing the king.
• Characters’ Traits in Shakespeare’s Macbeth As weird as it might sound, Lady Macbeth is very emotional; as a matter of fact, the crimes that she committed can be attributed to her emotionality rather than her greed, though the latter has […]
• Macbeth: An Analysis of the Play by Shakespeare Macbeth’s treachery springs from his reliance to the witches who gave him prophecy that results in his endless creation of enemies.
• Oedipus King vs. Macbeth: Drama Comparison The concept reflects the foundation of the decent authority through showing the tendencies of power both in the ancient times and in the period of Renaissance.
• Drama Macbeth: Shakespeare’s Play and Wells’ Film However, the play communicates the meaning of the text in a better way as compared to the film by Orson Wells.
• Macbeth by Shakespeare and Oedipus by Sophocles Comparison In Act 1 Scene 3 of Macbeth, we have the three witches who greet him and inform him that he is to become the “Thane of Cawdor,” the title that he will receive that evening, […]
• Shakespeare Literature: Prophecy and Macbeth Morality The divination made by the witches pushes Macbeth further into immorality as he is made to believe that he deserves the position of king. In addition, Macbeth abandons reason and morality so as to make […]
• Philosophy of Literature: Shakespearean Tragedy In addition, it is also an indication of the facts that human beings are always nosy and ready to participate in other people’s issues.
• British Literature: Beowulf vs. Macbeth They are as follows: the presentation of the heroes, the consideration of the ethical themes, and the final stages of the plays the latter help to draw some ethical conclusions based on the peculiarity of […]
• The Ambitions and Immoral Decision in “Macbeth” by William Shakespeare
• Analyzing Macbeth’s Conscience Throughout Shakespeare’s Play “Macbeth”
• Murder and Power in William Shakespeare’s Play “Macbeth”
• Unprincipled Ambition in Shakespeare’s “Macbeth”
• Use of Supernatural to Create Suspense in Shakespeare’s “Macbeth”
• Psychological Victimization of William Shakespeare’s Protagonist in “Macbeth”
• Responsibility for Planning to Kill Duncan in William Shakespeare’s “Macbeth”
• Dramatic Techniques to Create a Sense That Macbeth Is Not in Control of His Own Thoughts and Deeds
• An Analysis of Jam-Packed With Malfeasance and Darkness in the Play “Macbeth” by Shakespeare
• The Application of Imagery in “Macbeth” by William Shakespeare
• Witches, Supernatural, and Evil in Shakespeare’s “Macbeth”
• The Banquet Scene of William Shakespeare’s “Macbeth”
• Analyzing Macbeth’s Weak Character in Shakespeare’s “Macbeth”
• Ambition Often Results in Greed as Portrayed in Shakespeare’s “Macbeth”
• Psychoanalytical Criticism of Shakespeare’s “Macbeth”
• Women as The Driving Action of the Play in “Macbeth” by William Shakespeare
• William Shakespeare’s Manipulation of the Audience Through “Macbeth”
• Suspense and the Supernatural in “Macbeth” by William Shakespeare
• Sharing the Blame in Shakespeare’s “Macbeth”
• Macbeth’s Tragic Downfall in William Shakespeare’s “Macbeth”
• The Characterization of Macbeth in Relation to the Development of Scotland in “Macbeth” by William Shakespeare
• Role Reversal in William Shakespeare’s Play “Macbeth”
• The Butcher and His Fiend Like Queen in William Shakespeare’s “Macbeth”
• Supernatural Forces Create a Suspense Atmosphere in Shakespeare’s “Macbeth”
• The Archetypal Tragic Hero Characteristics of William Shakespeare’s “Macbeth” and Sophocles’ “Oedipus”
• An Analysis of Macbeth as a Victim of Circumstances in “Macbeth” by William Shakespeare
• Power, Ambition, and Treason in William Shakespeare’s “Macbeth”
• The Breakdown of Lady Macbeth in William Shakespeare’s “Macbeth”
• Unbridled Ambition in Shakespeare’s “Macbeth”
• The Art of Appeasement and the Political, Religious, and Social Issues Reflected in Shakespeare’s “Macbeth”
• Parallels Between Macbeth and Satan in “Macbeth” by William Shakespeare
• Some of the Ways in Which Shakespeare Portrays an Atmosphere of Evil in “Macbeth”
• An Analysis of Lady Macbeth’s Character in “Macbeth” by Shakespeare
• The Blood Imagery in “Macbeth” by William Shakespeare
• Macbeth’s Representation of Ambition in William Shakespeare’s “Macbeth”
• The Attract of Wicked in Shakespeare’s “Macbeth”
• The Manipulations, Greed, and Guilt in William Shakespeare’s Play “Macbeth”
• Stereotypical Images of Women in “Macbeth” by Shakespeare
• Symbolism and Imagery in “Macbeth” by William Shakespeare
• Subjective Reality to the Viewer in the Play “Macbeth” by William Shakespeare
• The Betrayal of Human Nature in “Macbeth” by William Shakespeare
• Treatment of Gender Disruption in William Shakespeare’s “Twelfth Night” and “Macbeth”
• Significance of Act Four Scene One in William Shakespeare’s “Macbeth”
• Role of Women in “Macbeth” by William Shakespeare
• Recurring Images in “Macbeth” by William Shakespeare
• Similarities Between the Philosophies From Machiavelli’s “The Prince” and Shakespeare’s “Macbeth”
• The Aristotelian Standards of a Tragic Hero in the Tragedy of “Macbeth” by William Shakespeare
• Struggles of the Conscience in “Macbeth” by William Shakespeare
• The Battle Between Good and Evil in Shakespeare’s “Macbeth”
• Sleep and Its Meaning in “Macbeth” by William Shakespeare
• Relationship Between Spouses in “Macbeth” by William Shakespeare
• A Musical Analysis of “Macbeth” by William Shakespeare
• What Did Macbeth’s Character, Words, and Actions Show About Changes in His Character?
• Who Are the Women in Shakespeare’s “Macbeth”?
• When Power Falls Into the Wrong Hands in “Macbeth”?
• Why Are the Period and Place Important in “Macbeth”?
• What Makes William Shakespeare’s “Macbeth” a Pessimistic Play?
• How Ambitions and Immoral Decision Play a Part in Shakespeare’s “Macbeth”?
• How and Why Does Macbeth Turn a War Hero Into an Evil Murderer?
• Did the Three Witches Push Macbeth to Kill Duncan?
• What Are the Attitudes Towards Gender Can Be Seen in Shakespeare’s “Macbeth”?
• What Part Does the Supernatural Play in “Macbeth”?
• Was Macbeth Responsible for His Downfall?
• Does Shakespeare Present Lady Macbeth as Good or Evil?
• Can One Feel Pity for Shakespeare’s “Macbeth”?
• What Dramatic Techniques Are Used in Shakespeare’s “Macbeth”?
• How Did Lady Macbeth and Macbeth’s Relationship Change Throughout the Play?
• What Did Macbeth Say About Good and Evil?
• Does Shakespeare Present Lady Macbeth as Fiend-Like?
• Does Macbeth Have Power?
• How Did Macbeth Turn From “Nobel Macbeth” to “A Bloody Butcher”?
• What Does Shakespeare’s “Macbeth” Have to Say About Kingship?
• Did Macbeth Suffer From Fate?
• What Are the Character Traits of Lady Macbeth?
• Does Macbeth Have Free Will?
• What Are the Influences of the Witches’ Prophecies on Macbeth’s Actions?
• How Are the Themes of Appearance and Reality Presented in “Macbeth”?
• How Are Characters Presented as Disturbed in “Macbeth”?
• Was Macbeth Considered the Tragic Hero of the Play?
• How Did Lady Macbeth and Witches Change?
• What Are the Differences and Similarities Between “Medea” and “Macbeth” Plays?
• What Factors Lead Macbeth to Kill Duncan?
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Literary Theory and Criticism

Home › Drama Criticism › Analysis of William Shakespeare’s Macbeth

Analysis of William Shakespeare’s Macbeth

By NASRULLAH MAMBROL on July 25, 2020 • ( 0 )

Macbeth . . . is done upon a stronger and more systematic principle of contrast than any other of Shakespeare’s plays. It moves upon the verge of an abyss, and is a constant struggle between life and death. The action is desperate and the reaction is dreadful. It is a huddling together of fierce extremes, a war of opposite natures which of them shall destroy the other. There is nothing but what has a violent end or violent beginnings. The lights and shades are laid on with a determined hand; the transitions from triumph to despair, from the height of terror to the repose of death, are sudden and startling; every passion brings in its fellow-contrary, and the thoughts pitch and jostle against each other as in the dark. The whole play is an unruly chaos of strange and forbidden things, where the ground rocks under our feet. Shakespear’s genius here took its full swing, and trod upon the farthest bounds of nature and passion.

—William Hazlitt, Characters of Shakespeare’s Plays

Macbeth completes William Shakespeare’s great tragic quartet while expanding, echoing, and altering key elements of Hamlet, Othello, and King Lear into one of the most terrifying stage experiences. Like Hamlet, Macbeth treats the  consequences  of  regicide,  but  from  the  perspective  of  the  usurpers,  not  the  dispossessed.  Like  Othello,  Macbeth   centers  its  intrigue  on  the  intimate  relations  of  husband  and  wife.  Like  Lear,  Macbeth   explores  female  villainy,  creating in Lady Macbeth one of Shakespeare’s most complex, powerful, and frightening woman characters. Different from Hamlet and Othello, in which the tragic action is reserved for their climaxes and an emphasis on cause over effect, Macbeth, like Lear, locates the tragic tipping point at the play’s outset to concentrate on inexorable consequences. Like Othello, Macbeth, Shakespeare’s shortest tragedy, achieves an almost unbearable intensity by eliminating subplots, inessential characters, and tonal shifts to focus almost exclusively on the crime’s devastating impact on husband and wife.

