Macbeth: Key Quotes

Art not without ambition & Too full o’ the milk of human kindness:
This comes from Lady Macbeth's first speech when she appears on-stage. In it, she describes her husband as being "not without ambition" which is like saying he's not THAT ambitious; and she says he's just too kind. Bearing in mind that this is a man who's just cut someone in half and been promoted to the highest position he can be, aside from being king, this seems pretty unfair really - to most people, he wouldn't seem very kind at all, and he's just won a big promotion. She's certainly not showing support for her husband. The reference to milk also has associations of femininity and childhood, which could have been seen as being quite insulting.

MY battlements
When she hears that Duncan is visiting her family home she refers to them as "my" battlements, showing just how she sees the power dynamic in their home.

Come you spirits
Here, Lady Macbeth is ordering the spirits to come to her help. Does this confirm she's a witch? Perhaps not - though it's definitely being implied! What we can take from this though is that the way she uses imperatives - COME you spirits - shows just how demanding and powerful she sees herself.

stop up the access and passage to remorse
Here, Lady Macbeth is asking the spirits to stop her from feeling any regret. Is this a spell that lasts for most of the play but is cancelled by the end, when she finally kills herself?

Unsex me here
Important note: she is NOT asking to be made more masculine, as masculine codes of loyalty would have stopped her from being able to kill Duncan. Here, she asks to be without gender, so she has all gender expectations removed entirely.

Witches: Thou shalt be king hereafter / Macbeth: King that shalt be / Lady Macbeth: Greater than both by the all hail hereafter
The witches say that Macbeth will be king "hereafter" but Macbeth gets the quote wrong when he writes to his wife. Then, when she greets him, she quotes the witches correctly. Does this suggest she's a witch? Quite possibly, though Shakespeare doesn't really do much with it if she is one, so it's a bit of a misdirect.

O, never / Shall sun that morrow see!
Macbeth says that Duncan will be leaving in the morning, Lady Macbeth says that he'll never see the morning! This line is proof that Macbeth had no intention of murdering Duncan that night - and that it was Lady Macbeth's idea.

Look like th’ innocent flower / but be the serpent under it
Here, she's teaching her husband how to lie - which was considered to be a more feminine and less masculine act; men were supposed to be tied to their words while women were capable of manipulation. But this line also references the story of Adam and Eve which is a story with a number of key parallels to Macbeth.

What beast was't, then, / That made you break this enterprise to me?
This is just a clear piece of gaslighting - Macbeth didn't break this enterprise to her, she had the idea of killing Duncan. She's putting words into his mouth as a way of applying pressure on him.

These deeds must not be thought / After these ways; so, it will make us mad.
Really nice piece of foresight here from Lady Macbeth, though she didn't take into account the fact that some deeds are so horrific they will be thought of whether you like it or not.

My hands are of your colour; but I shame / To wear a heart so white.
One of many references to blood on hands here, though here Lady Macbeth is making it clear that although she has blood on her hands she won't pretend that he heart is white. This is basically her saying that she'll accept what they've done; her heart is no longer white and pure, and she will accept it.

Nought'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.
The only four lines in play that come prior to her sleepwalking scene where she expresses any dissatisfaction at what they've done. Here, however, she doesn't regret it so much as she's angry that they're not happy and doesn't feel safe.

This is the very painting of your fear: / This is the air-drawn dagger which, you said, Led you to Duncan. / Shame itself!
Here she's angrily telling off Macbeth for saying he sees Banquo's ghost. She compares it to the dagger he says he saw before he killed Duncan and claims they're all a part of Macbeth's unstable mental state. She's basically telling him he should be ashamed to be so weak-minded.

I pray you, speak not; he grows worse and worse; / Stand not upon the order of your going, / But go at once.
At the end of the banquet scene, where Banquo's ghost visits Macbeth, she tells all the other Lords to go home. "Go at once," she says, which confirms that she feels no discomfort ordering anyone around - so far she's ordered spirits around, Macbeth around, and now the rest of the Scottish nobility as well.

Out, damned spot! out, I say!
However, despite being able to order everyone else around, Lady Macbeth discovers that she can't order away her own guilt - she can control the rest of the world, but not herself. Her blood stained hands will remain regardless of how much she demands that they be clean.

