Macbeth quotes
"i have no spurs to prick the sides of my intent but vaulting ambition"
AMBITION/BETRAYAL
• Act 1 Scene 7
• The metaphor suggests the only motivation macbeth has to commit regicide is vaulting ambition which disrupts the natural order of the divine right
• This is shown through his downfall of destructive consequences: killing duncan, banquo and lady macduff - then being slain himself
"is this a dagger which i see before me, the handle toward me hand. come let me clutch thee"
• Act 2 Scene 1
• The dagger mentioned is a visual representation leading macbeth (literally and metaphorically) to the murder of duncan and foreshadows bloodier visions to come
• The feminine iambic pentameter suggests uncertainty and weakness which diminishes as the solilioquy progresses
"will all great neptunes ocean wash this blood clean from my hand?"
GUILT/BETRAYAL/VIOLENCE
• Act 2 Scene 2
• Shakespeare uses blood to symbolise guilt and water to symbolise purity
• The metaphor of Neptunes Ocean suggets no amount of water will ever remove the sacrilegious stain of regicide
"full of scorpions is my mind"
• Act 3 Scene 2
• This sad metaphor reveals both Macbeths paranoia and his deep and dark desires
• The metaphorical scorpions have replaced the milk of human kindness cementing macbeth as villanous
"give me my armour"
• Act 5 Scene 3
• This imperative shows power and authority
• Macbeth is reverting back to his soldier persona from the start of the play. This is the role that is truly his, it fits him unlike the giant role of the king which he ursurped
"chance may crown me without my stir"
AMBITION
• Act 1 Scene 3
• Macbeth personifies chance and reasons fate may allow him to obtain the throne without him taking action
• At this point of the play, macbeth has just recieved the title thane of cawdor without taking action. this gives him hope
• However, macbeths ambition influences him contemplate commiting regicide, which implies that he will have to take fate into his own hands and control his destiny