What is singular about Macbeth, compared to the other three great Shakespearean tragedies, is its villain-hero. If Hamlet mainly executes rather than murders,  if  Othello  is  “more  sinned  against  than  sinning,”  and  if  Lear  is  “a  very foolish fond old man” buffeted by surrounding evil, Macbeth knowingly chooses  evil  and  becomes  the  bloodiest  and  most  dehumanized  of  Shakespeare’s tragic protagonists. Macbeth treats coldblooded, premeditated murder from the killer’s perspective, anticipating the psychological dissection and guilt-ridden expressionism that Feodor Dostoevsky will employ in Crime and Punishment . Critic Harold Bloom groups the protagonist as “the culminating figure  in  the  sequence  of  what  might  be  called  Shakespeare’s  Grand  Negations: Richard III, Iago, Edmund, Macbeth.” With Macbeth, however, Shakespeare takes us further inside a villain’s mind and imagination, while daringly engaging  our  sympathy  and  identification  with  a  murderer.  “The  problem  Shakespeare  gave  himself  in  Macbeth  was  a  tremendous  one,”  Critic  Wayne  C. Booth has stated.

Take a good man, a noble man, a man admired by all who know him—and  destroy  him,  not  only  physically  and  emotionally,  as  the  Greeks  destroyed their heroes, but also morally and intellectually. As if this were not difficult enough as a dramatic hurdle, while transforming him into one of the most despicable mortals conceivable, maintain him as a tragic hero—that is, keep him so sympathetic that, when he comes to his death, the audience will pity rather than detest him and will be relieved to see him out of his misery rather than pleased to see him destroyed.

Unlike Richard III, Iago, or Edmund, Macbeth is less a virtuoso of villainy or an amoral nihilist than a man with a conscience who succumbs to evil and obliterates the humanity that he is compelled to suppress. Macbeth is Shakespeare’s  greatest  psychological  portrait  of  self-destruction  and  the  human  capacity for evil seen from inside with an intimacy that horrifies because of our forced identification with Macbeth.

Although  there  is  no  certainty  in  dating  the  composition  or  the  first performance  of  Macbeth,   allusions  in  the  play  to  contemporary  events  fix the  likely  date  of  both  as  1606,  shortly  after  the  completion  and  debut  of  King Lear. Scholars have suggested that Macbeth was acted before James I at Hampton  Court  on  August  7,  1606,  during  the  royal  visit  of  King  Christian IV of Denmark and that it may have been especially written for a royal performance. Its subject, as well as its version of Scottish history, suggest an effort both to flatter and to avoid offending the Scottish king James. Macbeth is a chronicle play in which Shakespeare took his major plot elements from Raphael  Holinshed’s  Chronicles  of  England,  Scotland  and  Ireland  (1587),  but  with  significant  modifications.  The  usurping  Macbeth’s  decade-long  (and  largely  successful)  reign  is  abbreviated  with  an  emphasis  on  the  internal  and external destruction caused by Macbeth’s seizing the throne and trying to hold onto it. For the details of King Duncan’s death, Shakespeare used Holinshed’s  account  of  the  murder  of  an  earlier  king  Duff  by  Donwald,  who cast suspicion on drunken servants and whose ambitious wife played a significant role in the crime. Shakespeare also eliminated Banquo as the historical Macbeth’s co-conspirator in the murder to promote Banquo’s innocence and nobility in originating a kingly line from which James traced his legitimacy. Additional prominence is also given to the Weird Sisters, whom Holinshed only mentions in their initial meeting of Macbeth on the heath. The prophetic warning “beware Macduff” is attributed to “certain wizards in whose words Macbeth put great confidence.” The importance of the witches and  the  occult  in  Macbeth   must  have  been  meant  to  appeal  to  a  king  who  produced a treatise, Daemonologie (1597), on witch-craft.

The uncanny sets the tone of moral ambiguity from the play’s outset as the three witches gather to encounter Macbeth “When the battle’s lost and won” in an inverted world in which “Fair is foul, and foul is fair.” Nothing in the play will be what it seems, and the tragedy results from the confusion and  conflict  between  the  fair—honor,  nobility,  duty—and  the  foul—rank  ambition and bloody murder. Throughout the play nature reflects the disorder and violence of the action. Opening with thunder and lightning, the drama is set in a Scotland contending with the rebellion of the thane (feudal lord) of Cawdor, whom the fearless and courageous Macbeth has vanquished on the battlefield. The play, therefore, initially establishes Macbeth as a dutiful and trusted vassal of the king, Duncan of Scotland, deserving to be rewarded with the rebel’s title for restoring peace and order in the realm. “What he hath lost,” Duncan declares, “noble Macbeth hath won.” News of this honor reaches Macbeth through the witches, who greet him both as the thane of Cawdor and “king hereafter” and his comrade-in-arms Banquo as one who “shalt get kings, though thou be none.” Like the ghost in Hamlet , the  Weird  Sisters  are  left  purposefully  ambiguous  and  problematic.  Are  they  agents  of  fate  that  determine  Macbeth’s  doom,  predicting  and  even  dictating  the  inevitable,  or  do  they  merely  signal  a  latency  in  Macbeth’s  ambitious character?

When he is greeted by the king’s emissaries as thane of Cawdor, Macbeth begins to wonder if the first predictions of the witches came true and what will come of the second of “king hereafter”:

This supernatural soliciting Cannot be ill, cannot be good. If ill, Why hath it given me earnest of success Commencing in a truth? I am Thane of Cawdor. If good, 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: My thought, whose murder yet is but fantastical, Shakes so my single state of man that function Is smother’d in surmise, and nothing is But what is not.

Macbeth  will  be  defined  by  his  “horrible  imaginings,”  by  his  considerable  intellectual and imaginative capacity both to understand what he knows to be true and right and his opposed desires and their frightful consequences. Only Hamlet has as fully a developed interior life and dramatized mental processes as  Macbeth  in  Shakespeare’s  plays.  Macbeth’s  ambition  is  initially  checked  by his conscience and by his fear of the unforeseen consequence of violating moral  laws.  Shakespeare  brilliantly  dramatizes  Macbeth’s  mental  conflict in near stream of consciousness, associational fashion:

If it were done when ’tis done, then ’twere well It were done quickly. If th’assassination Could trammel up the consequence, and catch With his surcease, success: that but this blow Might be the be all and the end all, here, But here, upon this bank and shoal of time, We’d jump the life to come. But in these cases We still have judgement here, that we but teach Bloody instructions which, being taught, return To plague th’inventor. This even-handed justice Commends th’ingredients of our poison’d chalice To our own lips. 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, And pity, like a naked new-born babe, Striding the blast, or heaven’s cherubin, horsed Upon the sightless couriers of the air, Shall blow the horrid deed in every eye That tears shall drown the wind. I have no spur To prick the sides of my intent, but only Vaulting ambition which o’erleaps itself And falls on the other.

Macbeth’s “spur” comes in the form of Lady Macbeth, who plays on her husband’s selfimage of courage and virility to commit to the murder. She also reveals her own shocking cancellation of gender imperatives in shaming her husband into action, in one of the most shocking passages of the play:

. . . 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 plucked my nipple from his boneless gums And dashed the brains out, had I so sworn As you have done to this.

Horrified  at  his  wife’s  resolve  and  cold-blooded  calculation  in  devising  the  plot,  Macbeth  urges  his  wife  to  “Bring  forth  menchildren  only,  /  For  thy  undaunted mettle should compose / Nothing but males,” but commits “Each corporal agent to this terrible feat.”

With the decision to kill the king taken, the play accelerates unrelentingly through a succession of powerful scenes: Duncan’s and Banquo’s murders, the banquet scene in which Banquo’s ghost appears, Lady Macbeth’s sleepwalking, and Macbeth’s final battle with Macduff, Thane of Fife. Duncan’s offstage murder  contrasts  Macbeth’s  “horrible  imaginings”  concerning  the  implications and Lady Macbeth’s chilling practicality. Macbeth’s question, “Will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood / Clean from my hand?” is answered by his wife: “A little water clears us of this deed; / How easy is it then!” The knocking at the door of the castle, ominously signaling the revelation of the crime, prompts the play’s one comic respite in the Porter’s drunken foolery that he is at the door of “Hell’s Gate” controlling the entrance of the damned. With the fl ight of Duncan’s sons, who fear for their lives, causing them to be suspected as murderers, Macbeth is named king, and the play’s focus shifts to Macbeth’s keeping and consolidating the power he has seized. Having gained what the witches prophesied, Macbeth next tries to prevent their prediction that Banquo’s descendants will reign by setting assassins to kill Banquo and his son, Fleance. The plan goes awry, and Fleance escapes, leaving Macbeth again at the mercy of the witches’ prophecy. His psychic breakdown is dramatized by his seeing Banquo’s ghost occupying Macbeth’s place at the banquet. Pushed to  the  edge  of  mental  collapse,  Macbeth  steels  himself  to  meet  the  witches  again to learn what is in store for him: “Iam in blood,” he declares, “Stepp’d in so far that, should Iwade no more, / Returning were as tedious as go o’er.”