What, will these hands ne'er be clean? / Here's the smell of the blood still: all the / perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand.
These images continue the theme of blood-stained hands and highlight that Lady Macbeth cannot order away her own guilt. It is important to note, however, that the only scene in which we see Lady Macbeth feeling guilt comes while she is asleep. Perhaps this is a reference to her subconscious dreamworld where she is forced to face that which her conscious self cannot.

A cry of women within / SEYTON: The queen, my lord, is dead.
A lot of people claim that the fact Seyton sounds a lot like Satan is a coincidence, but that seems a stretch for a writer as skilled as Shakespeare. Macbeth says his name three times before he comes on stage, and he's the only servant who gets given a name... and his name sounds a LOT like Satan! It is also Satan - sorry Seyton - who discovers Lady Macbeth's body. Though this isn't proof of anything, there would have been audience members who left wondering whether Seyton himself was involved in Lady Mabeth's death.

MALCOLM: ...(Macbeth's) fiend-like queen, / Who, as 'tis thought, by self and violent hands / Took off her life
The proof of Lady Macbeth's suicide is saved until the final speech in the play where Malcolm mentions it in passing. The reference to the "violent hands" makes it pretty clear that she didn't throw herself off any castle battlements, however, and it's definitely the case that he wouldn't be launching an enquiry into how she really died. The truth is that Shakespeare leaves the real cause of Lady Macbeth's death a little bit open - she could have killed herself, either as a result of finally feeling guilt or simply because she knew that Macbeth would lose and she wasn't prepared to be captured by the English; or she could have been killed by Seyton and his minions... either way, and her death wasn't very well covered in the play. She goes from ordering the other Scottish nobility to go home at the end of Act 3 to so anxious she's ready for suicide in Act 5 with NO character arc at all. Why did Shakespeare leave one of literature's biggest turnarounds to happen off-stage? Who knows...

Describing Macbeth: brave Macbeth / disdaining fortune / smoked with bloody execution
In A1 S2, the captain calls Macbeth “brave Macbeth,” then claims that the adjective should be used as his “name.” He almost seems to be saying that Macbeth should have brave as his title, as though he is so brave it is almost a first name. He also claims he was “disdaining fortune” during the battle. This is interesting as it is almost saying he is ignoring fortune, which could be seen as wealth, which he ignored as he stayed loyal to Duncan rather than fighting for the rebels who would have paid him, but it also means fate or destiny, which is something he didn’t ignore in the rest of the play. The captain also says that Macbeth’s sword “smoked with bloody execution.” The verb “smoked” suggests that his sword was moving fast enough to make it burn, while the reference to “execution” is important as, at this point in the play, Macbeth’s sword is working for justice, and executing those who are trying to attack the king. Here, Macbeth is definitely a classic hero for Jacobean men.

Lady Macbeth: yet do I fear thy nature;
In A1 S5 Lady Macbeth says she “fears” Macbeth’s “nature.” This is important for two reasons: firstly, it seems very extreme to argue that you “fear” something in a family member. It is not like she just worries for him, she “fears” for him. This verb reflects just how important ambition is for Lady Macbeth, who seems to feel that without it Macbeth might be in danger – the only reason we would “fear” for someone. Also, her use of nature has two meanings: firstly, his nature is his personality and she fears his personality is too weak to be able to kill the king. Secondly, it seems that Macbeth’s “nature” is to stick to what is natural – the king being the king, and Macbeth being his servant. In truth, it is “nature” itself that Lady Macbeth fears: she fears the way things are as she doesn’t have everything she wants.

Lady Macbeth: too full o’ the milk of human kindness
In A1 S5 Lady Macbeth says Macbeth is “too full o’ the milk of human kindness.” In this metaphor, milk connotes a number of important things. For example, it is white and white represents purity. It is also associated with women, who were seen as the weaker sex. It is also fed to children, so she could be making Macbeth seem almost childlike. She also says he is “too” full of it, an adverb which immediately suggests that it is wrong.

