Act 1 (All Scenes)

Scene 1

“But all’s too weak;

For brave Macbeth”
Nothing compares to brave Macbeth, Banquo is inspired by Macbeth and thinks highly of him, this quote
shows that Banquo believes there is no mortal that can compare to the bravery and strength of Macbeth.

“As sparrows eagles; or the hare the lion.

If I say sooth, I must report they were
As cannons overcharg’d with double cracks, so they
Doubly redoubled strokes upon the foe.”
Although overpowered by the Norwegian army “As sparrows to eagles, or the hare to the lion.” The
Norwegians being the eagle or lion and Macbeth being the hare or sparrow.
Macbeth returned with double the aggression and was able to defeat a much more powerful foe, showing
Macbeth’s skill on the battlefield, bravery, determination and strength in his arm.

Scene 4

“The Prince of Cumberland! That is a step

On which I must fall down, or else o’erleap,”
First sign that Macbeth has the desire to be king, yet refrains from telling his true intention yet.

“Let not light see my black and deep desires;

The eye wink at the hand; yet let that be
Which the eye fears, when it is done, to see.”
Macbeth elaborates on his previous statement making it now clear he plans to become king through a
dark manner and says that he hopes his desires aren’t noticed by the ‘light’

Scene 5

“That my keen knife see not the wound it makes,

Nor heaven peep through the blanket of the dark
To cry, “Hold, hold!”
Lady Macbeth makes it clear she has the same idea as Macbeth in that they both wish for their intentions
to not be seen by good forces, and be hidden in the dark.

“Tomorrow, as he purposes.”
Macbeth’s ‘dry’ response indicates his disinterest in his wifes ‘rambling’ and is not entirely sure on what
his own intentions are.

“Your hand, your tongue; look like th’ innocent flower,

But be the serpent under’t.”
Lady Macbeth intends to cover up her

“We will speak further.”

Macbeth has disregarded his wife, likely indicating he isn’t sure on what he intends to do, even though
his wife seems almost certain.
Scene 7

“Was the hope drunk

Wherein you dress’d yourself? Hath it slept since?”
Lady Macbeth is basically belittling Macbeth to stress her annoyance towards him, so she says “Were
you drunk when you thought of that idea?” Stating that it is a stupid idea of Macbeth.

“What beast was’t then

That made you break this enterprise to me?”
Lady Macbeth is frustrated with Macbeth’s lack of ambition, drived by her own, she brings him down
claiming that he’s not a man in order to shame him into killing king Duncan.
26 July 2023

“If we should fail?”

Macbeth is falling under the influence of Lady Macbeth.

Act 2 (All Scenes)

Scene 1

“All’s well.
I dreamt last night of the three weïrd sisters:
To you they have show’d some truth.”
This shows early signs that Banquo is already suspicious of Macbeth, he claims that the Weird Sisters
have already told some truth, as Macbeth has become Thane of Cawdor, and indicates that the weird
sister may have been even more truthful with what they said.

“I think not of them;”

Macbeth states that he does not think of what the weird sisters told him, most likely saying that he
doesn’t believe the things they prophesied.

“Yet when we can entreat an hour to serve,

We would spend it in some words upon that business,
If you would grant the time.”
Macbeth quickly changes the subject so that Banquo is hopefully also not thinking about it.

Scene 2

“I have done the deed. Didst thou not hear a noise?”

Macbeth has killed King Duncan, he is telling lady Macbeth.

“I heard the owl scream and the crickets cry.

Did not you speak?”
Lady Macbeth was listening in, yet she didn’t hear Macbeth commit to the deed thus explaining her
suspicion to whether he had done it or not.

“These deeds must not be thought

After these ways; so, it will make us mad.”
Lady Macbeth notices that Macbeth is in distress because of his actions, to the point that he may already
regret it. In this quote she tries to sway his train of thought by saying they should not dwell on the what
Macbeth has just done as it will drive them both mad.
“Methought I heard a voice cry, “Sleep no more!
Macbeth does murder sleep”—the innocent sleep,
Sleep that knits up the ravell’d sleave of care,
The death of each day’s life, sore labour’s bath,
Balm of hurt minds, great nature’s second course,
Chief nourisher in life’s feast.”
Disregarding his wife’s requests, Macbeth continues to mope about what he has just done and begins to
unravel his regrets, saying that what he has done has even gone against the course of nature.

“What do you mean?”

This quote is a great example of the way the human mind works, at one point she was trying to stop
Macbeth from saying his regrets, but once she was given an interesting prompt she cannot help herself
but investigate more. Even when it is the opposite of what she was wanting before.

“You do unbend your noble strength, to think

So brain-sickly of things.”
What Shakespeare meant as Lady Macbeth’s intentions for this quote was that she believes that Macbeth
saying such vile and sick thoughts contradicts his strong and brave demeanour which we have been
convinced is what Brave Macbeth is like.

“I hear a knocking
At the south entry. Retire we to our chamber.
A little water clears us of this deed;”
This quote shows the shallowness of Macbeth, and what he is actually believing. Not long before he was
in full denial and regretted what he had done, yet now he just claims that ‘Well if I wash my hand, it never
happened.’