The witches reassure him that “none of woman born / Shall harm Macbeth” and that he will never be vanquished until “Great Birnam wood to high Dunsinane hill / Shall come against him.” Confident that he is invulnerable, Macbeth  responds  to  the  rebellion  mounted  by  Duncan’s  son  Malcolm  and  Macduff, who has joined him in England, by ordering the slaughter of Lady Macduff and her children. Macbeth has progressed from a murderer in fulfillment of the witches predictions to a murderer (of Banquo) in order to subvert their predictions and then to pointless butchery that serves no other purpose than as an exercise in willful destruction. Ironically, Macbeth, whom his wife feared  was  “too  full  o’  the  milk  of  human  kindness  /  To  catch  the  nearest  way” to serve his ambition, displays the same cold calculation that frightened him  about  his  wife,  while  Lady  Macbeth  succumbs  psychically  to  her  own  “horrible  imaginings.”  Lady  Macbeth  relives  the  murder  as  she  sleepwalks,  Shakespeare’s version of the workings of the unconscious. The blood in her tormented  conscience  that  formerly  could  be  removed  with  a  little  water  is  now a permanent noxious stain in which “All the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten.” Women’s cries announcing her offstage death are greeted by Macbeth with detached indifference:

I have almost forgot the taste of fears: The time has been, my senses would have cool’d To hear a nightshriek, and my fell of hair Would at a dismal treatise rouse and stir As life were in’t. Ihave supp’d full with horrors; Direness, familiar to my slaughterous thoughts, Cannot once start me.

Macbeth reveals himself here as an emotional and moral void. Confirmation that “The Queen, my lord, is dead” prompts only the bitter comment, “She should have died hereafter.” For Macbeth, life has lost all meaning, refl ected in the bleakest lines Shakespeare ever composed:

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.

Time and the world that Macbeth had sought to rule are revealed to him as empty and futile, embodied in a metaphor from the theater with life as a histrionic, talentless actor in a tedious, pointless play.

Macbeth’s final testing comes when Malcolm orders his troops to camoufl  age  their  movement  by  carrying  boughs  from  Birnam  Woods  in  their march toward Dunsinane and from Macduff, whom he faces in combat and reveals that he was “from his mother’s womb / Untimely ripp’d,” that is, born by cesarean section and therefore not “of woman born.” This revelation, the final fulfillment of the witches’ prophecies, causes Macbeth to fl ee, but he is prompted  by  Macduff’s  taunt  of  cowardice  and  order  to  surrender  to  meet  Macduff’s challenge, despite knowing the deadly outcome:

Yet I will try the last. Before my body I throw my warlike shield. Lay on, Macduff, And damn’d be him that first cries, “Hold, enough!”

Macbeth  returns  to  the  world  of  combat  where  his  initial  distinctions  were  honorably earned and tragically lost.

The play concludes with order restored to Scotland, as Macduff presents Macbeth’s severed head to Malcolm, who is hailed as king. Malcolm may assert his control and diminish Macbeth and Lady Macbeth as “this dead butcher and his fiendlike queen,” but the audience knows more than that. We know what  Malcolm  does  not,  that  it  will  not  be  his  royal  line  but  Banquo’s  that  will eventually rule Scotland, and inevitably another round of rebellion and murder is to come. We also know in horrifying human terms the making of a butcher and a fiend who refuse to be so easily dismissed as aberrations.

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Macbeth: Analysis and Themes

By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University)

Macbeth is, along with the character of Iago in Othello and his earlier portrayal of Richard III, William Shakespeare’s most powerful exploration and analysis of evil.

Although we can find precursors to Macbeth in the murderer-turned-conscience-stricken-men of Shakespeare’s earlier plays – notably the conspirator Brutus in Julius Caesar and Claudius in Hamlet – Macbeth provides us with a closer and more complex examination of how a brave man with everything going for him might be corrupted by ambition and goading into committing an act of murder.

It’s worth examining how Shakespeare creates such a powerful depiction of one man persuaded to do evil and then wracked by his conscience for doing so. What follows is a short analysis, but one which attempts to address some of the key – not to mention the most interesting – aspects of Macbeth . You can read our summary of  Macbeth  here .

The sources for Shakespeare’s Macbeth

Macbeth was a real Scottish king, although he was somewhat different from the ambitious, murderous creation of William Shakespeare. His wife was real too, but Lady Macbeth’s real name was Gruoch and Macbeth’s real name was Mac Bethad mac Findlaích.

The real Macbeth killed Duncan in battle in 1040 and Macbeth (or Mac Bethad) actually went on to rule for 17 years, until he was killed and Macbeth’s stepson, known as Lulach the Idiot, became king (though he only ruled for less than a year – then Malcolm, as Malcolm III, took the crown). Where did Shakespeare get the story from, then, and what did he change?

The plot of Shakespeare’s Macbeth is a combination of two stories: the story of Macbeth and the story of the murder of King Duffe by Donwald and his wife, which Shakespeare read about in Raphael Holinshed’s Chronicles . The Three Witches appear in Holinshed, but as ‘nymphs or fairies’, suggesting beautiful young women rather than old, ugly hags.

Holinshed’s King Duncan is a weak and feeble ruler, who has unfairly named his own son Prince of Cumberland (and thus heir to the throne), thwarting Macbeth’s own (just) claim to the throne, through his wife’s previous marriage and her son by her first husband.

In Holinshed, then, Macbeth has every reason to have a grievance against Duncan, rather than being motivated solely by ‘vaulting ambition’. When Duncan proclaims Malcolm his heir and Prince of Cumberland, Macbeth does not see it as a slight on him and his claim to the throne – for he appears to have no genuine claim. Instead, he sees it as the turning point: if he is to become King then he must take the crown by force.

What’s more, in Holinshed’s chronicle, Banquo actually helps Macbeth to murder Duncan. Shakespeare altered the character of Banquo because his King, James I of England (James VI of Scotland, of course) claimed descent from Banquo. This explains the scene in Macbeth with the mirrors displaying Banquo’s descendants – eventually culminating in King James himself. Banquo will certainly ‘get’ (i.e. beget) kings, all right.’

This is what led the critic William Empson to regard Shakespeare’s version of Macbeth as a ‘Just-So Story’, like ‘How the Elephant Got Its Trunk’: it explains how James came to be King, over half a millennium after the events of Macbeth .

The other story from Holinshed, detailing the murder of King Duffe, is much closer to the plot of Shakespeare’s play. In the tenth century, a century before the real Macbeth lived, Donwald, egged on by his wife, murders King Duffe (although in this version Donwald gets the servants to commit the murder rather than bearing the knife himself). Donwald and his wife get Duffe’s personal attendants drunk, and then to divert suspicion Donwalde blames them for their master’s murder, killing them in pretend rage.

Themes of Macbeth

Macbeth is a play that begins with the Weird Sisters discussing their future meeting, and ends with Macduff and the other survivors preparing to go and see Malcolm crowned King.

Even the soliloquies in Macbeth seem unusually focused on not just the contemplation of a future course of action (for that’s a common feature of many soliloquies in many other plays) but on the displacement of time that the play is preoccupied with: ‘If it were done, when ’tis done’, begins one of Macbeth’s most famous speeches, while he greets the news of Lady Macbeth with his celebrated meditation on ‘tomorrow’:

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.

The first words Lady Macbeth speaks to her husband in the play show how her ambitions for her and her husband are already making her mind leap from the present into the future:

Thy letters have transported me beyond This ignorant present, and I feel now The future in the instant.

But the glue that keeps all of these future meditations in place, and acts as the main device in Macbeth linking present to future, is the role of prophecy.

It’s worth stopping to consider and analyse the role of prophecy in Macbeth . It’s true that the Witches are clearly meant to be supernatural, and their prophecies are supposedly founded on – well, on their witchcraft. One of the reasons Shakespeare may have been drawn to the story of Macbeth is that, as well as speaking to King James I’s Scottish blood, it also played to his interest in witchcraft, black magic, and the supernatural.

Indeed, the King even wrote a book about it, Daemonologie , which had been published in 1597, six years before he came to the English throne. But the clever thing about the prophecies is that we are left to decide how much what happens in the play was foretold in the Witches’ prophecy and how much was a result of the course of action Macbeth decided on, once he had knowledge of the prophecy.

We talk of ‘self-fulfilling prophecies’, and Macbeth as a piece of drama leaves us in some doubt as to the relationship between Fate and free agency. If Macbeth had never been told by the Witches that he would be Thane of Cawdor, he would still have been made Thane of Cawdor. But would he still have become King?

For Macbeth to become King, he needed to know that it was ordained that he would one day sit on the throne, so he could then murderously take it from the current incumbent. If Macbeth had not acted upon the prophecy, it may not have come true.

A similar ambiguity surrounding the role of fate and the role of individual agency governs the plot of Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex ; although Shakespeare’s tragic model was more Senecan than ancient Greek, Macbeth is perhaps the play in his oeuvre which comes the closest to following the model for a good tragedy set out in Aristotle’s Poetics .

Similarly, Banquo starts to take his prophecy seriously once he sees Macbeth’s coming true. Nevertheless, the idea that no man of woman born being able to harm Macbeth isn’t ever tested to the full: Macbeth may simply be unusually lucky in combat, and Macduff, regardless of his caesarean section, may just have proved lucky; at the same time, believing that having been ‘from his mother’s womb / Untimely ripped’ made him invincible against the tyrannical Macbeth may have given him the self-belief that he could bring the usurper down. The stories we tell ourselves about our own lives, and our destinies, shape what we do.

Ambition – or ‘vaulting ambition’ as Macbeth himself puts it – is another central theme of the play. Hearing the prophecy from the Witches convinces Macbeth that he could be King. Indeed, more than that, the prophecy suggests that he is meant to be King. Although Duncan has ‘honour’d [him] of late’, and Macbeth knows that to kill the king who had raised him to the title of Thane of Cawdor would be, among other things, an act of supreme ingratitude, Macbeth is driven to commit murder so he can seize the crown.

Everything that happens afterwards – his dispatching of the hired killers to murder Banquo, the attempted murder of Fleance, the killing of Macduff’s wife and children, and the final battle at Dunsinane – is a result of this one act, an act that was inspired by both Macbeth’s private ambition and his wife’s lust for power.

