Macbeth Theme Quotes

Macbeth Theme Quotes

1. Ambition

   • Macbeth: "My thought, whose murder yet is but fantastical"
     • Already thought of murder (murderous ambition)
   • Lady Macbeth: "To catch the nearest way"
     • The nearest way is to murder
   • Macduff: "Either thou, Macbeth, Or else my sword, with an unbattered edge...Let me find him, Fortune, And more I beg not"
     • Deciding to kill Macbeth for revenge

2. Power

   • Witches: "All hail, Macbeth, thou shalt be king hereafter! […]  Thou shalt get kings, though thou be none. So all hail, Macbeth and Banquo!"
     • Can predict the future through supernatural powers
   • Macbeth: "
   • Lady Macbeth: "Look like th' innocent flower, But be the serpent under't"
     • Show that she can tell Macbeth what to do and disguise herself
   • Duncan: "Our eldest, Malcolm, whom we name hereafter The Prince of Cumberland"
     • Shows that the King has the power to give titles

3. The Supernatural

   • Witches: "
   • Banquo: "That look not like th' inhabitants o' th' Earth And yet are on 't?—Live you? "
     • Shows that the witches are unnatural and not the same as them

4. Violence

   • Captain: "Till he unseamed him from the nave to th' chops, And fixed his head upon our battlements."
     • The Captain tells Duncan about Macbeths fighting skills on the battlefield. It shows his ruthlessness.