Scene 3

“O horror, horror, horror! Tongue nor heart

Cannot conceive nor name thee!”
Macduff has most likely just discovered the body of King Duncan.

“Confusion now hath made his masterpiece!

Most sacrilegious murder hath broke ope
The Lord’s anointed temple, and stole thence
The life o’ th’ building!”
Dramatic Irony is used here in that we know Macduff has just discovered Duncan’s dead body, and so
does Macbeth, yet he plays it off as if he has no idea what Macduff could be so horrified of.

Act 3 (All Scenes)

Scene 1

“and I fear
Thou play’dst most foully for’t; yet it was said
It should not stand in thy posterity,”
Banquo is fully aware that Macbeth has fulfilled what was prophesied by the witches, yet he suspects
him of foul play as the witches never said how it would happen. Banquo is suspicious that Macbeth has
killed the king.

“As far, my lord, as will fill up the time”

Banquo will be riding all day and he plans not to return to the castle any time soon due to what he
suspects of Macbeth and wishes nothing to do with it.

Scene 3

“It will be rain tonight.”

Unbenounced to Banquo, the three murderers have set up an ambush to assault and murder him.
Banquo says this line to his son Fleance which is set up perfectly at the time of his ambush for the 1st
murderer to murder him ‘in style’.

“Let it come down.”

Instead of Fleance, the 1st Murderer responds to Banquo saying, “Let it come down” Which can only
mean one thing, the blood of Banquo will be the only thing to rain down tonight. This is a clever line
which the assassin uses as a signal to initiate the attack on unsuspecting Banquo.

Scene 4

“There’s blood upon thy face.”

This is the blood of Banquo, who Macbeth has just had killed by the two murderers. Macbeth notices it
indicating that he hopes it is indeed the blood of Banquo.

“Tis Banquo’s then.”

The Murderer confirms what Macbeth suspects, to relieve him, yet he says it so casually as if to say
“Well it’s obviously Banquo’s” which could be seen as the assassin communicating his arrogance by
saying it was an easy task.

“How say’st thou, that Macduff denies his person

At our great bidding?”
Macbeth is wary of Macduff who has not appeared at his function. Macbeth fears that his unexplained
absence could be due to the fact that he is on to Macbeth and he fears he knows he killed Duncan and
Banquo.

“I hear it by the way; but I will send.

There’s not a one of them but in his house”
Macbeth realises that he hasn’t even asked Macduff to attend, so he plans to do such a thing, although
he still is suspect of Macduff due to the fact that it’s unusual for him to not attend. Macbeth intends to
find Macduff to make sure he is not under suspicion.

“Blood hath been shed ere now, i’ th’ olden time”

Shakespeare’s constant use of blood in his lines, as we have noted previously in the play, may not only
be to portray a metaphor. Repetition of blood is in a way reminding the audience how serious Macbeth’s
actions have been and how serious the consequences are. This tool is a good way to keep the audience
engaged, and also communicate the message of the story, in what the consequences of your actions
could be.

“I am in blood
Stepp’d in so far that, should I wade no more,
Returning were as tedious as go o’er.”
Macbeth has stepped too far into the river of atrocities he has committed that he thinks at this point he
should simply keep going and gaining more of what he wants. However, in the case of Macbeth he has
already gained everything that was prophesied to him and he has started a fallacy of wanting more and
more even though there is no aim to it.

Scene 5
“how did you dare
To trade and traffic with Macbeth
In riddles and affairs of death;
And I, the mistress of your charms,
The close contriver of all harms,
Was never call’d to bear my part,”
At this point we find out that Hecate is most likely the ‘ultimate witch’ or the boss of these witches
because she is angered that the witches did not involve her in their affairs with Macbeth. Even worse,
they didn’t even inform her of it. Hecate later reveals the mistake the witches have made.

“He shall spurn fate, scorn death, and bear

His hopes ’bove wisdom, grace, and fear;”
Shakespeare communicates that when someone who does not need it is given so much power and
security, it leads to the individual, in this case Macbeth, being so unafraid of death, judgement and fear
that they will act on their desires above any greater force such as their wisdom or common sense.

“And you all know, security

Is mortals’ chiefest enemy.”
This use of language clearly shows that Shakespeare communicates a significant problem of our society.
Hecate’s line translates to simply mean, immortality is a mortal’s worst enemy. This is because once
someone is granted immortality they will only ever get what they want, and sometimes the hard bit of
gaining your desires is the best part of it. Without earning things it entirely removes the meaning behind
it ultimately making it redundant and you spiral into a more and more paradox creating moral tears in the
human personality. Although immortality protects you from physical harm it cannot protect you from
losing your morals.

Scene 6

“how monstrous
It was for Malcolm and for Donalbain
To kill their gracious father? Damned fact!”
Malcolm, who because of this line, we can only assume that he must have been very close the past king
and his sons. He believes that from his knowledge of Duncan’s heirs that they would not conjure up the
cruelty and ambition to kill their father. Especially since neither had anything to gain from it, except grief.