It’s worth remembering that Macbeth was almost certainly written shortly after the thwarting of the Gunpowder Plot in November 1605. (There are a number of local allusions to this recent attempt at politically and religiously motivated terrorism: the numerous instances of the word ‘equivocation’ in the play refer to the Jesuit Father Garnet, who knew of the Plot and consorted with the conspirators.)

The ‘moral’ of Macbeth , if we can run the risk of reducing the play to an ethical message in this way, is that to usurp the ruler of a kingdom is usually a Bad Idea, at least if the ruler is generally thought to be a good one and your motivation for wanting to kill and replace them is your own grasping ambition to be monarch yourself. Which brings us to the last major theme of Macbeth worth mentioning in this short analysis (before the analysis becomes somewhat less than short)…

It would be inaccurate to say Macbeth feels remorse for the murder of Duncan. Even Claudius, the ‘smiling villain’ of Hamlet who killed a king so he could take the throne for himself, expresses something approaching a pricking of conscience for murdering his own brother, acknowledging that he cannot very well appear penitent before God if he doesn’t relinquish everything he’s gained by his murderous deed.

But Macbeth’s guilt over the murders of Banquo and Duncan is less remorse than it is fear of being discovered, and one bad deed gives birth to another, each of which has to be carried out to make Macbeth and his wife ‘safe’, to use the word that recurs throughout the play (a dozen times, including ‘safely’, ‘safety’, and other variants).

Even when Banquo’s ghost appears to Macbeth at the banquet, and appears to him alone, suggesting it is a manifestation of his own guilty conscience, he is terrified that the ghost’s presence will betray his secret, rather than wracked with remorse for killing his friend. Angus’ wonderfully vivid image of Macbeth’s guilt (‘Now does he feel / His secret murders sticking on his hands’) reminds us that ‘hands’ and ‘eyes’ and other body parts are often somewhat disembodied in this play, as numerous critics have acknowledged.

From Macbeth’s bloody hand (‘Will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood / Clean from my hand?’) to Lady Macbeth’s feverish somnambulistic hand-washing, to Macbeth’s early words in an aside, signalling his deadly ambition (‘The eye wink at the hand; yet let that be, / Which the eye fears, when it is done, to see’), eyes and hands are at odds in this play, as if the eye countenances the evil carried out by the hand, with the wielder of the dagger turning a blind eye.

But as Angus’ words and Lady Macbeth’s night-time mimed ablutions demonstrate, one cannot so easily remove one’s mind from the hand that does a terrible deed.

One final piece of Macbeth trivia…

Macbeth is supposed to be cursed. The idea of the ‘curse’ of  Macbeth  has a complicated origin, though it was certainly given a leg up in 1898 when the novelist and wit Max Beerbohm put about the idea that the play was unlucky.

That said, it has had its fair share of tragedies and disasters: in a 1942 production starring John Gielgud, four people involved in the production died, including two of the Witches and the man playing Duncan. If you say ‘Macbeth’ in a theatre, you are meant to walk three times in a circle anti-clockwise, then either spit or say a rude word.

In 1849,  Macbeth even   caused a riot in New York . The Astor Place Riot was caused by two rival actors arguing about whose portrayal of Macbeth  was better. American actor Edwin Forrest and English thespian William Charles Macready were both playing the role of Macbeth in different productions at different theatres on the same night, and a longstanding rivalry erupted.

Another notable nineteenth-century production of the play (featuring acting rivalry) involves the so-called ‘worst poet in the English language’, who once played Macbeth on stage – and refused to die at the end.

As we revealed in our selection of  interesting facts about Scottish poet William McGonagall , when McGonagall – who has a reputation for being the worst poet in English – played the role of Macbeth in a stage production, he was so annoyed at being upstaged by his co-star, who was playing Macduff, that when Macduff went to kill Macbeth at the end of the play, he found his foe mysteriously unvanquishable.

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6 thoughts on “Macbeth: Analysis and Themes”

Eqivocation: Shakespeare (whose father was a friend of William Catesby, the father of Robert Catesby, one of the leaders in the alleged Gunpowder Plot) may well have been drawing attention to his own loyalist credentials when he shows the Porter admitting ‘an equivator’ to Hell. On the other hand he may have been doing a bit of equivocating himself. It depends how you say the line “who committed treason enough for God’s sake” it can simply be an exclamation “for God’s sake!” or mean “he committed treason enough for God’s sake…” he was one of ‘God’s traitors’ as John Shakespeare almost certainly, and William very probably were.

To create a breach of time hundreds of years in each direction: The Scotland that the historical Macbeth occupied was a tough, violent place demanding that a monarch be capable of meeting all challenges. If a monarch could be bested, deposed, all the better for the kingdom. Duncan’s nobility, a soft virtue, requires Bellona’s bridegroom succeed on the battlefield, and he doesn’t realize how dangerous such a warrior can be, especially with an ambitious woman goading him on. Now rocket forward hundreds of years to see the philosophical realization predicted in the tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow speech Macbeth ruminates upon hearing of Lady Macbeth’s death. (N.B. She dies off stage like most of the deaths in the play which conform to Aristotle’s Poetics which holds that violence on stage “but teaches bloody instruction.”) What does life signify? Nothing. Macbeth’s speech anticipates the 20th C. philosophy of existentialism. We come from nothing and we go to nothing. Any performance of the Scottish play in which the Three Sisters are performed exceedingly well enters the dreamscape of all the audience. The play is bloody, yes, and eerie too, as it travels in time.

I will refrain from the kind of lofty comments already given on here and just say your last story made me snort out loud :D

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The play examines the corrupting power of ambition. Whose ambition functions as the driving force of the narrative , Macbeth or Lady Macbeth? Why?

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The weather is an ever-present force in Macbeth. How does the weather reflect the emotional state of the characters? Of the trajectory of the play?

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Analysis Of Act Two Scene One Of Shakespeare's Macbeth

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Best topics on Macbeth

1. Why Is Macbeth a Tragic Hero in Shakespeare’s Play

2. How is Macbeth a Tragic Hero: Exploring Shakespeare’s Masterpiece

3. The Characterisation of Lady Macbeth in Shakespeare’s Drama

4. The Tragedy of Macbeth Ambition by William Shakespeare

5. How Shakespeare Presents Ambition in Macbeth

6. Fair Is Foul And Foul Is Fair In Macbeth And Lord Of The Flies

7. Portrayal Of Characters With Animal Imagery In Macbeth

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10. Overwhelming Ambition Of Macbeth Character

11. Role Of Ambitions In Our Life

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13. The Theme Of Fate And Free Will In Macbeth By William Shakespeare

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10 things to know when studying Shakespeare's Macbeth

Monday 8th, August 2022

Jess Laven graduated in 2020 with an ATAR of 96.60. In this article, Jess runs through 10 top tips for success when studying Shakespeare's Macbeth . Check out ATAR Notes' Text Guide for Macbeth here . 📚

It is possible that you’ll study Shakespeare’s Macbeth during your high school career, particularly for an English exam. You’re probably having regicidal thoughts at the mere mention of Shakespeare, let alone Macbeth , but it doesn’t have to be this way.

In 2020, I managed to achieve full marks on my external English exam, which was based on Macbeth . I’ve compiled my top 10 tips for studying Shakespeare’s Macbeth that will help you to ace your external English exam without a trace of blood on your hands.

1. Read both the original and translated versions

My school’s copies of Macbeth had a translated version of the script alongside the original Shakespearean version. Full translations are also available for free online.

I recommend reading both versions. You need to be familiar with the original play since this is what you’ll be assessed on; however, reading more than 17,000 words that you don’t understand isn’t productive by itself.

In the original script, Lady Macbeth calls on the spirits that tend on mortal thoughts to unsex her. While it’s important to know how she phrases this infamous quote, reading the modern version will allow you to understand the meaning behind the words. In this instance, Lady Macbeth is asking the spirits that assist murderous thoughts to make her less like a woman and more like a man.

2. Read the script more than once

In Year 12, my peers and I read the original Shakespearean version of Macbeth as a class. In addition to this, I took it upon myself to read the translated version twice, including once on the weekend before my Monday exam to ensure it was fresh in my memory.

It is unlikely that you will fully understand Macbeth after reading the play only once, so reading it a second and potentially a third time is crucial. Doing so is also useful when it comes to compiling quotes, which I will elaborate on shortly.

When I read the translated version, I would consistently refer to the original version, which was conveniently right next to the translation in my copy of the play. This is important because you need to remember and quote the language Shakespeare used in his original play.

3. Don't watch a movie adaption as a substitute for reading the play

If you’re thinking of watching one of the movie adaptions as a substitute for reading the play, think again. While such movies may give you a better understanding of some aspects of Macbeth , they are all significantly different from the original play.

If you choose to watch any Macbeth movie adaptions, ensure that it is to complement the knowledge you gain from reading the play. Also, be careful not to confuse the movies with the play because some inconsistencies could cause you to get your facts wrong in your exam. 

4. Don't call Macbeth a book

Sometimes it’s the little things. My Year 12 English teacher couldn’t stress enough that Macbeth is not a book. In actual fact, Macbeth is a play, and the 17,000 words I mentioned earlier make up the script. 

When you refer to Macbeth , whether it be in your essay writing, verbally or otherwise, always refer to it as a play or text. This will show that you truly understand the context in which Macbeth came to be.  

5. Underline Macbeth when referring to the play

Since “Macbeth” is both the title of the play and a character within the play, you need to differentiate between these in your writing to provide clarity. Therefore, whenever you refer to the play in your writing, always underline “ Macbeth ,” as has been done throughout this article. The reason why you shouldn’t use italics is that this won’t be an option when you’re handwriting an external exam.

