Macbeth Literary Devices

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Allusion

"And fortune, on his damnèd quarrel smiling, Showed like a rebel’s whore" - Act 1 Scene 2

Meaning: Sergeant says this. This is a mythological allusion to Lady Fortuna, the Roman goddess of fortune, who the Captain references as behaving like Madonwald’s “whore” on the battlefield.

"Assisted by that most disloyal traitor, The thane of Cawdor, began a dismal conflict, Till that Bellona’s bridegroom, lapped in proof, Confronted him with self-comparisons" - Act 1 Scene 2

Meaning: Ross says this. This is a mythological allusion to Bellona, the Roman goddess of war.

"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 newborn babe, Striding the blast, or heaven’s cherubim, horsed" - Act 1 Scene 7

Meaning: Macbeth says this. The term “heaven’s cherubim” is a religious allusion to an angel of heaven.

"Wouldst thou have that Which thou esteem’st the ornament of life, And live a coward in thine own esteem, Letting “I dare not” wait upon “I would,” Like the poor cat i’ th’ adage?" - Act 1 Scene 7

Meaning: Lady Macbeth. This is a literary allusion to a saying about a cat that likes fish but not wetting her paws.

"[A]nd 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" - Act 2 Scene 1

Meaning: Macbeth says this. This is a historical allusion to Tarquin, a Roman prince who raped Lucretia, a Roman wife, in her bed at night.

"Will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood Clean from my hand?" - Act 2 Scene 2

Meaning: Macbeth says this. This is a mythological allusion to Neptune, the Roman god of the sea.

"A little water clears us of this deed" - Act 2 Scene 2

Meaning: Lady Macbeth says this. This is a biblical allusion to Pontius Pilate publicly washing his hands to absolve himself of any guilt for Christ’s crucifixion.

"Up, up, and see The great doom’s image! Malcolm! Banquo!" - Act 2 Scene 3

Meaning: Macduff says this. The phrase “[t]he great doom” is a religious allusion to doomsday, or the end of times as described in Abrahamic religions.

"[A]nd mine eternal jewel Given to the common enemy of man" - Act 3 Scene 1

Meaning: Macbeth says this. This is a religious allusion to Macbeth giving his soul, or “mine eternal jewel,” to Satan, the “common enemy of man.”

"Thou hast harped my fear aright" - Act 4 Scene 1

Meaning: Macbeth says this. This is a mythological allusion to the harpies, the half-human, half-bird monsters in Greek mythology who tormented people.

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Foreshadowing

The first Thane of Cawdor's rebellion

The first Thane of Cawdor attempts to raise a rebellion against Duncan and gain the throne for himself. Although he is defeated, this event suggests that the political state of the kingdom is unstable and foreshadows Macbeth's own plan to take the position of king.

Macbeth and Banquo's prophecies

The witches predict that Macbeth will become Thane of Cawdor and eventually King of Scotland, and that Banquo's sons will be kings. These events happen later in the play, but Macbeth doesn't just wait to see if they will come to pass, but actively attempts to progress the prophecies along or prevent them (e.g., killing Duncan to become king, planning to kill Banquo and his sons so that Banquo's sons won't).

"Methought I heard a voice cry 'Sleep no more! Macbeth does murder sleep'" (Act 2 Scene 2)

This statement implies that Macbeth will never be at peace after the regicide he has committed. It foreshadows Macbeth's insomnia and Lady Macbeth's sleepwalking, both symptoms of a guilty conscience.

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Metaphors and Similes

"Your face, my thane, is as a book where men

May read strange matters." - Act 1 Scene 5

Meaning: Lady Macbeth uses this simile when telling her husband that his facial expressions betray his inner thoughts, like a book that anybody could easily read.

"Look like th' innocent flower,

But be the serpent under ’t." - Act 1 Scene 5

Meaning: Lady Macbeth encourages her husband to his true intentions behind a false show of innocence, much like a snake lurking beneath a harmless flower.

"Be this the whetstone of your sword. Let grief

Convert to anger. Blunt not the heart, enrage it" - Act 4 Scene 3

Meaning: Malcolm uses a metaphor to compare Macduff's grief to a stone used for sword sharpening. He urges Macduff to let grief sharpen his desire for revenge, not dull it.

"The spring, the head, the fountain of your blood

Is stopped; the very source of it is stopped" - Act 2 Scene 3

Meaning: Macbeth uses this metaphor to inform Donalbain and Malcolm of Duncan’s murder, referring to their father as the fountain from which their lifeblood sprang and possibly hinting that their own lives are soon to be “stopped” as well.