“How it did grieve Macbeth! Did he not straight

In pious rage the two delinquents tear,”
Macbeth’s response to the death of Duncan was so dramatic to the extent he grieved as if it was his own
father, or his own son that it was clearly false grief.
This is what Lennox has just noted after he saw it first on the day of Duncan’s death.

Act 4: All Scenes

Scene 1

“How now, you secret, black, and midnight hags?”

Macbeth enters and immediately refers to them as midnight hags, midnight because they operate at night
but by calling them hags is possibly due to the status he believes he has over the witches with his new
found glory. Whereas he forgets that it was them who put him in that place.

“Say, if th’ hadst rather hear it from our mouths,

Or from our masters’?”
The first witch interupts her sisters to tease Macbeth and ask if wants to hear it from their master, Hecate.
This shows that the witches almost predicted what Macbeth was to respond with, showing us further
proof of their supernatural power.

“Call ’em; let me see ’em.”

Macbeth insists that the witches do indeed let him speak directly to their master; he basically shows
them up and says, “Come on then, let me speak to him.” Macbeth believes this show of dominance
threatens the witches, however they probably already predicted it.

The apparitions
In this scene the witches tell their prophecies through a set of apparitions which appear before Macbeth. There
are four Apparitions as follows:

“Thunder. First Apparition, an armed Head.”

The first Apparition (ghost like image of a person) takes the form of an armoured head, with a knight’s
helmet and visor.

“Thunder. Second Apparition, a bloody Child.”

The second apparition appears in the form of a bloodied child.

“Thunder. Third Apparition, a Child crowned, with a tree in his hand.”

The third apparition takes the form of a royal child, with a crown upon his head.

“A show of eight Kings, the eighth with a glass in his hand, and Banquo last.”
The fourth and final apparition appears as 8 kings lined up opposite to Macbeth, the last being
Banquo, and the first holding a mirror to Macbeth.

Each Apparition symbolises each part of the prophecy of what awaits Macbeth. The head of a knight is literally
the head of Macbeth, after it has been severed by Malcolm the rightful heir, in his and Macbeth’s conflict. The
bloody child represents Macbeth’s childish acts which has got him so covered in blood. As discussed earlier,
Shakespeare’s use of blood in this text is to symbolise the evil, cruel, and dark deeds which Macbeth has
committed, as the text goes on the symbol of blood gets more and more meaning, figuratively and literally
because some of his deeds have led to the spilling of a lot of blood. The final apparition comes in the form of a
crowned child, this time the child not representing childish behaviour but instead symbolising youth, for this
apparition represents Malcolm who is the rightful heir to the throne of Scotland. It is showing him as he
becomes king. These apparitions are deliberately designed to infuriate Macbeth to the point that he won’t go
out and stop it if it is fate, but instead he will listen to the witches. Cleverly, the witches prophesied that
Macbeth will become king, and it became true, this was likely set up so that in future he would believe any
further prophecy they set before him. The fourth apparition appears as eight kings, they stand opposite to
Macbeth, the last king is Banquo who is pointing towards the seven others, and the first one holding a mirror.
This line of kings are meant to show all of the descendants of Banquo, each one of them preceding the other.
The mirror is supposed to represent that this line of kings will be everlasting and is meant to scare Macbeth
into believing that no matter what he does, the family of Banquo will somehow be reinstated to the throne.
Scene 2

“Wisdom? To leave his wife, to leave his babes,

His mansion and his titles, in a place
From whence himself does fly? He loves us not,
He wants the natural touch; for the poor wren,
The most diminutive of birds, will fight,
Her young ones in her nest, against the owl.
All is the fear, and nothing is the love;
As little is the wisdom, where the flight
So runs against all reason.”
Lady Macduff feels heartbroken that Macduff, her husband, has left unexpectedly without telling her or
any of his family why he left and where he has gone. As we know, the reason he has fled is because he
has seen through Macbeth and does not believe it is safe for him to return if Macbeth is suspicious of
everyone. Although, the main point highlighted is that he has left without taking his family and if he has
fled for the reasons we are left to assume, that clearly shows he has little care for his family as they are
in just as much danger as him.

“My dearest coz,

I pray you school yourself. But for your husband,
He is noble, wise, judicious, and best knows
The fits o’ th’ season.”
Rosse hints that Macduff has not left out of selfishness, but instead has left to plan something. He
describes Macduff as wise and judicious indicating that he believes Macduff would not leave without
reason and that his family will be safe.

“Yes, he is dead. How wilt thou do for a father?”

Lady Macduff is basically saying how will you do without a father?

“Nay, how will you do for a husband?”

Lady Macduff’s son indicates that he is not sad about the loss of his father, and turns it around to say,
No, how will you do without a husband?

“Why, I can buy me twenty at any market.”

Lady Macduff is also not grieving or sad in any way and is more likely to be angered at her husband. She
says that she could just buy twenty more husbands at the market.

Notes From: William Shakespeare. “Macbeth”. Apple Books.