6. Practise writing Macbeth essays

I have no doubt that you’ve all heard the saying, “practice makes perfect.” While you should keep in mind that “perfect” is as real as Macbeth’s hallucinations (nonexistent), the message behind these words holds true: you should regularly write analytical essays to help you improve your essay writing skills. Since this is a progressive exercise, you should practise writing Macbeth essays well in advance of your exam to allow time for you to improve. You should also practise writing with pen and paper in exam conditions to reflect the environment you’ll be in for your exam.

Research Macbeth essay questions or ask your teacher for a list and then start writing. Seek feedback from your teacher to help you identify where you need to improve. This will help you to write a well-structured and grammatically and factually accurate essay that showcases your knowledge and, ultimately, responds to the essay prompt. There is no better way to test your knowledge of a topic than to explain it to others, whether it be in essay or spoken form.

7. Do your own research

Hopefully, your teacher will provide you with lots of resources and insight that will give you a strong understanding of the play; however, you should do your own research too. This will give you more ideas about the quotes you should memorise and how you can analyse them. Since the number of quotes available to you during the exam will be limited to your memory, it’s important to know how to spin quotes so you can use them in a range of ways for a range of prompts.

8. Compile a list of quotes to memorise

I compiled a list of more than 60 quotes and noted down the basic meaning of each quote, as well as what themes each quote related to and how. Recording themes like this will help you to make sure you have a broad range of quotes and an in-depth understanding of how each quote can be analysed to suit a range of possible essay prompts.

I wrote my list of quotes in chronological order – the order that they appeared in the play – to help me remember the act and scene numbers. While remembering the quotes themselves is more important than remembering the acts and scenes they came from, this is still worth doing to showcase your knowledge.

The scripts you read may express act and scene numbers as Roman numerals, but you can write them in our everyday numerical form. If you are writing Act 4, Scene 2, you would write these numbers in brackets with a full stop between them, as follows: (4.2).

If you are a visual person, finding a small picture that represents each quote may be a memory strategy you would like to try. For example, for Lady Macbeth’s well-known quote, “Look like th' innocent flower, But be the serpent under ’t,” you could have an image of a flower or a snake.

9. Focus on the Elizabethan Era

Macbeth was written in the Elizabethan era. The language you use and the way you analyse the play should reflect this fact.

For example, when analysing Macbeth’s themes, such as gender, femininity or masculinity, do not do so with a modern lens. We may see Lady Macbeth’s dominance and ambition as a testament to the strength of women from a contemporary perspective. Nevertheless, in the Elizabethan era, her behaviour would have been considered unnatural.

Similarly, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth’s relationship is unique for the Elizabethan era, which is evident when we compare it to that of Macduff and Lady Macduff. In that time, such relationships would be loving and mutually respectful, but, unnatural as she is, Lady Macbeth holds power over Macbeth. This allows her to influence their plans for regicide and acts as the initial catalyst for Macbeth’s downfall.

In terms of language use, there are words we use today that don’t reflect the context of the play. For instance, when Macbeth killed King Duncan, he committed regicide, not murder. This is because regicide specifically refers to the act of killing a king or queen, while murder is broader.

Familiarise yourself with the Elizabethan era and the language that reflects the time and the characters’ royal status.

10. Access ATAR Notes' resources

I used the ATAR Notes Text Guide on Macbeth to help me understand the play and identify and analyse important quotes. I also attended ATAR Notes’ free English lecture during their annual September lecture series. I recommend taking advantage of resources such as these to give you the edge in your English exam.

Why should I read both the original and translated versions of Macbeth ?

Reading both versions helps you grasp the play's meaning while also familiarizing yourself with Shakespeare's original language. The translation provides clarity on complex phrases, enhancing your understanding of key themes and character motivations.

How many times should I read the play?

Aim to read Macbeth at least twice. Multiple readings deepen your understanding of the plot and themes, making it easier to compile quotes and analyze the text for your essays.

Can I rely on movie adaptations instead of reading the play?

No, while adaptations can offer insights, they often differ from the original text. Use movies to complement your understanding, not as a substitute for the actual reading of the play.  

How should I prepare for essay writing on Macbeth ?

Regular practice is essential. Write analytical essays well before the exam, seek feedback from your teacher, and practice writing under timed conditions to simulate the exam environment.

How do I compile quotes effectively?

Create a list of key quotes with their meanings and associated themes. Organize them chronologically to help remember their context in the play and consider using visual aids to enhance memorization.

Why is understanding the Elizabethan era important?

Understanding the cultural and historical context of the Elizabethan era allows for a deeper analysis of themes like gender and ambition. This context is crucial for interpreting character motivations and societal norms reflected in the play.

What resources can help with studying Macbeth ?

Utilize study guides like those from ATAR Notes, attend lectures, and engage with online resources. These materials can clarify complex themes and offer valuable insights into the text.

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Macbeth Essays

There are loads of ways you can approach writing an essay, but the two i favour are detailed below., the key thing to remember is that an essay should focus on the three aos:, ao1: plot and character development; ao2: language and technique; ao3: context, strategy 1 : extract / rest of play, the first strategy basically splits the essay into 3 paragraphs., the first paragraph focuses on the extract, the second focuses on the rest of the play, the third focuses on context. essentially, it's one ao per paragraph, for a really neatly organised essay., strategy 2 : a structured essay with an argument, this strategy allows you to get a much higher marks as it's structured to form an argument about the whole text. although you might think that's harder - and it's probably going to score more highly - i'd argue that it's actually easier to master. mainly because you do most of the work before the day of the exam., to see some examples of these, click on the links below:, lady macbeth as a powerful woman, macbeth as a heroic character, the key to this style is remembering this: you're going to get a question about a theme, and the extract will definitely relate to the theme., the strategy here is planning out your essays before the exam, knowing that the extract will fit into them somehow., below are some structured essays i've put together., macbeth and gender.

by William Shakespeare

Macbeth study guide.

Legend says that Macbeth was written in 1605 or 1606 and performed at Hampton Court in 1606 for King James I and his brother-in-law, King Christian of Denmark. Whether it was first performed at the royal court or was premiered at the Globe theatre, there can be little doubt that the play were intended to please the King, who had recently become the patron of Shakespeare's theatrical company. We note, for example, that the character of Banquo—the legendary root of the Stuart family tree—is depicted very favorably. Like Banquo, King James was a Stuart. The play is also quite short, perhaps because Shakespeare knew that James preferred short plays. And the play contains many supernatural elements that James, who himself published a book on the detection and practices of witchcraft, would have appreciated. Even something as minor as the Scottish defeat of the Danes may have been omitted to avoid offending King Christian.

The material for Macbeth was drawn from Raphael Holinshed's Chronicles of England, Scotland, and Ireland (1587). Despite the play’s historical source, however, the play is generally classified as tragedy rather than a history. This derives perhaps from the fact that the story contains many historical fabrications—including the entire character of Banquo, who was invented by a 16th-century Scottish historian in order to validate the Stuart family line. 　In addition to such fictionalization, Shakespeare took many liberties with the original story, manipulating the characters of Macbeth and Duncan to suit his purposes. In Holinshed's account, Macbeth is a ruthless and valiant leader who rules competently after killing Duncan, whereas Duncan is portrayed as a young and soft-willed man. Shakespeare draws out certain aspects of the two characters in order to create a stronger sense of polarity. Whereas Duncan is made out to be a venerable and kindly older king, Macbeth is transformed into an indecisive and troubled young man who cannot possibly rule well.

Macbeth is certainly not the only play with historical themes that is full of fabrications. Indeed, there are other reasons why the play is considered a tragedy rather than a history. One reason lies in the play's universality. Rather than illustrating a specific historical moment, Macbeth presents a human drama of ambition, desire, and guilt. Like Hamlet, Macbeth speaks soliloquies that articulate the emotional and intellectual anxieties with which many audiences identify easily. For all his lack of values and "vaulting ambition," Macbeth is a character who often seems infinitely real to audiences. This powerful grip on the audience is perhaps what has made Macbeth such a popular play for centuries of viewers.

Given that Macbeth is one of Shakespeare's shortest plays, some scholars have suggested that scenes were excised from the Folio version and subsequently lost. There are some loose ends and non-sequiturs in the text of the play that would seem to support such a claim. If scenes were indeed cut out, however, these cuts were most masterfully done. After all, none of the story line is lost and the play remains incredibly powerful without them. In fact, the play's length gives it a compelling, almost brutal, force. The action flows from scene to scene, speech to speech, with a swiftness that draws the viewer into Macbeth's struggles. As Macbeth's world spins out of control, the play itself also begins to spiral towards to its violent end.

Macbeth Questions and Answers

The Question and Answer section for Macbeth is a great resource to ask questions, find answers, and discuss the novel.

Of what importance are the bleeding Sergeant and Ross? Why does Shakespeare introduce two messengers?

There are two pieces of information here, hence the two messengers. The bleeding sergeant is meant to inform Duncan, and the audience, of Macbeth's valor in battle. Ross is meant to inform about the Thane of Cawdor being a traitor. Both pieces of...

The third which says that Banquo's sons shall be kings, Thou shalt get kings, though thou be none. So all hail, Macbeth and Banquo!

Macbeth Act 1 Scene 3 questions

What is significant about the first words that Macbeth speaks in the play?

A motif or recurring idea in the play is equivocation. There is the balance of the dark and the light, the good and the bad. Macbeth's first line reflects this. It...

Study Guide for Macbeth

Macbeth study guide contains a biography of William Shakespeare, literature essays, a complete e-text, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.

• About Macbeth
• Macbeth Summary
• Macbeth Video
• Character List

Essays for Macbeth

Macbeth essays are academic essays for citation. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of Macbeth by William Shakespeare.