Lady Macbeth: unsex me here
In A1 S5 Lady Macbeth asks the spirits to “unsex” her. Often this is seen as a desire to become more of a man, however this is a clear misunderstanding. She doesn’t ask to be more of a man, she asks to be “unsexed.” The truth is that men had their own codes of conduct and if she was more of a man she wouldn’t have been able to kill Duncan either – it would have been a betrayal which was forbidden for men. She asks to be unsexed because she wants to lose all gender codes – to become free to act as she sees fit, and be unbound from gender altogether. This makes her wishes against the natural order, and wrong.

Lady Macbeth: look like the innocent flower, But be the serpent under’t
In A1 S5 Lady Macbeth tells Macbeth to look like the “innocent flower” but be the “serpent under’t.” This is one of the most famous lines in Macbeth, and in it Lady Macbeth is telling her husband to make sure he hides his real desires. The first half of the image highlights just how perfect he should look: the adjective innocent is associated with purity and perfection; while flowers are symbols of happiness and joy. Flowers are also natural which suggests she is reminding him to keep looking like the natural order will be retained. The serpent, however, is a clear reference to Satan, who appeared as a serpent in Genesis. While his position “under’t” reminds us of Hell, where Satan lives. LM is basically telling Macbeth to look absolutely perfect, but continue to be perfectly evil. This line is also a reference to the Adam and Eve story, which is a story with a number of key connections to Macbeth. Read more about that here...

Macbeth: I have no spur to prick the sides of my intent but only vaulting ambition, which o’er leaps itself and falls on th’other
During his soliloquy in A1 S7, Macbeth makes it very clear that he doesn’t want to kill Duncan for a range of reasons. He says, he has no reason to kill him – no “spur to prick the sides of my intent” – but only “vaulting ambition / that does o’er leap itself and falls on the other.” Shakespeare creates the image of Macbeth leaping over an obstacle in order to be King. He recognises that his ambition requires him to jump, but, crucially, he also acknowledges that his ambition will see him jump too far – “o’er leap himself” – and fall down again. He knows it won’t work. The only reason he can think of for doing this thing, and he knows it won’t work. Seems incredible to think he did it at all really!

Macbeth: We will proceed no further in this business:
In A1 S7 Macbeth tells his LM that he will “proceed no further in this business.” This is one of the few moments in the play where he stands up to his wife. Here, he refers to the murder of Duncan as a “business” a noun that suggests he sees it as a part of a job, something for which he is being paid. This euphamism shows both how much Macbeth views killing as a job, rather than a horrific event, and also the fact that there really is no other reason to kill Duncan other than the “business.”

Lady Macbeth: A little water clears us of this deed:
Here, Lady Macbeth argues that Macbeth can clear his conscience when he washes his hands. The blood represents the guilt that he carries after killing Duncan and she believes he can wash it off. However, she discovers later that guilt cannot be washed off that easily as she begins finding invisible blood on her own hands. This represents the extent to which she cannot clean herself of guilt.

Macbeth: O, full of scorpions is my mind, dear wife!
In A3 S2 Macbeth says his mind is “full of scorpions.” Here, he uses a metaphor to say how painful even thinking has become – he is displaying signs of madness. Scorpions are creatures that are both poisonous and have sharp claws, so they can attack with both ends – deadly. Also, as they are ground dwelling killers, like snakes, they call to mind the way that Satan appeared in the Bible, which immediately references the witches’ and their evil desires. It is also interesting to compare this quote to Lady Macbeth’s desire to pour her “sprits” into his ear. You could easily argue that her spirits, became his scorpions.

Macbeth: Life is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.
By A5 S5, Macbeth is in deep despair: life has lost all meaning. He calls it a “tale told by an idiot.” This would have been an almost comical metaphor for Shakespeare, since he was the one who told Macbeth’s tale! He says it is full of “sound and fury” – a clear reference to the violence that is inherent in so much of Shakespeare and Macbeth’s worlds of fighting, witch burning, reformations, and royal wars. Finally, he says that life “signifies nothing.” More than any other quote this reveals Macbeth’s final depression: life has no deeper meaning. Everything Macbeth did was, ultimately, for nothing. It is interesting to wonder whether it was the same lack of understanding that made Macbeth such a ruthless killer in the start that also made him such a poor king when the time came.