Key quotes from Macbeth
This brilliant set of 23 key quotes from William Shakespeare’s Macbeth is organised into a range of key themes to help GCSE English Literature students with their revision and exam preparation.
Students can explore Macbeth’s character in Shakespeare’s play through a series of important quotes from different acts of the play. Ideal for independent revision at home or for revision and memory games in class, students can consolidate their understanding of Macbeth’s themes in preparation for their exams.
Set in Scotland in the 11th century, Shakespeare explores a range of themes in Macbeth, including:
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ambition/power
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deception
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guilt/paranoia
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religion
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good versus evil
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supernatural
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subverting expectations of gender at the time
You might also like Large Macbeth quotes, poster-sized quotations which are perfect for revision displays or focused analysis of language.
Important Macbeth quotes from the worksheet for GCSE English Literature students to learn:
Quotations linked to the theme of ambition/power
Banquo: ‘What, can the devil speak true?’ His reaction when he hears Macbeth has been named Thane of Cawdor.
Lady Macbeth: ‘But screw your courage to the sticking place / And we’ll not fail.’ Lady Macbeth tells Macbeth to stop being a coward about killing Duncan.
Macbeth: ‘Lay on, Macduff, and damn’d be him that first cries, ‘Hold, enough!’ Macbeth’s final words, showing his false feelings of invincibility and sheer ambition not to give up.
Quotations linked to the theme of guilt/paranoia
Macbeth: ‘Is this a dagger which I see before me, / The handle toward my hand?’ Macbeth hallucinates and sees a dagger on his way to kill Duncan.
Macbeth: ‘Methought I heard a voice cry, ‘Sleep no more! Macbeth does murder sleep!’ After killing Duncan, Macbeth fears he will never sleep again from the guilt.
Quotations linked to the theme of good versus evil
The Witches: ‘Fair is foul, and foul is fair’. The witches’ philosophy on life, showing that nothing is ever what it seems.
Lady Macbeth: ‘Out damned spot! Out, I say!’ Lady Macbeth hallucinates blood on her hands before her death.
Quotations linked to the theme of deception
Banquo: ‘Thou hast it now: King, Cawdor, Glamis, all, as the weird women promised, and I fear thou play’dst most foully for’t.’ Alone, Banquo reflects on Macbeth’s rise to the throne.
Quotations linked to subverting expectations of gender at the time
Lady Macbeth: ‘Upon hearing that King Duncan is to stay the night in her castle, Lady Macbeth builds herself up to kill him.
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