• Serpentine Imagery in Shakespeare's Macbeth
• Macbeth's Evolution
• Jumping the Life to Come
• Deceptive Appearances in Macbeth
• Unity in Shakespeare's Tragedies

Lesson Plan for Macbeth

• About the Author
• Study Objectives
• Common Core Standards
• Introduction to Macbeth
• Relationship to Other Books
• Bringing in Technology
• Notes to the Teacher
• Related Links
• Macbeth Bibliography

E-Text of Macbeth

Macbeth e-text contains the full text of Macbeth by William Shakespeare.

• Persons Represented
• Act I, Scene I
• Act I, Scene II
• Act I, Scene III
• Act I, Scene IV

Wikipedia Entries for Macbeth

• Introduction

80 Important Quotes You Should Pay Attention to in Macbeth

Got an essay to write on Shakespeare’s play ‘Macbeth’ but are feeling confused about which quotes you should analyse ? 

Look no further! We’ve compiled 80 important Macbeth quotes across various themes to help inspire some ideas, such as ambition and power, and we’ve even identified the techniques in each of the quotes. 

Keep scrolling to find the best quotes from Macbeth for your essay!

Macbeth Quotes about Ambition Lady Macbeth Quotes Guilt Quotes from Macbeth Masculinity Quotes about Morality from Macbeth Power Quotes from Macbeth Nature and the Supernatural What are Macbeth’s last words?

Download our list of Macbeth quotes!

Quotes about Ambition from Macbeth

As you study Macbeth, you will come to see how different characters experience the feeling of ambition. Two key characters who are tied to ambition throughout the play are Macbeth and Lady Macbeth, which can be seen through the quotes below.

#1: Stay, you imperfect speakers, tell me more. / By Sinel’s death I know I am thane of Glamis. Character: Macbeth  Act 1, Scene 3 Techniques: Characterisation , fatal flaw

#2: This supernatural soliciting / Cannot be ill, cannot be good. If ill, / Why hath it given me earnest of success, / Commencing in a truth? I am thane of Cawdor. / If good, 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. Character: Macbeth  Act 1, Scene 3 Techniques: Monologue

#3: Stars, hide your fires; / Let not light see my black and deep desires. Character: Macbeth  Act 1, Scene 4 Techniques: Characterisation, rhyming couplet

#4: I have no spur / To prick the sides of my intent, but only / Vaulting ambition, which o’erleaps itself / And falls on th’ other. Character: Macbeth  Act 1, Scene 7 Meaning: Macbeth finds it difficult to justify his intent to murder Duncan — it’s only his ambition to be powerful that is pushing him to commit the act, otherwise he has not other motivation or reason for harming Duncan in such a manner. Techniques: Soliloquy, characterisation

#5: To be thus is nothing, / But to be safely thus.  Character: Macbeth Act 3, Scene 1 Techniques: Soliloquy

#6: Fleance, his son, that keeps him company, / Whose absence is no less material to me / Than is his father’s, must embrace the fate / Of that dark hour. Resolve yourselves apart. Character: Macbeth  Act 3, Scene 1 Techniques: Characterisation Analysis: The quote is part of a speech in which Macbeth is planning to murder his friend and former ally, Banquo, in order to prevent Banquo’s descendants from fulfilling a prophecy that they will one day become kings. In this particular part of the speech, Macbeth is talking about Banquo’s son, Fleance, who is with Banquo at the moment. Macbeth is saying that Fleance’s presence is just as important to him as Banquo’s, but that he must also be eliminated in order to secure Macbeth’s position as king. The phrase “Whose absence is no less material to me / Than is his father’s” means that Fleance’s absence would be just as significant to Macbeth as Banquo’s, because both of them pose a threat to his power. “Must embrace the fate / Of that dark hour” means that Fleance must also be killed, just like Banquo, as he is also a threat to Macbeth’s rule. The final sentence, “Resolve yourselves apart,” is directed to the murderers who are going to carry out the plan. Macbeth is telling them to separate and prepare themselves for the murder of both Banquo and Fleance.

#7: 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. Character: Macbeth Act 3, Scene 2 Techniques: imagery, characterisation, fatal flaw  

#8: I am in blood / Stepped in so far that, should I wade no more, / Returning were as tedious as go o’er. Character: Macbeth  Act 3, Scene 4 Techniques: Imagery, figurative language, characterisation Analysis: It is a reflection on the consequences of his actions and the point of no return that he has reached in his quest for power. The phrase “I am in blood” refers to the fact that Macbeth has already committed murder and has become deeply entangled in a web of violence and deceit. He is “stepped in so far” that he feels he cannot turn back without facing consequences that would be “tedious” or arduous. Macbeth realises that he has gone too far to back down and must continue his violent actions in order to maintain his hold on the throne. He is acknowledging that his actions have led him to a place where there is no turning back, and that he must continue on this path, no matter how grim the consequences. The image of wading in blood is a powerful metaphor for the guilt and moral corruption that Macbeth has experienced. The more he wades, the deeper he sinks, until it becomes impossible to return to a state of innocence. Macbeth recognises that his actions have set him on an irreversible course, and he must continue on this path to its inevitable conclusion.

#9: Though you untie the winds and let them fight / Against the churches, though the yeasty waves / Confound and swallow navigation up, / Though bladed corn be lodged and trees blown down… / Even till destruction sicken, answer me / To what I ask you. Character: Macbeth  Act 4, Scene 1 Techniques: Imagery, figurative language The phrase “Though you untie the winds and let them fight / Against the churches, though the yeasty waves / Confound and swallow navigation up, / Though bladed corn be lodged and trees blown down…” is a list of extreme, apocalyptic events that Macbeth uses to emphasize the magnitude of the situation. He is suggesting that even if the world were to descend into chaos, the prophecy he received must still come true. The phrase “Even till destruction sicken” suggests that Macbeth believes that the witches’ prophecy will continue until the point of utter destruction. He wants to know if there is any way to change his fate, even in the face of such insurmountable obstacles. The final sentence, “Answer me / To what I ask you,” is a direct plea to the witches for clarity and answers. Macbeth is seeking reassurance that their prophecy is true and wants to understand if there is anything he can do to alter the course of events.

#10: I’ll fight till from my bones my flesh be hacked. / Give me my armor. Character: Macbeth Act 5, Scene 3 Techniques: Characterisation, parallel

#11: 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! Character: Macbeth  Act 5, Scene 5 Techniques: Soliloquy, repetition

#12: 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. Character: Macbeth  Act 5, Scene 5 Techniques: Soliloquy, metaphor

#13: I ‘gin to be aweary of the sun, / And wish th’ estate o’ th’ world were now undone.— Character: Macbeth  Act 5, Scene 5 Techniques: Fatal flaw

#14: Ring the alarum-bell!—Blow, wind! Come, wrack! / At least we’ll die with harness on our back. Character: Macbeth  Act 5, Scene 5 Techniques: Characterisation 

#15: But swords I smile at, weapons laugh to scorn, / Brandished by man that’s of a woman born. Character: Macbeth  Act 5, Scene 6 Techniques: Fatal flaw

#16: I will not yield, / To kiss the ground before young Malcolm’s feet, / And to be baited with the rabble’s curse. / Though Birnam Wood be come to Dunsinane, / And thou opposed, being of no woman born, / Yet I will try the last. Before my body / I throw my warlike shield. Lay on, Macduff, / And damned be him that first cries, “Hold, enough!” Character: Macbeth  Act 5, Scene 7 Techniques: Characterisation

Lady Macbeth Quotes about Ambition from Macbeth

#17: Yet do I fear thy nature; / It is too full o’ th’ milk of human kindness Character: Lady Macbeth Act 1, Scene 5 Techniques: Characterisation Analysis: Lady Macbeth is contemplating the idea of her husband becoming king and realises that he may be too gentle and compassionate to seize power by violent means. The phrase “Yet do I fear thy nature” suggests that Lady Macbeth is aware of her husband’s gentle and kind nature, and she worries that it may hinder his ambition to become king. She is concerned that he lacks the ruthlessness and brutality necessary to seize power and maintain it. The phrase “It is too full o’ th’ milk of human kindness” is a metaphor that suggests Macbeth is too soft-hearted and compassionate. He is filled with the “milk of human kindness,” which implies that he is too nurturing and caring to commit the kind of ruthless actions that Lady Macbeth thinks are necessary to become king. This quote highlights the contrast between Macbeth’s kind nature and Lady Macbeth’s ambition for power. Lady Macbeth recognises that her husband’s innate goodness may be an obstacle to their plans, and she later convinces him to commit the murder of King Duncan in order to fulfil the prophecy. This quote is a pivotal moment in the play, as it sets the stage for Lady Macbeth’s manipulation of her husband and their descent into darkness.

#18: Art not without ambition, but without / The illness should attend it.  Character: Lady Macbeth Act 1, Scene 5 Techniques: Characterisation

#19: The raven himself is hoarse / That croaks the fatal entrance of Duncan Character: Lady Macbeth Act 1, Scene 5 Techniques: Foreshadowing, characterisation, symbolism

#20: Naught’s had, all’s spent, / Where our desire is got without content. / ‘Tis safer to be that which we destroy / Than by destruction dwell in doubtful joy. Character: Lady Macbeth Act 3, Scene 2 Techniques: Rhyming couplet

Guilt Quotes from Macbeth

While initially, Lady Macbeth was someone who seemed heartless and didn’t feel bad for the murder of Duncan, we see her character experience guilt which leads to her insanity. For Macbeth, he has hallucinations as a result of the consequences of murdering Duncan and his friend, Banquo.

#21: 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. / 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-oppressèd brain? Character: Macbeth  Act 2, Scene 1 Techniques: Monologue, metaphor

#22: “Sleep no more! / Macbeth does murder sleep”—the innocent sleep, / Sleep that knits up the raveled sleave of care, / The death of each day’s life, sore labor’s bath, / Balm of hurt minds, great nature’s second course, / Chief nourisher in life’s feast. Character: Macbeth Act 2, Scene 2 Techniques: Repetition, symbolism

#23: 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. Character: Macbeth  Act 2, Scene 2 Techniques: Figurative language, symbolism Analysis: He is contemplating the enormity of his crime and the guilt and shame he feels. He is asking a rhetorical question about whether he can ever wash away the blood on his hands, which is a symbol of his guilt and his moral corruption. The phrase “Will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood / Clean from my hand?” refers to the ancient Roman god of the sea, Neptune. Macbeth is asking whether even the vastness of the ocean can wash away the stain of his crime, and he concludes that it cannot. The phrase “No, this my hand will rather / The multitudinous seas incarnadine, / Making the green one red” is a metaphor for the idea that the blood on his hands is so pervasive that it will contaminate everything it touches, even the vast seas of the world. The use of the word “incarnadine” means to turn something red, which suggests that the blood on his hands will spread and taint everything around him. Overall, this quote highlights the magnitude of Macbeth’s guilt and the fact that his crime has irreversibly changed him. He realises that he cannot escape the consequences of his actions and that the blood on his hands will always be a reminder of his moral corruption.

#24: A little water clears us of this deed. / How easy is it, then! Your constancy / Hath left you unattended. Character: Lady Macbeth Act 2, Scene 2 Techniques: Irony, contrast

#25: We have scorched the snake, not killed it. / She’ll close and be herself whilst our poor malice / Remains in danger of her former tooth. Character: Macbeth Act 3, Scene 2 Techniques: Metaphor

#26: Oh, full of scorpions is my mind, dear wife! Thou know’st that Banquo, and his Fleance, lives. Character: Macbeth Act 3, Scene 2 Techniques: Metaphor, figurative language 

#27: But now I am cabined, cribbed, confined, bound in / To saucy doubts and fears. Character: Macbeth  Act 3, Scene 4 Techniques: Alliteration Analysis: The phrase “cabined, cribbed, confined, bound in” suggests a sense of imprisonment and restriction. Macbeth feels trapped and constrained by his doubts and fears. The word “cabined” means to be confined to a small space, while “cribbed” means to be enclosed or confined in a narrow space. The repetition of “confined” and “bound in” further emphasizes the sense of being trapped and restricted. Macbeth feels like he cannot escape his doubts and fears, and they are suffocating him. The phrase “To saucy doubts and fears” suggests that Macbeth’s doubts and fears are insolent and disrespectful. They are “saucy” in the sense that they are insolent and impudent, as if they are taunting him. Macbeth feels like he is being tormented by his own thoughts, which are mocking him and his actions. Overall, this quote highlights the psychological toll that Macbeth’s actions have taken on him. He is consumed by guilt and fear, and he feels trapped by his own doubts and anxieties. This sense of confinement and restriction will ultimately lead to his downfall, as he becomes increasingly paranoid and isolated.

#28: Thanks for that. / There the grown serpent lies. The worm that’s fled / Hath nature that in time will venom breed; / No teeth for th’ present. Character: Macbeth  Act 3, Scene 4 Techniques: Metaphor

#29: Blood will have blood. / Stones have been known to move, and trees to speak. / Augurs and understood relations have / By magot pies and choughs and rooks brought forth / The secret’st man of blood Character: Macbeth Act 3, Scene 4 Techniques: Foreshadowing

#30: Out, damned spot! Out, I say!—One, two. / Why, then, ’tis time to do ’t. Hell is murky!— / Fie, my lord, fie! A soldier, and afeard? / What need we fear who knows it, when / none can call our power to account?—Yet / who would have thought the old man to have had so much blood in him. Character: Lady Macbeth Act 5, Scene 1 Techniques: Disjointed speech, symbolism, parallel

#31: Here’s the smell of the blood still. All the / perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten / this little hand. Oh, Oh, Oh! Character: Lady Macbeth Act 5, Scene 1 Techniques: Imagery, hyperbole, symbolism

#32: I have lived long enough. My way of life / Is fall’n into the sere, the yellow leaf, / And that which should accompany old age, / As honor, love, obedience, troops of friends, / I must not look to have, but, in their stead, / Curses, not loud but deep, mouth-honor, breath / Which the poor heart would fain deny and dare not. Character: Macbeth  Act 5, Scene 3 Techniques: Figurative language

#33: But get thee back. My soul is too much charged / With blood of thine already. Character: Macbeth  Act 5, Scene 7 Techniques: Figurative language

Masculinity

The way masculinity is represented in this play is heavily linked to being ambitious. Lady Macbeth’s quotes tend to talk about how Macbeth is cowardly and not “man” enough to go after the power they “deserve”.

#34: This have I thought good to deliver thee, my dearest partner of /  greatness, that thou might’st not lose the / dues of rejoicing, by being ignorant of what / greatness is promised thee. Lay it to thy / heart, and farewell. Character: Lady Macbeth (reading Macbeth’s letter)  Act 1, Scene 5 Techniques: Characterisation 

#35: I may pour my spirits in thine ear / And chastise with the valor of my tongue/ All that impedes thee from the golden round,” Character: Lady Macbeth Act 1, Scene 5 Techniques: Characterisation, metaphor

#36: 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  Character: Lady Macbeth Act 1, Scene 5 Techniques: Imagery

#37: Come to my woman’s breasts, / And take my milk for gall, you murd’ring ministers Character: Lady Macbeth Act 1, Scene 5 Techniques: Figurative language

#38: 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 plucked my nipple from his boneless gums / And dashed the brains out, had I so sworn as you / Have done to this. Character: Lady Macbeth  Act 1, Scene 7 Techniques: Metaphor

#39: That which hath made them drunk hath made me bold. / What hath quenched them hath given me fire. Character: Lady Macbeth Act 2, Scene 2 Techniques: Juxtaposition, characterisation

#40: My hands are of your colour, but I shame / To wear a heart so white. Character: Lady Macbeth  Act 2, Scene 2 Techniques: Figurative language Analysis: She is comparing their hands, which are stained with blood, and noting that they are the same color. However, she is also saying that she is ashamed to wear a heart as white as Macbeth’s. The phrase “My hands are of your colour” suggests that Lady Macbeth is equally responsible for the murder of King Duncan as Macbeth. She has encouraged him to commit the crime and has even helped him to carry it out. Her hands are also stained with blood, and she shares in the guilt and shame of the murder. The phrase “but I shame / To wear a heart so white” is a metaphor for the idea that Lady Macbeth is ashamed of Macbeth’s lack of ruthlessness and ambition. The color white is often associated with purity and innocence, which Lady Macbeth sees as a weakness in her husband. She is disappointed that he is not more ruthless and ambitious, and she believes that his “white” heart is holding them back from achieving their goals. Overall, this quote highlights the contrast between Lady Macbeth’s ambition and Macbeth’s conscience. Lady Macbeth is willing to do whatever it takes to achieve their goals, while Macbeth is struggling with his guilt and his sense of morality. This tension between ambition and conscience is a key theme in the play and ultimately leads to Macbeth’s downfall.

#41: This is the very painting of your fear. / This is the air-drawn dagger which you said / Led you to Duncan. Oh, these flaws and starts, / Impostors to true fear, would well become /A woman’s story at a winter’s fire, / Authorized by her grandam. Shame itself! Character: Lady Macbeth Act 3, Scene 4 Techniques: Juxtaposition, characterisation

Quotes about Morality from Macbeth

This play questions a lot of characters’ morality in terms of what they are willing to do in order to get what they want.

#42: There’s no art / To find the mind’s construction in the face. / He was a gentleman on whom I built / An absolute trust. Character: Duncan Act 1, Scene 4 Techniques: Foreshadowing

#43: The prince of Cumberland! That is a step / On which I must fall down, or else o’erleap, / For in my way it lies  Characters: Macbeth Act 1, Scene 4 Techniques: Aside, metaphor

#44: Look like th’ innocent flower, / But be the serpent under ’t.  Character: Lady Macbeth  Act 1, Scene 5 Techniques: Simile, metaphor

#45: This castle hath a pleasant seat. The air  / Nimbly and sweetly recommends itself / Unto our gentle senses. Character: Duncan Act 1, Scene 6 Techniques: Irony

#46: Where we are, / There’s daggers in men’s smiles. The near in blood, / The nearer bloody. Character: Donalblain Act 2, Scene 3 Meaning: Donalbain says that him and his brother Malcolm shouldn’t stay where they are, as it isn’t safe. There are people who want them dead and he can tell just from the way others are looking at them — there’s a motivation that he doesn’t want to see come to fruition. Techniques: Metaphor

#47: With hidden help and vantage, or that with both / He labored in his country’s wrack, I know not; / But treasons capital, confessed and proved, / Have overthrown him. Character: Angus Act 1, Scene 3 Techniques: Figurative language, irony 

#48: This tyrant, whose sole name blisters our tongues, / Was once thought honest Character: Malcolm Act 4, Scene 3 Techniques: Connotation, parallel

#49: Macduff: I am not treacherous. / Malcolm: But Macbeth is. / A good and virtuous nature may recoil / In an imperial charge. Characters: Macduff and Malcolm Act 4, Scene 3 Techniques: Parallel, characterisation

Power Quotes from Macbeth

Power is also a theme within the play that is strongly linked to ambition and desire. It is something Macbeth aspires to have when he is told by the witches that he is meant to be king — but the way he goes about attaining it and keeping it is morally questionable.

#50: For brave Macbeth—well he deserves that name— / Disdaining fortune, with his brandished steel, / Like valor’s minion carved out his passage / Till he faced the slave Character: Captain Act 1, Scene 2 Techniques: Direct characterisation, simile

#51: All hail, Macbeth, that shalt be king hereafter! Character: Third Witch  Act 1, Scene 3 Techniques: Foreshadowing

#52: The son of Duncan— / From whom this tyrant holds the due of birth— Character: Lord Act 3, Scene 6 Techniques: Connotation, fatal flaw 

#53: Be bloody, bold, and resolute. Laugh to scorn / The power of man, for none of woman born / Shall harm Macbeth. Character: Second Apparition  Act 3, Scene 1 Techniques: Foreshadowing

#54: The castle of Macduff I will surprise, / Seize upon Fife, give to th’ edge o’ th’ sword / His wife, his babes, and all unfortunate souls / That trace him in his line. No boasting like a fool. / This deed I’ll do before this purpose cool.  Character: Macbeth Act 4, Scene 1 Techniques: Characterisation, fatal flaw  

#55: 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. Character: Macduff Act 4, Scene 3 Techniques: Imagery, repetition, setting 

#56: Angels are bright still, though the brightest fell. Character: Malcolm Act 4, Scene 3 Techniques: Biblical allusion

#57: I think our country sinks beneath the yoke. / It weeps, it bleeds, and each new day a gash / Is added to her wounds. Character: Malcolm Act 4, Scene 3 Techniques: Personification , metaphor, setting

#58: Not in the legions / Of horrid hell can come a devil more damned / In evils to top Macbeth. Character: Macduff Act 4, Scene 3 Techniques: Connotation, hyperbole

#59: Now does he feel his title / Hang loose about him, like a giant’s robe / Upon a dwarfish thief. Character: Angus Act 5, Scene 2 Meaning: This line explains what Angus believes Macbeth feels at this point in the play. The title doesn’t suit him and Macbeth is compared to a dwarf wearing the stolen clothes of a giant. The way Angus describes him is spot on, because he did steal the crown, rather than letting the prophecy of the witches happen organically. Techniques: Simile, characterisation

#60: Meet we the medicine of the sickly weal, / And with him pour we in our country’s purge / Each drop of us. Character: Caithness Act 5, Scene 2 Techniques: Metaphor

#61: Bring me no more reports. Let them fly all. /Till Birnam Wood remove to Dunsinane / I cannot taint with fear. Character: Macbeth Act 5, Scene 3 Techniques: Characterisation, fatal flaw 

#62: Bring it after me. / I will not be afraid of death and bane / Till Birnam Forest come to Dunsinane. Character: Macbeth  Act 5, Scene 3 Techniques: Rhyming couplet, fatal flaw 

#63: I have almost forgot the taste of fears. Character: Macbeth  Act 5, Scene 4 Techniques: Figurative language, characterisation

#64: I pull in resolution and begin / To doubt th’ equivocation of the fiend / That lies like truth.  Character: Macbeth  Act 5, Scene 5 Techniques: Fatal flaw 

Nature and the Supernatural

#65: Fair is foul, and foul is fair / Hover through the fog and filthy air Character: 3 Witches Act 1, Scene 1  Techniques: Rhyming couplet, imagery

#66: When the hurly-burly’s done, / When the battle’s lost and won. Character: 3 Witches Act 1, Scene 1  Techniques: Rhyming couplet, characterisation

#67: So foul and fair a day I have not seen. Character: Macbeth Act 1, Scene 3 Techniques: Paradox, pathetic fallacy

#68: The weird sisters, hand in hand, / Posters of the sea and land, / Thus do go about, about, / Thrice to thine and thrice to mine / And thrice again, to make up nine. / Peace! The charm’s wound up. Character: Witches Act 1, Scene 3 Techniques: Imagery

#69: So withered and so wild in their attire, / That look not like th’ inhabitants o’ th’ Earth, / And yet are on ’t? Character: Banquo Act 1, Scene 3 Techniques: Characterisation

#70: Witchcraft celebrates / Pale Hecate’s offerings, and withered murder, / Alarumed 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. Character: Macbeth Act 2, Scene 1 Techniques: Symbolism, connotation, imagery

#71: Here’s a knocking indeed! If a man were porter of hell-gate, he should have old turning the key. Character: Porter Act 2, Scene 3 Techniques: Metaphor

#72: 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.  Character: Lennox Act 2, Scene 3 Techniques: Imagery, foreshadowing

#73: By th’ clock ’tis day, / And yet dark night strangles the travelling lamp. / Is ’t night’s predominance or the day’s shame / That darkness does the face of Earth entomb / When living light should kiss it?  Character: Ross Act 2, Scene 4 Techniques: Imagery

#74: Even like the deed that’s done. On Tuesday last, / A falcon, tow’ring in her pride of place, / Was by a mousing owl hawked at and killed. Character: Ross Act 2, Scene 4 Techniques: Imagery, symbolism

#75: Enter the GHOST OF BANQUO, and sits in MACBETH’s place Stage direction Act 3, Scene 4 Meaning: In the banquet at Macbeth’s castle, Banquo is absent because Macbeth had him killed. Macbeth’s guilt manifests in the form of him seeing the ghost of Banquo at the banquet and no one else there can see him, only Macbeth. Techniques: Imagery

#76: Shall raise such artificial sprites / As by the strength of their illusion / Shall draw him on to his confusion. Character: Hecate Act 3, Scene 5 Techniques: Rhyming couplet

#77: He shall spurn fate, scorn death, and bear / His hopes ‘bove wisdom, grace, and fear. / And you all know, security / Is mortals’ chiefest enemy. Character: Hecate Act 3, Scene 5 Techniques: Foreshadowing

#78: Double, double toil and trouble, /Fire burn, and cauldron bubble. Character: Witches Act 4, Scene 1 Meaning: This is a chant said by the witches, which are very vague in meaning. However, they are essentially saying that Macbeth has brought on double the trouble upon himself for murdering people in order to get the crown. Techniques: Imagery, rhyming

#79: Foul whisp’rings are abroad. Unnatural deeds / Do breed unnatural troubles. Character: Doctor Act 5, Scene 1 Techniques: Imagery, motif, parallel 

#80: As I did stand my watch upon the hill, / I looked toward Birnam, and anon methought / The wood began to move. Character: Messenger Act 5, Scene 5 Techniques: Foreshadowing

What are Macbeth’s last words?

Yet I will try the last. Before my body I throw my warlike shield. Lay on, Macduff, And damned be him that first cries, “Hold, enough!” Character: Macbeth Act 5, Scene 8

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Macbeth Essay Quotes

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Yet do I fear thy nature; It is too full o' the milk of human kindness.

If chance will have me king, why, chance may crown me.

False face must hide what the false heart doth know.

I am in blood Stepp'd in so far, that, should I wade no more, Returning were as tedious as go o'er.

A little water clears us of this deed.

Fair is foul, and foul is fair, hover through fog and filthy air.

Vaulting ambition, which o'erleaps itself And falls on the other side

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.

Look like the innocent flower, But be the serpent under it.

My hands are of your color, but I shame to wear a heart so white.

All the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand! Oh, oh, oh!

Bloody instructions, which, being taught, return to plague the inventor.

I dare do all that may become a man; Who dares do more, is none

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.

So foul and fair a day I have not seen.

The instruments of darkness tell us truths.

Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow,Creeps in this petty pace from day to day

Out, damned spot! Out, I say!

Yet who would have thought the old man to have had so much blood in him? - Lady Macbeth

We fail! But screw your courage to the sticking-place, And we'll not fail.

It is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury; signifying nothing.

By the pricking of my thumbs, Something wicked this way comes.

Nothing in his life became him like leaving it.

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.

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Macbeth GCSE English Literature Revision Booklet

Subject: English

Age range: 14-16

Resource type: Assessment and revision

Last updated

23 September 2024

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This GCSE English workbook on Macbeth provides a comprehensive guide for students studying Shakespeare’s tragic play. It includes:

Introduction to Macbeth: This section introduces the play’s context, including its historical and cultural background, the significance of Shakespeare’s work, and the basic plot outline.

Plot Summary: A detailed overview of the play’s narrative structure, summarizing the key events from Macbeth’s encounter with the witches to his ultimate downfall.

Characters and Character Analysis: In-depth profiles of major characters such as Macbeth, Lady Macbeth, Banquo, and Macduff, examining their roles, motivations, and development throughout the play.

Themes in Macbeth: Exploration of major themes including ambition, guilt, the supernatural, appearance versus reality, and the corrupting influence of power. This section analyzes how these themes are woven into the fabric of the play and their significance.

Key Scenes and Analysis: A focus on pivotal scenes, such as Macbeth’s soliloquy in Act 2, Scene 1, and Lady Macbeth’s sleepwalking scene in Act 5, Scene 1. Each scene is analyzed for its impact on the plot and character development.

Language, Structure, and Form: An examination of Shakespeare’s use of language, including imagery, metaphor, and rhetorical devices, as well as the play’s structure and dramatic form. This section highlights how these elements contribute to the play’s themes and overall effect.

Essay Questions and Practice Tasks: A set of essay questions and practice tasks designed to deepen understanding and enhance critical writing skills. These include analyzing themes, character relationships, and significant scenes.

Quotation Bank: A collection of key quotations from the play, organized by theme and character. Each quotation is accompanied by analysis to help students understand its significance and how it contributes to the play’s overall meaning.

Sample GCSE Essay: A model essay responding to an exam-style question about the theme of ambition in Macbeth. The essay includes an introduction, body paragraphs with detailed analysis, and a conclusion, demonstrating how to structure a coherent and insightful argument.

This workbook serves as a valuable resource for students preparing for their GCSE English exams, offering detailed insights into Macbeth and supporting their analysis and writing skills.

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Disappointing! While this resource contains plenty of information about themes, plot, characters, key quotes and a model essay, there is nothing for students to actively do; all the work is done for them.

Sorry i should have listed it as a revision pack rather than a work pack

If you drop me an email I will send my other resource pack for Macbeth free of charge

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